The role of knowledge and creativity in the process of enlightenment of the Buddha.

The fact of the coming of the Buddha is the result of a long chain of karmic causes. As described in the scriptures, this chain of holy causes consists of the spiritual potentials that He has accumulated from many previous lives and the cultivation effort with an extraordinary will in this present life. 

With historical records, we find that the Pāli scriptures retain many details that reflect the Buddha's enlightenment. Through this canonical source, we understand more about the role of His knowledge and creation in the process of attaining enlightenment. Passages autobiography of Buddha and more appear in the sermon after enlightenment, are recorded in the scriptures Pali, especially of  St. bridge  (Central Business, 26),  The Sutra of the Saccaka  (Sutra, No. 36), the Latin Sutra (The Second Sutra   No. 204) reflects in part this vivid historical event.

Acquire knowledge and learn from experience.

Although the Pāli sutras do not contain much detail about the Buddha's childhood (as Prince Siddhattha), his autobiography and many sermons show that Prince Siddhattha (Siddhattha) has learned a lot from a Veda  - educated culture  of Indian society in the 6th century BC. The prince was educated with the best master of the palace, carefully selected ( Schumann, 1989, p). The prince's ability to receive knowledge and inner training made his teachers astonished. According to Schumann's research, Prince Siddhattha had learned almost the full range of knowledge and skills needed to equip a prince in the Indian social culture at the time. However, Prince Siddhattha has a special intellectual and spiritual orientation in relation to other skills ( 1989, p. 22 ).

Spirituality, the practice of meditation to cultivate the mind, is a new trend advocated by the progressive masters. Prince Siddhattha was brought up in that culture, so it is more or less inclined in the mind from childhood. The Buddha's autobiography in  the Saccaka Mahatma Gandhi  shows that Prince Siddhattha had a very early meditation practice: "I recall, while my father, the Shakyas are plowing and I am sitting under We do not mind the worldly pleasures, renounce evil states of mind, attain and stay calm in the first Zen, a state of peace and joy, body and mind. imbued with peace because no longer desire that "  ( Central business, No. 36). This proves the spiritual direction of Prince Siddhattha is very special, meditation hobby is shown in the prince as soon as young. It is possible that Prince Siddhattha learned more or less the basic spiritual practice, such as sitting meditation, from the teachers invited to teach in the royal palace.

In terms of knowledge, at this time in India, the best education is to equip learners with the ability to understand the  Vedas  and rituals. Prince Siddhattha was also trained in such an education. Schumann sums up the records in the Pāli Sutras that Prince Siddhattha enjoys listening to the wise masters of Vedic  poetry  and discussing their philosophies ( Schumann, 1989, pp. 28-29).). The knowledge acquired during this period was used very creatively by the Buddha in the process of explaining the path of conversion that he had successfully accomplished in the course of his teaching. Brahmin concepts were later used by the Buddha to be flexible enough for his teachings to be persuasively received in various social classes. However, the knowledge that Prince Siddhattha received in the palace and the process of experiencing real life was not enough for Prince Siddhartha to answer the fundamental question which was the universal question of humankind: how to free suffering To This was the main motivation for Prince Siddhattha, on the basis of learned knowledge and experience, to engage more deeply in the path of spiritual experimentation.

His autobiographical passages on the experience of learning and practicing with the two most advanced masters are recorded in the  sacred prayers of  the Ālāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta as  "intellectuals. , erudite, wise, have long lived less dusty life. When choosing and coming to study with these two teachers, Prince Siddhattha clearly demonstrates the scholarly spirit of a meditator who has both a spiritual inclination and an intellectual depth. In these teachers, he learned that "this method makes the wise,  soon, experience and stay safe in France, self-experience with the experience that his teacher has attained"  (Central Business, No. 26, prayer  bridge). With Ālāra Kālāma, he learned and practiced according to the dharma he learned. He soon attained his meditative state as his teacher, the transcendent state of space and mind, Imagine all existence is not. What qualities are necessary for the practice and attainment of this dharma, he has accomplished enough. This process is described as follows:

"It is not only Ālāra Kālāma who has faith, diligence, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom; We also have faith, diligence, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom. With the effort, whether I have attained the law that Ālāra Kālāma declared? And soon, by my own experience, I quickly experience and dwell on the dharma that Ālāra Kālāma claims to have attained through his own experience  . "

