Buddhism: The Path of Wisdom - Why?
#buddhism #wisdom #enlightenment #awakening #sutra
Welcome to Ego Podcast, where we delve into the profound teachings of Buddhism and explore paths to personal growth and enlightenment. Today, we are focusing on the term "Buddha" — a word that goes beyond being merely a name. It represents a deep state of awakening, derived from the Sanskrit root "budh," which means to awaken or become aware. This foundational concept is central to Buddhism as it encapsulates the essence of transitioning from ignorance to enlightenment.

The meaning of the word "Buddha" is awakened wisdom. In the Heart Sutra, a quarter of the words used mean wisdom.
⁃ The word Buddha means awakened; bodhi implies awakening;
⁃ sambodhi denotes perfect awakening,
⁃ abhisambuddha signifies total awakening;
⁃ bodhisattva, a being ready to achieve total awakening.
All these terms share the same root, budh, which means wisdom. The term buddhi, or wisdom, also stems from this root. The root budh encompasses many facets. It is untranslatable; it carries multiple connotations. It is very adaptable and intriguing. No other language has a word quite like budh, with so many meanings. The word budh has at least five meanings.
Chapter 1: 'Budh' is Awakening
The first meaning of "budh" is awakening—awakening oneself and awakening others, becoming alert. In a conventional sense, it contrasts with sleep, as opposed to the disorientation of fantasies from which the enlightened one awakens, as if from a dream. This is the primary meaning of wisdom, budh—it awakens you.

Ordinarily, everyone is asleep. Even when you think you are awake, you are not truly alert. Walking down the street, you may seem fully conscious—to your own mind.
However, from a Buddha's perspective, you are deep in slumber because thousands of dreams and thoughts are clamoring inside your mind. Your inner light is greatly obscured. This is a type of sleep. Yes, your eyes may be wide open, but many can sleepwalk with their eyes open. And Buddha says: You are also walking in sleep—with open eyes. But the eye of the spirit is closed. You do not yet know who you are. You do not look into your true self. You are not awake. A mind filled with thoughts is not alert, cannot be awake. When it has cleared away all thoughts and contemplations, no longer obscured by clouds—allowing the sun to shine brilliantly, and the sky to be completely clear—that is a mind of wisdom; that is an awakened mind.

“Wisdom is the ability to dwell in the present. The more you are pulled by the past or driven by the future, the less wise you are.”

Wisdom is the capacity to exist here and now, to be present in this moment and nowhere else. Then, you are awake.
For instance, if you are sitting at home and suddenly it catches fire; you are in danger. In that moment, you will be fully awake. In that moment, you will not think much. In that moment, you forget the past completely. In that moment, psychological memories do not scream inside you—that you loved a woman thirty years ago, and oh, it was so romantic! Or that you recently ate at a Chinese restaurant, and the scent still lingers somewhere, the aroma of delicious baked goods. You will abandon those thoughts. No, when your house is on fire, you can no longer afford such thoughts. Suddenly, you are thrust into this moment: the house is burning, and your life is at risk. You will not dream about the future, about what you plan to do tomorrow. Tomorrow holds no value, yesterday is irrelevant, even today loses its significance! Only this moment, right now, matters. This is the first meaning of budh, wisdom.

And this is a profound realization. A person who truly wants to awaken, who truly wants to become a Buddha, must live each moment with such intensity. How often are you required to live amidst such danger?
The first meaning is the antithesis of sleep. And of course, you can only see reality when you are not asleep. You can face it, you can look directly into the eyes of truth—or call it God—only when you are awake.
Do you understand what it means to live intensely, when your entire being is ablaze? To be fully awake is to have wisdom. That wisdom brings freedom, it brings truth.