Ozmo Hyonjin Piedmont, Ph.D.
The Mahayana path of Buddhism has made rich
contributions to world spirituality in the in the form of the Bodhisattva
ideal, which places a high valuation on compassion, tirelessly working for the
salvation of all sentient beings, placing their welfare before one’s own. The Bodhisattva ideal is well suited for a
contemporary society concerned for its survival as a species and a planet. Buddhism in general, and the Mahayana school
in particular, provide the means and techniques to carry out a new and evolving
spirituality based on reason, science, tolerance and direct experience,
important ingrediants for a world religion that can serve as a psychology of
healing, as well as, an ethical way of life.
The Mahayana school of Buddhism
emerged as a movement between 150 BCE and 100 CE based on three innovations
different from previous traditions: a major emphasis on the Bodhisattva ideal,
a cosmology that included the Buddha as a transcendent being, and the concept
of emptiness of all phenomena (Harvey, 1995, pp. 89-90). This shift in philosophy effected the Vinaya
rules of monastic discipline, as well as the teachings and spiritual practice
of the Dharma. The following essay will
touch on some of the unique qualilties of Mahayana Buddhism as it pertains to
the practicant’s aspirations, his or her role and relationship to a teacher, and
the stages of spiritual development on the road to becoming a Buddha. The last
part of the essay will define, contrast, and compare the Buddhist concepts of
good and evil, and will end with a discussion of the unique contributions the
Buddha made to world spirituality through his exposition of the Four Noble
Truths.
What is the aspiration of someone
practicing the Mahayana path?
One practicing the Mahayana path
aspires to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. This involves the Bodhisattva vow, of putting
off one´s own enlightenment until everyone else is enlightened first. This is ironic, since in this vow of
postponing enlightenment, one ends up enlightened in spite of oneself, as
something that cannot really be stopped.
This is because one´s suffering and enlightenment is intimately tied up
with everyone else´s, and one´s own spiritual progress is impeded by trying to
advance in one´s own spiritual progress (Foster).
The Zen Roshi Jiyu-Kennett (1999) wrote
that through the practice of the Bodhisattva ideal, one realizes the true
spiritual meaning of Nirvana:
So, just by being a Bodhisattva, one is already in
Nirvana…Nirvana and Samsara not being two different states of existence. Here we see that nothing is, in fact, outside
Nirvana and, later, we shall see that even Nirvana does not exist. By giving up Nirvana for the sake of others,
one finds oneself in Nirvana in its true spiritual meaning (p. 19)
It is only by forgetting one´s own
progress, though tirelessly working for the benefit of other people, that one begins
to experience enlightenment not as an idea or a goal, but rather as the
expression of compassion and service, in the doing rather than the getting, in
the forgetting of self, that one finds one’s true meaning and joy and liberation
through helping others. This is the last
vestige of desire, grasping, and attachment that must be released. Up until now, this aspiration for Nirvana has
brought one to the path of spiritual practice of the Buddhas, and one has grown
and matured in one’s purification of the defiling passions, the kleshas. But at a certain point this spiritual desire
must itself be sacrificed and released, since it is the very thing that keeps
one from attaining the goal of what one seeks.
Since Nirvana is not based on any idea, form, or desire, it is only in
the complete release from all striving and attachment that one can finally open
to that which was always present, the Buddha Nature within, that which is
Enlightenment and Nirvana itself. In
this goal-less goal, one experiences complete freedom and release. Now one is no longer seeking something
outside oneself, one is completely identified with and an expression of Nirvana
within the world. This realization may
be a “sudden” insight, or it may be a “gradual” unfolding over time. At any rate, it becomes more and more one´s
realization of the Eternal Truth that continually manifests itself through
one´s spiritual practice and study, which is all dedicated to the service of
others, their alleviation of suffering, and their awakening to the Truth of
their at-one-ment with the Unborn.
What is the role of the
student/practitioner of the Mahayana path?
The student is
someone who has resolved his or her own confusion and suffering to some
degree. It is someone inspired to work
with and for others. It is someone who
pays attention to and works with the kleshas (i.e. conflictive emotions: anger,
lust, greed, and confusion). These are
not avoided, but rather worked and engaged with as inspirations on the
path. When one gets angry, one sees it
as a sign revealing that which makes one angry, and therefore, what needs to be
worked on. It is like a carpenter
sanding a piece of wood. When he thinks
he is finished, he runs his hand over the surface to see where he may need to
sand more. Seeing that there is still
roughness, he does not get angry about it, but rather continues to sand until
it becomes totally smooth. The Mahayana
path is like looking for one´s rough spots so one knows where to work more
(Foster)
What is the general practice of
someone on the Mahayana path?
