Huixing Shi/ 2001150

Graduate Department of Religious Studies School of Research and Graduate Studies International Buddhist College

The Development of Bodhisattva Ideal By Huixing Shi (ID: 2001150)

M.A. in Buddhist Studies 2007- 2008 ME6102. Mahyna Buddhism

Huixing Shi/ 2001150

2 (Dr. Fa Qing)

The Bodhisattva Doctrine

Contents:

1- Introduction.

2- Etymology.

3- The Bodhisattva Concept.

4- The Buddha Concept.

5- The ideal Man of Theravda and Mahyna.

6- Influence of other religions.

7- The Transcendental Bodhisattvas.

8- Notes.

9- Bibliography.

Huixing Shi/ 2001150

1- Introduction:

The Bodhisattva doctrine is a complex phenomenon that probably originated in the Second century B.C. The word bodhisattva occurs not infrequently in the Pli Canon. Although in Theravda tradition there was an embryo proposal, its real development owns to Mahyna Buddhism. Mahynists elaborated this model into an ideal during the course of several centuries (2nd cent. B.C. to 7th cent. A.D.) 2- Etymology: The Sanskrit word bodhisattva has been explained in many different ways. It has two parts, bodhi, which means Enlightenment, perfect Wisdom, and sattva. Several interpretations have been offered for this word. I present here the final conclusion about its meaning given by Har Dayal1, who sustains that is safer to have an accurate understanding of the word, to go back to the Pli rather than to later lexicographers and philosophers. Hence bodhisatta in the Pli texts means a bodhi being. But satta seems to mean not an ordinary being but a warrior, a hero, a valiant man. The same
1

Har Dayal. The Bodhisattva Doctrine in the Buddhist Sanskrit Literature. Delhi. Motilal. 1975. Page 9.

Huixing Shi/ 2001150

meaning has the equivalent Tibetan pda. Satta in Pli should be interpreted as heroic being, a spiritual warrior. Both ideas of existence and great effort are suggested. The term sattva, in Dayals view, may be a wrongly Sanskritized of the Pli word satta. Therefore Bodhisattva can be rendered as a spiritual warrior or a spiritual hero, who aspires to Buddha-hood.

3- The Bodhisattva Concept: It is of interested to observe how the Bodhisattva concept has developed down the ages. In the Theravda Pli Canon the term is primarily restricted to Gotama Buddha. The use of the term "bodhisatta" occurs in a number of the sttas in the Majjhima, Anguttara, and Samyutta Nikyas, where the Buddha referred to Himself as a bodhisattva before His enlightenment.2 In later canonical texts, the Bodhisattva idea is further developed and associated with others concepts. The Buddhavasa [1] shows more maturity of the model. Here, the bodhisattva construction refers to an ideal being that makes a vow to become a perfect enlightened Buddha (sammsambuddha), out of compassion for all sentient beings, who performs several acts of merit, and who receives a prophecy of his future Buddhahood by a living
2

Jeffrey Samuels. The Bodhisattva Ideal in Theravda Buddhist Theory and Practice: A Reevaluation of the Bodhisattva-rvaka Opposition. Philosophy East and West. Volume 47, Number 3, July 1997. University of Hawaiis Press.Page 401.

Huixing Shi/ 2001150

Buddha.3 Consequently another thought arises in parallel, i.e., a Bodhisattva needs to complete a number of Perfections (pramit), during his career. Besides the Buddhavasa, also in the Cariypitaka are delineated ten perfections [2], in contrast with the six ones asserted in the Mahyna stras, like the Aashasrik-Prajnpramitstra and the Ratnaguasam- cayagth. The Buddhavasa and the Cariypiaka discuss as well, how each of the ten Perfections may be practiced at three different levels: a common degree, a higher degree, and an ultimate degree of completion. Although the most of the uses of the term bodhisattva refers to Shakyamuni Buddha or the Buddhas who preceded him, there is also some reference in the Pli Canon about the future Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. As example, can be cited the Cakkavatishanda Stta of the Dgha Nikya; where the Buddha predicts Metteyya bodhisattva as the Sammsambuddha of the future.4 Based in the former data, one might affirm that Mahynas bodhisattva ideal was completely shaped within Hnayna Schools, particularly between the Sarvastivdins, who had given a careful attention to the career of a bodhisattva, proven by the fine description of a bodhisattvas mentality in the Abhidharmakoa of Vasubandhu. Nevertheless, in name of justice, one has to affirm also that the Mahynists evolved a doctrine valid to everyone; and this was their
3 4

Ibid. Page 402. Ibid. Page 403.

