The steps and requirements of becoming a Buddha

 ◎Foreword

        Buddhist doctrines which spread to current time, have gradually revealed the character of the era that Buddhism is going to extinguish. Although the Buddha has predicted this, I still hope that all living beings can obtain the most authentic Dharma and get out of the Five-turbidity worlds we are living as soon as possible.

        The Buddha once said in the Lotus Sutra that there is only one kind of Buddhist Vehicle. Because sentient beings have different capacities, therefore the Convenient Method is preached and there are the Large Vehicle and the Small Vehicle, or there are Three Vehicles. All the practice of Buddhism is directed to the path of becoming a Buddha. Only “becoming a Buddha” is the highest and most complete enlightenment.

        Another well-known teaching of the Lotus Sutra is that all living beings can become Buddhas, because all living beings have Buddha nature. This statement is good news for sentient beings who do not have confidence. As long as you make up your mind to start practicing from now on, in the future, sooner or later, you can get the highest and most complete enlightenment like the Buddha.

        The current classification of Buddhism is Hinayana and Mahayana, in addition, plus Vajrayana (also belongs to Mahayana), which are Theravada Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism, and Tibetan Buddhism. Although there are different methods of practices and respective theories, they are actually at different stages and sequences of practice. If you want to become a Buddha, you must practice and experience all three of them.

◎Hinayana Buddhism and the Four Noble Truths, the Twelve Conditions

        The core teachings of Theravada Buddhism are the Four Noble Truths (suffering, gathering, cessation, and Path) and the Twelve Conditions. Although it is said that its goal is also to become a Buddha, for the practitioners who only practice the Hinayana Dharma, the highest state of Hinayana Buddhism is “human being without self”, that is, "Arhat."

        Among them, the so-called “suffering” means that the practitioner can recognize what suffering is; broadly speaking, “impermanence” is a kind of suffering. We all living beings have the desire to get away from suffering and get happiness, but whenever we leave suffering a little bit and get certain happiness, because of impermanence, these happiness will soon change and disappear, so all living beings must constantly use various methods to maintain that little bit of happiness; this repeated process is actually not happy, so “impermanence” is called suffering.

        The so-called “gathering” means that after the practitioners can realize that impermanence is suffering, they can further realize that the whole world is impermanent, everything is always changing, and nothing is eternal and unchanging. Material things have “formation, existence, destruction, and emptiness”, living beings have “birth, old age, sickness, and death”, and all things in the world are changing all the time, without exception.

        The so-called “cessation” means that we can understand: “the source of suffering” is because we are attached to the existence of "I". As long as we abandon all cravings, we can reach the state of selflessness and extinguish all suffering. This theory is the Twelve Conditions: Because there is "ignorance" —— do not understand that "I" does not exist, so there is "action", because there is "action", there is "consciousness"......until because there is “feeling”, so there is "craving"...... and then because of "the existence of self", there is "birth, old age, sickness and death, and all kinds of suffering." When a practitioner realizes that the source of suffering comes from the Twelve Conditions, saying it clearly, comes from "ignorance" —— do not understand that "I" does not exist, and then eliminates the "craving" in the twelve conditions. Finally he can break the chain of the Twelve Conditions and the twelve causes and conditions will be eliminated. At this time, from ignorance to birth, old age, sickness and death, all kinds of suffering will not regenerate. Practitioners who reach this state are called “Arahants”.

        The so-called “Path” refers to the path that practitioners must practice from an ordinary human to becoming an Arahant —— called the Eightfold Path, —— eight necessary requirements for eliminating ignorance. If the content of the Eightfold Path is expanded, the Thirty - Seven Practices to Enlightenment are included. In fact, it is the entire Hinayana Buddhism, or even the entire Buddhism.

◎Mahayana Buddhism and emptiness, mind-only, hidden Buddhahood, middle way

        The core teachings of Mahayana Buddhism are much more complicated: there is Prajna (emptiness), mind-only, hidden Buddhahood, and middle way. Practitioners of Mahayana Buddhism are called Bodhisattvas, and they can reach the state of "the emptiness of Dharma" by practicing Mahayana Buddhism.

