Bodhisattvacharyavatara

by Andreas Kretschmar | 246,740 words

The English translation of the Bodhisattvacharyavatara (“entering the conduct of the bodhisattvas”), a Sanskrit text with Tibetan commentary. This book explains the bodhisattva concept and gives guidance to the Buddhist practitioner following the Mahāyāna path towards the attainment of enlightenment. The text was written in Sanskrit by Shantideva ...

Satva [sems dpa’] means ’hero’, ’mind of courage’ or ’courageous mind’ [sems dpa’ bo]. In order to make one’s mind courageous or heroic, one needs to gather merit for many aeons. Buddha Śākyamuni, when he was still a bodhisattva, gathered the accumulation of merit for one countless aeon [bskal pa grangs med gcig]. Then, gaining the realization of buddha nature, he traversed, over the course of another countless aeon, from the first through the seventh bodhisattva levels. During the third countless aeon, he traversed from the eighth bodhisattva level to the level of a perfectly enlightened buddha. A bodhisattva is not afraid to journey for such a long time toward enlightenment.

The ultimate courage is not to fear profound emptiness, the realization of buddha nature. Once one has gained unshakeable confidence in the realization of profound emptiness, one has reached the first bodhisattva level and from that moment onward will not be afraid to sacrifice one’s life to attain ’bodhi’ or ’buddhahood’.

Attaining confidence in the view of emptiness, one becomes an ’inner hero’ [stong nyid lta ba la gdengs thob pa nang gi dpa’ bo]. Based on this confidence, one has the courage to meet any given challenge and could even sacrifice one’s body. For this reason the Buddha, when still a bodhisattva on the path to enlightenment, had the courage to undergo tremendous hardships simply to receive a single stanza of the dharma.

A bodhisattva, from the first bodhisattva level onward, has gained the ’heroic samadhi’ [dpa’ ba ’gro ba’i ting nge ’dzin], the realization of the view of emptiness. Only due to holding such confidence in his heart does he possess the courage to endure every possible hardship over the course of countless aeons. When Buddha Śākyamuni was still a bodhisattva, he held his body, health, and personal welfare to be completely insignificant and utterly meaningless in the face of the realization of emptiness, the ultimate goal of enlightenment.

Bodhisattvas know they have already taken innumerable bodies in former lifetimes; thus, they have no attachment to this present body. Their only aspiration is to attain complete realization of emptiness, the accomplishment of supreme enlightenment. Bodhisattvas express their internal courage and confidence in the view of emptiness through their conduct.

A practitioner who has the true courage of aspiring to enlightenment [sangs rgyas sgrub pa la dpa’ bo], of aspiring to the view of profound emptiness, is a true bodhisattva. This is the definition of a bodhisattva. Every practitioner needs to develop courage or certainty in the view in order to meet any challenge in life without losing the view of emptiness.

A bodhisattva does not shy away from the commitment to liberate all beings and is not frightened by the infinite number of beings. Neither is he afraid to travese the path to complete enlightenment for three countless aeons; this infinitely long time-span does not intimidate him. While on this path, he never avoids any hardship or sacrifice that will benefit beings.

To be able to develop true bodhicitta in actuality, you must, to some degree, realize profound emptiness. Without the realization of emptiness you will lack the courage and confidence to truly commit yourself to the liberation of all sentient beings. A bodhisattva is stable in his mind [blo brtan pa]; his mind is immutable [blo ’gyur ba med pa].

Neither do bodhisattvas fear suffering [sdug bsngal]. They can bear any suffering, including sacrificing their body and possessions, and they are utterly stable in their bodhisattva conduct. Negative-minded friends [grogs ngan] will be unable to change their minds in any way [blo gyur thub gi ma red]. Hearing the teachings on profound [zab mo] emptiness they neither become fearful nor succumb to the influence of doubt [the tshom dbang gi mi ’gro ba]. They are utterly unshaken [mi g.yo ba]. Thus, the bodhisattvas are described in the Sūtrālaṃkāra [mdo sde rgyan].

The Avataṃsaka-sūtra [phal po che mdo] provides an interesting example to illustrate the difference between the śrāvakas and bodhisattvas. When people witness a child falling into a cesspool, they are very concerned yet lack the courage to plunge into the filthy mire to rescue the child. The child’s parents, however, would not hesitate for even a second before leaping into the pool without pausing to consider their own wellbeing. They simply have more love, compassion and affection for their child than the others present. A bodhisattva naturally experiences just such love and compassion for every sentient being.

The śrāvakas are similar to those others who would not hurl themselves into the cesspool to rescue the child. They do feel compassion and concern for the child but lack the bodhisattva’s courage. Due to this lack of courage śrāvakas lack the power to express their compassion in action. They lack this courage because they have only realized that their individual ego has no identity, no self-nature [gang zag gi bdag med]. They have not realized that all phenomena are equally empty of self-nature [chos kyi bdag med]. Thus, they have realized only half of the equation of profound emptiness. Pratyekabuddhas have not only realized that their individual egos have no self-nature, but to a certain extent have also realized that all phenomena are similarly devoid of any self-nature.

Bodhisattvas have realized profound emptiness, the realization that their own personalities as well as all phenomena are actually empty of any self-nature. This realization is called non-dual wisdom [gnyis su med pa’i ye shes] and endows them with greater compassion for all sentient beings. Having no doubts, they do not hesitate to directly enter into any situation that could benefit beings. Such courage and compassion can only spring from absolute bodhicitta. This complete realization of bodhicitta clearly distinguishes followers of the Hīnayāna vehicle from followers of the Mahāyāna.

Bodhisattvas are heroes who pursue the benefit of other beings without the slightest hesitation. The word bodhisattva means ’a courageous being determined to gain enlightenment’.

Śrāvakas have compassion but are not endowed with bodhicitta, neither relative nor absolute bodhicitta. The courage of the bodhisattvas stems from their realization of non-dual wisdom [gnyis su med pa’i ye shes], the realization of absolute bodhicitta [don dam byang chub sems].

If a practitioner has truly realized the primordial emptiness of all phenomena, great compassion toward all sentient beings will inevitably and naturally arise in his mind. When such a practitioner experiences a heartfelt wave of compassion, his realization of emptiness will greatly improve. Emptiness and compassion mutually enhance each other’s development. The realization of emptiness and compassion is what transforms a practitioner into a bodhisattva, a courageous hero.

Absolute bodhicitta is the realization of the natural unity of unborn emptiness and non-conceptual compassion toward all beings. The more that compassion can arise, the more profound will one’s realization of emptiness be. The deeper one’s realization of emptiness, the greater will be the spontaneous manifestation of the power and depth of non-conceptual compassion. Emptiness and compassion inspire one another and accelerate progress along the path to complete enlightenment. This mutual inspiration is ’the perpetual motion of the wheel of dharma’ [chos ’khor bskor ba].

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