So, with the ability to absorb acumen, with the effort of method and art, soon Gotama sat perfectly received the method of practice that the first spiritual teacher handed over. With the constant determination, diligence and diligence, he practiced all the meditation methods he had learned. During his study with Ālāra Kālāma, even though he attained to a higher level of spirituality than this teacher and dwelt in that dharma, he was not satisfied with what was attested. He realized that  "this dharma does not lead to renunciation of desire, cease from attachment, rest, tranquility, wisdom to experience oneself, enlightenment and Nirvana"  (Sutra, No. 26). So he retired from the first spiritual teacher and went to another, more famous, Uddaka Rapmaputta.

With this new teacher, he also effort, effortless effort. In a short time, he quickly attained the highest meditative state in this dharma, which, according to Uddaka Rāmaputta, is equivalent to that of his teacher. It is the state of mind beyond thought-and-thought. Although this state of meditation is higher than the state of meditation experienced before, one more time, Prince Siddhattha did not satisfy what was just achieved with the same reason as for the first teacher: to enlightenment free. So he left the master to go away. Prince Siddhattha went away, for a simple reason, what these teachers taught and taught, he practiced and attained completely, but still did not meet what he needed.

From the moment he stepped out of the palace and embarked on his spiritual journey, Prince Siddhattha met many teachers. With the teacher, he also devoted himself to study and achieve the highest in the teachings of these teachers. What the traditional education of the time, the Prince has insight, but then he is still not satisfied with his experimental results. He left the famous Taoists of that time to pursue nobler purposes. Perhaps that great ambition is needing more effort with significant breakthroughs in the mind of a devoted practitioner seeking the ultimate truth.

Innovative and successful experiments

In line with the scholarly trend that the program is the  Veda , seeking truth through this journey by experiencing personal life is another popular trend in Indian society. Antique. Prince Siddhattha abandoned the royal palace, became a traveling practitioner, and since then, the Prince has been called Gotama (Gotama). This period of study and cultivation especially reflects the deep spirituality and deep spiritual experience of Gotama.

According to the  sacred prayer , we see that, with the teachings and practices that follow the teacher, Gotama has attained the state of meditation as his teacher has attained. Traditionally, a disciple of the school and the teacher certificate has been the dream of many people. But with Simon Gotama, that is not enough. The desire to seek the truth of liberation is the driving force of the Taoist do not stop here. Still not satisfied with what was achieved, after learning meditation techniques from the two best teachers of the day but still not reach full liberation, Satama Gotama decided to make a revolution in his life. : break new paths so that these burning aspirations have the opportunity to be challenged and transformed into reality.

He came to the ascetic path in various forms that some of the Taoists used to practice. This detail is recorded in the  Great Sutra (No. 12, Sutta  Sutra), which we read from the deepest admiration and determination of a great man. With Asceticism, which is completely different from the way he left off, Gotama tried his best, experiencing the "best" in every form of cultivation. He realized that: "I used to live ascetic, full of four aspects: I practice the ascetic, ascetic in the form of ascetic; we practice the most dirty, dirty in the form of living dirty; We practice careful attention, most cautious even in small things; We live in isolation, living in the most deserted places in the desert "  (Central Business, No. 12).

Passing from the two teachers to follow the spiritual path, Gotama Got more knowledge and experience more experience. Similarly, every time you come to a new practice, Gotama learns many precious things and new experiences. With the practice of isolation and the practice of asceticism, Gotama learned how to feel and control emotions. He also learned from his own experience that, when pressed too hard, the body is not strong enough to sustain the effort to be able to attain what is needed on the roadmap. exit. In the process of asceticism to wear out slightly, he has a comparative, comparative and comparison with the experience of meditating when he was young on the occasion of his father's father at the old feast, to timely adjust the perception and practice. "Then I thought, 'I remember, while my father, the Shakyamuni, was plowing the field and I was sitting in the shade of a persimmon tree, I abandoned the worldly pleasures, the evil state of evil, attainment and well-being in the first Zen, a state of peace and joy, body and mind are absorbed peace because no longer desire. When staying safe, I thought: 'Can this path lead to enlightenment?' And following this concept, this consciousness arises in Me: 'This is the path to enlightenment'. " In a state of severe depression, he thought : "Now it is not easy to attain that peace, with this terrible sick body. Let's eat some dry food, like rice and bread. Then I eat less dry food, like rice and bread "  ( Dai Saccaka, Middle Sutra, No. 36).

