The Teachings of the Buddha: Understanding Enlightenment : หน้า 45/164

Suzanne Jeffrey why we are here and where do we go after death. So, we have some questions regarding His life: for example, why did he spend six years in self-mortification? Is the number six significant? And ... Before she finishes, Luang Por raises his arm up in adjustment of his robes. This, of course, signals everyone to be quiet and to listen. Taking a long, slow breath, calmly, Luang Por begins, “When the Buddha was born, he was supremely wealth and he had all of the thirty-two characteristics of a Buddha. There are stories that surround His birth that I will not repeat here, unless you have specific questions about them, but one of the great differences between the Buddha and other people is the fact that he wanted to always distance himself from unwholesomeness and ignorance: In other words, he sought wisdom from the time of his birth until his enlightenment. Because He was always concerned with doing the right thing and staying away from ignorance, He was different and special. He always had a different perspective than other people and He was to go on to sacrifice Himself for a greater good, a higher reality. “Kusala, of course, means wisdom or cleverness but later the meaning changed to goodness. But the evolution of this is interesting because kusala is really a tool that destroys evil or ‘badness’ which is what the Buddha was born knowing. A wise person will not do something evil so when this person does something good, then Boonya is created. People now think that when people do something good, it means they are creating Boon, so now Kusala means Boon. “Buddha said that the life of a layperson is very narrow, but the life of a monk is very open, very broad. This is because a layperson attaches himself to his possessions and therefore is not really free. A monk, on the other hand, does not do that and frees himself. He is very happy not to be attached to his possessions. “When the Buddha became enlightened, He did not go to His parents first because He wanted to teach the people who were best trained to understand his teachings. Plus, once He was enlightened, He belonged to the world. He had to teach the people who recognized His enlightenment because the ‘culture’ of the Buddha sees everyone as his son and daughter. This is the culture of enlightenment. And when He became enlightened, He understood ALL religions. He wanted all people to be happy because of His great heart and great vision.