Final Knowledge is Achieved by Gradual Training

Monks, I do not say that final knowledge (wisdom) is achieved all at once. On the contrary, final knowledge is achieved by gradual training, by gradual practice, by gradual progress.

And how does there come to be gradual training, gradual practice, gradual progress?

Here;

One who has confidence in a Teacher visits him;

When he visits him, he pays respect to him;

When he pays respect to him, he gives ear;

One who gives ear, hears The Teachings;

Having heard The Teachings, he memorizes them;

He examines the meaning of The Teachings he has memorized;

When he examines their meaning, he gains a reflective understanding of those Teachings;

When he has gained a reflective understanding of those Teachings, enthusiasm springs up in him;

When enthusiasm has sprung up, he applies his will;

Having applied his will, he investigates;

Having investigated, he strives;

Purposely striving, he realizes with the ultimate truth and sees it by penetrating it with wisdom.

(Reference: MN 70.22)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares how Enlightenment is not achieved suddenly or “all at once”. Instead, the attainment of Enlightenment is experienced gradually through gradual training and gradual practice resulting in gradual progress.

The Buddha provides guidance of how to attain the wisdom that leads to liberation of the mind. He is providing guidance in “how to learn” and make progress on The Path to Enlightenment by having a Teacher and gradually learning through investigation of The Teachings.

When there is confidence in a Teacher, a Practitioner visits them, pays respect, listens to their Teachings (i.e. gives ear), memorizes The Teachings, examines the meaning of The Teachings, reflects on The Teachings arousing enthusiasm, and applies their will or effort to practice The Teachings. Having investigated The Teachings, a Practitioner will need to strive to independently observe the truth to acquire wisdom.

This is the way one would liberate the mind through seeking guidance with a Teacher.

In order to progress on The Path to Enlightenment, a Practitioner will need a Teacher to receive guidance. One would not be able to only read a book and attain the results of an Enlightened mind.

Nothing in Gotama Buddha’s Teachings is based in belief. All his Teachings can be learned and practiced to independently observe the truth as the mind "gradually" acquires wisdom through independent verification of his Teachings through practice of his Teachings. It is a real struggle to exist in a world that the unEnlightened mind does not understand.

This new found wisdom "gradually" improves the way the mind functions in the world through eliminating discontentedness of mind. The mind can completely eliminate all discontent feelings such as sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fears, boredom, loneliness, shyness, jealousy, resentment, stress, anxiety, etc. on The Path to Enlightenment.

Through actively learning and practicing Gotama Buddha’s Teachings with guidance, the mind becomes Enlightened in that you can observe the improvement in the condition of the mind as you eliminate all discontent feelings where the mind can reside peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy - permanently. You are not believing The Teachings wishing for a positive outcome at some point in the future or after death. Instead, you are observing the improvements to the condition of the mind right now - in the present moment.

Only a Buddha would be able to attain Enlightenment on their own without Teachers. These are some of the criteria that make a Buddha a Buddha is that they discover The Teachings on their own attaining Enlightenment without help from a Teacher, shares their independently discovered Teachings to guide countless others to Enlightenment during the remaining time of their life, and they leave their Teachings in a condition that they guide countless others to Enlightenment after their death.

The last Buddha currently known to the world existed over 2,500 years ago.

That means you and everyone else will need Teachers on this Path to Enlightenment. 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.

What is Final Knowledge and What Does It Mean?

When a Practitioner has fully understood The Path to Enlightenment as taught by The Buddha, and has fully implemented The Teachings of The Buddha in their life to experience liberation of mind (i.e. Enlightenment), that individual has experienced “final knowledge”.

Final knowledge is a final confirmation that an individual has fully understood and is fully practicing the entire Path to Enlightenment and that their mind is Enlightened.

This is discerned by the condition of the mind of the individual.

Through observing, for yourself, that you have not experienced any discontent feelings for 1-3 years, not even the slightest ickiness of mind, you will know that the mind is experiencing “final knowledge”, the mind is Enlightened, and that will serve as a "final confirmation" that you have fully understood The Path to Enlightenment and The Natural Laws of Existence.

An individual who has attained “final knowledge” will be practicing The Ten Fold Path to perfection and is why, they no longer experience any discontent feelings and will know for themselves, that they have attained “final knowledge”.

This is also why, an individual who has attained “final knowledge” will know what they understand as The Path to Enlightenment is 100% accurate.

Their mind has fully awakened (i.e. cultivated wisdom) to all of The Natural Laws of Existence as taught by The Buddha.

Therefore, when asked questions about The Natural Laws of Existence (i.e. about life) they will be able to answer questions with 100% confidence knowing that what they share is 100% accurate.

For an individual unfamiliar with The Path to Enlightenment and “what is final knowledge”, they could assume and form the perception that an individual stating what they share is 100% accurate and the truth has arrogance or ego.