Huixing Shi/ 2001150

innovation. The Sadharmapuarika (Sad. Pu.) mainly teaches that every being has the possibility of becoming a bodhisattva and in consequence a Buddha, even the insects and worms as ntideva declared.5 The ideal of the bodhisattva was partially due to social pressure on the Order, which had become closed to the ordinary people, but the most important factor was the necessity of adapting to the changing circumstances of the age. The Bodhisattva Doctrine was the necessary conclusion of two ideas that had been developed by Early Buddhism: Faith (saddh in Pli) and the idealization of the Buddha. Faith was originally directed towards the triple gem. In the AN X.61, the Buddha said that faith has for its nutriment hearing the exposition of the true Dharma. Therefore saddh, the kind of faith that comes into being as a result of hearing the exposition of the true Dharma, is essentially an attitude of trust and commitment directed to ultimate emancipation, which is grounded in an objective capable of eliciting it such as the triple gem. After his Parinirvna the Buddha was soon idealized, spiritualized and universalized. The original saddh turned into devotion. The faith not

blind and critical of the earlier period was converted into belief and hope of liberation by other power. Then the Buddha himself became a
5

Har Dayal. The Bodhisattva Doctrine. Page18.

Huixing Shi/ 2001150

distant object of devotion for the doctrine followers and thus the invention and the adoration of the bodhisattvas fulfilled that defect.6 4- The Buddha Concept:

As a bodhisattva is a germ of a Buddha, both concepts depend on each other and they developed in parallel. For Theravda Buddhism the Buddha is a man who by his own effort and dedication has realized the Truth of the existence and actualized himself in the highest degree possible for a human. Despite the theravdins considered the Buddha as a man, this man is an extraordinary one, one who appears in the world in very rare occasions and as a unique manifestation. The Buddha is the person who realized the Highest Truth for the first time by his own effort and proclaimed it to the world and hence, he is the Teacher. The life of a Buddha commenced only from the time of his enlightenment and his life or lives before this event was that of the bodhisattva. So in Theravda tradition there is only one living Buddha and in correspondence only one bodhisattva, the one who will become the Buddha. The Avadna- ataka describes a Buddha as having ten Powers or blani, related with Omniscience, four Grounds of Self-confidence or vairadyni and three Fields of Mindfulness or smity-upasthnni. In other hand, the Mahyna literature [3] describes
6

Ibid. Page. 30.

Huixing Shi/ 2001150

eighteen attributes or veika-dharmas, which distinguish a Buddha from other beings and that shows him as a super-natural being. This list is not found in the Pli canon. There are other qualities describes by Buddhist Sanskrit writers in relation to Buddhahood, there are the foundation for the production of a bodhisattva. These characteristics have to be understood and appreciate before to strive for bodhi. They are: Mah- karu; unblemished purity; a Buddha has his Buddha-ketra or field; when He appears in the earth His existence never ceases; a Buddha is superhuman, His conception is not produce by physical union of His parents; a Buddha has three bodies or kyas (rpa, nirmna and dharma-kya); His real body is the cosmic Absolute, which means that all the Buddhas are united in the dharma-kya and all of them are One. This conception of Buddhahood developed in the Mahyna- strlakra, asserts a kind of Pan-Buddhism, in contrast with the Pantheism of Hinduism. The Buddhas became immortal, universal, deified and unified.7 5. The ideal Man of Theravda and Mahyna:

The teachings of the Buddha collected in the Pli canon stress the way to nirvna, which allows the people to free themselves from
7

Ibid. Page. 28.

