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{{Short description|Goal of Buddhist practice}}
{{Other uses|Enlightenment (disambiguation)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Buddhism}}

The English term '''''enlightenment''''' is the Western translation of various [[Buddhist]] terms, most notably '''''bodhi''''' and '''''vimutti'''''. The abstract noun ''bodhi'' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|oʊ|d|i}}; [[Sanskrit]]: [[wikt:बोधि#Sanskrit|बोधि]]; [[Pali]]: ''bodhi'') means the knowledge or [[Wisdom in Buddhism|wisdom]], or awakened intellect, of a Buddha.<ref group=web name="MW_bodhi"/> The verbal root ''budh-'' means "to awaken", and its literal meaning is closer to '''awakening'''. Although the term ''[[buddhi]]'' is also used in other Indian philosophies and traditions, its most common usage is in the context of [[Buddhism]]. ''[[Vimukti#Buddhism|Vimutti]]'' is the freedom from or release of the [[Fetter (Buddhism)|fetters]] and [[Five hindrances|hindrances]].

The term ''enlightenment'' was popularised in the Western world through the 19th-century translations of British philologist [[Max Müller]]. It has the Western connotation of general insight into transcendental truth or reality. The term is also being used to translate several other Buddhist terms and concepts, which are used to denote (initial) insight (''[[Prajñā (Buddhism)|prajna]]'' (Sanskrit), ''[[Wu (awareness)|wu]]'' (Chinese), ''[[kensho]]'' and ''[[satori]]'' (Japanese));{{sfn|Fischer-Schreiber |Ehrhard |Diener |2008|p=5051, lemma "bodhi"}}{{sfn|Gimello|2004}} knowledge (''[[Vidya (Knowledge)|vidya]]''); the "blowing out" (''[[Nirvana (Buddhism)|nirvana]]'') of disturbing emotions and desires; and the attainment of supreme [[Buddhahood]] (''samyak sam bodhi''), as exemplified by [[Gautama Buddha]].

What exactly constituted the Buddha's awakening is unknown. It may have involved the knowledge that liberation was attained by the combination of mindfulness and ''[[Dhyāna in Buddhism|dhyāna]]'', applied to the understanding of the arising and ceasing of craving. The relation between ''dhyana'' and insight is a core problem in the study of Buddhism, and is one of the fundamentals of Buddhist practice.

==Etymology==
''Bodhi'', [[Sanskrit]] {{Lang|sa|बोधि}},<ref group=web name="SDSS_bodhi">Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit, [http://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?mode=3&script=hk&tran_input=bodhi&direct=au "bodhi"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221224708/http://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?mode=3&script=hk&tran_input=bodhi&direct=au |date=21 December 2019 }}.</ref> "awakening",{{sfn|Buswell|2004|p=50}} "perfect knowledge",<ref group=web name="SDSS_bodhi"/> "perfect knowledge or wisdom (by which a man becomes a बुद्ध [Buddha<ref group=web name="SDSS_budh"/>] or जिन [''jina'', ''arahant''; "victorious", "victor"<ref group=web name="MW_jina">Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, [http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/monier/indexcaller.php ''jina''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816181453/http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/monier/indexcaller.php |date=16 August 2011 }}</ref>], the illuminated or enlightened intellect (of a Buddha or जिन)".<ref group=web name="MW_bodhi">Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, [http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/monier/indexcaller.php ''bodhi''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816181453/http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/monier/indexcaller.php |date=16 August 2011 }}</ref>

The word Bodhi is an [[abstract noun]], formed from the verbal root ''*budh-'',{{sfn|Buswell|2004|p=50}} Sanskrit {{Lang|sa|बुध}},<ref group=web name="SDSS_budh">Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit, [http://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?mode=3&script=hk&tran_input=budh&direct=au ''budh''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225111344/http://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?mode=3&script=hk&tran_input=budh&direct=au |date=25 December 2019 }}</ref><ref group=web name="MW_budh"/> "to awaken, to know",{{sfn|Buswell|2004|p=50}} "to wake, wake up, be awake",<ref group=web name="MW_budh">Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, [http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/monier/indexcaller.php ''budh''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816181453/http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/monier/indexcaller.php |date=16 August 2011 }}</ref> "to recover consciousness (after a swoon)",<ref group=web name="MW_budh"/> "to observe, heed, attend to".<ref group=web name="MW_budh"/>

It corresponds to the verbs ''bujjhati'' (Pāli) and ''bodhati'', बोदति, "become or be aware of, perceive, learn, know, understand, awake"<ref group=web>Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit, [http://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?mode=3&script=hk&tran_input=bodhati&direct=au ''bodhati''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223204942/http://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?mode=3&script=hk&tran_input=bodhati&direct=au |date=23 December 2019 }}</ref> or ''budhyate'' (Sanskrit).

