The Rare Appearance of Five Treasures

Licchavis, the appearance of five treasures is rare in the world.

What five?

(1) The appearance of a Tathāgata, an Arahant, a Perfectly Enlightened One is rare in the world.

(2) A person who can teach The Teachings and discipline proclaimed by a Tathāgata is rare in the world.

(3) When The Teachings and discipline proclaimed by a Tathāgata has been taught, a person who can understand it is rare in the world.

(4) When The Teachings and discipline proclaimed by a Tathāgata has been taught, a person who can understand it and practice in accordance with The Teachings is rare in the world.

(5) A grateful and thankful person is rare in the world.

Licchavis, the appearance of these five treasures is rare in the world.

(Reference: AN 5.195)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares The Rare Appearance of Five Treasures.

1.) The arising of a Buddha, a Perfectly Enlightened One, is extremely rare in the world. The last Buddha currently known to the world existed over 2,500 years ago. The world is currently unaware of a Buddha that has arisen since Gotama Buddha.

2.) A person who can share these Teachings that guide others to Enlightenment on The Path to Enlightenment, as declared and proclaimed by a Buddha, is rare in the world.

3.) A person who can understand The Path to Enlightenment, as declared and proclaimed by a Buddha, is rare in the world. To understand these Teachings requires determination, dedication, and diligence from a Practitioner who is willing to invest significant amounts of time, effort, and energy to the development of their life practice.

4.) A person who can practice The Path to Enlightenment, as declared and proclaimed by a Buddha, is rare in the world. A Practitioner will need to apply focus and attention to learn, reflect, and practice these Teachings making gradual improvements over a significant period of time.

5.) A person who is grateful and thankful is rare in the world. Learning and practicing these Teachings is challenging. Oftentimes, the unEnlightened mind struggles and has difficulties along the way. The pollution of mind hinders a Practitioner from being able to see clearly and when faced with challenges, it can be seen by the unEnlightened mind as the best answer is to give up.

I do not suggest a Practitioner views The Path to Enlightenment in this way. The challenges and struggles are part of this path and moving the mind to Enlightenment. When the mind is struggling the most, that is when it is gaining the most wisdom to make improvements. While the struggles can sometimes feel overwhelming, if one does the work, on the other side of the struggles is more peacefulness and calm as the mind will have gained significant amounts of wisdom during the difficulties it faced.

Giving up on The Path to Enlightenment is to relegate oneself to continued discontentedness in this life and future lives. That is an option that one is free to make, however, would it be wise?

This Teaching can help a Practitioner understand that a true Buddha is rare in the world. While some have considered all Enlightened beings to be a Buddha, this is not what “The Buddha” taught. He taught that it is extremely rare for a Buddha to arise in the world. He did not share that all Enlightened beings are a Buddha. A Buddha is a unique individual as shared previously in this book and book series. (See Chapter 99 of this book.)

Additionally, one might think it would be wise to change or modify a Buddha’s Teachings. This is not what The Buddha shared or recommended. In this Teaching and others, you can understand that it is only a Buddha’s Teachings that lead to Enlightenment. It would be unwise for anyone to think that their wisdom is, such that, modifying a Buddha’s Teachings would be wise or even helpful in any way. A Buddha’s Teachings are timeless, in that, they are describing The Natural Laws of Existence. Whether a Buddha taught 2,500 years ago or 25,000 years ago, the natural laws they describe that lead to Enlightenment do not change. They are permanent.

Therefore, when a Buddha declares Teachings, they are describing The Natural Laws of Existence as they exist. A Buddha can clearly observe these natural laws and explains them in clear, concise, and precise language that should be learned, reflected upon, and practiced to observe the truth for yourself as the condition of the mind and your life gradually improve.

There should never be a time when an individual should attempt to modify or change a Buddha’s Teachings, because doing so, would only cause harm to that individual and countless others who choose to learn the mixed, diluted, and watered down Teachings. It is a Buddha’s Teachings that lead to Enlightenment, not modifications to a Buddha’s Teachings.

There is no being who is wise enough to adjust, modify, or change a Buddha’s Teachings, such that, it would be beneficial in any shape, form, or fashion.

A Buddha shares Teachings with an unpolluted mind out of compassion for the world. A Buddha is Perfectly Enlightened. Their mind is unaffected by any outside influences. Therefore, they can observe the true path to Enlightenment and their Teachings illuminate that path for all others.

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.

Buddha, Buddhahood, or Buddha Nature: Some traditions of these Teachings consider all people to be a Buddha and when you attain Enlightenment, you are a Buddha. This is not what Gotama Buddha taught.

Gotama Buddha was often referred to as “Ascetic Gotama” during his lifetime. Prior to giving up his royal heritage, he was known as Siddhartha Gotama. Upon leaving the royal palace to seek a better understanding of life through attaining Enlightenment, he was known as “Ascetic Gotama” or in other words “Monk Gotama”. Some people referred to him as Teacher or Master Teacher Gotama.

He would most often refer to himself as “The Tathāgata”.

The term Tathāgata is often thought to mean “one who has discovered the truth”, “one who shares the truth”, “one who has thus gone”, or “one who has thus come”. This is understood as signifying that The Tathāgata is beyond all coming and going - beyond impermanence sharing the truth of The Natural Laws of Existence that lead to Enlightenment. There are, however, other interpretations, and the precise original meaning of the word is not certain. 

Gotama Buddha is quoted on numerous occasions in The Pāli Canon (the source of his Teachings) as referring to himself as “The Tathāgata” instead of using the pronouns me, I, or myself. This may be meant to emphasize by implication that The Teaching is spoken by one who has transcended the human condition, one beyond the otherwise endless Cycle of Rebirth and death, (i.e. beyond discontentedness of mind). 