Satma Gotama commented, "In the past, if there were Sa-rim or Brahmin experienced the pain, suffering , severe pain is also to this extent is the same, can not be over. In the future, if there are Sa-or Brahman experienced pain, suffering, fierce pain, then this level is the same, can not be. Now, if there are Sa-or Brahmins experiencing the pain, suffering, fierce pain, then this level is the same, can not be. But when we practice so severe austerity, we still can not attain the dharma. Then what other paths to enlightenment? " ( Dai Saccaka, Middle Sutra, No. 36). Thus, when Gotama practice ascetic, He also ascetic, ascetic to the end of ascetic still no results, He began to ask big question. Here, he was not the only one who fully obeyed the traditional practice of practicing as many other practitioners of his time. Instead, he checked his accomplishments, questioned himself, reviewed his practice, compared his experiences and adjusted his course to see what he was doing. Practicing is not effective. Although he has put all his energies into the path of spiritual experimentation, realizing that path is ineffective, deviant, he is ready to stop, to divert new practice.

With the precious experience of practicing the mortification he has made significant progress in his understanding and spiritual experience. To renounce the extreme of asceticism, as having renounced his followers in pure meditation, he decided to find his own way. He began to combine the ability of contemplative thought and concentration to look deeply into the nature of all phenomena. This is a remarkable turning point that reflects on Gotama's cognitive and empathic abilities. And this is also a historic turning point in the Indian philosophical and religious system, creating a new direction that not only follows tradition.

Gotama combines all the learned theories and practical methods through personal experience from the recently presented extremes, and opens up a new path of spiritual practice in which both receptive activities consciousness and concentration are important. With the constant effort and method, Satma Gotama has developed the mind-set and the ability to contemplate the mind to the highest and the highest level, achieving the ultimate liberating wisdom, becoming Sakyamuni Enlightenment. Here, the question "how to escape suffering?" Has answered satisfactorily, both in terms of knowledge and experiment. It is the path of mental transformation through the method of purifying the mind, cultivating the mind and developing the mind.

So, on the journey to find the truth, Satma Gotama has absorbed the source of knowledge of the time, especially through the process of learning directly with two spiritual teachers as well as practicing meditation and practicing dukkha Like the Taoists of the time. With knowledge learned, with a proper appreciation of the philosophies and practices of spirituality, with personal experience and with effort and effort to give up properly, Gotama has Use the meditation skills learned, apply the most creative in the way of mind purification, mind conditioning and mental transformation. He invented the use of the knowledge of contemporary education, from the Brahmin teachers to self-experience to develop the wisdom of liberation.

The role of knowledge and creativity

Up to the sixth century BC, the ability to remember the  Vedas and proficient in ceremonial skills are still prominent in the Indian knowledge environment. However, according to Dasgupta (1922, p. 13), in the middle of the sixth century BC, that promotion was gradually replaced by a new policy, pure meditation. Representatives of this trend are the Ālāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta with the ability to attain the highest level of concentration among the contemporary jujas. However, according to Buddhism, concentration itself is not the end, but the means and the basis for the enlightenment to deliver salvation. At the same time, another conclusion that can be drawn from this article is that, although the wisdom referred to in early Buddhist scriptures is not merely knowledge, knowledge and creativity contribute as importantly as a launch pad on the path to reach and gain wisdom. ^first

Through the process of training Gotama Sat with the guidance of the two Brahmins, we can not deny the existence of a knowledge environment that influences his perception. , as well as all those who live in that culture, because  "knowledge can not separate the  habitat"  ( Mitchell & Sackney, 2000, p.33).). It is important to emphasize here the differences in the reception process as well as the attitude of Gotama to study with his two teachers compared to the majority of others in that knowledge environment. The turning of the Buddha - then Gotama Satan, after having reached the level of cognition and spirituality of his teacher, is an illustration of that difference. Instead of just accepting what he teaches, Satma Gotama has the creativity and bravery that dare to renounce the great spiritual masters and this is the foundation for the process of attaining enlightenment. It was then followed by his unremitting efforts.

