Bodhicitta
Encyclopedia
In Buddhism
, bodhicitta (Sanskr. बोधिचित्त, Ch. 菩提心, putixin, Jp. bodaishin, Tibetan བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས་,Wyl. byang chub kyi sems)jang chub sem, Mongolian бодь сэтгэл) is the intention to achieve omniscient Buddhahood (Trikaya
) as fast as possible, so that one may benefit infinite sentient beings. One who has bodhicitta as the primary motivation for all of his or her activities is called a bodhisattva
. Bodhicitta also means the aim to, on the one hand, bring happiness to all sentient beings, and on the other, to relieve them of suffering; this definition is consistent with the definition of seeking enlightenment, as enlightenment is the freedom from saṃsāra
.
Etymologically, the word is a combination of the Sanskrit words bodhi
and citta
. Bodhi means "awakening" or "enlightenment". Citta is derived from the Sanskrit root cit, and denotes "that which is conscious" – mind or consciousness. Bodhicitta may be translated as "awakening mind" or "mind of enlightenment".
Bodhicitta may also be defined as the union of compassion and wisdom. This is a development of the concept of luminous mind
in the Pali Canon
. While the compassion and wisdom aspects of bodhicitta are actually highly dependent on each other, in the Mahāyanā
tradition (the school of Buddhism within which the terminology relating to bodhicitta is most fully developed) they are often referred to as:
So, the term bodhicitta in its most complete sense would combine both:
Some bodhicitta practices emphasize the absolute (e.g. vipaśyanā
); others emphasize the relative (e.g. metta
), but both aspects are seen in all Mahāyāna practice as essential to enlightenment, especially in the Tibet
an practices of tonglen
and lojong
. Without the absolute, the relative can degenerate into pity and sentimentality, whereas the absolute without the relative can lead to nihilism and lack of desire to engage other sentient beings for their benefit.
Bodhicitta may be viewed as having different levels: one useful classification is that given by Patrul Rinpoche
in his Words of My Perfect Teacher. He states that the lowest level is the way of the King, who primarily seeks his own benefit but who recognizes that his benefit depends crucially on that of his kingdom and his subjects. The middle level is the path of the boatman, who ferries his passengers across the river and simultaneously, of course, ferries himself as well. The highest level is that of the shepherd, who makes sure that all his sheep arrive safely ahead of him and places their welfare above his own.
Although classification systems do vary (some schools even denying any conceptualizing of the path to Buddhahood
) e.g. yellow hats argue that with bodhicitta one enters the path of accumulation
's A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way Of Life
(c. 700 CE), Thogme Zangpo's Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva (12th century CE), Langri Tangpa
's Eight Verses for Training the Mind (c. 1100 CE), and the lojong
(mind training) proverbs authored by Geshe Chekhawa
in the 12th century CE.
(also, "brightly shining mind," "brightly shining citta") is a term used by the Buddha in the Pali Canon
. It is described as the most fundamental aspect of the mind, and is said to be "brightly shining" whether or not this is realized. It is given no direct doctrinal interpretation in the Pali discourses; one way the Mahāyanā interprets it is as bodhicitta. The Astasahasrika Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra describes bodhicitta thus: "That citta is no citta since it is by nature brightly shining." This is in accord with Anguttara Nikaya I,10 which goes from a reference to brightly shining citta to saying that even the slightest development of loving-kindness
is of great benefit. This implies that loving-kindness - and the related state of compassion - is inherent within the luminous mind as a basis for its further development. The observation that the ground state of consciousness is of the nature of loving-kindness implies that empathy is innate to consciousness and exists prior to the emergence of all active mental processes.
and Vajrayāna
(or tantric) schools of Buddhism. In Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna Buddhism, the goal of Buddhist practice is primarily for an individual to escape from samsāra
with the aspiration to be reborn infinite numbers of times to liberate all those other beings still trapped in samsāra.
