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The English term enlightenment is the western translation of the term ''bodhi'', "awakening", which has entered the Western world via the 19th century translations of Max Müller. It has the western connotation of a sudden insight into a transcendental truth. The term is also being used to translate several other Buddhist terms and concepts used to denote insight (''prajna'', ''kensho'' and ''satori''); knowledge (''vidhya''); the "blowing out" (''Nirvana'') of disturbing emotions and desires and the subsequent freedom or release (''vimutti''); and the attainment of Buddhahood, as exemplified by Gautama Buddha. What exactly constituted the Buddha's awakening is unknown. It may probably have involved the knowledge that liberation was attained by the combination of mindfulness and ''dhyāna'', applied to the understanding of the arising and ceasing of craving. The relation between ''dhyana'' and insight is a core problem in the study of Buddhism, and is one of the fundamentals of Buddhist practice. In the western world the concept of ''(spiritual) enlightenment'' has taken on a romantic meaning. It has become synonymous with self-realization and the true self, being regarded as a substantial essence being covered over by social conditioning. ==Translation== Robert S. Cohen notes that the majority of English books on Buddhism use the term "enlightenment" to translate the term ''bodhi''. The root ''budh'', from which both ''bodhi'' and ''Buddha'' are derived, means "to wake up" or "to recover consciousness". Cohen notes that ''bodhi'' is not the result of an ''illumination'', but of a path of realization, or coming to understanding. The term "enlightenment" is event-oriented, whereas the term "awakening" is process-oriented. The western use of the term "enlighten" has Christian roots, as in Calvin's "It is God alone who enlightens our minds to perceive his truths". Early 19th century ''bodhi'' was translated as "intelligence". The term "enlighten" was first being used in 1835, in an English translation of a French article. In 1857 ''The Times'' used the term "the Enlightened" for the Buddha in a short article, which was reprinted the following year by Max Müller. Thereafter, the use of the term subsided, but reappeared with the publication of Max Müller's ''Chips from a german Workshop'', which included a reprint from the ''Times''-article. The book was translated 1969 into German, using the term "der Erleuchtete". Max Müller was an essentialist, who believed in a natural religion, and saw religion as an inherent capacity of human beings. "Enlightenment" was a means to capture natural religious truths, as distinguished from mere mythology. By the mid-1870s it had become commonplace to call the Buddha "enlightened", and by the end of the 1880s the terms "enlightened" and "enlightenment" dominated the English literature. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Enlightenment in Buddhism」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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