The Buddha’s Enlightenment: How Do the Scriptures Describe It?

Hello. Today marks the 100th day of Venerable Pomnyun Sunim’s 100-Day Dharma Talk. Today is also the last day during the 100-Day Dharma Talk period when Sunim will give a direct lecture for the Jungto Buddhism Course.

After completing morning practice and meditation, Sunim headed to the Jungto Social and Cultural Center to give the Jungto Buddhism Course lecture.

At 10:15 AM, the morning class of the Jungto Buddhism Course began. About 150 students were seated in the underground auditorium, and approximately 170 people connected to the online live broadcast class.

Today is the fourth session on learning about the Buddha’s life. In the previous session, the six years of ascetic practice and spiritual quest following the Buddha’s renunciation were examined. Today, the plan is to explore from the moment of attaining enlightenment under the Bodhi tree to embarking on the path of spreading the dharma.

After reading the Three Refuges and Words for Practice together and requesting the dharma with three prostrations, Sunim began the dharma talk.

“Today is the 100th day of the 100-Day Dharma Talk. Originally, if this were truly a 100-day dharma talk, it should conclude today. However, since we started on a Sunday and planned to end on a Sunday, 14 weeks would be 98 days, and 15 weeks would be 105 days. Rather than falling short of the promised ‘100-Day Dharma Talk,’ we decided it would be better to exceed it, so the dharma talks will continue for 105 days. Although five more days remain, today is indeed the 100th day of the 100-Day Dharma Talk.”

Everyone expressed their gratitude with loud applause for Sunim’s tireless efforts in giving dharma talks without rest.

Sunim then explained what the Buddha’s enlightenment looked like based on scriptural records.

“The Buddha spread kusha grass under the Bodhi tree and sat down comfortably. During the past six years of ascetic practice, he had gritted his teeth and resolved, ‘I will never surrender to Mara’s temptations.’ But now, having discovered the Middle Way, his approach to practice had changed. The Buddha no longer needed to resist with effort and entered his practice in a comfortable state. Only one thing remained: ‘I will not rise from this seat until I attain enlightenment.’ This was not so much a determination or resolution as simply maintaining that perspective.

The Buddha’s Enlightenment: How Do the Scriptures Describe It?

From an observer’s perspective, seven weeks passed. However, since the Buddha was in an extremely comfortable state—more comfortable than even lying down—the passage of time held no meaning. Whether a day or a month passed made no difference. As it turned out, he reached the end of 49 days, or seven weeks.

During this time, the Buddha’s awareness deepened and became clearer. His entire past life became vividly visible. Like a film reel, the past unfolded, and he could see how people in the world lived their lives. Physical sensations, feelings, and the emotions that arose as mental formations were all clearly perceived. It was as if an opaque wall had become transparent, revealing everything clearly. Upon reaching this state, he could see the remaining traces of desire, anger, and ignorance still lingering at the bottom of his consciousness. As he clearly observed these, the traces of desire disappeared, the traces of anger vanished, and the traces of ignorance dissolved. Thus, all doubts and suffering were extinguished. He had finally attained nirvana. The author of the scripture recording the Buddha’s life described this scene as follows: ‘The Buddha entered deep meditation and reached a state free from all desires. At that moment, in the heavenly realms, the palace of Ishvara shook as if struck by an earthquake.’

Among the beings in the desire realm, when one person reached a state of complete freedom from desire, the palace of Mahesvara began to collapse. This meant the complete breakdown of the order of the desire realm. That’s why it was described as the palace of Mahesvara shaking as if there was an earthquake.

Even Pleasure Is Ultimately Suffering, the Moment When the Root of Desire Is Uprooted

King Mahesvara was startled, thinking, ‘What is happening?’ When he looked into it, he found that down in the human world, a practitioner, as tiny as a speck of dust, was approaching a state of freedom from desire. A major event was occurring that would collapse the order of the desire realm. King Mahesvara called his three beautiful daughters and said, ‘Go and seduce that practitioner. Make him follow his desires so we can maintain the order of this desire realm.’ In simple terms, he chose the carrot approach over the stick. The three daughters of King Mahesvara danced around Gautama with their beautiful bodies exposed, singing songs and trying to seduce him. ‘On such a beautiful spring day, in this wonderful season when flowers bloom and birds sing, what meaning is there if you die only practicing? Oh, practitioner, look at our beautiful bodies. Let us enjoy sensual pleasures together. The enlightenment you seek is uncertain. Even if you attain enlightenment, what meaning would it have? In your youth, enjoy sensual pleasures with us to your heart’s content, and you can practice when you’re old. So stop your practice and get up.’ This is Mara’s temptation. But the words Mara uses to tempt all seem right, don’t they? They’re similar to the questions you ask Sunim. ‘Sunim, is it right to leave home abandoning your wife and children?’ These kinds of words are ultimately the language Mara uses for temptation. So you could say that you are all disciples of King Mahesvara, children of Mara.

