Two Topics for Take-Home Exam

Theravada and Mahayana, a living example of togetherness

1-The discussion of The Path of the Bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism

2- The Discussion of the Bodies of the Buddha in Mahayana Buddhism

 
 

Prepared for Professor Ajan Boon Retutassa of the Mahayana Buddhism course of the International M.A. Program at Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University

By Ven.U Obhasa

(ID 5101405026) 

 

Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University

Bankok, Thailand, October 20, 2009

The discussion of Bodhisattva Path

Bodhisattva Path. A bodhisattva (Pali, bodhisatta) is a person who, according to Buddhism, is on the path to attaining the status of an enlightened being. More specifically the term is commonly used for one on the path to becoming a fully enlightened buddha. The "path of the bodhisattva" is usually known in Sanskrit as the bodhisattvamārga (bodhisattva-path), the bodhisattvayāna (bodhisattva-vehicle), or the bodhisattvacaryā (bodhisattva-conduct). It is the path followed by such a person from the time he or she first attains bodhisattva status until reaching the "fruit of the path," commonly full buddhahood.

There is no significant difficulty with the meaning of bodhi. This derives from the Indo-Aryan root budh-, from which the word buddha also derives, literally "awakening," or "enlightenment." The real problem is with sattva. This commonly means in Sanskrit a "[sentient] being," an "essence," or sometimes "courage." Thus a bodhisattva would be an "enlightenment being," "one who has enlightenment as essence," or occasionally perhaps an "enlightenment hero." And that is how the term is regularly glossed in Buddhist Sanskrit sources. But it is not clear how it relates to one that has not yet attained the goal of enlightenment. K. R. Norman (1990–1996, p. 87) suggests that bodhisattva may have been "back-formed" as part of sanskritization of Middle Indo-Aryan (such as Pali) expressions.

Observing the bodhisattva precepts

In addition to the five basic precepts, undertaking the additional precepts of the bodhisattva enables one to ascertain the path and establish oneself on the path. The precepts are not "commandments" as much as they are "protectors" against wayward mind and delusive and unwholesome habits. For the bodhisattva the precepts are like a roadmap to virtue and to bodhi-mind. The bodhisattva precepts consist of the Three Cumulative Pure Precepts and the Ten Virtuous Precepts

The Three Cumulative Pure Precepts are the precepts to

• Regulate one's personal behavior.
• practice and cultivate virtue
• Practice leniency and benevolence to all sentient beings.

The precepts are cumulative in the sense that one practices them through one's successive life cycles.

The Ten Virtuous Precepts include the five basic precepts not to kill, steal, engage in sexual misconduct, lie, or indulge in intoxicants, along with, for those taking the bodhisattva vows, precepts not to slander monastic or lay bodhisattvas, praise oneself and defame others, be miserly, give rise to aversion, or slander the Three Jewels.

Taking the Four Bodhisattva Vows

Along with these bodhisattva precepts, one may also take the bodhisattva vows.

• Sentient begins without limit I vow to deliver.
• Afflictions without end I vow to sever.
• Approaches to Dharma without number I vow to master.
• The unexcelled enlightenment of a Buddha I vow to attain.

This means one has given rise to bodhicitta ("mind of awakening") and has aroused the ultimate aspiration towards buddhahood.

Practicing the Six Paramitas

The paramitas, or perfections, are to be practiced:

• generosity
• morality
• patience
• diligence & effort
• concentration & meditation
• Wisdom.

Generosity – How does one become more generous? Is it possible to rid oneself of materialistic tendencies, selfishness and a desire to want to be kind to others and give to those who lack? Being able to provide for people by starting a business and then hiring those who need jobs would be profitable not only for yourself but for those who were previously unemployed. Volunteering your time and talents to those who need them is also a way of cultivating generosity. To share Buddhist teachings so people are able to help themselves and in turn, others, is the finest gift you can offer. You have created a positive ripple effect. The ripples of the teachings will travel far and wide to allow many to be assisted.