The feminine Sanskrit noun of ''*budh-'' is {{Lang|sa|बुद्धि}}, ''[[buddhi]]'', "prescience, intuition, perception, point of view".<ref group=web name="SDSS_budh"/>

==Translation==
Robert S. Cohen notes that the majority of English books on Buddhism use the term "enlightenment" to translate the term ''bodhi''.{{sfn|Cohen|2006|p=1}} The root ''budh'', from which both ''bodhi'' and ''Buddha'' are derived, means "to wake up" or "to recover consciousness".{{sfn|Cohen|2006|p=1}} Cohen notes that ''bodhi'' is not the result of an illumination, but of a path of realization, or coming to understanding.{{sfn|Cohen|2006|p=1}} The term "enlightenment" is event-oriented, whereas the term "awakening" is process-oriented.{{sfn|Cohen|2006|p=1}} The western use of the term "enlighten" has Christian roots, as in Calvin's "It is God alone who enlightens our minds to perceive his truths".{{sfn|Cohen|2006|p=2}}

Early 19th-century ''bodhi'' was translated as "intelligence".{{sfn|Cohen|2006|p=2}} The term "enlighten" was first being used in 1835, in an English translation of a French article,{{sfn|Cohen|2006|pp=2–3}} while the first recorded use of the term 'enlightenment' is credited (by the Oxford English Dictionary) to the ''Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal'' (February 1836). In 1857 ''The Times'' used the term "the Enlightened" for the Buddha in a short article, which was reprinted the following year by [[Max Müller]].{{sfn|Cohen|2006|p=3}} Thereafter, the use of the term subsided, but reappeared with the publication of Max Müller's ''Chips from a german Workshop'', which included a reprint from the ''Times'' article. The book was translated in 1969 into German, using the term "{{Lang|de|der Erleuchtete}}".{{sfn|Cohen|2006|p=9}} Max Müller was an [[Perennial philosophy|essentialist]], who believed in a [[natural religion]], and saw religion as an inherent capacity of human beings.{{sfn|Cohen|2006|p=4}} "Enlightenment" was a means to capture natural religious truths, as distinguished from mere mythology.{{sfn|Cohen|2006|pp=6–7}}{{refn|group=note|See also [http://www.here-now4u.de/eng/theosophy_or_pantheism__friedr.htm Lourens Peter van den Bosch, ''Theosophy or Pantheism? Friedrich Max Müller's Gifford Lectures on Natural Religion'']: "The three principal themes of his Gifford lectures on natural religion were the discovery of God, the discovery of the soul, and the discovery of the oneness of God and soul in the great religions of the world."}} This perspective was influenced by [[Immanuel Kant|Kantian]] thought, particularly Kant's definition of the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] as the free, unimpeded use of reason. Müller's translation echoed this idea, portraying Buddhism as a rational and enlightened religion that aligns with the natural religious truths inherent to human beings.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cummiskey |first=David |date=2017-06-02 |chapter=Buddhist Modernism and Kant on Enlightenment |chapter-url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781119424246.ch11 |title=Buddhist Philosophy |pages=205–220 |doi=10.1002/9781119424246.ch11|isbn=978-1-119-06824-2 }}</ref>

By the mid-1870s it had become commonplace to call the Buddha "enlightened", and by the end of the 1880s the terms "enlightened" and "enlightenment" dominated the English literature.{{sfn|Cohen|2006|p=3}}

== Related terms ==
=== Insight ===
==== Bodhi ====
{{Redirect|Bodhi}}

While the Buddhist tradition regards ''bodhi'' as referring to full and complete liberation (''samyaksambudh''), it also has the more modest meaning of knowing that the path that is being followed leads to the desired goal. According to [[Johannes Bronkhorst]],{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993}} Tillman Vetter,{{sfn|Vetter|1988}} and K.R. Norman,{{sfn|Norman|1997|p=29}} ''bodhi'' was at first not specified. K.R. Norman:
{{blockquote|It is not at all clear what gaining ''bodhi'' means. We are accustomed to the translation "enlightenment" for ''bodhi'', but this is misleading ... It is not clear what the buddha was awakened to, or at what particular point the awakening came.{{sfn|Norman|2005|p=25}}}}<!--{{sfn|Norman|1997|p=29}}-->