However, through awareness, the Buddha had already discovered that suffering (苦) and pleasure (樂) are not separate but are in a cycle of samsara with each other. He penetrated the truth that not only is suffering suffering, but pleasure is also suffering. This is called the ‘Noble Truth of Suffering (苦聖諦).’ No matter how much Mara’s daughters tried to tempt him, the Buddha did not cling to pleasure because he already knew its true nature. According to the sutras, the Buddha said this to Mara’s three beautiful daughters: ‘You are like beautifully painted jars filled with nothing but excrement.’ Here, the painted jars symbolize ‘pleasure,’ and the excrement inside the jars symbolizes ‘suffering.’ Because the Buddha had penetrated that the essence of pleasure is suffering, he did not cling to the painted jars. When the Buddha quietly pointed at Mara’s three daughters with direct insight, they all transformed into old women. They disappeared in shame. The Buddha had penetrated that the essence of young women is that of toothless, gray-haired elderly women. Here too, the young women symbolize ‘pleasure,’ and the old women symbolize ‘suffering.’ The sutras symbolically express how the Buddha penetrated that pleasure is indeed suffering.

When the first temptation failed, Mara immediately deployed his second strategy. When the carrot doesn’t work, the stick comes next. Mara’s second method was intimidation. Mara had a thousand sons, and he commanded them to ‘Attack the practitioner and bring him down.’ Mara’s sons attacked the Buddha, throwing spears, shooting arrows, and wielding swords. An ordinary person would feel fear and anger in such a situation. However, the Buddha had already transcended such emotions. He maintained calmness and equanimity while observing their actions. When the arrows shot by Mara’s sons reached the Buddha’s body, they all transformed into lotus flowers and fell to the ground. No matter how much they threatened him, the Buddha did not become angry but treated them with compassion. As a result, half of Mara’s thousand sons—five hundred of them—surrendered to the Buddha. Mara realized, ‘This isn’t working either,’ and called his sons back.

Desiring Nothing, the Moment When the Root of Ignorance Is Uprooted

Third, King Mahesvara finally revealed himself. In fact, King Mahesvara is not an evil being like Satan in Christianity. He might even be the supreme deity that we all desire. However, from a practitioner’s perspective, he becomes the ultimate obstacle. Because he obstructs practice, he is given the name ‘Mara’. Mara spoke to the Buddha: ‘Gautama, the nirvana you seek does not exist. You cannot attain something that doesn’t exist. What meaning is there if you die doing such a futile thing? If you abandon your practice, I will make you a wheel-turning monarch who rules this world. If you’re not satisfied with being a wheel-turning monarch, come with me to the heavenly palace of Mahesvara. I will give you my position as the Lord of Mahesvara’ The Lord of the Mahesvara considers maintaining the order of the desire realm more important than holding that position himself. As long as the order of the desire realm can be preserved, he is willing to pass his position to someone else. He made this offer: “I’ll give you this position where all your desires can be fulfilled, just don’t destroy this order.”

I thought about how I would have acted if I had faced these three temptations. It wouldn’t be easy, but I think I could overcome the temptation of a beautiful woman or threats and blackmail. However, when it comes to the third temptation—being offered a position where everything I desire would be fulfilled—my heart might waver. This is because I would want to use that power to achieve peace and unification on the Korean Peninsula, to solve the hunger of North Korean people, and to save those being mercilessly slaughtered in Gaza. I might think, ‘Let me save them first in this life and attain enlightenment in the next.’ This shows how lacking my practice still is. What about you? But the Buddha answered firmly. ‘Mara, I desire nothing.’ This is the same as the phrase ‘Since there is nothing to attain’ (以無所得故) from the Heart Sutra. To someone who desires nothing, no matter how great the power or ultimate position offered, it holds no meaning. Because the Buddha had penetrated the essence of existence, he was free from ignorance and remained unshaken by anything.

When we interpret these stories, the first story symbolizes the uprooting of desire. The second story symbolizes the uprooting of anger. The third story symbolizes the uprooting of ignorance. Ultimately, the three temptations that Mara threw at the Buddha just before his enlightenment describe the process of uprooting the three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance. The author of the sutra that records the Buddha’s life described the scene of enlightenment like this: ‘At dawn, as the day was breaking and the morning star shone in the eastern sky, at that moment, he attained enlightenment.’ This is exactly how the Buddha attained enlightenment.”