The general
practice of someone on the mahayana path begins with the arising of
bodhi-citta, the aspiration to strive for Buddhahood in order to help other
human beings. Then one takes general vows to overcome defilements that obscure
one’s buddha nature and to dedicate oneself to the service of others, beginning
with the intention to practice The Eightfold Path, following the Middle Way,
and practising certain perfections that bring merit, which is dedicated to the
future buddhahood of oneself and others, and which leads one through ten stages
of development toward Buddhahood. These
include:
Stage One: the perfection of
generosity (dana) in the form of giving away wealth, teachings, life, limb,
spouse and family.
Stage Two: the perfection of moral
virtue (sila) in order to purify one’s conduct.
Stage Three: the perfection of patience
(ksanti), through lovingkindness, compassion, forbearance, perseverence in the
study of Dharma, and avoiding anger.
Stage Four: the perfection of vigour
(virya) through increased aspiration, compassion, mindfulness.
Stage Five: the perfection of
meditation (dhyana) where meditative trances are mastered, rejection of the
heavenly rebirths these can lead to, comprehension of the Four Holy Truths,
movement between conventional and ultimate truth, as well as the cultivation of
maths, medicine, and poetry, in order to help others and to teach Dharma.
Stage Six: the perfection of wisdom
where one gains insight into Dependent Origination, not-self, emptiness, and
attaining the level of development of an arhat, where one could enter Nirvana,
leaving the rounds of rebirth, but chooses not to, due to great compassion for
others. One becomes free of self-consciousness or ulterior motive.
Stage Seven: one becomes a “Great
Being”, a heavenly saviour, perfect in skillful means, attains Nirvana, and
projects him or herself into many worlds to teach and help others.
Stage Eight: non-relapsing knowledge
which guarantees eventual attainment of Buddhahood, and allows one to appear
anywhere in the universe at will, appearing in whatever form is necessary to
teach and help others, and can fully transfer merit to others that begin to
pray to him or her for help.
Stage Nine: the perfection of power
(bala) which gives great insight into others’ character to guide and teach them
in the best ways possible according to their needs.
Stage Ten: one dwells in the Tusita
heaven, has a resplendent body, is surrounded by spiritual beings, has
omniscience, perfect knowledge (jñana), and is ready for consecration by other
Buddhas as being ready for perfect Buddhahood, which is attained in the final
Tathagata-stage. (Harvey, 1995, pp. 122-124)
What is the role of the teacher of
the Mahayana path?
The role of the
teacher in the Mahayana path is that of a spiritual friend who is
compassionate, knows the Buddhist teachings, embodies the virtues of the
Buddhist ethics of sila, has taken and kept the vows of a Boddhisattva, knows
and has practiced well the spiritual path and has skillful means to help teach
others to follow their own spiritual path.
What is the relationship between
student and teacher?
The relationship
between student and teacher is based on trust, friendship and committment. The student must be able to trust the teacher
and his or her instructions. Their
relationship is one of friendship, wherein the student emulates the teacher,
admiring and often behaving like the teacher, and the teacher is an experienced
friend that has walked further in the path of enlightenment, and is willing to
share his knowledge and training with the student. The teacher has a commitment to the student,
to help guide and direct the student in his or her development. The student has a commitment to the teacher,
to honor the teacher, respect the teacher, and listen to the teacher’s
instructions, applying the teachings to his or her own life. The student, upon taking both the Pratimoksha
vows of individual liberation, as well as the bodhisattva vows to help others,
must receive them from someone who has already taken these vows. They are like precious pots, which are passed
on from teacher to student, and each successive generation preserves them, and
knows that if they are broken, they are lost.
The pratimoksha vows are taken on the body, meaning that when you die,
they are gone. The bodhisattva vows are
taken on the mind, so that when the body dies, the vows continue into future
births. The very fact that one decides
to take bodhisattva vows in this life, implies that they were already taken in
a prior life (Foster).
In the Theravada
tradition, one receives guidance for instruction in meditation and spiritual
practice from a qualified teacher known as a kalyanamitta, i.e. good
friend. The Buddha placed high importance
on such a teacher in order to aid in the purification of the student’s heart
and to progress on the student’s spiritual path. One needs personal guidance, since the skills
required cannot be learned simply through reading books. The teacher gets to know the pupil, guiding
the pupil through difficulties, and steers the pupil clear of inappropiate use
of power that may arise through the practice of meditation and skillful means. The pupil, on the other hand, applies him or
herself to the practice, and keeps an open mind as to where it may lead
(Harvey, 1995, p. 244).
