Basic Concepts
Mahayana has two core principles: wisdom and compassion. Wisdom means the realisation that all appearances are without substance. Compassion means the intention to liberate everyone from delusion. These two principles operate in the context of infinite universes filled with innumerable sentient beings that are born again and again because of the mistaken concept of identification with phenomena.
The World
The world is operated by habitual inclinations that define what each of us think and how we act. That's why the world that we experience is a mental product. Because the world is what is experienced, and experiences are mind made, the cause of the dissatisfaction with life is the mind, therefore the mind needs to be understood and purified.
The world of Mahayana Buddhism has not only the six impure realms of demons, ghosts, animals, humans, asuras, and gods, but also the four pure realms of arhats, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, and buddhas, and together they are called the ten realms. Beings within the six impure realms are trapped by their own self-centred delusions, endure pains and enjoy pleasures, but never attain true peace and contentment. Beings of the pure realms are free from compulsory rebirth, because they have discovered the false nature of the concept of identity, and let go of their habitual inclinations to varying degrees.
Although the world is infinite and sentient beings are uncountable, they are all found within a single thought. The world is both external and internal at the same time, it is not something out there, nor is it simply fictitious. It is what and how experience occurs to us.
The Bodhisattva
The bodhisattva is a being (sattva) who aspires towards ultimate awakening (bodhi). The intention (citta) for awakening (bodhi) is the defining element of any bodhisattva, and it is called the bodhicitta. From the moment that great aspiration is raised in the mind, one has started on the path to eventually attain buddhahood. The reason behind such an intention has to be the concern for the welfare of all beings in the entire world, the wish to liberate them from the struggles of samsara.
Thus the core principles of wisdom and compassion are equally present. With the wisdom the bodhisattva knows that beings are without self, without substance, and there is not a single individual to liberate. With the compassion the bodhisattva works indefinitely towards the peace and contentment of all beings, unconcerned with one's own happiness.
The reason that a bodhisattva can be both wise and compassionate is the realisation that all appearances that occur - i.e. the sensory experiences of body and mind - are unattainable, because they are without anything that subsists from one moment to the next, but at the same time they rise and dissolve depending on causes and conditions. In other words, the bodhisattva sees everything like dreams or illusions, therefore doesn't attach to anything, but acts with an open and clear view, with unbound compassion for all.
The Path
The path of the bodhisattva consists of the six paramitas: generosity, discipline, endurance, vigour, concentration, wisdom. Paramita means perfection that takes one to the other shore, that is, from this shore of samsara and delusion to the other shore of nirvana and enlightenment. The six paramitas are divided into two categories. The first five are the methods, the skillful means, while the last one is the perfection of wisdom. Wisdom and means are a pair that maintain and support each other. The perfection of wisdom is the indispensable basis and source of all the activities of a bodhisattva, and that is what makes all the means perfections.
The perfection of generosity is giving donations without holding on to concepts of any giver, gift, or receiver. The perfection of discipline is maintaining moral behaviour out of compassion without thoughts of good or evil. The perfection of endurance is not being upset by difficulties or elated by favourable events, as there is no identity to be moved. The perfection of vigour is not falling in despair or indolence, and exercising unremitting effort through seeing the ever functioning causality and the pain and suffering of all beings. The perfection of concentration is not giving in to either torpor or excitement, but having an unaffected and clear mindfulness. The perfection of wisdom is the knowledge that everything lacks any graspable essence, in other words, all is empty of substance, and because both the world and the beings are insubstantial, the bodhisattva is without attachment to any identity or view.
With the skillful means the bodhisattva accumulates infinite merit. This is different from ordinary merit, that only generates samsaric results, because it is based on the perfection of wisdom. The results of the bodhisattva's meritorious activities are for developing the means to benefit all beings by perfecting the buddha-qualities. Transference of merit in the case of a bodhisattva means dedicating all the good results toward the welfare of everyone, and at the same time practising non-attachment to one's own inclinations.
This dual character of the path forms a single, balanced practice, that does not lean on either the side of relinquishing, nor the side of holding on, but can equally apply both according to the situation. This equilibrium is applied in both one's inner and outer life. That's how a bodhisattva does not dwell in samsara, nor in nirvana, and can liberate all beings.
Buddhas
The buddhas are those who have fully perfected wisdom and compassion by completely developing the six paramitas. In an infinite universe there are infinite number of buddhas as well, and each of them presides over a specific area of the cosmos called a buddha-land. Bodhisattvas can visit those lands either through meditation or through being born there. Therefore the most common form of meditation in Mahayana is mindfulness of one or several buddhas. Mindfulness of a buddha establishes a connection between the practitioner and a buddha, and that way the bodhisattva benefits from focusing on what is ultimately the final attainment by gaining inspiration and cultivating the qualities of a perfectly enlightened being. Furthermore, one can recall a buddha and the buddha-land with the intention of being born their in one's next life.
However, besides the myriad buddhas, the ultimate buddha is one's own mind. It is called the buddha-nature, what means the true character of each being. The reason that not everyone is enlightened already is that instead of turning one's attention back to one's mind, one only clings to the sensory experiences and expects peace and contentment from unstable phenomena. The buddha-nature is not something hidden inside the mind, nor is it an ultimate subject, but it is the real characteristic of all experiences. That is, all experiences are without essence that could be held or rejected, and at the same time they are always apparent and recognised, hence the buddha-nature is also called unbound awareness, empty clarity, or simply suchness.