While the teaching and terminology of bodhichitta is most developed in Mahāyāna Buddhism, its practice and realization are independent of sectarian considerations since they are fundamentally a part of the human experience. There are, of course, bodhisattvas recognized not only in the Theravāda school of Buddhism, but in all other religious traditions and among those of no formal religious tradition. The present fourteenth Dalai Lama
, for instance, regarded Mother Teresa
as one of the greatest modern bodhisattvas. Buddhism has no monopoly either on compassion or on the realization of the fundamentally illusory nature of our view of "self" and the world. Buddhism teaches that many bodhisattvas neither teach nor announce themselves in any way at all, but live apparently ordinary lives and help other sentient beings by stealth. It is regarded as a very healthy contemplation to hold the view that all other beings may actually be hidden bodhisattvas, including those we do not like.
Followers of the Mahāyāna, in particular, believe that the attainment of Buddhahood is not only possible by all sentient beings, but inevitable. Since all beings karmically connected ("all in the same boat", as it were), either we will all attain liberation or we will all drown in the ocean of samsāra. Mahāyāna teaches that even those who have initially chosen personal liberation from samsāra will be awakened eventually by Buddhas and entreated to develop bodhicitta and become fully enlightened in order to help liberate all sentient beings.
Mahāyāna Buddhism teaches that the broader motivation of achieving one's own enlightenment in order to help all sentient beings, bodhicitta, is the best possible motivation one can have for any action, whether it be working in one's vocation, teaching others, or even making an incense offering. The Six Perfections (Pāramitās) of Buddhism only become true "perfections" when they are done with the motivation of bodhicitta. Thus, the action of giving (Skt. dāna
) can be done in a mundane sense, or it can be a Pāramitā
if it is conjoined with bodhicitta.
Among the many methods for developing uncontrived Bodhicitta given in Mahāyāna teachings are:
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, bodhicitta (Sanskr. बोधिचित्त, Ch. 菩提心, putixin, Jp. bodaishin, Tibetan བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས་,Wyl. byang chub kyi sems)jang chub sem, Mongolian бодь сэтгэл) is the intention to achieve omniscient Buddhahood (Trikaya
Trikaya
The Trikāya doctrine is an important Mahayana Buddhist teaching on both the nature of reality and the nature of a Buddha. By the 4th century CE the Trikāya Doctrine had assumed the form that we now know...
) as fast as possible, so that one may benefit infinite sentient beings. One who has bodhicitta as the primary motivation for all of his or her activities is called a bodhisattva
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
. Bodhicitta also means the aim to, on the one hand, bring happiness to all sentient beings, and on the other, to relieve them of suffering; this definition is consistent with the definition of seeking enlightenment, as enlightenment is the freedom from saṃsāra
Samsara
thumb|right|200px|Traditional Tibetan painting or [[Thanka]] showing the [[wheel of life]] and realms of saṃsāraSaṅsāra or Saṃsāra , , literally meaning "continuous flow", is the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth or reincarnation within Hinduism, Buddhism, Bön, Jainism, Sikhism, and other...
.
Etymologically, the word is a combination of the Sanskrit words bodhi
Bodhi
Bodhi is both a Pāli and Sanskrit word traditionally translated into English with the word "enlightenment", but which means awakened. In Buddhism it is the knowledge possessed by a Buddha into the nature of things...
and citta
Citta
Citta was one of the chief lay disciples of the Buddha. He was a wealthy merchant from Savatthi. His life and character were so pure that near his death, had he wished to be a chakravartin, it would've been granted. However, he turned down this wish as it was temporal...
. Bodhi means "awakening" or "enlightenment". Citta is derived from the Sanskrit root cit, and denotes "that which is conscious" – mind or consciousness. Bodhicitta may be translated as "awakening mind" or "mind of enlightenment".
Bodhicitta may also be defined as the union of compassion and wisdom. This is a development of the concept of luminous mind
Luminous mind
Luminous mind is a term attributed to the Buddha in the Nikayas...
in the Pali Canon
Pāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
. While the compassion and wisdom aspects of bodhicitta are actually highly dependent on each other, in the Mahāyanā
Mahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
tradition (the school of Buddhism within which the terminology relating to bodhicitta is most fully developed) they are often referred to as:
- Relative bodhicitta, which refers to a state of mind in which the practitioner works for the good of all beings as if it were his own.