In the Vajrayana
tradition, which uses all kinds of skillful means, such as visions, mantras,
visualizations, identifications with tutelary deities called yi-dams, mandalas,
and mudras, this relationship is even more intensified, since the goal is not
just enlightenment in the future, but rather enlightenment in this very life,
as the starting point for helping others.
One functions as if one is already enlightened, and from there through
your practice, you are not just imagining, but realize you always were and are
enlightened, even though you were just fooling yourself that you were not. This all requires a very skilled teacher who
has learned these techniques from others before him or her. This bond between the teacher and the student
requires a great deal of trust, because many of the skills to be learned just
do not make sense with the rational mind in the beginning. One must be willing to suspend one’s
disbelief for awhile. It takes a long
time to develop such trust, and one must be willing to invest and as much as 12
years time to be able to fully accept the teacher completely (Foster)
What are the commitments involved in
following the Mahayana path?
In the Mahayana
path, one must be willing to pledge oneself to ethical, moral and spiritual
practice for the realization of Buddhahood, dedicated to the liberation of all
sentient beings from suffering. One must
be willing to meditate, study the Dharma, and receive guidance from a respected
and skilled teacher, and apply those teachings to one´s daily life. One must have faith in the teachings and the
teacher in order to begin, but also one must be willing to question and doubt
the teachings in order to see for oneself if they are true and are leading one
to the goal of Nirvana, freedom from suffering, and becoming a
Bodhisattva. One must be willing to
renounce one’s attachments, extinguish one’s desires, overcome all obstacles,
and help all other beings attain Nirvana.
This is represented by the bodhisattva vows which state:
Sentient beings are
numberless; I vow to save them.
Desires are inexhaustible; I
vow to put an end to them.
The Dharmas are boundless; I
vow to master them.
The Buddha Way is
unattainable; I vow to attain it.
(Loori,
2002, p. 247)
These vows demonstrate that one
transcends one´s rational ego concerns, going beyond the end result in all of
its overwhelming implications, to just set about the work in the present for
the liberation of all, for the study and complete realization of the
Bodhisattva ideal.
What is the fruition of the Mahayana
path?
The fruition of the Mahayana path is
that of becoming an omniscient Buddha, one who can teach and help beings in
countless ways (Harvey, 1995, p. 121) The end goal is complete Buddhahood,
enlightenment, which is no different from that which attained by Shakyamuni
himself (Foster).
Define, compare, and contrast the
terms Kusala and Akusala
The words Kusala and Akusala
are literally translated into English as Good and Evil. However, they are not really what one
normally associates with these concepts. Bhikkhu P.A. Payutto, in his essay
“Good and Evil in Buddhism” writes that :
Kusala and akusala are conditions
which arise in the mind, producing results initially in the mind, and from
there to external actions and physical features. The meanings of kusala and
akusala therefore stress the state, the contents and the events of mind as
their basis…Kusala can be rendered generally as "intelligent, skillful,
contented, beneficial, good," or "that which removes
affliction." Akusala is defined in the opposite way, as in
"unintelligent," "unskillful" and so on. (Payutto, 2012)
In order to
understand these terms, one must also include the concepts of karma, no-self,
dependent origination, and shunyata (emptiness). Karma is cause and effect, but from the
Buddhist perspective, only causes related to volitional actions bear fruit in
consequences of those the choices one has made based on that volition. Those actions that are free of greed, hate
and delusion do not cause karma (Rahula, 1959) In addition; akusala is not
caused by some supernatural being or god.
It is caused by oneself. The
Buddha emphasized this when he taught, "By oneself the evil is done, by oneself one is
defiled. Purity and impurity belong to
oneself, no one can purify another.” [Dhammapada, chapter 12,
verse 165] (Babbitt, 1936).
The Buddha taught that when desire (whether
we desire to get something or desire to eliminate something) is accompanied
with the delusion of a separate self, we suffer. One is not intrinsically good
or bad, there is just action and reaction. That which is unwholesome and causes suffering
is that which is specifically related to three poisons (kleshas): greed, hate
and delusion. By extension, these three
poisons can be developed into hindrances, such as laziness, agitation or fear,
which are obstacles to realization and enlightenment. He also taught dependent origination, that
everything is interconnected, one thing effecting and being effected by
everything else. Finally, if everything is empty, according to
the Mahayana teaching of shunyata, the we are empty of any intrinsic being,
there is therefore no-self for anything to stick to, all is impermanent, always
changing, empty. (O’Brian, 2012) This emptiness then allows us to realize
enlightenment and Nirvana, since we are empty of any impurity or poison or
evil. Only that which inhibits this
realization in actual experience is akusala, and that which supports or aids in
this understanding and realization is kusala.