According to Norman, ''bodhi'' may basically have meant the knowledge that ''nibbana'' was attained,{{sfn|Norman|1997|p=30}}{{sfn|Vetter|1988|p=xxix, xxxi}} due to the practice of ''dhyana''.{{sfn|Norman|1997|p=29}}{{sfn|Vetter|1988}} Originally only "prajna" may have been mentioned,{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993}} and Tillman Vetter even concludes that originally dhyana itself was deemed liberating, with the stilling of pleasure or pain in the fourth jhana, not the gaining of some perfect wisdom or insight.{{sfn|Vetter|1988}} Gombrich also argues that the emphasis on insight is a later development.{{sfn|Gombrich|1997}}

In [[Theravada]] Buddhism, ''bodhi'' refers to the realisation of the [[four stages of enlightenment]] and becoming an [[Arahant]].{{sfn|Fischer-Schreiber |Ehrhard |Diener |2008|p=50}} In Theravada Buddhism, ''bodhi'' is equal to supreme insight, and the realisation of the four noble truths, which leads to deliverance.{{sfn|Fischer-Schreiber |Ehrhard |Diener |2008|p=50}} According to Nyanatiloka,
{{blockquote|(Through Bodhi) one awakens from the slumber or stupor (inflicted upon the mind) by the defilements (''[[Kleshas (Buddhism)|kilesa]]'', q.v.) and comprehends the [[Four Noble Truths]] (''[[sacca]]'', q.v.).{{sfn|Nyanatiloka|1980|p=40}}}}

This equation of ''bodhi'' with the four noble truths is a later development, in response to developments within Indian religious thought, where "liberating insight" was deemed essential for [[Moksha|Liberation]].{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993}}{{sfn|Vetter|1988}} The four noble truths as the liberating insight of the Buddha eventually were superseded by [[Pratītyasamutpāda]], the twelvefold chain of causation, and still later by anatta, the emptiness of the self.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993}}

In [[Mahayana]] Buddhism, ''bodhi'' is equal to ''prajna'', insight into the [[Buddha-nature]], [[sunyata]] and [[tathatā]].{{sfn|Fischer-Schreiber |Ehrhard |Diener |2008|p=51}} This is equal to the realisation of the non-duality of [[Two truths doctrine|absolute and relative]].{{sfn|Fischer-Schreiber |Ehrhard |Diener |2008|p=51}}

==== Prajna ====
{{Main|Prajñā (Buddhism)}}

In Theravada Buddhism ''pannā'' (Pali) means "understanding", "wisdom", "insight".{{sfn|Nyanatiloka |1980|p=150}} "Insight" is equivalent to ''[[vipassana]]'', insight into the three marks of existence, namely ''[[anicca]]'', ''[[dukkha]]'' and ''[[anatta]]''.{{sfn|Nyanatiloka |1980|p=150}} Insight leads to the four stages of enlightenment and Nirvana.{{sfn|Nyanatiloka|1980|p=150}}

In Mahayana Buddhism Prajna (Sanskrit) means "insight" or "wisdom", and entails insight into ''sunyata''. The attainment of this insight is often seen as the attainment of "enlightenment".{{sfn|Fischer-Schreiber |Ehrhard |Diener |2008|p=281}}{{Request quotation|date=January 2015}}

====Wu, kensho and satori====
''[[Wu (awareness)|Wu]]'' is the Chinese term for initial insight.{{sfn|Gimello|2004}} ''[[Kensho]]'' and ''[[satori]]'' are Japanese terms used in [[Zen]] traditions. ''Kensho'' means "seeing into one's true nature". ''Ken'' means "seeing", ''sho'' means "nature", "essence",{{sfn|Kapleau|1989}} c.q Buddha-nature. ''Satori'' (Japanese) is often used interchangeably with kensho, but refers to the ''experience'' of kensho.{{sfn|Kapleau|1989}} The [[Rinzai school|Rinzai]] tradition sees ''kensho'' as essential to the attainment of [[Buddhahood]], but considers [[Hakuin#Four ways of knowing|further practice]] essential to attain Buddhahood.

