Bodhisattva Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === The practice of the bodhisattva === After a being has entered the path by giving rise to bodhicitta, they must make effort in the practice or conduct (''caryÄ'') of the bodhisattvas, which includes all the duties, virtues and practices that bodhisattvas must accomplish to attain Buddhahood.<ref name=":5">Dayal 1970, pp. 75-76.</ref> An important early Mahayana source for the practice of the bodhisattva is the ''Bodhisattvapiį¹aka sÅ«tra,'' a major sutra found in the ''[[MahÄratnakÅ«į¹a SÅ«tra|MahÄratnakÅ«į¹a]]'' collection which was widely cited by various sources. According to Ulrich Pagel, this text is "one of the longest works on the bodhisattva in Mahayana literature" and thus provides extensive information on the topic bodhisattva training, especially [[PÄramitÄ|the perfections (''pÄramitÄ'')]].<ref name=":26" /> Pagel also argues that this text was quite influential on later Mahayana writings which discuss the bodhisattva and thus was "of fundamental importance to the evolution of the bodhisattva doctrine."<ref>Pagel 1992, p. 12</ref> Other sutras in the ''MahÄratnakÅ«į¹a'' collection are also important sources for the bodhisattva path.<ref name=":26">Pagel 1992, pp. 9-10.</ref> According to Pagel, the basic outline of the bodhisattva practice in the ''Bodhisattvapiį¹aka'' is outlined in a passage which states "the path to enlightenment comprises benevolence towards all sentient beings, striving after the perfections and compliance with the means of conversion."<ref>Pagel 1992, p. 76.</ref> This path begins with contemplating the failures of [[Saį¹sÄra|samsara]], developing [[Faith in Buddhism|faith]] in the Buddha, giving rise to bodhicitta and practicing the [[Brahmavihara|four immesurables]]. It then proceeds through all six perfections and finally discusses the four means of converting sentient beings (''saį¹grahavastu''). The path is presented through prose exposition, mnemonic lists ([[Abhidharma|''matrka'']]) and also through Jataka narratives.<ref>Pagel 1992, pp. 76-85.</ref> Using this general framework, the ''Bodhisattvapiį¹aka'' incorporates discussions related to other practices including super knowledge (''abhijƱÄ''), learning, 'skill' (''kauÅalya''), accumulation of merit (''[[Merit (Buddhism)|puį¹yasaį¹bhÄra]]''), the thirty-seven factors of awakening (''[[BodhipakkhiyÄdhammÄ|bodhipakį¹£adharmas]]''), perfect mental quietude (''[[Samatha|Åamatha]]'') and insight (''[[VipassanÄ|vipaÅyanÄ]]'').<ref>Pagel 1992, p. 115.</ref> Later Mahayana treatises ([[Shastra|''ÅÄstras'']]) like the ''[[Yogacarabhumi-sastra|Bodhisattvabhumi]]'' and the ''[[Mahayana-sutra-alamkara-karika|MahÄyÄnasÅ«trÄlamkÄra]]'' provide the following schema of bodhisattva practices:<ref name=":5" /> * ''Bodhipakį¹£a-caryÄ'', the practice of the 37 ''[[BodhipakkhiyÄdhammÄ|bodhipakį¹£adharmas]]'' (the principles conducive to bodhi) which are: the [[Satipatthana|four applications of mindfulness]], the [[Four Right Exertions|four right efforts]], the [[Iddhipada|four bases of spiritual power]], the [[Five Spiritual Faculties|five spiritual faculties]], the [[Five Strengths|five strengths]], the [[Seven Factors of Enlightenment|seven factors of awakening]] and the [[Noble Eightfold Path|noble eightfold path.]] * ''AbhijƱÄ-caryÄ'', the practice of the [[AbhijƱÄ|super-knowledges]] (which are mainly developed in order to convert, help and guide others).<ref>Dayal 1970, p. 115</ref> * ''PÄramitÄ-caryÄ,'' the practice of the [[PÄramitÄ|perfections]], which are: [[DÄna]] (generosity), [[ÅÄ«la]] (virtue, ethics), [[Kshanti|Kį¹£Änti]] (patient endurance), [[VÄ«rya]] (heroic energy), [[DhyÄna in Buddhism|DhyÄna]] (meditation), [[PrajĆ±Ä (Buddhism)|PrajƱÄ]] (wisdom), [[Upaya|UpÄya]] (skillful means), [[Bodhisattva vow|Praį¹idhÄna]] (vow, resolve), [[Five Strengths|Bala]] (spiritual power), and [[Jnana|JƱÄna]] (knowledge). * ''SattvaparipÄka-caryÄ'', the practice of maturing the living beings, i.e. preaching and teaching others. The first six perfections (''pÄramitÄs'') are the most significant and popular set of bodhisattva virtues and thus they serve as a central framework for bodhisattva practice. They are the most widely taught and commented upon virtues throughout the history of Mahayana Buddhist literature and feature prominently in major Sanskrit sources such as the ''Bodhisattvabhumi'', the ''MahÄyÄnasÅ«trÄlamkÄra,'' the ''[[Samadhiraja Sutra|King of Samadhis Sutra]]'' and the ''Ten Stages Sutra''.<ref>Dayal 1970, pp. 165-167.