Enlightenment Day 2021
Happy belated Enlightenment Day. December 8th is the day Buddhists celebrate when Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha, attained enlightenment after meditating under a tree all night and glimpsing the morning star (Venus) as the sun was rising.
I have been studying Buddhism off and on since I was 15. I never actually claimed to be a Buddhist for a few reasons. Some of those reasons had to do with wanting to make sure I was “doing it right” and not just appropriating an Eastern tradition because too many other white American folks already do that. Another reason was that I never had a proper mentor or a sangha — a group of Buddhist practitioners (like a congregation in a church). But over the years, the more I studied it and continued my own personal meditation practice, the more I felt drawn to really dig in and make it a part of my life.
This past semester as the Tufts campus opened for in-person work and classes, I found myself discovering the campus sangha and Buddhist chaplain, who welcomed me to their weekly sittings and discussions. A few months ago I got to have tea with the chaplain, and during our talk I ended up vomiting up all my insecurities about being a solo practitioner and whether or not I could consider myself a Buddhist. She cheerfully reassured me I didn’t have to balk on that topic, and I felt so silly for being so hard on myself all these years. It was a wonderful release.
But I will say that it was so easy for me to understand immediately why the sangha is one of the Three Jewels (along with the Buddha and the Dharma). Having a group of folks with which to meditate, study, and discuss together affected my own practice in a profound way. I feel like a puzzle piece that’s been missing this whole time has finally dropped into place, and I feel more whole.
On Wednesday evening, I attended our sangha’s Enlightenment Day celebration, and in the presence of my new friends and teachers, I took the Five Precepts and took refuge in the Triple Jewels. In reciting these five sacred vows both in Pali and in English, I dedicated myself to following the path to Enlightenment, which is open to everyone freely. These are the vows I took:
1. I will refrain from killing.
2. I will refrain from taking what is not freely given to me.
3. I will refrain from sexual misconduct (abuse, non-consent, etc.)
4. I will refrain from lying and false speech.
5. I will refrain from using intoxicants to induce heedlessness.
I am overjoyed to be welcomed into my sangha and to call myself Buddhist. I wept at one of the readings we shared together that evening, and I want to share it with all of y’all too. This is from Śantideva’s Bodhicaryāvatāra, as translated by Adam Pearcey:
May I be a guard for those without one,
A guide for all who journey on the road,
May I become a boat, a raft or bridge,
For all who wish to cross the water.
May I be an isle for those desiring landfall,
And a lamp for those who wish for light,
May I be a bed for those who need to rest,
And a servant for all who live in need.
May I become a wishing jewel, a magic vase,
A powerful mantra and a medicine of wonder.
May I be a tree of miracles granting every wish,
And a cow of plenty sustaining all the world.
Like the Earth and other great elements,
And like space itself, may I remain forever,
To support the lives of boundless beings,
By providing all that they might need.
Just so, in all the realms of beings,
As far as space itself pervades,
May I be a source of all that life requires,
Until beings pass beyond samsara’s pain.