The attitude behind your generosity is of the utmost importance; giving with anger or the desire for payment isn’t a good motivation. But if you have a humble motivation to help, then you’re on your way to become a Bodhisattva.

Morality – Knowing the basic difference between right and wrong is imperative to generating the 6 Perfections. To practice the perfection of ethics means to refrain from doing harm to yourself and all those around you. Killing, sexual misconduct, consuming harmful substances such as alcohol or drugs, being deceitful, and using abusive language must be avoided. All harmful actions are caused by a mind that harbors them, therefore it’s highly important to be mindful of all your thoughts.

Patience – A lack of patience is prevalent in today’s society and this will change if we want to evolve into a Bodhisattva. Patience is the antidote to anger. In Chandrakirti’s 'Supplement to the Middle Way' he writes: “It makes us ugly, leads to the unholy, and robs us of discernment to know right from wrong.” When we become angry, our body stiffens, our blood pressure rises, our breathing is impaired, as is our reason. Far too many people languish in prisons due to a few seconds when they went out of control and their anger harmed someone. Anger directed at oneself can result in suicide. Anger causes wars of all sizes.

Patience creates joyousness within us. Our features become relaxed and we can look many years younger. We are then tolerant and happy and much further along the path of becoming a Bodhisattva.

Diligence– Enthusiastic effort is necessary if you want to achieve anything, but for something as noble and challenging as joining the ranks of the Bodhisattvas, effort is definitely a requirement. Who doesn’t want their efforts repaid instantly? However, the way of the Bodhisattva is arduous and requires virtues that many of us currently lack. Laziness is a huge fault that curtails effort. Tomorrow never comes so your effort is needed NOW!

Concentration – Developing a calm mind through meditation will sharpen our concentration. Being able to focus single-pointedly on one object with a non-wavering mind will be a great advantage. The calm-abiding mind develops clairvoyance and abilities to heal ourselves and others. When radiating inward and outward calm, you’ll become like a lighthouse in a stormy night. You’ll inspire others with your strong mental capabilities and they in turn will want the inner peace that you have found for yourself. Concentration is a form of mindfulness. This means that when you pay unwavering attention to what you’re doing, you avoid many frustrations. Lack of mindfulness in the kitchen might result in burning a casserole, which not only wasting the ingredients, but twice as much time will be spent cleaning up the mess. Not practicing mindfulness when driving causes accidents. As Lama Tsong  Khapa writes in his 'Summary of the Stages of the Path': “Concentration is a king with dominion over the mind, once placed, immovable like the king of mountains.”

Wisdom – Wisdom is the root of all great qualities we can cultivate in this life. As the Sixth Perfection, it is the total of the other five. Meditation on wisdom is essential for entering into the stages of being a Bodhisattva. Buddhist texts emphasize two vital subjects when it comes to knowledge—selflessness and impermanence. Everything changes constantly. One day you leave work at 5:30, the next day it’s 5:45. Nothing is fixed; it’s variable.

As for selflessness, we must first discover the location of the self. Is it in the body? If so, where-the mind? The physical world and all living beings are created by the mind. As we are the results of our past actions, so is the world we live in. Since there are places on earth that are like heaven, those areas where so much virtue has settled that people travel great distances to see such wonderful locations. Conversely, the hellish regions are dense accumulations of non-virtue and evil thrives there, keeping people captive to the negative states of consciousness. To become a Bodhisattva is to be fearless. There is no aversion for those who are hostile and there is no obsessive clinging to those who are closest to us. There is no possessiveness, only love, compassion and discernment into the nature of reality.

In addition to the basic Six Paramitas, bodhisattvas may also practice an additional four: skillful means, determination, spiritual power, and equanimity. A consequence of practicing the paramitas is the spontaneous nurturing of loving-kindness and compassion. The means for reaching "the other shore" (the meaning of paramita) thus becomes precisely through serving others out of compassion.