What was unique in the Buddha's exposition of the Four
Noble Truths?
The Buddha´s
exposition of the four Noble Truths was unique because it proposed a solution
to a problem common to all of humanity, that of suffering, in a way that was
scientific, based on observation, sound reasoning, and the application of clear
methods for the elimination of the problem, much like a surgeon: the Buddha was
able to diagnose the disease, identify its cause, determine whether it is
curable, and outlined a course of treatment to cure it. The illness was dukkha, or suffering, the
cause of the illness was craving, the cure was possible if one removed the
craving, and finally, the course of treatment was outlined in the Eightfold
Path, or Middle Way (Harvey, 1995, p. 47).
What is also
important in this exposition is that the Buddha first cured himself of the
disease of suffering, gaining this insight before instructing others in their
treatment. Therefore, he was not just
philosophising about a possibility, but rather expounded a tried and true
technique based on experience and results.
Another aspect
of his exposition is that it is a spiritual solution that heals the existential
pain we all suffer, that of unsatisfactoriness, another aspect of dukkha, while
not requiring either a God or the intervention of any external forces to do
so. The Buddha recommended that each
individual must learn not to hurt him or herself for other people, that one
must learn to do good things for oneself and others, and that one must learn to
understand the nature of one’s mind (Foster).
Since this required personal effort and determination, the issue of the
existence of God did not enter into the discussion, since it was not necessary
for the elimination of suffering. One could choose to believe in God or not,
and still practice the teachings of the Four Noble Truths. In fact, every person must take
responsibility for his or her own karma and suffering, in order to liberate
themselves and find Nirvana. No one can
do this for one. A Buddha can only point
the way, through the teaching of truth, the Dharma, the way things really
are. When one sees how things really
are, one can align oneself with them, and apply the principles that are needed
to come back into harmony with the universe.
Every individual must do his or her own practice and therefore reap the
benefits or consequences of their own decisions and actions.
It is
interesting that within the Buddha’s exposition of the Four Noble Truths, for
the study of the mind, there is no “self” that exists, no trying to substitute
one unhealthy self for a new and better self, because there is no separate and
eternal self that exists, the personality being a construct of 5 skandhas, or
characteristics, based on form, sensation, perception, discrimination, and
consciousness (Maezumi, 2001, p. 82).
These characteristics are themselves conditioned by other forces, which
are all interconnected and bound by karma, action and reaction. It is only by the practice of the Four Noble
Truths that one is able to understand these laws of causality, impermanence,
and interconnection, and thereby liberate oneself from their unsatisfactory
results as we cling to that which is impermanent, a separate and illusory self
which causes us suffering (Harvey, 1995, p. 49-50).
The above essay has shown how the Bodhisattva
ideal of the Mahayana School of Buddhism has contributed to world spirituality
through a philosophy that is scientific, rational, ethical and
compassionate. It is an ideal based on
personal responsibility and social activism. The Buddha´s Four Noble Truths
brings an end to suffering for individuals within a society working toward
world peace, harmony, and ecological balance.
At the same time, its pragmatic approach to the questions of good and
evil gives the world a tool for spiritual evolution free from prejudice and
judgement. One gives thanks to those wise individuals of the past who have
preserved this sacred tradition up to the present day. As spiritual friends, may all beings help and
assist one another on the path to freedom, joy and Nirvana.
References
Babbitt, Irving [translator] (1936). The Dhammapada. New Directions Publishing: New
Foster, Rev. Myogak. “The Three Yanas”. Lecture for the Course
CBS 520: Introduction
to Buddhism.
Harvey, Peter (1995). An Introduction
to Buddhism: Teachings, history and practices.
Cambridge University Press: Great Britain,
Cambridge.
Jiyu-Kennett, Roshi P.T.N.H. (1999). Zen
is Eternal Life. Shasta Abbey Press: Mount
Shasta, California.
Loori, John Daido. (2002). The Eight
Gates of Zen. Shambala Publications, Inc.: Boston,
Mass.
Maezumi, Taizan. (2001). Teaching of
the Great Mountain. Tuttle Publishing: Boston,
Mass.
O’Brian, Barbara. About.com Guide.
Buddhism.
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Payutto, Bhikkhu P.A. “Good and Evil in Buddhism”.
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