Sunim then explained how the Buddha embarked on the path of spreading the Dharma after attaining enlightenment and concluded the lecture.

Today was the last in-person class of the Jungto Dharma School. As the class wrapped up, all the students and volunteers presented Sunim with a bouquet of flowers to express their gratitude. Sunim, receiving the bouquet, also expressed his appreciation.

“Thank you.”

Sunim then introduced and encouraged the volunteers who had served in various capacities to ensure the smooth running of the classes over the past hundred days.

“In Jungto Society, there is not a single paid employee. Everything from managing the Jungto Social and Cultural Center to registration, guidance, meal preparation, and cleaning is done by volunteers. Those who run the Jungto Dharma School are also all volunteers. Those who have joined the community through ordination engage in volunteer activities 24 hours a day. Those who haven’t ordained and commute from home volunteer throughout the week, or 6 days, 5 days, 4 days, etc., setting their volunteer days according to their circumstances. There are also those who volunteer partially, such as 1 or 2 hours a day. Volunteering freely when time permits is called ‘voluntary volunteering,’ and volunteering that involves taking responsibility for something at least once a week is called ‘engaged volunteering.’ The overall program can operate stably only when many people take on engaged volunteering roles. If engaged volunteering is difficult due to your circumstances, I ask that you at least participate in voluntary volunteering.

To operate and maintain the Jungto Social and Cultural Center through volunteers, approximately 300 people are needed. However, during this 100-Day Dharma Talk period, while managing the building, we also had to run various programs throughout the week including Jungto Dharma School, sutra lectures, Buddhist Social Studies Course, Weekly Dharma Assembly, Dharma Q&A, 1,080 prostrations practice, and meditation. A total of about 700 volunteers worked together to make this possible. The people standing in front are the volunteers who run the Jungto Dharma School. Thanks to the hard work of so many volunteers, you were able to study here. Please give them a big round of applause.”

Next, team leaders, class coordinators, group facilitators, Dharma teachers in charge, moderators, and staff members each came forward to greet everyone. All the students expressed their gratitude with enthusiastic applause.

Finally, Sunim encouraged the students to continue attending classes until the end.

“Today is not the end of your classes. We held special in-person lectures only during this 100-Day Dharma Talk period. For the remaining two months, you need to attend classes through video, participate in mindful sharing, and engage in practice activities. Only then can you graduate from Jungto Dharma School. You need to graduate from Jungto Dharma School to become a member of Jungto Society, and only Jungto Society members are eligible to participate in various activities such as the India pilgrimage, Northeast Asian history tour, Awakening Retreat, meditation retreats, and volunteer work. So at the very least, you should graduate from Jungto Dharma School before doing anything else. Please attend all classes to the end so that everyone can graduate.”

This was followed by a time for volunteers and students to share their reflections. First, a volunteer representative came forward to share their thoughts.

“When I first encountered Jungto Society, I took classes online, but this time I volunteered on-site. Attending classes in person felt vibrant and wonderful. Most importantly, working together seemed to give me strength. Thanks to Venerable Pomnyun Sunim explaining Buddha’s teachings so clearly, I was able to understand more concretely what the law of dependent origination is. As a result, the hatred within me has disappeared, and I now live freely. I hope all of you students will continue these connections and earn your shining graduation certificates.”

Next, a student representative came forward to share their honest reflections.

“I’m twenty years old this year, and I started attending Jungto Dharma School while beginning my career. I’m deeply grateful for this time when I could personally experience how Buddha’s teachings allow us to view worldly matters with a positive and relaxed perspective. I will continue to walk the path of practice steadily with my fellow practitioners.”

The students deeply resonated with both speakers’ stories and responded with warm applause.

Finally, young Jungto Society volunteers performed a congratulatory show. They rewrote the lyrics of the idol girl group QWER’s song “Addicted to Worries” with practice-related content and performed it with energetic dancing.

The young volunteers on stage lifted the atmosphere with their bright energy and witty lyrics, and the students responded with applause and cheers.

After the laughter subsided, the students agreed to practice steadily until next week and then meet again, and they had mindful sharing in their groups.

After coming down from the stage, Sunim immediately headed to the underground auditorium. After finishing lunch with a visitor, Sunim moved to the reception room for tea and conversation. They had extensive discussions about how the Korean government could normalize North Korea-US relations and North Korea-Japan relations after the presidential election, stabilize inter-Korean relations, and realize peace on the Korean Peninsula.