The term Tathāgata has a number of possible meanings.

Gotama Buddha understood the use of the pronouns, me, I, or myself is unfitting to refer to the human condition as there is “no self”, as explained in the previous chapter titled “The Four Noble Truths: Establishing Right View” and “Ego: Ego Serves No Purpose” on The Teachings of “non-self”. The term Tathāgata is a way to refer to himself without using the pronouns me, I, or myself.

Other meanings for the term Tathāgata include:

• He who has arrived in such a fashion, (i.e. who has worked his way upwards to perfection for the world’s good).

• He who by the path of knowledge has come at the real understanding of things.

• He who has won Truth.

• He who has discerned Truth.

• He who declares Truth.

Regardless of what the term Tathāgata means or whether you refer to Gotama Buddha as a Teacher or Master Teacher, he rarely, if ever, even referred to himself as a Buddha and he never referred to people who attained Enlightenment as a Buddha.

So, the man we appreciate, respect, and have admiration for because he shared his Teachings with the world to fully liberate the mind to attain the mental state of Enlightenment rarely, if ever, even refer to himself as a Buddha and never referred to another person who had attained Enlightenment during his lifetime as a Buddha.

The use of the term Buddha to refer to Ascetic Gotama or Monk Gotama was mostly applied to him after his death in 483 BCE. It was after his death that people widely referred to him as a Buddha.

Master Teacher Gotama Buddha never referred to people who attained Enlightenment as a Buddha. He did not refer to Enlightenment as Buddhahood. He did not teach that people have Buddha Nature. He did not tell people they are potentially a Buddha. He rarely, if ever, even referred to himself as a Buddha and all these uses of the title Buddha referring to a person who has attained Enlightenment is not what Gotama Buddha taught. 

You will not find these Teachings and use of the term Buddha for an Enlightened being in the source of his Teachings within The Pāli Canon because Gotama Buddha did not teach that everyone is a Buddha, that one would attain Buddhahood, or use the term Buddha Nature to refer to Enlightenment. A person who has attained Enlightenment at the highest stage with the guidance of Teachers would be referred to as an Arahant or perhaps an Enlightened person or an Enlightened being.

Because Gotama Buddha did not teach in this way to use the title Buddha, the title Buddha should not be used to refer to someone who has attained Enlightenment (i.e. is Enlightened) but one could be considered an Arahant.

Gotama Buddha left his royal palace, attained Enlightenment on his own through a 6-year pursuit of hard work and dedication bringing him close to death, taught countless people how to attain Enlightenment during his lifetime, left Teachings that would help countless people after his death to attain Enlightenment, established the ordained path for individuals to attain Enlightenment as Ascetics which is still alive today, and most importantly he was the deepest Practitioner ever known to humankind of The Teachings he shared. He was the discoverer, originator, and declarer of The Path to Enlightenment.

There is no one that has come after Gotama Buddha or will come after Gotama Buddha that has had the same dedication and commitment to sharing The Teachings that lead to Enlightenment as Gotama Buddha did - a true Buddha. There is no one that has or will have as much of an impact to benefit all of humanity in the same way as Gotama Buddha, a true Buddha, including the expected appearance of the next Buddha Maitreya.

To refer to another human who has merely attained Enlightenment as a Buddha, as attained Buddhahood, or having Buddha Nature is to disrespect and minimize the hard work and effort our Master Teacher Gotama Buddha exhibited during his 45-years of Teaching, whose Teachings have drastically improved the existence of countless human beings over the past 2,500 years, and will continue to have an impact well into the future of humanity.

If someone refers to themselves as a Buddha, having attained Buddhahood, or having Buddha Nature is to place themselves on the same level as the individual who is admired and respected across the entire world for a lifetime of dedication and service to others, whose Teachings have stood the test of time even now, over 2,500 years later. Gotama Buddha was a true and real Buddha.

You are not a Buddha and will never be a Buddha. You will not attain Buddhahood. You do not have Buddha Nature. You can attain Enlightenment as an Enlightened being considered an Arahant but your work and effort will never amount to the impact shared in the world as that of a true Buddha who attains Enlightenment through their own independent journey while guiding countless other beings to attain Enlightenment.

Referring to oneself as a Buddha, having attained Buddhahood, or having Buddha Nature is to do so with ego and, therefore, it is widely known an individual who does so is not even Enlightened.

If one has ego placing themselves on the same level as Gotama Buddha, a true Buddha, they still have ego and cannot have even attained Enlightenment.

To attain Enlightenment, one needs to dissolve the ego. If someone refers to themselves as a Buddha, having attained Buddhahood, or having Buddha Nature, the ego is still present and has not yet been dissolved. Therefore, you can consider that a person who claims to be a Buddha, having attained Buddhahood, or has Buddha Nature that they are not yet even Enlightened, and lack the appreciation, respect, and admiration as exists for the man once known as Siddhartha Gotama, Ascetic Gotama, Monk Gotama, Teacher Gotama, Master Teacher Gotama, or The Tathāgata.

Gotama Buddha rarely, if ever, referred to himself as a Buddha, why would anyone else refer to themselves as a Buddha unless there is craving and ego to put themselves on the same level as Gotama Buddha. If there is craving or ego, one cannot even be Enlightened so how could they be a Buddha?

The Chapter titled “Enlightenment: What is Enlightenment?”, shared previously in this book series, has many characteristics of what is a true and real Buddha. To be considered a Buddha, one would need to meet those criteria found in Volume 1 - Chapter 3.