The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment Buddhist Sūtra, original Chinese title is Yuanjue jing, Japanese Engaku-kyo; 1 fasc. (T 842.17.913a-922a). Full title Dafangguang yuanjue xiuduluo liaoyi jing. A Chinese Mahāyāna sutra which was probably written in the early eighth century C.E. Divided into twelve chapters as a series of discussions on meditation practice, this text deals with issues such as the meaning and origin of ignorance, sudden and gradual enlightenment, original Buddhahood, ...

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In the history of ideas, the Counter-Enlightenment is a name first given by Isaiah Berlin to describe currents of thought that opposed the rationalist and liberal ideals of the Enlightenment. Berlin's project in a series of essays was the critical recovery of the ideas of Giambattista Vico, Johann Georg Hamann (whom Berlin virtually rediscovered in the essay The Magus of the North: J. G. Hamann and the origins of modern irrationalism), and Johann Gottfried Herder, and an account of their appeal, so foreign to the Enlightenment, ...

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Enlightenment by means of yoga is said by some of its adherents to include the following elements: 1. A shift into Samadhi meditation consciousness, where the thought-narrative is not perceived as the self but rather as a mental tool. In this state the self is perceived as the awareness that experiences the thoughts. This is described in depth in the #1 NY Times bestseller "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle. 2. An emotional equilibrium or "positi ...

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Acquired enlightenment

(Jpn.: shikaku)

See also: inherent enlightenment)

Enlightened One

(Jpn.: kakusha)

Also, Awakened One. A Buddha. One who is enlightened to the ultimate truth or principle of life and the universe.

(See also: Enlightened One, Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment Dictionary)

Original enlightenment

(Jpn.: hongaku)

1. A reference to the enlightenment Shakyamuni attained countless kalpas ago, as described in the "Life Span" (sixteenth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra.
2. Enlightenment or Buddhahood originally inherent in human life.

See: Life Span of the Thus Come One,  Inherent enlightenment

(See also: Original enlightenment, Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment Dictionary)

Perfect enlightenment

(Jpn.: myogaku or engaku)

Also, supreme perfect enlightenment. The enlightenment of a Buddha. "Perfect enlightenment" also refers to the last and highest of the fifty-two stages of bodhisattva practice, or Buddhahood.

See: fifty-two stages of bodhisattva practice, Buddhahood

(See also: Perfect enlightenment, Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment Dictionary)

Inherent enlightenment

(Jpn.: hongaku)

Also, original enlightenment; or, depending on context, originally enlightened or eternally enlightened. Enlightenment, or Buddhahood, that is originally inherent in human life. Often used as an equivalent of the Buddha nature.

The concept of inherent or original enlightenment is contrasted with acquired enlightenment (shikaku), the view that enlightenment occurs as a result of carrying out Buddhist practice, dispelling illusions, and developing wisdom.

In the Tendai school of Japan, the doctrine of inherent or original enlightenment was taken to the extreme with the argument that ordinary people were already Buddhas even before engaging in Buddhist practice, and that the world as it is equals the world of enlightenment. Critics asserted that this view led to complacency in Buddhist practice.

(See also: Inherent enlightenment, Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment Dictionary)

Unsurpassed enlightenment

(Jpn.: mujo-bodai; Skt.: anuttara-sambodhi)

Also, supreme enlightenment or supreme perfect enlightenment. The enlightenment of a Buddha. The Sanskrit anuttara means "unsurpassed." A Buddha's enlightenment is so called because it is the highest and supreme among all levels of awakening gained through Buddhist practice. Bodhisattvas make four vows when they first resolve to embark upon the Buddhist practice. These four vows are known as the four universal vows, one of which is to attain unsurpassed enlightenment.

(See also: Unsurpassed enlightenment, Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment Dictionary)

Aspiration for enlightenment

(Skt.: bodhi-chitta; Jpn.: bodaishin; Pali.: bodhi-chitta)

Also, desire for bodhi or aspiration for the way. "Aspiration for enlightenment" is the mind or spirit to seek bodhi, or enlightenment, or to pursue the Buddha wisdom. Bodhi of the Sanskrit word bodhi-chitta means enlightenment, and chitta means thought, intention, aim, wish, longing, or mind.

Bodhi-chitta is also called anuttara-samyak-sambodhi-chitta, which means the aspiration for supreme perfect enlightenment. In Mahayana Buddhism, to arouse aspiration for enlightenment is regarded as the basis and starting point of Buddhist practice.

Bodhisattvas arouse the aspiration for enlightenment and pronounce the four universal vows: to save all living beings, to eradicate all earthly desires, to master all the Buddhist teachings, and to attain the supreme enlightenment.

