4 Ways to Celebrate Buddhas Enlightenment Today

What is enlightenment? I always wondered what it truly means. Enlightenment is a state of perfect wisdom, compassion, love, and allows us to reach a higher realm. There are four phases to enlightenment, according to the branch of Buddhism called Theravada. This includes Anagami, Sotapanna and Sakadagami. Today in order to reach perfect enlightenment, Buddha taught that anyone could achieve this no matter what class they came from. But he taught that we need to practice this ourselves like overcoming jealously, anger, hate, slander, and bias. Becoming mindful is another key we need to understand, as quietness of mind is imperative to succeed in this life, not just live for material possessions. This was not just for the ancient monks, but for all of us today. "Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die--so let us all be thankful,” said Buddha. Let’s look at the four things we can do today to practice and celebrate Buddha’s enlightenment by being thankful, mindful, forgiving, and walking in love in and outside the boardroom.

Send Love

Send love to yourself and others. This also comes from you. When we feel those nasty thoughts and feelings coming, capture and release them. It may be time to face the bad habit or an old dream. This can be a person who does not want to be with us, or a friendship that died. To start we need to relax the entire body, breathe in and breathe all this negativity out, and breathe love in. Remember we are taught that inner peace can be attained from us. We are unsettled in this world. Only love can fill our inner emptiness and we can get this love directly from ourselves. When we grab this fulfillment it will be much easier to let go and invite healthier habits and people into our life. Don’t let fear become you, Buddha shared. “The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed. You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.” Love you and others. This is a powerful force no one can escape.

Forgive

Forgiveness is never easy, but is part of the path to enlightenment. In order to reach enlightenment we need to dispel the hate. Practicing forgiveness is not pardoning the act as resentment will darken the path. We practice forgiveness for us, not for others, as it shifts the mind and emotions into another place, when we let it go. Anger is a human response, but it can’t replace forgiveness. Don’t take our word for it, Buddha lived on earth and understood these raw emotions. “It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.” This is another quote to take to heart from the teacher. “Hatred does not cease through hatred at any time. Hatred ceases through love. This is an unalterable law.” Also meditate on this quote on compassion: “Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little.” Take this in and reflect on these examples on forgiveness.

Mindfulness

Joan Halifax Roshi has studied Buddhism for years and is a Zen Buddhist teacher. She shared with Beliefnet that Buddhism can give people stability. “For me, Buddhism is a psychology and a philosophy that provides a means, upayas, for working with the mind. Through my own developmental struggles -- which seem from one point of view unending, but certainly were more critical in my 30s than they are now, Buddhism was a raft that brought me to the shore of sanity and stability. It’s also provided a means for me to intentionally cultivate more empathy and compassion, more kindness and also more courage in my life.” That worked for Roshi, how can we get there? Try mindfulness and overcoming perfection. Practice paying attention to details like the pattern of the leaves, a blade of grass, or the uniqueness of the branches of a tree. Also, try practicing without self-judgment. This will take time to get used to, but if we are to gain insight we need to slow down in our lives and become stillness.

Happiness

We can achieve unconditional happiness, but stop looking for ways outside of yourself to find flowing bliss. Buddha said: “To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others.” That is pretty profound, and sobering to think we have to tame our own inner workings, first. Slow down and start capturing thoughts that are ruling your life. Tara Springett's book, The Five-Minute Miracle shared we need to stop allowing the mind and emotions to control our happiness—including the environment. “In order to get in touch with the unconditional happiness in our innermost being, we need to stop running around, looking for happiness in all the wrong places and instead start to focus on our own mind. First of all, we need to take stock of all the different thoughts and feelings that are going through our mind. We may find many different ideas, emotions and body sensations - some more pleasant and some more unpleasant.” Is this easy? No way—not by living in a fast-paced society, but at least go for it!

No More Suffering

In Figuring Out the Philosophy of Buddhism by For Dummies, there are genuine core teachings for us novices to grasp. It is broken down like to help us absorb this ancient philosophy and practice. "At the core of all genuine dharma teachings is the understanding that suffering and dissatisfaction originate in the way your mind responds and reacts to life's circumstances--not in the raw facts of life. In particular, Buddhism teaches that your mind causes you suffering by attaching to permanence and constructing a separate self where in fact neither exists." We can have peace with ourselves and Buddha encouraged this. We need to practice slowing down, and refocus our minds and bodies to reach personal enlightenment. We don't need to go outside ourselves to find happiness! What good news this is for us in the 21st Century!