Enlightenment and the Vision of the New Way : Chapter II

Enlightenment.

• To feed himself during the period of meditation Gautama had collected enough food to last him for forty days.
• Having routed the evil thoughts that disturbed his mind Gautama refreshed himself with food and gained strength. He thus prepared himself for meditation with the aim of obtaining enlightenment.
• It took Gautama four weeks of meditation to obtain enlightenment. He reached final enlightenment in four stages.

1. In the first stage he called forth reason and investigation. His seclusion helped him to attain it easily.
2. In the second stage he added concentration.
3. In the third stage he brought to his aid equanimity and mindfulness.
4. In the fourth and final stage he added purity to equanimity and equanimity to mindfulness.

• Thus with mind concentrated, purified, spotless, with defilement gone, supple, dexterous, firm, impassionate, not forgetting what he is after, Gautama concentrated himself on the problem of finding an answer to the question which had troubled him.
• On the night of the last day of the fourth week light dawned upon him. Herealised that there were two problems. The first problem was that there was suffering in the world and the second problem was how to remove this suffering and make mankind happy.
• So in the end, after meditation for four weeks, darkness was dispelled, light arose, ignorance was dispelled and knowledge arose. He saw a new way.

Lord Buddha Enlightenment