</ref> They are extolled and praised by these sources as "the great oceans of all the bright virtues and auspicious principles" (''Bodhisattvabhumi'') and "the Teacher, the Way and the Light...the Refuge and the Shelter, the Support and the Sanctuary" (''Aį¹£į¹asÄhasrikÄ'').<ref>Dayal 1970, p. 171</ref> While many Mahayana sources discuss the bodhisattva's training in ethical discipline (''ÅÄ«la'') in classic Buddhist terms, over time, there also developed specific sets of [[Bodhisattva Precepts|ethical precepts for bodhisattvas]] (Skt. ''bodhisattva-ÅÄ«la''). These various sets of precepts are usually taken by bodhisattva aspirants (lay and ordained monastics) along with classic Buddhist [[Pratimokį¹£a|pratimoksha]] precepts. However, in some [[Buddhism in Japan|Japanese Buddhist]] traditions, monastics rely solely on the bodhisattva precepts.<ref>{{cite book |last=Abe |first=Ryuichi |title=The Weaving of Mantra: Kukai and the Construction of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-231-11286-4 |pages=40ā44, 50ā52}}</ref><ref name="Ford">{{cite book |last=Ford |first=James L. |title=Jokei and Buddhist Devotion in Early Medieval Japan |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-19-518814-1 |pages=131, 132}}</ref> [[file:032 Prajnaparamita from the Side (39706588044).jpg|thumb|[[Prajnaparamita of Java|Bodhisattva PrajƱaparamita]], a female personification of the perfection of wisdom, [[Singhasari]] period, East Java, Indonesia, 13th century]] The perfection of wisdom (''[[Prajnaparamita|prajƱÄpÄramitÄ]]'') is generally seen as the most important and primary of the perfections, without which all the others fall short. Thus, the ''[[MadhyamakÄvatÄra|Madhyamakavatara]]'' (6:2) states that wisdom leads the other perfections as a man with eyes leads the blind.<ref>Williams, Paul (2008). ''Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations'', p. 51. Routledge.</ref> This perfect or transcendent wisdom has various qualities, such as being non-attached (''asakti''), non-conceptual and non-dual (''[[Nonduality (spirituality)|advaya]]'') and signless (''animitta''). It is generally understood as a kind of insight into the true nature of all phenomena (''[[Abhidharma|dharmas]]'') which in Mahayana sutras is widely described as emptiness (''[[ÅÅ«nyatÄ|shunyatÄ]]'').<ref>{{cite book |last1=Conze |first1=Edward |title=The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines & Its Verse Summary |date=1973 |publisher=Four Seasons Foundation |isbn=978-0-87704-048-4 |page=163}}</ref><ref>Williams 2008, pp. 49-51.</ref><ref>Brunnholzl, Karl (2011). ''Gone Beyond: The Prajnaparamita Sutras The Ornament Of Clear Realization And Its Commentaries In The Tibetan Kagyu Tradition'', p. 30, Tsadra.</ref> Another key virtue which the bodhisattva must develop is great [[compassion]] (''mahÄ-[[karuį¹Ä]]''), a vast sense of care aimed at ending the suffering of all sentient beings.<ref>Williams 2008, p. 56.</ref> This great compassion is the ethical foundation of the bodhisattva, and it is also an applied aspect of their bodhicitta.<ref>Pettit, John W. (2013). ''Mipham's Beacon of Certainty: Illuminating the View of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection'', p. 43. Simon and Schuster.</ref> Great compassion must also be closely joined with the perfection of wisdom, which reveals that all the beings that the bodhisattva strives to save are ultimately empty of self ([[AnattÄ|''anÄtman'']]) and lack [[Svabhava|inherent existence]] (''niįø„svabhÄva'').<ref>Williams 2008, pp. 56-57.</ref> Due to the bodhisattva's compassionate wish to save all beings, they develop innumerable skillful means or strategies (''[[upaya]]'') with which to teach and guide different kinds of beings with all sorts of different inclinations and tendencies.<ref>Williams 2008, p. 57.</ref> Another key virtue for the bodhisattva is [[Sati (Buddhism)|mindfulness]] (''smį¹ti''), which Dayal calls "the sine qua non of moral progress for a bodhisattva."<ref name="auto1">Dayal 1970, p. 86.</ref> Mindfulness is widely emphasized by Buddhist authors and Sanskrit sources and it appears four times in the list of 37 ''bodhipakį¹£adharmas''.<ref name="auto1"/> According to the ''Aį¹£į¹asÄhasrikÄ'', a bodhisattva must never lose mindfulness so as not to be confused or distracted. The ''MahÄyÄnasÅ«trÄlamkÄra'' states that mindfulness is the principal asset of a bodhisattva, while both [[AÅvaghoį¹£a|Asvaghosa]] and [[Shantideva]] state that without mindfulness, a bodhisattva will be helpless and uncontrolled (like a mad elephant) and will not succeed in conquering the mental afflictions.<ref>Dayal 1970, pp. 87-88</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page