- Absolute, or ultimate, bodhicitta, which refers to the wisdom of shunyataShunyataŚūnyatā, शून्यता , Suññatā , stong-pa nyid , Kòng/Kū, 空 , Gong-seong, 공성 , qoγusun is frequently translated into English as emptiness...
(śunyatā, a Sanskrit term often translated as "emptiness", though the alternatives "openness" or "spaciousness" probably convey the idea better to Westerners). The concept of śunyatā in Buddhist thought does not refer to nothingness, but to freedom from attachments (particularly attachment to the idea of a static or essential self) and from fixed ideas about the world and how it should be. The classic text on śunyatā is the , a discourse of the BuddhaGautama BuddhaSiddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
commonly referred to as the "Heart SūtraHeart SutraThe Heart Sūtra is a Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtra. Its Sanskrit name literally translates to "Heart of the Perfection of Transcendent Wisdom." The Heart Sūtra is often cited as the best known and most popular of all Buddhist scriptures.-Introduction:The Heart Sūtra is a member of the Perfection of...
."
So, the term bodhicitta in its most complete sense would combine both:
- the arising of spontaneous and limitless compassion for all sentient beings, and
- the falling away of the attachment to the illusion of an inherently existent self.
Some bodhicitta practices emphasize the absolute (e.g. vipaśyanā
Vipassana
Vipassanā or vipaśyanā in the Buddhist tradition means insight into the true nature of reality. A regular practitioner of Vipassana is known as a Vipassi . Vipassana is one of the world's most ancient techniques of meditation, the inception of which is attributed to Gautama Buddha...
); others emphasize the relative (e.g. metta
Metta
Mettā or maitrī is loving-kindness, friendliness, benevolence, amity, friendship, good will, kindness, love, sympathy, close mental union , and active interest in others. It is one of the ten pāramīs of the Theravāda school of Buddhism, and the first of the four sublime states...
), but both aspects are seen in all Mahāyāna practice as essential to enlightenment, especially in the Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an practices of tonglen
Tonglen
Tonglen is Tibetan for 'giving and taking' , and refers to a meditation practice found in Tibetan Buddhism.-Practice:...
and lojong
Lojong
Lojong is a mind training practice in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition based on a set of aphorisms formulated in Tibet in the 12th century by Geshe Chekhawa...
. Without the absolute, the relative can degenerate into pity and sentimentality, whereas the absolute without the relative can lead to nihilism and lack of desire to engage other sentient beings for their benefit.
Bodhicitta may be viewed as having different levels: one useful classification is that given by Patrul Rinpoche
Patrul Rinpoche
Patrul Rinpoche was a prominent teacher and author of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.-Biography:...
in his Words of My Perfect Teacher. He states that the lowest level is the way of the King, who primarily seeks his own benefit but who recognizes that his benefit depends crucially on that of his kingdom and his subjects. The middle level is the path of the boatman, who ferries his passengers across the river and simultaneously, of course, ferries himself as well. The highest level is that of the shepherd, who makes sure that all his sheep arrive safely ahead of him and places their welfare above his own.
Although classification systems do vary (some schools even denying any conceptualizing of the path to Buddhahood
Buddhahood
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
) e.g. yellow hats argue that with bodhicitta one enters the path of accumulation
Source Texts
Among the most important source texts on bodhichitta, within the Mahāyāna tradition in which the teaching arose, are ŚāntidevaShantideva
Shantideva was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar at Nalanda University and an adherent of the Madhyamaka philosophy of Nagarjuna....
's A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way Of Life
A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way Of Life
The Bodhisattvacharyāvatāra or Bodhicaryāvatāra, sometimes translated into English as A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life, is a famous Mahāyāna Buddhist text written c. 700 AD in Sanskrit verse by Shantideva , a Buddhist monk at Nālandā Monastic University in India...
