Bodhisattva

===Bodhisattva stages===
[[file:MET 27 DP238217R2 61C.jpg|thumb|Green Tara and her devotees, Folio from a Bengali manuscript of the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā'' (''Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines''), [[Metropolitan Museum of Art|MET]]]]
According to James B. Apple, if one studies the earliest textual materials which discuss the bodhisattva path (which includes the translations of [[Lokaksema (Buddhist monk)|Lokakshema]] and the [[Gandhāran Buddhist texts|Gandharan manuscripts]]), "one finds four key stages that are demarcated throughout this early textual material that constitute the most basic elements in the path of a bodhisattva".<ref name=":7">Apple, James B. ''The Irreversible Bodhisattva (avaivartika) in the Lotus sutra and Avaivartikacakrasutra.'' Bulletin of The Institute of Oriental Philosophy. No. 29, pp.(59-81) 176-154, 2014.</ref> These main elements are:<ref name=":7" />

# "The arising of the thought of awakening (''bodhicittotpāda''), when a person first aspires to attain the state of Buddhahood and thereby becomes a bodhisattva"
# "Endurance towards the fact that things are [[Anutpada|not produced]]" (''anutpattikadharma-kṣānti'')
# "The attainment of the status of irreversibility" or non-retrogression (''avaivartika'') from Buddhahood, which means one is close to Buddhahood and that one can no longer turn back or regress from that attainment. They are exemplary monks, with cognitive powers equal to arhats. They practice the four dhyanas, have a deep knowledge of perfect wisdom and teach it to others. In the Lokakshema's Chinese translation of the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā,'' the ''Daoxing Banruo Jing,'' this stage is closely related to a concentration (''samadhi'') that "does not grasp at anything at all" (''sarvadharmāparigṛhīta'').
# The prediction (''vyākaraṇa''), "the event when a Buddha predicts the time and place of a bodhisattva's subsequent awakening." The prediction is directly associated with the status of irreversibility. The ''Daoxing Banruo Jing'' states: "all the bodhisattvas who have realized the irreversible stage have obtained their prediction to Buddhahood from the Buddhas in the past."<ref name=":7" />

According to Drewes, the ''[[Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra]]'' divides the bodhisattva path into three main stages. The first stage is that of bodhisattvas who "first set out in the vehicle" (''prathamayānasaṃprasthita''), then there is the "irreversible" (''avinivartanīya'') stage, and finally the third "bound by one more birth" (''ekajātipratibaddha''), as in, destined to become a Buddha in the next life.<ref name=":0" /> Lamotte also mentions four similar stages of the bodhiattva career which are found in the ''[[Da zhidu lun|Dazhidulun]]'' translated by [[Kumārajīva|Kumarajiva]]: (1) ''Prathamacittotpādika'' ("who produces the mind of Bodhi for the first time"), (2) ''Ṣaṭpāramitācaryāpratipanna'' ("devoted to the practice of the six perfections"), (3) ''Avinivartanīya'' (non-regression), (4) ''Ekajātipratibaddha'' ("separated by only one lifetime from buddhahood").<ref>Gelongma Karma Migme Chodron (trans from French); Lamotte, Etienne (trans). ''The Treatise on the Great Virtue of Wisdom, Volume V (Traite de la Grande Vertu de Sagesse de Nagarjuna (Mahaprajnaparamitasastra), Tome V),'' p. 1969.</ref>

Drewes notes that Mahāyāna sūtras mainly depict a bodhisattvas' first arising of bodhicitta as occurring in the presence of a Buddha. Furthermore, according to Drewes, most Mahāyāna sūtras "never encourage anyone to become a bodhisattva or present any ritual or other means of doing so."<ref name=":0" /> In a similar manner to the nikāya sources, Mahāyāna sūtras also see new bodhisattvas as likely to regress, while seeing irreversible bodhisattvas are quite rare. Thus, according to Drewes, "the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā'', for instance, states that as many bodhisattvas as there grains of sand in the Ganges turn back from the pursuit of Buddhahood and that out of innumerable beings who give rise to bodhicitta and progress toward Buddhahood, only one or two will reach the point of becoming irreversible."<ref name=":0" />

