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'"Buddhi" in Sanskrit means the "pure intellect/'
the mind which is free from the conditioned influence of the emotions
so that no biased or prejudiced observations or deductions are construed
The minds of most people operate under all kinds of biases and perversions
so that all of their perceptions and thoughts are tainted and conditioned
to function in set patterns In this way they can never perceive
things in their true nature. The power and scope of their mind remains
limited and confined. The Buddha, the Awakened One, was one who
had freed his faculty of intellect from all distortions in order
to clarify it to the greatest possible degree. From that point he
was able to develop an acute awareness and insight into how the
mind and body function together As his insight deepened he discerned
the why and wherefore of the mind and body and all the phenomena
related to them Through his perfected insight the Buddha saw the
complete cycle of cause and effect, the law of Karma as it pertains
to the elements of mind and matter, and directly experienced how
it operates.
He saw that the root cause of the suffering and unhappiness which
living beings experience is rooted in their own mind. By cultivating
awareness and acquiring control over the operation of the mind a
person can alter, eliminate, and destroy those root causes which
bring misery, sorrow, and frustration in his life. He can create
and develop other root causes which will bring about the gradual
and eventual ending of all sorrow and confusion. He would then be
free from all doubts, regrets, remorse, anxiety, and restlessness
which would disturb his well-being; he would be an inspiration for
others and be able to help them effectively.
That is exactly the teaching and practice which the Buddha first
discovered for himself and then, out of great compassion, explained
and methodically offered to the world The Buddha was the great doctor
of the mind who cured his own mind of the great disease-ego/conceit.
He was also able to expound and describe in detail the cure by which
any person could likewise purge his mind of the great affliction
called "Ego,'" and of all of the attendant sorrow, pain,
and grief which inevitably accompanies such a disease. So an appropriate
title for those Teachings which are called Buddhism could well be
termed 'The Way to Peace and Happiness."
The Buddha was born the son of a king and queen, and he grew up
among all the pleasures and luxuries of a royal court, but he abandoned
them all in order to seek the Noble Quest as described by him in
the Ariyapariyesanasutta,' as follows.
These, monks, are the two quests: the noble quest and the ignoble
quest. And what is the ignoble quest?
As to this, monks, someone himself being liable to birth, aging,
decay, dying, sorrow and stain, he seeks what is likewise liable
to birth, aging . . . stain.
And what, monks, would you say is liable to birth, aging, decay,
dying, sorrow and stain? Sons and wives monks, are liable to these
conditions. Women-slaves, men-slaves, goats, sheep, cocks, swine,
cows, elephants, horses, gold and silver are liable to these conditions;
yet this man, being enslaved, infatuated, addicted, himself being
liable to birth, aging . . . stain; he seeks happiness in what is
likewise liable to these conditions.
And what, monks, is the noble quest? As to this, someone himself
being liable to birth, aging . . . stain, but having seen the peril
in what is likewise liable to these things, he seeks the Unborn,
the Undying, the uttermost security from the bonds - Nibbana. This
monks, is the noble quest.
And I too monks, before my "Awakening", while yet unenlightened,
being myself liable to birth, aging, decay, dying, sorrow and stain,
I also sought happiness in what was likewise liable to those conditions.
Then it occurred to me: Why do I, being liable to birth, aging,
stain, myself seek what is likewise liable to these conditions?
Oppose that I ... having seen the peril in what is likewise liable
to birth . . should seek the Unborn, Undying, the uttermost security
from the bonds-Nibbana.
Then I, monks, being a seeker of what is good, searching for the
incomparable, matchless path to peace, walking on tour through Magadha,
in due course arrived at Uravela, the camp township. There I saw
a delightful stretch of land and a lovely woodland grove. and a
clear flowing river with a delightful ford, a village for support
nearby. It occurred to me, monks, "Indeed, it is a delightful
stretch of land. . . indeed this does well for the striving of a
young man set on striving." So I, monks, sat down just there,
thinking: "Indeed this does well for striving."
So I, monks, being myself liable to birth, aging, decay, disease,
dying, sorrow, and stain, having seen the peril in what is likewise
liable to the same, sought the Unborn, Undying—Nibbana Knowledge
and vision arose in me: "Unshakable is freedom for me, this
is the last birth, there is no more again becoming!"
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