After the guest left, Sunim worked in the office in the afternoon.

As the sun set, Sunim had dinner with the community in the underground dining hall and then headed to the underground auditorium to give the 100-Day Dharma Talk lecture.

At 7:30 PM, the evening class of Jungto Dharma School’s “The Human Buddha” Lecture 4 began. About 150 students who had rushed from work filled the underground auditorium, and about 340 people connected to the online live broadcast class.

After reading the Threefold Refuges and Words for Practice together, they requested a Dharma talk from Sunim with three prostrations. Like the morning lecture, Sunim told the story of Buddha’s path to enlightenment in detail, as if watching a movie. He then explained the scene of Buddha departing on his journey to spread the Dharma.

“The Buddha entered deep meditation and carefully observed the sensations of the body and movements of the mind. As he thoroughly examined sensations, feelings, mental functions, and even all phenomena (dharmas), all defilements completely disappeared. That moment of enlightenment was like turning on a bright light in the pitch-dark night. It was as if he had closed his eyes and then suddenly opened them wide. The true nature of the world that had been invisible until then was clearly revealed. This revealed true nature of the world is called ‘the true reality’ (實相).

The Truth the Buddha Realized: Everything in the World Is Interdependently Originated

People who could not see the true nature of the world have traditionally called it ‘the myriad phenomena’ (森羅萬象). They regarded it as a world where countless individual beings gathered together. In such a world where different beings live together, conflict and competition were considered natural. Principles like ‘survival of the fittest’ or ‘the law of the jungle’ were regarded as the order of the world. In fact, Western philosopher Thomas Hobbes defined human society as ‘the war of all against all.’ This perspective sees the essence of human society as a world where each person fights for their own interests. However, when the Buddha attained enlightenment, he saw that the world was not simply a collection of individual beings. All beings were interconnected. This is what Buddhism calls ‘dependent origination’ (緣起). To use an analogy, if you put 20,000 car parts in a basket, they are merely a collection of scattered parts. However, when those parts are assembled according to a blueprint, they finally become one car. This assembled car is both 20,000 individual parts and simultaneously one unified existence.

The world is the same way. Although individual beings appear to exist separately on the surface, in fact, everything is interconnected. If we view existence only individually, concepts like survival of the fittest or the law of the jungle might seem correct. However, from the perspective of dependent origination, such expressions are not appropriate because all beings depend on each other and exist together. After attaining enlightenment, Sunim realized that discrimination based on gender or class was not desirable. He came to understand that beings are simply different from one another, and no one can be considered superior or inferior. This can be called a revolution of consciousness. After attaining enlightenment, the Buddha declared: ‘I proclaim this to be the end of all suffering.’

Now the question remained whether he could share this Dharma he had realized with others. According to the sutras, the Buddha spent 49 days immersed in the bliss of the Dharma after attaining enlightenment.

From Enlightenment to Teaching the Dharma: The Buddha’s Great Journey

In the first week, he remained in that place for seven days. In the second week, he practiced walking meditation nearby, taking nineteen steps back and forth. In the third week, he sat in one place gazing at the Bodhi tree without blinking even once. In the fourth week, light emanated from his body. In the fifth week, when a passing Brahmin asked, ‘What is the most noble thing in this world?’ the Buddha replied, ‘A person with a pure mind.’ The Brahmin slapped his buttocks with his hand and walked away swaying. In other words, trapped in his own knowledge and beliefs, he missed the opportunity to hear the Dharma. In the sixth week, rain poured down heavily. It is said that a snake, the Naga King Mucalinda, protected the Buddha. Some records describe the snake coiling around the Buddha’s body and spreading its hood like an umbrella to shield him from the rain. It seems likely that during a time when the river was flooding, the Buddha took refuge on a hill where he spent a week with the snake. Perhaps this story arose from that experience. In the seventh week, two merchants passed through the forest where the Buddha was staying. Since the forest was infested with thieves and the path was treacherous, they asked a passerby for help. That person told them, ‘If you make an offering to that practitioner and pray for blessings, you will pass through safely.’ The two merchants made offerings to the Buddha and became the first people to make offerings to him after his enlightenment.

For 49 days, the Buddha deeply contemplated how to convey the subtle Dharma he had realized. As the first recipients of his teaching, he thought of his former teachers, Uddaka Ramaputta and Alara Kalama, but both had already passed away. Next, he thought of the five fellow practitioners who had practiced with him, though they were the ones who had criticized him and left first during his practice. Nevertheless, the Buddha walked 250 kilometers for two weeks to Sarnath near Varanasi. There, he gave his first teaching to those five fellow practitioners.

