Enlightenment (Buddhism)
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In Buddhism, enlightenment is when a Buddhist discovers the truth about life. Bodhi means Enlightenment. You can become Enlightened by following the Middle Way.
Method[change]
Buddhists generally achieve this using meditation (or deep thought), whilst deeply concentrating and "clearing" their minds.
Experiences[change]
Siddhartha Gautama left the palace on the day his son was born and went to seek the Shramana teachers for guidance. On his way, he saw a poor man, an old man, a corpse and finally a sadu (holy man). This made the Buddha believe that material goods mean little since we all die eventually and although this is sad and he felt almost nothing, he was still content.
He saw a musician teaching a string instrument to one of the students. He said, "If the string is too tight, it will snap. If it is too loose, it will not play." Siddhartha then knew what he wanted. Starving to death wasn't the answer, and neither was owning a palace. He wanted to find a middle way, or the perfect balance. When he took a bowl of rice from the village girl, he knew that he did not find enlightenment in starvation. His students left him because he had broken his vow of being an ascetic.
His birth was said to be miracle. His mother, the queen, was walking through the woods and two trees bent down for her to hold onto. The birth was quick and painless.
The Buddha touched His goal of enlightenment after meditating for forty days under his bodhi tree. This idea came to him after the ascetic ways of the Shramana teachers had failed to work for him and he remembered sitting under a tree as a child. During this time he learned of his past lives and saw the past lives of other people. Siddhartha Gautama became enlightened at the age of 35 and was called the Buddha (the enlightened one).
During his enlightenment he pointed towards the earth as a witness of his enlightenment, he was offered to be free from nirvana but his decision was to stay on earth and teach others about the path to enlightenment. He taught his first sermon in the deer park at Sarnath. After his teachings, he died at 80 years of age, leaving behind a legacy a vast majority of the population follow today.