Drewes also adds that early texts like the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā'' treat bodhisattvas who are beginners (''ādikarmika'') or "not long set out in the [great] vehicle" with scorn, describing them as "blind", "unintelligent", "lazy" and "weak". Early Mahayana works identify them with those who reject Mahayana or who abandon Mahayana, and they are seen as likely to become ''[[śrāvaka]]s''  (those on the ''[[arhat]]'' path). Rather than encouraging them to become bodhisattvas, what early Mahayana sutras like the ''Aṣṭa'' do is to help individuals determine if they have already received a prediction in a past life, or if they are close to this point.<ref name=":0" />

The ''Aṣṭa'' provides a variety of methods, including forms of ritual or [[divination]], [[Dream interpretation|methods dealing with dreams]] and various tests, especially tests based on one's reaction to the hearing of the content in the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā'' itself. The text states that encountering and accepting its teachings mean one is close to being given a prediction and that if one does not "shrink back, cower or despair" from the text, but "firmly believes it", one is either irreversible or is close to this stage. Many other Mahayana sutras such as the ''Akṣobhyavyūha'', ''[[Vimalakirti Sutra|Vimalakīrtinirdeśa]]'', ''Sukhāvatīvyūha'', and the ''[[Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sūtra|Śūraṃgamasamādhi Sūtra]]'' present textual approaches to determine one's status as an advanced bodhisattva. These mainly depend on a person's attitude towards listening to, believing, preaching, proclaiming, copying or memorizing and reciting the sutra as well as practicing the sutra's teachings.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":0" />

According to Drewes, this claim that merely having faith in Mahāyāna sūtras meant that one was an advanced bodhisattva, was a departure from previous Nikaya views about bodhisattvas. It created new groups of Buddhists who accepted each other's bodhisattva status.<ref name=":0" /> Some Mahayana texts are more open with their bodhisattva doctrine. The ''Lotus Sutra'' famously assures large numbers people that they will certainly achieve Buddhahood, with few requirements (other than hearing and accepting the ''Lotus Sutra'' itself).<ref name=":8" />

==== The bodhisattva grounds (''bhūmis'') ====
[[File:Bodhisattva, Kamakura period, Japan.jpg|thumb|[[Maitreya]], 13th century, [[Kamakura period]], [[Tokyo National Museum]], [[Important Cultural Property (Japan)|Important Cultural Property]] of [[Japan]]]]
According to various Mahāyāna sources, on the way to becoming a Buddha, a bodhisattva proceeds through various stages (''[[Bhumi (Buddhism)|bhūmis]]'') of spiritual progress''.'' The term ''bhūmi'' means "earth" or "place" and figurately can mean "ground, plane, stage, level; state of consciousness".<ref>Dayal 1970, p. 270.</ref>  There are various lists of bhumis, the most common is a list of ten found in the ''[[Ten Stages Sutra|Daśabhūmikasūtra]]'' (but there are also lists of seven stages as well as lists which have more than 10 stages).<ref>Dayal 1970, pp. 271-272.</ref>

The ''[[Ten Stages Sutra|Daśabhūmikasūtra]]'' lists the following ten stages:

