To become a Bodhisattva, that is, to get into real Buddhism requires Bodhicitta (the mind that is bodhi). Saying or believing you’re a Bodhisattva is frankly, baloney. One is a Bodhisattva only by way of Bodhicitta. This can’t be emphasized enough (Tibetan Lamas hammer this in big time).
So how do we manifest or arouse Bodhicitta, the Mind that directly beholds itself for the first time, shorn of obscuring and obstructing defilements?
First the real truth. It is extremely difficult to manifest Bodhicitta but only if you have a lot of preconceived ideas about, mind or citta, and sambodhi. Such ideas have to be jettisoned. A person needs a very, very open mind, in other words.
Trying to find the Bodhi Mind (bodhicitta), in a way, is like looking for gold. One day after many years of looking for gold in your dark mine you find a tiny vein of pure gold (before this there many false veins which were fool’s gold). You’re really excited—you’re jumping up and down like a crazy person. The gold, what little of it, shines brilliantly. But this begins a long process of getting more gold from the vein. This is analogous to the work a Bodhisattva has to do after Bodhicitta, but that’s another blog.
Looking inside of our head for pure Mind (bodhicitta) is like being in the mine looking for gold. When we discover pure Mind it is very exciting. Its luminous nature is awesome; the entire universe is made from this luminous Mind stuff! But then the hard work comes afterwards because we have to expand Bodhicitta by saving sentient beings which really means saving our thoughts, for example, the thought of getting drunk with our Dharma buddies, or saying things to hurt other people, or getting angry or greedy. These are the sentient beings we have to save by increasing our connection with the Bodhi Mind.
If this all sounds like mission impossible, it isn’t. It is neither difficult nor easy. Seeing Mind depends on one’s ability to keep looking inside of their noisy, confused, dark, everyday mind for a pristine point which if they get lucky and find it, they will immediately sense their physical body energizing because, for the first time, they have magnified that which animates their body which is pure, dynamic Mind.
For those who think it is worth arguing about what exactly Bodhicitta is, I found this the other day in Paul Williams book, Mahayana Buddhism. It is quite helpful.
“Ever since at least as early as the Samdhinirmocana Sutra, however, it has been asserted that there are two types of bodhicitta—the ultimate and the conventional or relative bodhicittas. Ultimate bodhicitta is, according to the sutra, 'beyond this world, cannot be formulated by concept or speech, is extremely radiant, the image of the Ultimate, immaculate, unshakeable, and very bright like the steady glow of a lamp on a calm night'. Since the Samdhinirmocana Sutra is a Yogacara text, it seems likely that ultimate bodhicitta (etymology: enlightened mind) is the pure radiant mind of an enlightened being, possessed of compassion” (p. 199).
Thank you for this post. I found it, like most of your posts, to be very helpful.
Posted by: Keen_eddie | October 27, 2010 at 05:29 AM