WHAT THE BUDDHA DISCOVERED
“Buddhi” in Sanskrit means the “pure intellect,” the mind which is free from the conditioned influence of the emotions so that no biased or prejudiced observations or deductions are construed. The minds of most people operate under all kinds of biases and perversions so that all of their perceptions and thoughts are tainted and conditioned to function in set patterns. In this way they can never perceive things in their true nature.
The power and scope of their mind remains limited and confined. The Buddha, the Awakened One, was one who had freed his faculty of intellect from all distortions in order to clarify it to the greatest possible degree. From that point he was able to develop an acute awareness and insight into how the mind and body function together. As his insight deepened he discerned the why and wherefore of the mind and body and all the phenomena related to them.
Through his perfected insight the Buddha saw the complete cycle of cause and effect, the law of Kamma as it pertains to the elements of mind and matter, and directly experienced how it operates. He saw that the root cause of the suffering and unhappiness which living beings experience is rooted in their own mind.
By cultivating awareness and acquiring control over the operation of the mind a person can alter, eliminate, and destroy those root causes which bring misery, sorrow, and frustration in his life. He can create and develop other root causes which will bring about the gradual and eventual ending of all sorrow and confusion.
He would then be free from all doubts, regrets, remorse, anxiety, and restlessness which would disturb his well-being; he would be an inspiration for others and be able to help them effectively.
