What is Buddhist Enlightenment?

What is Buddhist enlightenment or awakening? I'll look at three early suttas for indications of different pictures of the knowledge and results gained through enlightenment. Then I'll turn to how the picture of such knowledge and results changed in later Buddhist traditions. 🧡 If you find this material useful, check out my Patreon page and get fun benefits like exclusive videos, audio-only versions, and extensive show notes: https://www.patreon.com/dougsseculardharma 🧡 You can also make donations through: https://paypal.me/dougsdharma 📙 Check out my book, A Handbook of Early Buddhist Wisdom, with a Foreword by Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi: https://books2read.com/buddhisthandbook ☸️ Free mini-course at the Online Dharma Institute: onlinedharma.org. 🎙Check out my podcast with Jon Aaron, Diggin' the Dharma: https://digginthedharma.com/ ✅ Videos mentioned: What is Dependent Origination in Early Buddhism? — https://youtu.be/A2cDhGVgb9A A Hidden Meaning Behind the Buddha's Second Sermon on Non-self — https://youtu.be/Ro0BV84dci4 Buddhas vs. Awakened Beings — https://youtu.be/GrTFkqYShPU What Does "Buddha" Mean? A Recent Article May Change Your Mind (“Enlightenment” vs. “Awakening”) — https://youtu.be/c_R2Y2P1sjI What does "Buddha" Mean: A Live Controversy! Anālayo's Response (“Enlightenment” vs. “Awakening” again) — https://youtu.be/14ghdkSddK8 ✅ Suttas mentioned: https://suttacentral.net/mn26/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/mn36/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/sn22.58/en/sujato ✅ Other resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Bulls https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/53660 (Oxherding pictures). https://thebuddhistcentre.com/system/files/groups/files/heart_sutra.pdf https://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmafarer/wp-content/uploads/49.10-Sambuddha-S-s22.58-piya.pdf Webpage: https://www.dougsdharma.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onlinedharmainstitute/ Mastodon: https://mindly.social/@dougsdharma Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dougsdharma/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@dougsdharma Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/dougsdharma.bsky.social Thumbnail image courtesy 3438312 at Pixabay. ❤️ Thanks to Patreon Patrons: Anonymous (3) John Oborne DunJing Jimmy Maa Debbie Mattison Steve H. Ron Peat Michael S. Kearns Matthew Smith Shantha Wengappuli Karma_CAC Jorge Seguel Christopher Apostolof GailJM David Bell T Pham VCR Upayadhi Andi and Erik ATGuerrero686 Michael Scherrer khobe schofield Alex Perdomo Benji Forsyth Blaze Way Sonny Flink Steve Marlor Joy L Lee Andrew Tom Anthony Tucker Karlee R Ethan M Billy in Singapore Olivia Otter Carl Lennartson xiao mao Jeff Harvey Andrew Ingrouille Kenneth Grandchamp Rene Gariepy Russell Needham Smoggyrob Mac Roja Bernardo Clémence Ortega Douville Kwan Alex Scott Johnston Richard J Beninger Nathanael O. Arnquist SaturnianMandala Trin P Letesa Isler Dorien Izel Robert Paterson Jake Tobiason Louvenia Ortega Steve S. Richard Rappuhn Sarah Kress John Aaron Paul Niklewski Kong Ing Kai Dave Gorman rhys reed Osanda Wijeratne Scarlett Farrow BJ - RetreaTours™ Michael Lefsky Matthieu Tregnier Roland Harris 00:00 Intro 01:18 The Ariyapariyesana Sutta on enlightenment 02:44 The “Three knowledges” picture of enlightenment 08:13 Nonself and the Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta 10:16 Recap: knowledge and result 12:05 Enlightenment for the Buddha and for arahants 12:38 Enlightenment in later Buddhism 15:19 Deflationary ideals of enlightenment in Zen Note: as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Amazon links are affiliate links where I will earn a very small commission on purchases you make, at no additional cost to you. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of making these videos. Thank you!