THE BODHISATTVA

DOCTRINE

STHAVIRAS VS MAHĀSANGHIKASc.a. 200 B.C.

• RATIONALISTICS BUDDHA AS HISTORICAL PERSON

• MORTAL • ARHANTAS• SVABHĀVA ŚŪNYA

• MYSTICS• BUDDHA AS

METAPHYSICAL PRINCIPLE

• INMORTAL• BODHISATTVAS• ŚŪNYATĀ

MAHĀYĀNA100 B.C. and 100 A.D.

• LITERARY SOURCES:

• PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀ • SADDHARMAPUṆḌARĪKA• AVATAṂSAKA• SAMĀDHIRĀJĀ• VIMALAKĪRTINIRDEŚA

• SALVATION• DOGMATIC AFFIRMATION• RELIGION• “UNCONDITIONED”• CONTRADICTION• AFFIRMATION = NEGATION• PERFECTION OF WIDOM• EMPTINESS = CONCRETE

FULLNESS• BUDDHA-NATURE

Japan, Bodhisattva, Heian Period Late 12th Century, Wood with

Gold Leaf 

Stone Statue at Ryutakuji Temple

BODHISATTVA Pali: Boddhisatta

• IS A BEING WHO ASPIRES

TO BUDDHAHOOD.

• IS A BUDDHA TO BE.

• IS A HEROIC BEING,

A SPIRITUAL WARRIOR

(c.a. 200 B.C.)

ETIMOLOGY

• Bodhi and Sattva:• Bodhi from the root budh , to be awake,

means `awakening´ or `enlightenment´ • Sattva derived from sant, the present participle

of the root as, `to be´, means `a being´ • literally, `one who is´, `a sentient being´. • Satta (Pāli) and dpaḥ (Tibetan), heroic

being, spiritual warrior.

Har Dal. "The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature". Delhi:1975. pp.9

Seated Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Kannon)1300?400 AD. Gilded bronze.

National Museum of Korea, Seoul, D801

Bodhisattva Dated +1224 Daiho-on-ji Temple, Kyoto

ARAHANTA vs. BODHISATTVA

• Introverted• Ideal: Nibbāna• Renounce: saṃsāra• Solitary meditation• Austere• Self-restrained• Dispassionate

• Extroverted• Ideal: Omniscience• Renounce both• Social commitment• Compassive• Friendly/ Emotional • Active

Avalokitesvara. Anuradhapura period, 8-9 century. Gilt bronze; solid

cast.

ARAHANTS734 AD, Kofukuji Temple, Japan

(L) Ragora (M) Subodai (R) Furuna

Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple, Arashiyama, Kyoto

Someone is called a Bodhisattva if he is certain to become a Buddha, a "Buddha" being a man who has first enlightened himself and will thereafter enlighten others. The change from an ordinary being to a Bodhi-being takes place when his mind has reached the stage when it can no longer turn back on enlightenment. Also he has by then gained five advantages; he is no more reborn in the states of woe, but always among gods and man; he is never again born in poor or low-class families; he is always male, and never a woman; he is always well-built, and free from physical defects; he can remember his past lives, and no more forgets them again.

Translation by Edward Conze        "Buddhist Scriptures" (Penguin Books, 1973)

MANJUSRI BODHISATTVA

1) Herakles (Louvre Museum).2) Herakles on coin of Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius I.

3) Vajrapani, the protector of the Buddha, depicted as Herakles in the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara.

4) Shukongōshin, manifestation of Vajrapani, as protector deity of Buddhist temples in Japan.

For embodied beings May I be

The wish-fulfilling jewel, The pot of plenty,

The spell that always works, The potent healing herb,

The magical tree that grants every wish, and the milk-cow

That supplies all wants.

Śantideva

Make me an instrument of Your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;Where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;Where there is darkness, light;

and Where there is sadness, joy.

Saint Francis