This is untrue, and the judgement and forming of the perception in the mind of that individual is something for them to investigate and eradicate so that they can experience Enlightenment.

An individual who has attained “final knowledge” will have deep wisdom about The Path to Enlightenment and their mind will be completely at peace with calmness, serenity, contentedness, and joy. This is a permanent mental state that they will be experiencing, and they will know they are experiencing for a significant period of time. So, they will have full confidence in the accuracy of The Teachings they share.

Additionally, an individual who has attained “final knowledge” will not have a desire to convince others that they are “right” and the other person is “wrong” about any specific aspect of The Natural Laws of Existence. Instead, they will choose to share the understanding of The Natural Laws of Existence with those who ask questions and seek guidance.

An individual who has attain “final knowledge” has attained Enlightenment, they only walk with wisdom and a smile but also, have deep loving-kindness and compassion for all beings who continue to experience the suffering of continued discontentedness.

A Teacher who has attained “final knowledge” is pointing the way to that “final knowledge” and will know with 100% accuracy, that what they share is “the truth”.

Why Would a Student Have Doubt About The Teachings and a Teacher?

Doubt is a significant hindrance on The Path to Enlightenment. If a Practitioner doubts The Buddha, The Teachings, The Community, your Teacher, or your own ability to attain Enlightenment, you will not experience Enlightenment.

An individual with doubt would not have even attained the first Stage of Enlightenment, let alone, Enlightenment itself.

Therefore, you would like to understand what doubt is and eliminate it from the mind.

It is normal for a Student who is on The Path to Enlightenment to have doubt. After all, they know very little about The Path to Enlightenment and Enlightenment itself.

The way doubt is eliminated from the mind is through close study, investigation, and examination of The Teachings of The Buddha. A Student can harness their doubt, turning it into an inquisitive mind.

If a Student deeply investigates The Teachings of The Buddha, and then practices them, they will be able to clearly see that there is improvement to the condition of the mind and one’s life.

So, doubt is not eliminated through blind faith nor belief. There is no such thing as faith or belief in The Teachings of The Buddha.

Instead, it is through learning, reflecting (i.e. independently verifying), and practicing to cultivate wisdom that a Student would then see the improvement to the condition of their mind and life.

But, for a Student who has not done this work, and therefore, has not seen this progress, there will continue to be doubt in the mind and the Student will be hindered from forward progress on The Path to Enlightenment.

Additionally, a Student’s sensual desire can oftentimes be a very significant fetter/taint/ pollution of mind that leads to complacency.

Sensual desire, complacency, and doubt are all interlinked.

Due to a Student having such strong cravings/desires/attachments, the mind is not truly interested to “let go”. Even for a Student who has been on The Path to Enlightenment for multiple years, their mind continues to “hold on” with significant amounts of sensual desire.

The Path to Enlightenment is challenging.

As the mind is letting go of its sensual desire, there are oftentimes significant amounts of painful feelings in the mind. Sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fears, boredom, loneliness, shyness, jealousy, resentment, stress, anxiety, etc. can all arise in the mind due to the mind not “letting go” and continuing to have sensual desire (i.e. craving/desire/attachment).

So, while an individual may consider themselves to be on The Path to Enlightenment, and working to eliminate their cravings/desires/attachments, the painful feelings can oftentimes seem overbearing. Therefore, the mind becomes complacent and looks for a way out of the needed work to progress on The Path to Enlightenment.

As complacency starts to set in, the mind becomes progressively more frustrated, agitated, and irritated. The mind can start to regress no longer experiencing growth and development. The individual can start to see the Teacher who has helped them as being the problem, and as their anger/hatred/ill will is arising, choose to push away with aversion from The Path to Enlightenment and their Teacher.

This is all unfortunate for the Student however, if you are aware of this dangerous downward spiral, you can spot it early and not allow the mind to continue to cascade downwards.

It is through consistent and ongoing investigation of The Teachings of The Buddha with the guidance of a Teacher that will provide the mind the ability to cultivate wisdom, overcome its sensual desires and associated painful feelings, while eradicating the hindrances of complacency and doubt.

Thus, a Student will be able to gradually progress towards Enlightenment.

Some Students can overcome the obstacles and hindrances that block them from Enlightenment, and others will not.

Many Students will have struggles and difficulties on The Path to Enlightenment. The same struggles and difficulties that brought someone to The Path to Enlightenment are the same struggles and difficulties that will take an individual away from The Path to Enlightenment - the pollutions in the mind.

A diligent Student, who is deeply investigating The Teachings of The Buddha, while residing as a newly arrived bride, will overcome the hindrances to flourish and break through to the Enlightened mind - radiant, bright, cheerful, glad, with ambition and enthusiasm.

Detailed explanation of “Reside with a Mind of a Newly Arrived Bride” is available in this same book series found in Chapter 17 of the book “The Foremost Householder” (Volume 8).