East-Asian (Chinese) Buddhism emphasizes insight into Buddha-nature. This term is derived from Indian tathagata-garbha thought, "the womb of the thus-gone" (the Buddha), the inherent potential of every sentient being to become a [[Buddha]]. This idea was integrated with the Yogacara-idea of the ''ālaya vijñāna'', and further developed in [[Chinese Buddhism]], which integrated [[Indian Buddhism]] with native Chinese thought. Buddha-nature came to mean both the potential of awakening ''and'' the whole of reality, a dynamic interpenetration of absolute and relative. In this awakening it is realized that observer and observed are not distinct entities, but mutually co-dependent.{{sfn|Lusthaus|1998}}{{sfn|Lai|2003}}

=== Knowledge ===
The term ''vidhya'' is being used in contrast to ''[[avidhya]]'', ignorance or the lack of knowledge, which binds us to [[samsara]]. The ''Mahasaccaka Sutta''{{refn|group=note|Majjhima Nikaya chapter 36}} describes the three knowledges which the Buddha attained:{{sfn|Nanamoli |Bodhi |1995|pp=340–342}}{{sfn|Warder|2000|pp=47–48}}{{sfn|Snelling|1987|p=27}}
# Insight into his past lives
# Insight into the workings of [[karma]] and [[reincarnation]]
# Insight into the [[Four Noble Truths]]

According to Bronkhorst, the first two knowledges are later additions, while insight into the four truths represents a later development, in response to concurring religious traditions, in which "liberating insight" came to be stressed over the practice of ''dhyana''.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993}}

=== Freedom ===
Vimukthi, also called ''[[moksha]]'', means "freedom",{{sfn|Bowker|1997|p={{page needed|date=October 2020}}}} "release",{{sfn|Bowker|1997|p={{page needed|date=October 2020}}}}<ref group=web>{{cite web |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Vimukthi.html |website=Encyclopedia.com |title=Vimukthi}}</ref> "deliverance".{{sfn|Nyanatiloka |1980|p=239}} Sometimes a distinction is being made between ''ceto-vimukthi'', "liberation of the mind", and ''panna-vimukthi'', "liberation by understanding".{{sfn|Gombrich|2005|p=147}} The Buddhist tradition recognises two kinds of ''ceto-vimukthi'', one temporarily and one permanent, the last being equivalent to ''panna-vimukthi''.{{sfn|Gombrich|2005|p=147}}{{refn|group=note|According to Gombrich, this distinction is artificial, and due to later, too literal, interpretations of the suttas.{{sfn|Gombrich|2005|pp=147–148}}}}

[[Yogacara]] uses the term ''āśraya parāvŗtti'', "revolution of the basis",{{sfn|Park|1983|pp=126–132}}
{{blockquote|... a sudden revulsion, turning, or re-turning of the [[Eight Consciousnesses#Ālayavijñāna|ālaya vijñāna]] back into its original state of purity [...] the Mind returns to its original condition of non-attachment, non-discrimination and non-duality".{{sfn|Park|1983|p=127}}}}

=== Nirvana ===
Nirvana is the "blowing out" of disturbing emotions, which is the same as liberation.<ref group=web name="Berzin">{{Cite web|url=https://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-studies/lam-rim/samsara-nirvana/nirvana-and-enlightenment|title=Nirvana and Enlightenment|website=studybuddhism.com|access-date=6 October 2022|archive-date=7 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407164503/http://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-studies/lam-rim/samsara-nirvana/nirvana-and-enlightenment|url-status=live}}</ref> The usage of the term "enlightenment" to translate "nirvana" was popularized in the 19th century, in part, due to the efforts of Max Müller, who used the term consistently in his translations.{{sfn|Scott|2009|p=8}}