# '''Great Joy:''' It is said that being close to enlightenment and seeing the benefit for all [[Sentient beings (Buddhism)|sentient beings]], one achieves great joy, hence the name. In this ''bhūmi'' the bodhisattvas practice all [[paramita|perfections]] (''pāramitās''), but especially emphasizing [[dana (Buddhism)|generosity]] (''dāna'').
# '''Stainless:''' In accomplishing the second ''bhūmi'', the bodhisattva is free from the stains of immorality, therefore, this ''bhūmi'' is named "stainless". The emphasized perfection is [[śila|moral discipline]] (''śīla'').
# '''Luminous:''' The light of Dharma is said to radiate for others from the bodhisattva who accomplishes the third ''bhūmi''. The emphasized perfection is [[kṣanti|patience]] (''{{IAST|kṣānti}}'').
# '''Radiant:''' This ''bhūmi'' it is said to be like a radiating light that fully burns that which opposes enlightenment. The emphasized perfection is [[vīrya|vigor]] (''vīrya'').
# '''Very difficult to train:''' Bodhisattvas who attain this ground strive to help sentient beings attain maturity, and do not become emotionally involved when such beings respond negatively, both of which are difficult to do. The emphasized perfection is [[Dhyāna in Buddhism|meditative concentration]] (''dhyāna'').
# '''Obviously Transcendent:''' By depending on the perfection of wisdom, [the bodhisattva] does not abide in either ''[[saṃsāra|{{IAST|saṃsāra}}]]'' or ''[[nirvāṇa|{{IAST|nirvāṇa}}]]'', so this state is "obviously transcendent".  The emphasized perfection is [[Wisdom in Buddhism|wisdom]] (''prajñā'').
# '''Gone afar:''' Particular emphasis is on the perfection of [[upaya|skillful means]] (''upāya''), to help others.
# '''Immovable:''' The emphasized virtue is aspiration. This "immovable" ''bhūmi'' is where one becomes able to choose his place of rebirth.
# '''Good Discriminating Wisdom:''' The emphasized virtue is the understanding of self and non-self.
# '''Cloud of Dharma:''' The emphasized virtue is the practice of primordial wisdom. After this ''bhūmi'', one attains full Buddhahood.

In some sources, these ten stages are correlated with a different schema of the buddhist path called [[Bhūmi (Buddhism)#Five Paths|the five paths]] which is derived from [[Vaibhāṣika|Vaibhasika]] [[Abhidharma]] sources.<ref>Watanabe, Chikafumi (2000), ''A Study of Mahayanasamgraha III: The Relation of Practical Theories and Philosophical Theories." Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Calgary, pp. 38-40.''</ref>

The ''[[Shurangama Sutra|Śūraṅgama Sūtra]]'' recognizes 57 stages. Various [[Vajrayana|Vajrayāna]] schools recognize additional grounds (varying from 3 to 10 further stages), mostly 6 more grounds with variant descriptions.<ref>{{cite web |title=大圆满心性休息 – 显密文库 佛教文集 |url=http://read.goodweb.cn/news/news_more.asp?lm2=603 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908080747/http://read.goodweb.cn/news/news_more.asp?lm2=603 |archive-date=8 September 2015 |access-date=21 August 2015 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=鄔金旺度 |title=吉祥鄔金密嚴寺 |date=29 August 2009 |url=http://akanistha.blogspot.com/2009/08/blog-post_4818.html |access-date=21 August 2015}}</ref> A bodhisattva above the 7th ground is called a ''[[mahāsattva]]''. Some bodhisattvas such as [[Samantabhadra Bodhisattva|Samantabhadra]] are also said to have already attained Buddhahood.<ref>{{cite web |title=459 因地菩薩和果地菩薩 |url=http://wisdom.buddhistdoor.com/alankwan/2009/09/13/459-%E5%9B%A0%E5%9C%B0%E8%8F%A9%E8%96%A9%E5%92%8C%E6%9E%9C%E5%9C%B0%E8%8F%A9%E8%96%A9/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105090211/http://wisdom.buddhistdoor.com/alankwan/2009/09/13/459-%E5%9B%A0%E5%9C%B0%E8%8F%A9%E8%96%A9%E5%92%8C%E6%9E%9C%E5%9C%B0%E8%8F%A9%E8%96%A9/ |archive-date=5 November 2011}}</ref>