During the Ceremony in the Air, Shakyamuni Buddha revealed that he did not attain awakening for the first time beneath the Bodhi Tree. He told his startled disciples that his Buddhahood was attained in the infinite past. Ultimately, the Buddha’s awakened life transcends the distinctions between beginning and end, subject and object, or self and other. It defies all categories and cannot be thought of or imagined. It can, however, be experienced when we awaken to these same immeasurable qualities in our own lives by upholding the teachings of the Lotus Sutra.