== Buddha's awakening ==
=== Buddhahood ===
There are [[Buddhahood|three recognized types]] of Buddha:<ref name=Snelling-1987>{{harvnb|Snelling|1987|pp=83–4}}: "Instead of the ''arhat'', who seeks release from the painful realm of cyclic existence for himself alone, and the ''pratyeka-buddha'', who wins it privately and never seeks to impart the ''Dharma'' to others, we have in the Mahayana the ''bodhisattva'' [...]"</ref>
* [[Arhat (Buddhism)|Arhat]] ([[Pali]]: ''arahant''), those who reach Nirvana by following the teachings of the Buddha.<ref name=Snelling-1987/> Sometimes the term [[Savakabuddha|Śrāvakabuddha]] (Pali: ''sāvakabuddha'') is used to designate this kind of awakened person;{{citation needed|date=December 2011}}
* [[Pratyekabuddha]]s (Pali: ''paccekabuddha''), those who reach Nirvana through self-realisation, without the aid of spiritual guides and teachers, but do not teach the [[Dharma (Buddhism)|Dharma]];<ref name=Snelling-1987/>
* Samyaksambuddha (Pali: ''samma sambuddha''), often simply referred to as ''Buddha'', one who has reached Nirvana by one's own efforts and wisdom and teaches it skillfully to others.{{sfn|Snelling|1987|p=81}}{{failed verification|date=July 2024}}

[[Siddhartha Gautama]], known as the Buddha, is said to have achieved full awakening, known as ''samyaksaṃbodhi'' (Sanskrit; Pāli: ''sammāsaṃbodhi''), "perfect Buddhahood", or ''anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi'', "highest perfect awakening".{{sfn|Mäll|2005|p=83}} Specifically, ''anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi'', literally meaning unsurpassed, complete and perfect enlightenment, is often used to distinguish the enlightenment of a Buddha from that of an Arhat.

The term ''[[Buddhology|Buddha]]'' and the [[Buddhist paths to liberation|way to Buddhahood]] is understood somewhat differently in the various Buddhist traditions. An equivalent term for [[Buddha]] is [[Tathāgata]], "the thus-gone".

===The awakening of the Buddha===

====Canonical accounts====
In the [[suttapitaka]], the Buddhist canon as preserved in the [[Theravada]] tradition, a couple of texts can be found in which the Buddha's attainment of liberation forms part of the narrative.{{sfn|Warder|2000|pp=45–50}}<ref name="faure_1991">{{harvcolnb|Faure|1991}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|See Majjhima Nikaya chapter 4, 12, 26 & 36}}

The ''Ariyapariyesana Sutta'' (Majjhima Nikaya 26) describes how the Buddha was dissatisfied with the teachings of [[Āḷāra Kālāma]] and [[Uddaka Rāmaputta]], wandered further through Magadhan country, and then found "an agreeable piece of ground" which served for striving. The sutta then only says that he attained Nibbana.{{sfn|Nanamoli|Bodhi|1995|p=259}}

In the ''Vanapattha Sutta'' (Majjhima Nikaya 17){{sfn|Nanamoli |Bodhi |1995 |p={{page needed|date=October 2020}}}} the Buddha describes life in the jungle, and the attainment of awakening. The ''Mahasaccaka Sutta'' (Majjhima Nikaya 36) describes his ascetic practices, which he abandoned. Thereafter he remembered a spontaneous state of jhana, and set out for jhana-practice. Both suttas narrate how, after destroying the [[Sankhara|disturbances of the mind]], and attaining [[Dhyāna in Buddhism|concentration of the mind]], he attained three knowledges (vidhya):{{sfn|Nanamoli |Bodhi |1995|pp=340–342}}{{sfn|Warder|2000|pp=47–48}}{{sfn|Snelling|1987|p=27}}
# Insight into his past lives
# Insight into the workings of [[karma]] and [[reincarnation]]
# Insight into the [[Four Noble Truths]]

Insight into the [[Four Noble Truths]] is here called awakening.{{sfn|Warder|2000|pp=47–48}} The monk (''[[bhikkhu]]'') has "...attained the unattained supreme security from bondage."{{sfn|Nanamoli |Bodhi |1995|p=199}} Awakening is also described as synonymous with [[Nirvana]], the extinction of the passions whereby suffering is ended and no more rebirths take place.{{sfn|Warder|2000|p=49}} The insight arises that this liberation is certain: "Knowledge arose in me, and insight: my freedom is certain, this is my last birth, now there is no rebirth."{{sfn|Warder|2000|p=49}}