The path of the bodhisattva is inseparable from the true practice of Chan. While actively cultivating the methods of dhyana, the Chan practitioner follows the bodhisattva path as the most effective way of lessening vexation, alleviating karma and helping sentient beings. When all the practices of the bodhisattva are harmonious and perfect, one is then practicing the One Buddha Vehicle.

There are three levels of generosity giving for the sake of one's own worldly gain or benefit, giving for one's own liberation, and the bodhisattvaís way of giving for the benefit of all sentient beings. We can give wealth, which includes ones skills, knowledge, energy, the dharma (which may be in the form of non-Buddhist terms), and fearlessness, which can mean appreciating someone for who they are or by listening to them.

Santideva, the 8th century Bodhisattva wrote a book entitled 'Bodhisattvacharyavatara,' which is one of the most important texts that students of Tibetan Buddhism study. The title has been translated into 'A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life' and is written in verse form. While there are only 10 chapters, dealing with the 6 perfections as well as developing the spirit of awakening, in chapter 10, verse 55 the entire essence of the meaning of Bodhisattva is beautifully expressed:

(2) The discuss teaching of the bodies of the Buddha in Mahayana Buddhism

 The bodies of The Buddha which are refer to Trikaya doctrine (Sanskrit, meaning "Three Bodies" of the Buddha) an important Mahayana Buddhist teaching about the nature of the Buddha. According to this doctrine, the Buddha has three kayas, or bodies, which are said to be manifested in different ways:

1) The nirmanakaya (created body), which appears in time and space;

2) The sambhogakaya (mutual enjoyment body), which is an archetypal manifestation; and,

3) The Dharmakaya (reality body), which embodies the very principle of enlightenment knowing no limits or boundaries.

The Trikaya doctrine became an important part of Mahayana teaching as a mechanism to reconcile the various and potentially conflicting teachings about the Buddha found in Buddhist texts. As with earlier Buddhist thought, all three forms of the Buddha teach the same Dharma, but take on different forms to expound the truth.

It is an interesting historic fact that the number three has positive symbolic resonance across different cultures and religions. Not only Buddhism speaks of the three bodies of the Buddha, but Christians also talk of the Trinity, while Hindus speak of the Trimurti (the three main forms of God).

Description of Bodies

In Mahayana Buddhism, Gautama Buddha is considered to be a manifestation of the nirmanakaya (physical-spatial body of the Buddha).

1. The Nirmanakaya (Sanskrit: "Created Body") refers to the actual physical Buddha(s) who have existed on earth. Typically, the Nirmanakaya denotes the historical Gautama Buddha, the last recorded Buddha. This level/body is also sometimes called the Putikaya (meaning "decomposing" body) denoting the material body of the Buddha that was used to teach and was present amongst humanity, but was subject to decay (Samyutta Nikaya).

2. The Sambhogakāya (Sanskrit: "body of enjoyment") is the supramundane form of a fully enlightened Buddha following the completion of his career as a Bodhisattva. This body is an idealized form, similar to that seen in Buddhist iconography and in meditational visualizations, of a human figure manifesting all of the thirty-two marks of a Buddha. The place where the Sambhogakāya body appears is an extra-cosmic realm called Akaniṣṭha, similar to but perhaps distinct from the Akaniṣṭha that is the highest realm of the Śuddhāvāsa devas.

3. The Dharmakaya (Sanskrit: "Truth Body" or "Reality Body") is a central concept in Mahayana Buddhism forming part of the Trikaya doctrine that was first expounded in the Saddharma Pundarika Sutra (The Lotus Sutra), composed in the first century B.C.E. It constitutes the unmanifested aspect of a Buddha out of which Buddhas and indeed all phenomena arise and to which they return after their dissolution. Buddhas are manifestations of the Dharmakaya called Nirmanakayas. Unlike ordinary unenlightened persons, Buddhas (and arhats) do not die (though their physical bodies undergo the cessation of biological functions and subsequent disintegration). In the Lotus Sutra (sixth fascicle) Buddha explains that he has always and will always exist to lead beings to their salvation. This eternal aspect of Buddha is the Dharmakaya. The Dharmakaya may be considered the most sublime or truest reality in the Universe corresponding closely to the post-Vedic conception of Brahman and that of the Father in the Christian Trinity.