Huixing Shi/ 2001150

suffering and rebirth or liberation from sasara. The method used to achieve that goal is insight and to acquire the habit of regarding all phenomena, include other beings as dharmas or impersonal forces which arise and pass away moment to moment. The Buddha advised His disciples to practice sla, samdhi and pa, to restrain sense contact

and live a life of aloofness, stressing the solitary meditation practice. Thus the arahants are represented as very austere, selfrestrained, dispassionate ascetics and in some way rigid and selfcentered. The Mahayanist declared that the ideal of arahanship was inferior to that of Buddhahood. They argued that arahants hence achieved liberation form sasra; they cannot destroy the jeyavaraas or traces of defilements which avoid them to achieve perfect Buddhahood. The four stages of sotappana, sakadgmi, angmi and arahant, which correspond to the Theravda Path to Enlightenment, are considered as preliminary of the bodhisattva career. When those four stages are completed it is said that all the fetters (sayojana) have been destroyed [4]. But that is not enough for achieving prajpramit or Bodhi, understood as Omniscience, and it is the summum bonum of the bodhisattva career. The bodhisattvas are described as compassionate, friendly and active. They are saviors who renounce to nirvna to help other beings to achieve liberation from suffering. A bodhisattva has the

Huixing Shi/ 2001150

10

possibility of attain bodhi and become a Buddha. This two concepts bodhi and Buddhahood is the core of the bodhisattva doctrine. To attain bodhi he has to develop bodhicitta or the mind of enlightenment which is founded in compassion. Thus the bodhisattva is the ideal man who develops the virtue of living dealing with the contradiction of two paradoxical forces which are compassion and wisdom. By compassion he helps beings, by Wisdom he sees no persons. Whereas Theravda stresses the monastic life as the sole path to salvation, Mahyna says anyone, including laity, can attain enlightenment by practicing the bodhisattva values.

Rather than consider one of the two ideals the best one, the middle way as the Buddha taught should be the appropriate approach to judge them. Each one could fulfill the necessities of introverted or extroverted personalities, and in this way both tradition presents an acceptable goal.

6. Influence of others religions:

Despite that the bodhisattva concept presented in the Pli texts appears to be an original Buddhist thought; the later development of the ideal by the Mahynist shows the influence of different religions, which were contemporary with the Mahyna Buddhism progress. As it was

Huixing Shi/ 2001150

11

already pointed out in the Earliest Buddhism the bodhisattva was a synonym of Buddha akyamuni, before His enlightenment. In later Mahyna texts, the ideal changes its form and comes out as a compassionate savior, who takes the resolve of sacrificing his own life for the sake of others, ideal that evolved into the development of devotion to transcendental bodhisattvas into whom the concept of salvation was superimpose. On all these ideas the Christian influence can be seen. The Christian Gospels entered Northern India in the 1st century A.D through St. Thomas and sprout in the Pahlava Empire of Gondophares and the Sakas who were under their dominion. Tradition8records that Thomas set out for India immediately after the Crucifixion, i.e. 30 A.D. Thus the appearance of Gondophares in the Acts of Thomas (New Testament) is therefore chronologically acceptable. Therefore during Gondophares rule the apostle Thomas brought the first knowledge of Christianity to India. Sanskrit, the language of Mhayna writings, first developed in the same place, the Saka Empire around 150 AD [5] this data supports the idea of the Christian influence in the later Mahyna developments. Besides Christianity, Zoroastrianism, with its cult of sun-worship, which was introduced to India in the 3rd century B.C., also influence Mahyna Buddhism. It can be observed in several names of Mahyna

A.T. Olmstead, The Chronology of Jesus life, Anglican Theological Review XXIV. 1 (Evanston, Ill. 1942), page 23.

Huixing Shi/ 2001150

12

that suggest sun-worship as Amitbha (Measureless Light), Vairocana (the Brilliant One), Dpakara (Light-maker), between others.9 Hinduism is as well recognized as influencing Buddhism in the 4th century A.D. many practice of Yoga were borrowed from Hinduism, especially by Yogcra school philosophers. Also a bodhisattva is described as a yogi par excellence, the numbers of samdhis were increased in correlation with Yoga teachings and extraordinary powers were assigned to them10. Greeks through Art representing Hellenic gods and heroes taught the Buddhist the importance of personality representation on statues and paintings. The first figure of Buddha appeared in Gandhra sometime between the 1st B.C and 2nd century A.D. The bodhisattvas were depicted as bare-chested and jeweled Indian princes, and the buddhas as Greek kings wearing the himation, a light toga-like wavy robe covering both shoulders. The buildings in which they are depicted incorporate Greek style, with the ubiquitous Indo-Corinthian capitals and Greek decorative scrolls. Surrounding deities form a pantheon of Greek (Atlas, Heracles) and Indian gods (Indra).11 7. The Transcendental Bodhisattvas:

Har Dayal. The Bodhisattva Doctrine, page 39. Ibid. page 45. 11 Greco-Buddhist art. Wikipedia. 10/10/2007. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 12/10/2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhist_art
10