====Critical assessment====
Schmithausen{{refn|group=note|In his often-cited article ''On some Aspects of Descriptions or Theories of 'Liberating Insight' and 'Enlightenment' in Early Buddhism''}} notes that the mention of the four noble truths as constituting "liberating insight", which is attained after mastering the Rupa Jhanas, is a later addition to texts such as Majjhima Nikaya 36.{{sfn|Schmithausen|1981}}{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993}}{{sfn|Vetter|1988}} Bronkhorst notices that
{{blockquote|...the accounts which include the Four Noble Truths had a completely different conception of the process of liberation than the one which includes the Four Dhyanas and the destruction of the intoxicants.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993|p=110}}}}

It calls in question the reliability of these accounts, and the relation between ''dhyana'' and insight, which is a core problem in the study of early Buddhism.{{sfn|Vetter|1988}}{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993}}{{sfn|Gombrich|1997}} Originally the term ''prajna'' may have been used, which came to be replaced by the four truths in those texts where "liberating insight" was preceded by the four jhanas.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993|p=108}} Bronkhorst also notices that the conception of what exactly this "liberating insight" was developed throughout time. Whereas originally it may not have been specified, later on the four truths served as such, to be superseded by ''pratityasamutpada'', and still later, in the Hinayana schools, by the doctrine of the non-existence of a substantial self or person.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993|pp=100–101}} And Schmithausen notices that still other descriptions of this "liberating insight" exist in the Buddhist canon:
{{blockquote|"that the five Skandhas are impermanent, disagreeable, and neither the Self nor belonging to oneself";{{refn|group=note|Majjhima Nikaya 26}} "the contemplation of the arising and disappearance (''udayabbaya'') of the five Skandhas";{{refn|group=note|Anguttara Nikaya II.45 (PTS)}} "the realisation of the Skandhas as empty (''rittaka''), vain (''tucchaka'') and without any pith or substance (''asaraka'').{{refn|group=note|Samyutta Nikaya III.140–142 (PTS)}}{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993|p=101}}}}

An example of this substitution, and its consequences, is Majjhima Nikaya 36:42–43, which gives an account of the awakening of the Buddha.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993|pp=102–103}}

==Understanding of ''bodhi'' and Buddhahood==
The term bodhi acquired a variety of meanings and connotations during the development of Buddhist thoughts in the various schools.

===Early Buddhism===
{{Main|Early Buddhist schools}}

In early Buddhism, ''bodhi'' carried a meaning synonymous to ''[[nirvana]]'', using only a few different metaphors to describe the insight, which implied the extinction of ''[[lobha]]'' (greed), ''[[Dvesha (Buddhism)|dosa]]'' (hate) and ''[[Moha (Buddhism)|moha]]'' (delusion).

===Theravada===
{{See also|Dhyāna in Buddhism#Contemporary reassessment - the "Jhana wars"|l1=Non-reactive and lucid awareness}}

In [[Theravada Buddhism]], bodhi and nirvana carry the same meaning: that of being freed from greed, hate and delusion. ''Bodhi'', specifically, refers to the realisation of the [[four stages of enlightenment]] and becoming an [[Arahant]].{{sfn|Fischer-Schreiber |Ehrhard |Diener |2008|p=50}} It is equal to supreme insight, the realisation of the four noble truths, which leads to deliverance.{{sfn|Fischer-Schreiber |Ehrhard |Diener |2008|p=50}} Reaching full awakening is equivalent in meaning to reaching [[Nirvāṇa]].<ref group=web>{{cite web |website=UrbanDharma.org |url=http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma6/enlightnirvana.html |author=Kusala Bhikshu |date=March 2008 |title=Buddhist Enlightenment vs Nirvana |access-date=9 January 2010 |archive-date=9 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209054548/http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma6/enlightnirvana.html |url-status=live }} {{As of|2010|09}}</ref> Attaining Nirvāṇa is the ultimate goal of Theravada and other śrāvaka traditions.<ref group=web>{{cite web |url=http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-AN/26715.htm |author=David Loy |date=2010 |title=Enlightenment in Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta: Are Nirvana and Moksha the Same? |access-date=9 January 2010 |archive-date=24 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524224604/http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-AN/26715.htm |url-status=live }} {{As of|2010|09}}</ref> It involves the abandonment of the [[Fetter (Buddhism)|ten fetters]] and the cessation of dukkha or suffering. Full awakening is reached in four stages. According to Nyanatiloka,
{{blockquote|(Through Bodhi) one awakens from the slumber or stupor (inflicted upon the mind) by the defilements (''[[Kleshas (Buddhism)|kilesa]]'', q.v.) and comprehends the [[Four Noble Truths]] (''[[sacca]]'', q.v.).{{sfn|Nyanatiloka|1980|p=40}}}}