We can say that, while promoting the Veda knowledge  and devoting  ourselves to pure meditation practice based on self-experience, there are two opposing tendencies which exist in the intellectuals and masters of Indian society. At that time, the Buddha was the first to succeed in creatively combining the practice of pure meditation and cognitive activity in the process of enlightenment. This is the basis of the  Middle Way contained in the teachings of the Buddha. On this basis, we can argue that knowledge and creativity can be considered sacred factors that not only contribute significantly to the acquisition of prior experience and practical lessons. of life, but also the basis for bringing people closer to the status of enlightenment freed.

We can take a reference to this argument from the Pāli Canon. The teachings of the Buddha after enlightenment are recorded in the  Sutra  reflecting his views on the combination of pure thought and meditation. Asked to be free by wisdom, the Buddha needs to be aware that mindfulness and silence in order to perceive states of mind are liberated by wisdom ( bhikkhus, No. 1107). To him, the use of concentration to purify the mind, develop and maintain awareness to the source of insight and attainment of enlightenment wisdom is extremely important. On the foundation of creation, the Buddha established a system of philosophies and practical practices characteristic of achieving super wisdom. It can be affirmed that the creative factor is the thread that penetrates the course of his later development and practice.

In addition, as many of the suttas, in the conversations with the Brahmin masters, we see the Buddha well aware of their practices. Although this may be the manifestation of a transcendental wisdom of a sublime being without study, it is possible to master many things, this truth can not rule out the possibility that the Buddha had accumulated a tri A deep understanding of both the methods and the philosophical foundation behind these practices. The most vivid proof is that in the sermons, the Buddha frequently uses exact words and concepts familiar to the masters in specific contexts (such as concepts related to meditation). From the source of the Pāli sutras, we see that the Buddha repeatedly used the knowledge of  Veda to point out the limitations of that thought and to renew the traditionally  preserved source of his own wisdom (sutta, epiphany , epistle,  number 3  ,  Chapter V ,  No. 192:  Brahmin Dona . In many of the sutras recorded in the sutras, the Buddha often referred to the deities of the  Vedas  such as  Prajapati, Sakka  ,  Yama  , The Sutra, 8.43) and the  Brahman  (Sutta, No. 19, Middle, 26th,  Dhamma,  391, 406)  .) and names such as Atthaka, Vamaka, Vamadeva, Vessamitta, etc. (Business School, No. 3).

What we have just said above allows us to understand that the Buddha is a person who knows how to integrate external knowledge and self-experience in the process of learning and practicing to attain enlightenment. His enlightenment is the most vivid witness. Ryan & Cooper (2000) argues that  "knowledge can not be transmitted directly from the teacher to the learner, but learners must construct and reproduce knowledge when they acquire a new source of information"  (p. This is not only true in terms of cognitive accumulation but also in terms of both spiritual learning and practice. Furthermore,  "knowledge creation is a complex process of linking the sources of knowledge that learners frequently re-create in their environment" . This allows us to understand that in each stage of the spiritual journey until wisdom is full, the Buddha always uses the collected knowledge, along with the experience of states of attainment. Through the practice of meditation, with extraordinary creative intelligence, He always sought new directions to experience higher levels of spirituality. Finally, he reached the highest point on the spiritual path: the intellectual achievement of liberation with the triumph over the incident. The full fruit of the Buddha is the fruit of His extraordinary realization, creativity, effort, and persistence in the process of mindfulness and transformation.

In short, the Buddha's enlightenment is the result of a rigorous, systematic and methodical work process. That process goes on over time through many lives in which the shortest period of time we can understand what is his last existence before attaining enlightenment. At this stage, his own effort is the main nucleus in the long chain of many karmic conditions. And in that effort, knowledge and creativity play an important role in the process of intelligently combining Gotama's cognitive ability and spiritual experience on the path to fulfillment. attain enlightenment ultimate liberation.END=NAM MO SAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=THICH CHAN TANH.THE MIND OF ENLIGHTENMENT.VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=GOLDEN LOTUS MONASTERY=AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY=29/6/2018.