(c. 700 CE), Thogme Zangpo's Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva (12th century CE), Langri Tangpa
Langri Tangpa
Geshe Langri Tangpa is an important figure in the lineage of the Kadampa and Gelug schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in Central Tibet, as Dorje Senge . His name derives from Langtang, the area in which he is said to have lived...
's Eight Verses for Training the Mind (c. 1100 CE), and the lojong
Lojong
Lojong is a mind training practice in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition based on a set of aphorisms formulated in Tibet in the 12th century by Geshe Chekhawa...
(mind training) proverbs authored by Geshe Chekhawa
Geshe Chekhawa
Geshe Chekhawa was a great Kadampa Buddhist meditation master who was the author of the celebrated root text, Training the Mind in Seven Points which is an explanation Buddha's instructions on training the mind or Lojong in Tibetan...
in the 12th century CE.
Luminous mind in the Nikayas
Luminous mindLuminous mind
Luminous mind is a term attributed to the Buddha in the Nikayas...
(also, "brightly shining mind," "brightly shining citta") is a term used by the Buddha in the Pali Canon
Pāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
. It is described as the most fundamental aspect of the mind, and is said to be "brightly shining" whether or not this is realized. It is given no direct doctrinal interpretation in the Pali discourses; one way the Mahāyanā interprets it is as bodhicitta. The Astasahasrika Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra describes bodhicitta thus: "That citta is no citta since it is by nature brightly shining." This is in accord with Anguttara Nikaya I,10 which goes from a reference to brightly shining citta to saying that even the slightest development of loving-kindness
Metta
Mettā or maitrī is loving-kindness, friendliness, benevolence, amity, friendship, good will, kindness, love, sympathy, close mental union , and active interest in others. It is one of the ten pāramīs of the Theravāda school of Buddhism, and the first of the four sublime states...
is of great benefit. This implies that loving-kindness - and the related state of compassion - is inherent within the luminous mind as a basis for its further development. The observation that the ground state of consciousness is of the nature of loving-kindness implies that empathy is innate to consciousness and exists prior to the emergence of all active mental processes.
Significance
That bodhicitta is the primary positive factor to be cultivated is particularly emphasized by the MahāyānaMahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
and Vajrayāna
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle...
(or tantric) schools of Buddhism. In Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna Buddhism, the goal of Buddhist practice is primarily for an individual to escape from samsāra
Samsara
thumb|right|200px|Traditional Tibetan painting or [[Thanka]] showing the [[wheel of life]] and realms of saṃsāraSaṅsāra or Saṃsāra , , literally meaning "continuous flow", is the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth or reincarnation within Hinduism, Buddhism, Bön, Jainism, Sikhism, and other...
with the aspiration to be reborn infinite numbers of times to liberate all those other beings still trapped in samsāra.
While the teaching and terminology of bodhichitta is most developed in Mahāyāna Buddhism, its practice and realization are independent of sectarian considerations since they are fundamentally a part of the human experience. There are, of course, bodhisattvas recognized not only in the Theravāda school of Buddhism, but in all other religious traditions and among those of no formal religious tradition. The present fourteenth Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
, for instance, regarded Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
as one of the greatest modern bodhisattvas. Buddhism has no monopoly either on compassion or on the realization of the fundamentally illusory nature of our view of "self" and the world. Buddhism teaches that many bodhisattvas neither teach nor announce themselves in any way at all, but live apparently ordinary lives and help other sentient beings by stealth. It is regarded as a very healthy contemplation to hold the view that all other beings may actually be hidden bodhisattvas, including those we do not like.
Followers of the Mahāyāna, in particular, believe that the attainment of Buddhahood is not only possible by all sentient beings, but inevitable. Since all beings karmically connected ("all in the same boat", as it were), either we will all attain liberation or we will all drown in the ocean of samsāra. Mahāyāna teaches that even those who have initially chosen personal liberation from samsāra will be awakened eventually by Buddhas and entreated to develop bodhicitta and become fully enlightened in order to help liberate all sentient beings.