Since the 1980s, western Theravada-oriented teachers have started to question the primacy of insight. According to [[Thanissaro Bhikkhu]], ''jhana'' and ''vipassana'' (insight) form an integrated practice.{{sfn|Quli|2008}} Polak and Arbel, following scholars like Vetter and Bronkhorst, argue that [[right effort]], c.q. the [[Four Right Exertions|four right efforts]] (sense restraint, preventing the arising of [[Five hindrances|unwholesome states]], and the generation of [[Seven factors of awakening|wholesome states]]), mindfulness, and ''[[Dhyana in Buddhism|dhyana]]'' form an integrated practice, in which ''dhyana'' is the actualisation of insight, leading to an awakened awareness which is "non-reactive and lucid".{{sfn|Polak|2011}}{{sfn|Arbel|2017}}

===Mahayana===
{{Main|Mahayana}}

In Mahayana-thought, bodhi is the realisation of the inseparability of [[samsara]] and [[nirvana]], and the unity of subject and object.{{sfn|Fischer-Schreiber |Ehrhard |Diener |2008|p=51}} Similar to [[Wisdom in Buddhism|prajna]], the [[kensho|realizing of the Buddha-nature]], bodhi realizes [[sunyata]] and [[suchness]].{{sfn|Fischer-Schreiber |Ehrhard |Diener |2008|p=51}} In time, the Buddha's awakening came to be understood as an immediate full awakening and liberation, instead of the insight into and certainty about the way to follow to reach enlightenment. In some Zen traditions, however, this perfection came to be relativized again; according to one contemporary Zen master, "Shakyamuni buddha and Bodhidharma are still practicing."{{sfn|Harris|p=103|2004}}

Mahayana discerns three forms of awakened beings:{{sfn|Fischer-Schreiber |Ehrhard |Diener |2008|p=51}}
# [[Arahat]] – Liberation for oneself;{{refn|group=note|This also includes [[Pratyekabuddha]], but is not being mentioned by {{harvtxt |Fischer-Schreiber |Ehrhard |Diener |2008}}}}
# [[Bodhisattva]] – Liberation for living beings;
# [[Buddhahood|Full Buddhahood]].

Within the various Mahayana-schools exist various further explanations and interpretations.{{sfn|Fischer-Schreiber |Ehrhard |Diener |2008|p=51}} In [[Mahāyāna]] Buddhism, the [[Bodhisattva]] is the ideal. The ultimate goal is not only of one's own liberation in Buddhahood, but the liberation of all living beings. The cosmology of Mahayana Buddhism regards a wide range of buddhas and bodhisattvas, who assist humans on their way to liberation.

[[Nichiren Buddhism]], a branch of Mahayana Buddhism, regards Buddhahood as a state of perfect freedom, in which one is awakened to the eternal and ultimate truth that is the reality of all things. This supreme state of life is characterized by boundless wisdom and infinite compassion. The Lotus Sutra reveals that Buddhahood is a potential in the lives of all beings.<ref group=web>{{cite web |url=https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/dic/Content/G/66 |title=Gosho |website=Nichiren Buddhism Library |access-date=17 June 2018 |archive-date=27 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927130703/http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/dic/Content/G/66 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Buddha-nature====
In the [[Tathagatagarbha]] and [[Buddha-nature]] doctrines, bodhi becomes equivalent to the universal, natural and pure state of the mind:
{{blockquote|''Bodhi'' is the final goal of a Bodhisattva's career [...] ''Bodhi'' is pure universal and immediate knowledge, which extends over all time, all universes, all beings and elements, conditioned and unconditioned. It is absolute and identical with Reality and thus it is [[Tathata]]. ''Bodhi'' is immaculate and non-conceptual, and it, being not an outer object, cannot be understood by discursive thought. It has neither beginning, nor middle nor end and it is indivisible. It is non-dual (''advayam'') [...] The only possible way to comprehend it is through [[samadhi]] by the yogin.{{sfn|Sebastian|2005|p=274}}}}

According to these doctrines, bodhi eternally exists within one's mind, although requiring the mind's defilements to be removed. This vision is expounded in texts such as the [[Shurangama Sutra]] and the [[Uttaratantra]].