        The so-called Prajna is “wisdom” —— understanding of emptiness. The understanding of emptiness by sentient beings is divided into different levels —— from non-existence, neither arising nor ceasing, non-Form, unspeakable, unavailable, to “the real emptiness is the existence of everything”. The deeper the understanding, the more we can realize the nature of everything in our universe.

        The so-called “mind-only” is also called consciousness-only, which means that everything in the world is the manifesting of mind, and this mind of you and I is not available. When we contact things through the six sense organs of mind and generate various perceptions, actually, all things in the event are the manifesting of mind, and there is nothing outside the mind. Then, why can different people see the same object outside them, and have the same vision and ideas, and communicate with each other? In fact, the actual situation is more complicated than this situation. These things just arise from “your and my mind”, which establishes your and my vision and ideas, and also constructs such a scene. Even when we are studying Buddhism now, “they” are also the manifestings of mind; there is no you and I, communicating with each other; that is to say, everything —— I, you, and what we communicate are all included in the manifesting of mind, without exception.

        The so-called “hidden Buddhahood” refers to that “the real emptiness is the existence of everything” in Prajna theory, that is, "all things are Dharma" —— all living beings are Buddhas and the reason why they cannot prove it only is because of their delusion and attachment. This world, which is governed by the rule of cause and condition, originally is pure and untainted, because we don't understand the truth of the universe, so we want to find a state that exceeds everything in the world. In fact, all things are Dharma.

        What is “middle way”? After understanding and mastering the above three Mahayana theories, you will find that they are contradictory —— some think that everything exists, some think that everything does not exist; some say that Dharma does not exist, and some say that all things are Dharma; some think about cause and condition, and some think about that everything is the manifesting of mind; even the Buddha said before going into Nirvana: permanence, happy, self, pure, and said in the Hinayana Buddhism: impermanence, suffering, no self, impure…...How to understand these contradictions? In fact, the Buddha was to teach us the meaning of the “middle way”. This world can be said to be a dualistic world. When there is birth, there is an opposite death; when there is existence, there is an opposite non-existence; when there is permanence, there is an opposite impermanence; when there is self, there is an opposite non-self... Everything is like this, and there is no thing to appear alone, and so is Buddhist doctrines, therefore contradictions are inevitable. But we always want to have "one" truth to explain things in the entire universe, so we have to abandon the views of two sides and take the view of the middle; in the middle of two contradictions, we don’t favor any one argument, and both arguments are right at the same time, but are also wrong at the same time —— this is the meaning of “the middle way”. Of course, we can also say that if there is a "middle way", then there is a "non-middle way". That's right, but the “middle way” is just a tool. After we understand the truth of everything in the universe, we don't have to cling to the middle way.

        The Eightfold Path is actually the Middle Way, so if we want to reach the Buddha's Nirvana state, we need to practice the Eightfold Path.

◎Tool of actual practice —— meditation

        What we mentioned above are some theories about the point of view, and how do we really attain these states? The method used in Buddhism is called “meditation”. Meditation includes a method to calm the mind —— samadhi, and a method to realize wisdom —— vipassana. Samadhi is “just let the mind concentrate on one kind of thing”. By continuously pulling the chaotic mind back to concentrate on this kind of thing, the mind of the practitioner can become focused and sharp. At this time, the practitioner can begin to use vipassana; “vipassana” dually means observation and thinking. Observing everything in the universe and thinking about the theories of Dharma through a calm mind can lead us to attain Wisdom and advance toward the highest and most complete enlightenment. The Buddhist theories we discussed above will be able to be confirmed in meditation. The practitioner's view of everything will gradually be changed, and the annoyances in daily life will gradually decrease.

◎ Conclusion

        “Ascending to a high level, you need to be from low levels, and travelling to a far place, you need to be from near places”. As long as we make up our minds and start practicing, we will advance step by step towards the state of Buddha, because all beings can become Buddhas. My friends, cherish the cause and condition you have encountered in practicing Buddhism!

2020.December