Mahāyāna Buddhism teaches that the broader motivation of achieving one's own enlightenment in order to help all sentient beings, bodhicitta, is the best possible motivation one can have for any action, whether it be working in one's vocation, teaching others, or even making an incense offering. The Six Perfections (Pāramitās) of Buddhism only become true "perfections" when they are done with the motivation of bodhicitta. Thus, the action of giving (Skt. dāna
Dana
-Singers:Some singers are popularly known only by the name, Dana:* Dana Rosemary Scallon , Irish-American singer and politician* Dana , Korean pop singer* Dana International , Israeli pop singer-In fiction:...
) can be done in a mundane sense, or it can be a Pāramitā
Pāramitā
Pāramitā or pāramī is "perfection" or "completeness." In Buddhism, the pāramitās refer to the perfection or culmination of certain virtues...
if it is conjoined with bodhicitta.
Cultivation
The seeds of both Absolute and Relative bodhicitta will often arise spontaneously – for example, when seeing someone close to us who is suffering, or in the face of a major unexpected event that upsets our world view. Unfortunately they can also vanish again just as quickly, which is why many Buddhist traditions, and in particular the Mahāyāna, provide specific methods for the intentional cultivation of both absolute and relative bodhicitta. This cultivation is considered to be one of the most difficult aspects of the path to complete enlightenment. Any teaching or activity cannot be held to be a genuine Mahāyāna activity unless it is conjoined with at least a contrived bodhicitta. Practitioners of the Mahāyāna make it their primary goal to go beyond contrived forms of bodhicitta and to develop a genuine, uncontrived bodhicitta which remains within their mindstreams continuously without having to rely on conscious effort.Among the many methods for developing uncontrived Bodhicitta given in Mahāyāna teachings are:
- Contemplation of the Four Immeasurables (BrahmaviharaBrahmaviharaThe brahmavihāras are a series of four Buddhist virtues and the meditation practices made to cultivate them. They are also known as the four immeasurables...
s) - Immeasurable Loving-Kindness (MaitriMaitriMaitri is India's second permanent research station in Antarctica. It was built and finished in 1989, shortly before the first station Dakshin Gangotri was buried in ice and abandoned in 1990-91...
), Immeasurable Compassion (KarunāKarunaKaruā is generally translated as "compassion" or "pity". It is part of the spiritual path of both Buddhism and Jainism.-Buddhism:...
), Immeasurable Joy in the Good Fortune of Others (MuditaMuditaMudita in Buddhism is joy. It is especially sympathetic or vicarious joy, the pleasure that comes from delighting in other people's well-being rather than begrudging it...
), and Immeasurable Equanimity (Upeksa) - The practice of the PāramitāPāramitāPāramitā or pāramī is "perfection" or "completeness." In Buddhism, the pāramitās refer to the perfection or culmination of certain virtues...
s (Generosity, Patience, Virtue, Effort, Meditation, and Insight). - The Taking and Sending (tonglenTonglenTonglen is Tibetan for 'giving and taking' , and refers to a meditation practice found in Tibetan Buddhism.-Practice:...
) practice, in which one takes in the pain and suffering of others on the inbreath and sends them love, joy, and healing on the outbreath., and the LojongLojongLojong is a mind training practice in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition based on a set of aphorisms formulated in Tibet in the 12th century by Geshe Chekhawa...
('Mind Training') practices of which tonglen forms a part. - Viewing all other sentient beings as having been our mothers in infinite past lives, and feeling gratitude for the many occasions on which they have taken care of us.
External links
- Compassion and Bodhicitta
- Bodhicitta.net
- The Bodhisattva in Buddhism by Walpola Rahula Thera - German language
- http://chamtrul-rinpoche.comBodhicitta non-profit organization for humanitarian aid in partnership with Chamtrul RinpocheChamtrul RinpocheChamtrul Lobsang Gyatso is a rinpoche and teacher of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. Trained by many High Masters of different Tibetan Buddhist traditions, his main Root Guru was His Holiness Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche from the Nyingmapa School...
] - Drikung Kagyu Ngöndro Teaching By Lama Sonam Jorphel Rinpoche
- Berzin, Alexander (2001). The Berzin Archives. Stages of Bodhichitta.