In [[Shingon Buddhism]] as well, the state of Bodhi is regarded as naturally inherent in the mind. Bodhi is the mind's natural and pure state, where no distinction is being made between a perceiving subject and perceived objects. This is also the understanding of Bodhi found in [[Yogacara]] Buddhism.

To achieve this vision of non-duality, it is necessary to recognise one's own mind:
{{blockquote|... it means that you are to know the inherent natural state of the mind by eliminating the split into a perceiving subject and perceived objects which normally occurs in the world and is wrongly thought to be real. This also corresponds to the Yogacara definition&nbsp;... that emptiness (''sunyata'') is the absence of this imaginary split{{sfn|Hodge|2003|pp=31–32}}}}

===Vajrayana===
During the development of Mahayana Buddhism, the various strands of thought on Bodhi were continuously being elaborated. Attempts were made to harmonize the various terms.

The Vajrayana Buddhist commentator [[Buddhaguhya]] treats various terms as synonyms:
{{blockquote|For example, he defines emptiness (''sunyata'') as suchness (''tathata'') and says that suchness is the intrinsic nature (''svabhava'') of the mind which is Enlightenment (''[[Bodhicitta|bodhi-citta]]''). Moreover, he frequently uses the terms suchness (''tathata'') and Suchness-Awareness (''tathata-jnana'') interchangeably. But since Awareness (''jnana'') is non-dual, Suchness-Awareness is not so much the Awareness of Suchness, but the Awareness which ''is'' Suchness. In other words, the term Suchness-Awareness is functionally equivalent to Enlightenment. Finally, it must not be forgotten that this Suchness-Awareness or Perfect Enlightenment ''is'' Mahavairocana [the Primal Buddha, uncreated and forever existent]. In other words, the mind in its intrinsic nature is Mahavairocana, whom one "becomes" (or vice versa) when one is perfectly enlightened.{{sfn|Hodge|2003|pp=31–32}}}}

==Bodhi Day==
Sakyamuni's enlightenment is celebrated on [[Bodhi Day]]. In Sri Lanka and Japan, different days are used for this celebration. According to the Theravada tradition in Sri Lanka, Sakyamuni reached Buddhahood at the [[full moon]] in May. This is celebrated at [[Vesak|Vesākha Pūjā]], the full moon in May, known as [[Sambuddhatva jayanthi]] (or Sambuddha jayanthi).<ref group=web>{{Cite web|url=https://dedunu.wordpress.com/2008/06/12/vesak-full-moon-poya-day/|title=Vesak full moon poya day|date=12 June 2008|access-date=6 October 2022|archive-date=6 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006104841/https://dedunu.wordpress.com/2008/06/12/vesak-full-moon-poya-day/|url-status=live}}</ref> Secular Bodhi day is celebrated on December 8 in Japan, while China, South Korea and Vietnam, Bodhi Day is observed on the eighth day of the 12th lunar month.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Conversation |first=The |date=2024-11-27 |title=On Bodhi Day, Buddhists commemorate Siddhartha Gautama’s enlightenment by lighting lamps to combat darkness |url=https://religionnews.com/2024/11/27/on-bodhi-day-buddhists-commemorate-siddhartha-gautamas-enlightenment-by-combatting-darkness/ |access-date=2025-08-31 |website=RNS |language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
* {{annotated link|Buddhism and psychology}}
* {{annotated link|Buddhist philosophy}}
* {{annotated link|Divine illumination}}
* {{annotated link|Original enlightenment}}
* {{annotated link|Illuminationism}}
* {{annotated link|Kevala jnana}}
* {{annotated link|Subitism}}

==References==
===Notes===
{{reflist|group=note}}

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Works cited===
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;Web references
{{reflist|group=web}}

==Further reading==
{{lacking ISBN|date=February 2024}}
{{refbegin|2|indent=yes}}
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* {{Citation |ref=none |last=Wright |first=Dale |year=2016 |title=What is Buddhist Enlightenment? |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-062259-6}}.
{{refend}}

{{Buddhism topics}}

[[Category:Buddhist belief and doctrine]]
[[Category:Buddhist stages of enlightenment]]