Mahayana has two core principles: wisdom and compassion. Wisdom means the realisation that all appearances are without substance. Compassion means the intention to liberate everyone from delusion. These two principles operate in the context of infinite universes filled with innumerable sentient beings that are born again and again because of the mistaken concept of identification with phenomena.
The World
The world is operated by habitual inclinations that define what each of us think and how we act. That's why the world that we experience is a mental product. Because the world is what is experienced, and experiences are mind made, the cause of the dissatisfaction with life is the mind, therefore the mind needs to be understood and purified.
The world of Mahayana Buddhism has not only the six impure realms of demons, ghosts, animals, humans, asuras, and gods, but also the four pure realms of arhats, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, and buddhas, and together they are called the ten realms. Beings within the six impure realms are trapped by their own self-centred delusions, endure pains and enjoy pleasures, but never attain true peace and contentment. Beings of the pure realms are free from compulsory rebirth, because they have discovered the false nature of the concept of identity, and let go of their habitual inclinations to varying degrees.
Although the world is infinite and sentient beings are uncountable, they are all found within a single thought. The world is both external and internal at the same time, it is not something out there, nor is it simply fictitious. It is what and how experience occurs to us.
The Bodhisattva
The bodhisattva is a being (sattva) who aspires towards ultimate awakening (bodhi). The intention (citta) for awakening (bodhi) is the defining element of any bodhisattva, and it is called the bodhicitta. From the moment that great aspiration is raised in the mind, one has started on the path to eventually attain buddhahood. The reason behind such an intention has to be the concern for the welfare of all beings in the entire world, the wish to liberate them from the struggles of samsara.
Thus the core principles of wisdom and compassion are equally present. With the wisdom the bodhisattva knows that beings are without self, without substance, and there is not a single individual to liberate. With the compassion the bodhisattva works indefinitely towards the peace and contentment of all beings, unconcerned with one's own happiness.
The reason that a bodhisattva can be both wise and compassionate is the realisation that all appearances that occur - i.e. the sensory experiences of body and mind - are unattainable, because they are without anything that subsists from one moment to the next, but at the same time they rise and dissolve depending on causes and conditions. In other words, the bodhisattva sees everything like dreams or illusions, therefore doesn't attach to anything, but acts with an open and clear view, with unbound compassion for all.
The Path
The path of the bodhisattva consists of the six paramitas: generosity, discipline, endurance, vigour, concentration, wisdom. Paramita means perfection that takes one to the other shore, that is, from this shore of samsara and delusion to the other shore of nirvana and enlightenment. The six paramitas are divided into two categories. The first five are the methods, the skillful means, while the last one is the perfection of wisdom. Wisdom and means are a pair that maintain and support each other. The perfection of wisdom is the indispensable basis and source of all the activities of a bodhisattva, and that is what makes all the means perfections.
The perfection of generosity is giving donations without holding on to concepts of any giver, gift, or receiver. The perfection of discipline is maintaining moral behaviour out of compassion without thoughts of good or evil. The perfection of endurance is not being upset by difficulties or elated by favourable events, as there is no identity to be moved. The perfection of vigour is not falling in despair or indolence, and exercising unremitting effort through seeing the ever functioning causality and the pain and suffering of all beings. The perfection of concentration is not giving in to either torpor or excitement, but having an unaffected and clear mindfulness. The perfection of wisdom is the knowledge that everything lacks any graspable essence, in other words, all is empty of substance, and because both the world and the beings are insubstantial, the bodhisattva is without attachment to any identity or view.
With the skillful means the bodhisattva accumulates infinite merit. This is different from ordinary merit, that only generates samsaric results, because it is based on the perfection of wisdom. The results of the bodhisattva's meritorious activities are for developing the means to benefit all beings by perfecting the buddha-qualities. Transference of merit in the case of a bodhisattva means dedicating all the good results toward the welfare of everyone, and at the same time practising non-attachment to one's own inclinations.
This dual character of the path forms a single, balanced practice, that does not lean on either the side of relinquishing, nor the side of holding on, but can equally apply both according to the situation. This equilibrium is applied in both one's inner and outer life. That's how a bodhisattva does not dwell in samsara, nor in nirvana, and can liberate all beings.
Buddhas
The buddhas are those who have fully perfected wisdom and compassion by completely developing the six paramitas. In an infinite universe there are infinite number of buddhas as well, and each of them presides over a specific area of the cosmos called a buddha-land. Bodhisattvas can visit those lands either through meditation or through being born there. Therefore the most common form of meditation in Mahayana is mindfulness of one or several buddhas. Mindfulness of a buddha establishes a connection between the practitioner and a buddha, and that way the bodhisattva benefits from focusing on what is ultimately the final attainment by gaining inspiration and cultivating the qualities of a perfectly enlightened being. Furthermore, one can recall a buddha and the buddha-land with the intention of being born their in one's next life.
However, besides the myriad buddhas, the ultimate buddha is one's own mind. It is called the buddha-nature, what means the true character of each being. The reason that not everyone is enlightened already is that instead of turning one's attention back to one's mind, one only clings to the sensory experiences and expects peace and contentment from unstable phenomena. The buddha-nature is not something hidden inside the mind, nor is it an ultimate subject, but it is the real characteristic of all experiences. That is, all experiences are without essence that could be held or rejected, and at the same time they are always apparent and recognised, hence the buddha-nature is also called unbound awareness, empty clarity, or simply suchness.
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