Receiving enlightenment
Joseph Houston
Then I first came to China I couldn't help feeling that the statues of Buddha that I saw in temples were ugly. As time went on, however, I began to find many of them attractive, indeed, beautiful. There was a sense of rest and peace in the posture, tranquility and concentration on the face.
There are, different kinds of Buddha. I haven't yet got to like the so called ‘Buddha of the future,' Milefo, often referred to as the "laughing Buddha." The over all impression is of a big fat man seated on the ground. His naked stomach is very large, and his navel quite prominent, and he is laughing. Sometimes there are babies crawling all over him. A Chinese friend of mine likes this figure, however, and I believe many Chinese do. The "laughing Buddha" absorbs into his stomach all our concerns, anxieties, and fears. For many Chinese he is a friendly, consoling, figure.
Buddhism came to China from India where it started with Prince Siddhartha of the Sakya clan. He sat under a Bodhi tree and there received enlightenment, and, hence was called Buddha or the Enlightened One. His enlightenment consisted in coming to understand some basic truths about life, principally about the source of suffering, and how to overcome it. His teaching about suffering was known as the Four Noble Truths, and his teaching about the eradication of suffering, the Noble Eightfold Path.
Enlightenment, in another sense, is part of our Christian experience, also. The Letter to the Hebrews refers to the process of conversion to Christ and the reception of Baptism as enlightenment. An early Christian writer, Justin Martyr, talked about the washing of Baptism as an enlightenment. In the Roman catacombs, a frequent symbol of Baptism was the healing of the blind man described in Chapter nine of St John's Gospel.
Most Catholics were baptised as children. Only afterwards, in schools of various kinds, did they receive instruction in the Faith. This taught them the main doctrines of the Faith and gave them a basic framework for understanding life. However, often this knowledge had no deep influence on their lives.
Then, for some, a new stage was reached in their Christian life. Sometimes people refer to this as a ‘conversion.' In some ways, it is appropriate for the late teens, when life is opening up and young people are searching for a sense of direction. But this conversion can happen at any stage in one's life. It can be brought on by any event that makes a person take life more seriously, such as sickness, emotional or psychological suffering, or some other crisis. It may be the result of gradual human maturing. It may be the result of a retreat or a sermon, or an experience of beauty.
When this conversion happens, beliefs that a person has had from childhood, but which had little effect on his life, take on a richer and deeper meaning. The Trinity is no longer an empty formula. Instead one comes to know God as a Father of infinite love, who sent His Son into the world to save us by his death on the Cross. One's faith in Christ becomes something personal, in which one relates to Christ as to a friend. One makes a free decision for Christ which carries over into one's whole life. The Holy Spirit becomes an active power urging us on the active love of God and our neighbour. The Church is no longer a large impersonal organisation out there, but rather the community of believers in which one finds joy and support. Prayer is no longer a burden, but a personal conversation with God, which becomes a necessity in one's life.
We might say that the person has received enlightenment. He has become aware of the meaning and purpose of life. For him Our Lord's words have become true, "The man who follows me will have the light of life" (Jn 8:12).