The content of the Buddha’s first teaching was to practice the Middle Way, the third path that transcends the two extremes of sensual pleasure and asceticism. He then taught the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. Among the five fellow practitioners, Kondañña was the first to attain enlightenment and began to regard the Buddha no longer as a friend but as a teacher. Subsequently, two more attained enlightenment every three days, and within a week, all five had achieved enlightenment. Thus, the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha were established. The Three Jewels refer to: first, the Buddha who attained enlightenment by himself; second, the Dharma, the teaching that leads sentient beings to enlightenment; and third, the Sangha, those who have attained enlightenment by following that teaching. The Sangha Jewel mentioned here does not simply mean monks but refers to the community of those who have attained enlightenment.

After the Three Jewels were established, the Buddha took his first steps in spreading the Dharma in earnest. He first taught Yasa, then taught Yasa’s parents and wife, opening the path for lay practitioners. He also taught Yasa and his 55 friends, gaining a total of 60 disciples. After declaring to them the mission of spreading the Dharma, the Buddha went to Uruvela where he taught Uruvela Kassapa and 1,000 others. He then went with them to Rajagaha in the kingdom of Magadha, where he taught King Bimbisara. Afterward, he established the Bamboo Grove Monastery and, at the invitation of the merchant Sudatta, traveled to Savatthi in the kingdom of Kosala where he established the Jetavana Monastery. Thus began the Buddha’s great journey of spreading the Dharma. You can continue studying the Buddha’s teaching journey through video lessons. This concludes the in-person 100-Day Dharma Talk sessions.”

With this, all the in-person classes conducted during the 100-Day Dharma Talk period were completed. Starting next week, classes will continue through group video sessions.

Students then presented a bouquet of flowers to Sunim as an expression of gratitude for his Dharma talks.

Next, all the volunteers came forward to the stage for introductions. Sunim explained Jungto Society’s volunteer system.

“While the idea of running Jungto Society through volunteerism is noble, it’s quite challenging in practice. For example, about 150 people volunteer to maintain and manage this building. However, if we hired paid staff, about 7 people would be sufficient. It’s like 150 people dividing up the work that 7 people would do over 24 hours, like pieces of a mosaic. That’s why at Jungto Society, we call this the ‘Mosaic Buddha.’ Your ability to study at Jungto Dharma School is all thanks to the volunteers. I too am a volunteer. Although I give Dharma talks every day, I don’t receive a single penny from inside or outside Jungto Society. Since the Buddha gave all his teachings for free, I also hold the perspective of sharing the Dharma with the public without charge.”

Everyone expressed their gratitude to Sunim and the volunteers with loud applause.

Next was time to hear reflections from volunteers and students. First, a representative of the volunteers came forward to share their thoughts.

“I volunteered as a facilitator for Jungto Dharma School. To fulfill this role, I had to leave work early, and returning home late after classes made me very tired the next day. However, whenever I felt tired, I continued practicing by recognizing my state of mind and observing it peacefully. Through this volunteer work, my mind gradually became lighter, and I realized that volunteering actually helps my practice. I look forward to the day when you too will practice and volunteer alongside me.”

Next, a student representative came forward to share their reflections.

“My work life felt like a hamster wheel, and it was painful. I enrolled in Jungto Dharma School to find a way out of this suffering. I realized that while the Buddha gave up his throne to become a monk, the things I was clinging to were so trivial. This allowed me to let go of many things. Instead of always blaming external circumstances, I began to look at my own mind first, and my heart became lighter. Venerable Pomnyun Sunim’s 100-Day Dharma Talk was a revolution in my life. I will continue to practice diligently.”

After hearing these two reflections, the students showed their empathy with applause.

Finally, a young Jungto Society volunteer gave a congratulatory performance. He sang Sung Si-kyung’s ‘Every Moment of You’ with a beautiful voice, creating a touching atmosphere.

The students listened quietly, feeling deeply moved. Finally, after the moderator informed the students about their practice assignments, they gathered in groups for mindful sharing. They agreed to continue classes in the online space starting next session and concluded the class.

Tomorrow marks the 101st day of the 100-Day Dharma Talk. In the morning, Sunim will conduct a live broadcast of the morning Weekly Dharma Assembly, meet with guests visiting the Peace Foundation in the afternoon, and conduct a live broadcast of the evening Weekly Dharma Assembly in the evening.