Teacher David,

Is a Master Monk a monk that has achieved full Enlightenment? (making all Enlightened monks Master Monks?)

Or does it denote a Buddha?

I appreciate all your help.

Teacher David:

A Master Monk is not necessarily an Enlightened Monk.

They are typically just a leader at a specific Temple.

A Master Monk is not a Buddha. A Buddha meets three main criteria. A Buddha is very rare in the world.

What is a Buddha?

A “Buddha” is not a Stage of Enlightenment but instead, is a unique type of Enlightened being. A Buddha is an Arahant who has attained Enlightenment without any assistance of Teachers but only through their own efforts of using the world as their Teacher and perhaps Teachings of a previously awakened Buddha.


 There are three primary criteria of what makes a Buddha a Buddha.


 1.) A Buddha awakens to Enlightenment through their own independent journey without the assistance of any Teachers, independently discovering The Teachings that lead to Enlightenment.


 A Buddha has fully eliminated The Ten Fetters to attain Enlightenment as an Arahant but they have done so through their own independent journey without the assistance of any Teachers, developing deep wisdom of what is needed to attain Enlightenment.

2.) A Buddha guides countless others to Enlightenment during their lifetime through sharing their independently discovered Teachings that led to their own Enlightenment during their independent journey.


 A Buddha has the ability to guide countless beings to the attainment of Enlightenment during their lifetime and after their death. A Buddha will dedicate the remaining time of their life towards sharing their Teachings and guiding countless beings to Enlightenment.


 3.) Upon a Buddha’s death, they will leave their Teachings in a condition that can be continually shared assisting countless more beings to Enlightenment after their death.


A Buddha’s Teachings and Students will continue to guide countless people to Enlightenment after a Buddha’s death. A Buddha has already done the hard work of figuring out how to attain Enlightenment. You just need to learn and practice his Teachings to improve the condition of the mind and your life.


 A Buddha is referred to as a Fully Perfectly Enlightened Buddha, a Perfectly Enlightened One, or a Tathāgata. They are a human being, a Teacher, one with deep compassion for all beings and the world. A Buddha has deep wisdom to help the world and can accomplish that goal through individuals choosing to learn and practice their Teachings to attain Enlightenment.


 They are considered Perfectly Enlightened because there are no outside influences that have led to their awakening, so they have “Perfect Enlightenment” where their mind is unaffected by any teachings outside of their own independently discovered Teachings that led to their awakening.


 A Buddha will have an excellent memory being able to recall countless past events and situations with stunning accuracy. Unlike other humans, their memory does not fade and is not overwritten.


 A Buddha will need to weave their way through a previous Buddha’s Teachings as all things are affected by impermanence, thus, a previous Buddha’s Teachings will not be in a pure condition.

A Buddha will be able to easily determine the condition of the mind of another person, then be able to help them with Teachings to eliminate the unwholesome qualities of the mind and cultivate wholesome qualities of the mind.

A Buddha will be able to observe the condition of another being’s mind but only does so with an interest to help the other being eliminate the unwholesome qualities from the mind and cultivate wholesome qualities in the mind to guide one towards Enlightenment.


 A Buddha will have a deep practice of their own Teachings, leading by example as a living, breathing, walking example of their Teachings.

A Buddha will be able to make predictions of the future and understand the future progress of the world as a whole while explaining past events and the current condition of the world through their Teachings.


 A Buddha will know this is their last life without being reborn into any realm of existence. They will have insight into their previous lives and knowledge of their existence in those previous lives. Their only goal will be to lead as many people to Enlightenment as possible and to create a strong Community of humans with Enlightenment who will assist others to attain Enlightenment and leave strong Teachings that will assist unEnlightened beings to become Enlightened after a Buddha’s death.


 When a Buddha arises in the world, this is your best opportunity to attain Enlightenment. A Buddha will have independently realized their Enlightenment and will be experiencing “Perfect Enlightenment”.

A Buddha will have deep knowledge, deep understanding, and deep wisdom of how to attain Enlightenment through their independent realization of Enlightenment.

A Buddha will be able to teach and guide all humans, who are interested to learn, towards Enlightenment.

A Buddha arising in the world is extremely rare. The last Buddha currently known to the world was Gotama Buddha who died over 2,500 years ago.


Chris asks further questions:

Teacher David,


>> A Buddha awakens to Enlightenment through their own independent journey without the assistance of any Teachers..

Is it possible a Buddha would have had Teachers in previous lives?


 Or is their journey from all of their prior lives up to their last life a journey of independent discovery without ever having any Teachers?


 
>> A Buddha will have an excellent memory being able to recall countless past events and situations with stunning accuracy. Unlike other humans, their memory does not fade and is not overwritten.

Would a Buddha be able to erase things from their memory?

If they could, would they?

Why or why not?

Thank you, Teacher, I'm enjoying your answers. 


Teacher David:


>> A Buddha awakens to Enlightenment through their own independent journey without the assistance of any Teachers..



 >>> Is it possible a Buddha would have had Teachers in previous lives? Or is their journey from all of their prior lives up to their last life a journey of independent discovery without ever having any Teachers?


They could have had Teachers in previous lives.



Their last life, when they got to Enlightenment, would have been without any Teachers.


>> A Buddha will have an excellent memory being able to recall countless past events and situations with stunning accuracy. Unlike other humans, their memory does not fade and is not overwritten.



 >>> Would a Buddha be able to erase things from their memory?

What they learned to attain Enlightenment would not be erased.


 >>> If they could, would they? Why or why not?

Once an individual gets to Enlightenment, a Buddha or even just an average Enlightened being, they would not ever forget what led to their Enlightenment. It would be impossible for them to forget the wisdom that led to their Enlightenment.