(See also: Aspiration for enlightenment, Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment Dictionary)

Four stages of enlightenment

(Jpn.: shi-ka)

See: four stages of Hinayana enlightenment, attainment of Buddhahood

(See also: Four stages of enlightenment, Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment Dictionary)

Stage of ultimate enlightenment

(Jpn.: kukyo-soku)

The sixth of the six stages of practice.

See: six stages of practice

(See also: Stage of ultimate enlightenment, Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment Dictionary)

Stage of resemblance to enlightenment

(Jpn.: soji-soku)

The fourth of the six stages of practice.

See: six stages of practice

(See also: Stage of resemblance to enlightenment, Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment Dictionary)

Oneness of delusion and enlightenment

(Jpn.: meigo-funi or meigo-ittai)

Also, non-duality of delusion and enlightenment. The principle that delusion and enlightenment are, though different in aspect, one and the same in their essential nature. A bad cause or influence gives rise to delusion, and a good cause or influence, to enlightenment. Delusion and enlightenment are two different workings, but both arise from the essential nature of life. This Mahayana concept contrasts with the Hinayana view that enlightenment and delusion, or enlightenment and earthly desires, are mutually exclusive and incompatible.

(See also: Oneness of delusion and enlightenment, Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment Dictionary)

Enlightenment of plants

(Jpn.: somoku-jobutsu)

Also, enlightenment of insentient beings. The enlightenment of grass, trees, rocks, the land itself, or anything else that has neither emotion nor consciousness.

The doctrine that insentient beings can attain Buddhahood derives from T'ien-t'ai's doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life. One of the component principles of this doctrine is the realm of the environment, or the insentient objective world.

The doctrine teaches the mutually inclusive relationship of living beings and their environments, or that of sentient and insentient beings, thereby revealing that both manifest the same state of life. Therefore, when living beings manifest the state of Buddhahood, their environment simultaneously manifests the state of Buddhahood as well.

In The Diamond Scalpel, Miao-lo (711-782) refuted the arguments of Ch'eng-kuan, the fourth patriarch of the Chinese Flower Garland (Hua-yen) school, who asserted that insentient beings do not possess the Buddha nature. Miao-lo wrote, "A plant, a tree, a pebble, a speck of dust-each has the Buddha nature, and each is endowed with cause and effect and with the function to manifest and the wisdom to realize its Buddha nature."

(See also: Enlightenment of plants, Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment Dictionary)

The boundaries of the Enlightenment cover much of the 17th century as well, though others term the previous era "The Age of Reason." For the present purposes, these two eras are split; however, it is equally acceptable to think of them conjoined as one long period. Throughout the 1500s and half of the 1600s, Europe was ravaged by religious wars. When the political situation stabilized after the Peace of Westphalia and at the end of the English Civil War, there was an upheaval which overturned the notions of mysticism and faith in indi ...

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Age of Enlightenment, Age of Enlightenment - History of Enlightenment philosophy, Age of Enlightenment - Key conflicts within Enlightenment-period philosophy, Age of Enlightenment - Role of the Enlightenment in later philosophy, Age of Enlightenment - Precursors of the Enlightenment, Age of Enlightenment - Important figures of the Enlightenment era

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Fundamental nature of enlightenment

(Jpn.: gampon-no-hossho)

Enlightenment to the fundamental nature of all things and phenomena. It is contrasted with fundamental darkness. Also, the Buddha nature that is inherent in life.

(See also: Fundamental nature of enlightenment, Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment Dictionary)

Near-perfect enlightenment

(Jpn.: togaku)

The fifty-first of the fifty-two stages of bodhisattva practice. The stage nearly equal to the Buddha's perfect enlightenment, the last stage before a bodhisattva attains Buddhahood

(See also: Near-perfect enlightenment, Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment Dictionary)

supreme perfect enlightenment

(Jpn.: anokutara-sammyaku-sambodai or mujo-shoto-shogaku)

The enlightenment of a Buddha.

(See also: supreme perfect enlightenment, Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment, Buddhism Enlightenment Dictionary)

Enlightenment:

Realization of the light of the soul. Stabilization of God Consciousness in the physical body.

(See also: Enlightenment, Body Mind and Soul)

The systematic search for enlightenment was a goal of truth seekers after they found a master teacher or guru, who could guide them. However, this formulation was not necessarily spiritual. In earlier times, such as during the Bon period of Tibetan religion, enlightenment was considered to be within the context of magic —from which scientific methods descended (through alchemy). After the systematic methods were learned in India, the nations of Asia made pilgrimages to learn them. The relationship between seeker and guru was and remains, in most cases, an essential point for enlightenment. There are prac ...

See also:

Enlightenment concept, Enlightenment concept - Definition, Enlightenment concept - Seeking enlightenment, Enlightenment concept - Kant's definition of enlightenment, Enlightenment concept - Adorno's and Horkheimer's definition of enlightenment, Enlightenment concept - Enlightenment in Western civilization, Enlightenment concept - The Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment concept - People who have been said to be enlightened

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