Vajrayana sometimes refers to a fourth body, called the Svabhavikakaya (Tib. ngo wo nyi kyi ku), meaning “body of essence, or essential.”

As with earlier Buddhist thought, all three forms of the Buddha teach the same Dharma, but take on different forms to expound the truth.

Theravada and Mahayana Perspectives

The various Buddhist schools hold some varying interpretations on the nature of Buddha.

Pali canon: Buddha was human

From the Pali canon emerges the view that Buddha was human, endowed with the greatest psychic powers (Kevatta Sutta). The body and mind (the five Skandhas) of a Buddha are impermanent and changing, just like the body and mind of ordinary people. However, a Buddha recognizes the unchanging nature of the Dharma, which is an eternal principle and an unconditioned and timeless phenomenon. This view is common in the Theravada school, and the other early Buddhist schools.

Since Buddhahood is open to all, the Buddhist scriptures distinguish various types or grades of Buddhas.

In the Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism, there are considered to be two types of Buddhas: Samyaksambuddha (Pali: Sammasambuddha) and Pratyeka Buddha (Pali: Paccekabuddha).

Samyaksambuddhas attain Buddhahood and decide to teach others the truth that he or she has discovered. They lead others to awakening by teaching the dharma in a time or world where it has been forgotten or has not been taught before. The Historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, is considered a Samyaksambuddha.

Pratyekabuddhas, sometimes called “Silent Buddhas,” are similar to Samyaksambuddhas in that they attain Nirvana and acquire the same powers as a Sammasambuddha does, but they choose not to teach what they have discovered. They are second to the Buddhas in their spiritual development. They do ordain others; their admonition is only in reference to good and proper conduct (abhisamācārikasikkhā).

The Eternal Buddha in Mahayana Buddhism

Some schools of Mahayana Buddhism believe that the Buddha is no longer essentially a human being but has become a being of a different order altogether, and that the Buddha, in his ultimate transcendental "body/mind" mode as Dharmakaya, has an eternal and infinite life. In the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, the Buddha declares that "the Tathagata [Buddha] is eternally abiding and unchanging." This is a particularly important metaphysical and soteriological doctrine in the Lotus Sutra and the Tathagatagarbha sutras. According to the Tathagatagarbha sutras, failure to recognize the Buddha's eternity and—even worse—outright denial of that eternity is deemed a major obstacle to the attainment of complete awakening (bodhi). Later Mahayana Buddhists were concerned with the transcendent aspect of the Dharma. The Three Bodies of the the Buddha in Mahayana thought can be broken down like so.

-          The Nirmanakaya is the historical, physical Buddha.

-          The Samboghakaya is the reward-body, whereby a bodhisattva completes his vows and becomes a Buddha. Amitabha is traditionally seen as a Samboghakaya.

-          The Dharmakaya is the embodiment of the truth itself. Vairocana Buddha is often depicted as the incomprehensible Dharmakaya, particularly in esoteric Buddhist schools such as Shingon and Kegon in Japan.

Some scriptures of Mahayana Buddhism (and one twelfth-century Theravadin commentary) distinguish three types of Buddhas. The third type, called a Shravakabuddha, describes the enlightened disciple.

Shravakabuddhas (Pali: Savakbuddha or Anubuddha) are disciples of a Sammasambuddha, meaning shravakas (hearers or followers) or arhants (noble ones). These terms have slightly varied meanings but can all be used to describe the enlightened disciple. Anubuddha is a rarely used term, but was used by the Buddha in the Khuddakapatha as to those who become Buddhas after being given instruction. Enlightened disciples attain Nirvana just as the two types of Buddhas do. However, the most generally used term for them is “arhant.”

In this case, however, the common definition of the meaning of the word Buddha (as one who discovers the Dhamma without a teacher) does not apply anymore.