Huixing Shi/ 2001150

13

Once introduced the worship of Buddha as a deity in anthropomorphic form His pantheon was also developed. It included gods and goddesses borrowed from Greeks and Hindus, but the capital representations were that of bodhisattvas. Many bodhisattvas are named in the Sanskrit scriptures; some of them act as ministers of the Buddha, others as Dharma and preachers protectors. But between all Avalokitevara and Majur are the most important. Majur, whose name means Gentle Glory or Sweet Splendor, is cited in the Sad. Pu. as a master of wisdom and knowledge. He was widely venerated as the image of Praj during the 2nd century A.D., when the writings of the Mdhyamika School reached its climax. But the later Mahyna emphasized Compassion more than Wisdom, and Avalokitevara began his reign. His name has many translations: The Lord who sees, or looks down; the Lord of what it seen, of the visible world; the Lord, who is seen from on high; the Lord of compassionate glance; the Lord of the dead an the dying; etc. He is the chief minister of Amitbhas Paradise and in some texts like the Kraa- Vyha, is described as much greater than the Buddhas in Merit, intelligence and sphere of influence12.

These Bodhisattvas are closer to the common man as their constant guide than Buddha himself. Although the enigmatic
12

Har Dayal. The Bodhisattva Doctrine, page 49.

Huixing Shi/ 2001150

14

problem of non-dwelling nirvna is difficult to elucidate, even when the wisdom of emptiness (praj) and upaykosalla (skillful means) act as the bodhisattva context.

Anyhow by conceptualizing the superior ideal of a bodhisattva, Mahyna Buddhism has set a high standard of virtuous conduct to emulate by ordinary people, the striving for a spiritually life free of selfishness, indeed the foundation for a meaningful and fulfilling existence, both for the individual and for the world around.

6. Notes

[1] The Buddhavasa is a later work belonging to the Khuddaka Nikya. The ten perfections are mentioned numerous times in it. For example, Buddhavasa 2A:117 ff., 4:14, 5:20, and 6:14. [2] The Ten Pramits named by the theravdins are: dna; sla; pa; nekkhamma; viriya; khanti; sacca; adhihna; mett and upekkh. Meanwhile the six perfections outlined by the Mahynist are; generosity; ethical discipline; patient; effort; concentration (samadh) and wisdom.

[3] Mahyna literature about veika-dharmas: Mah-vyutpatti; Divy- vadna; Mahyna- strlakra; ata- shasrik Praj-

Huixing Shi/ 2001150

15

pramit; Lalita- vistara; Daa- Bhmika stra; Dharma- sagraha; Mah-vastu.

[4] The ten fetters (sayojana) are: 1) sa-tkya-di or belief in substantial Individuality; 2) vicikits or doubt; 3) la-vrataparmar or the perverted belief in good works an ceremonies; 4) kma-rga or love of sense-pleasure; 5) vypda or malice, ill-will; 6) rpa-rga or love of existence in the material worlds; 7) rpyarga or love of existence in the non-material worlds; 8) avidy or ignorance; 9) mna or pride and 10) auddhatya or selfrighteousness, exaltation, excitement.

[5] The stone pillar inscription of Samudra Gupta (AD 330 to 380) written in Sanskrit and a late Brahmi script called the Gupta script was incised on an Asoka pillar at Allahabad. Composed by Harisena, a commander-in-chief of the king it describes elaborately the Moral, intellectual and military achievements of this king; this inscription dates around 350 A.D. (Alexander, Harris. The Development of Civilization. Pp.42-43)

*** 7. Bibliography

Huixing Shi/ 2001150

16

Conze, Edward. Buddhism: Its Essence and Development, Wind horse Publication, 2001. Dayal, Har. The Bodhisattva Doctrine in the Buddhist Sanskrit Literature, Motilal Banarsidas, Delhi, 1975. Harris, Alexander. The Development of Civilization and Religion in India and Its Influence on the World Society. Chennai. India. 2001. Samuels, Jeffrey. The Bodhisattva Ideal in Theravda Buddhist Theory and Practice: A Reevaluation of the Bodhisattva-rvaka Opposition. Philosophy East and West. Volume 47, Number 3, July 1997. By University of Hawaiis Press. Pages 399-415. Wikipedia. Greco-Buddhist art. 10/10/2007. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 12/10/2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhist_art