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Understanding Bodhicitta
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------A lecture series delivered in September 2003 at the Jiechuang Buddhist Research Institute
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In September 2003, Venerable Jiqun delivered a lecture series titled *Understanding Bodhicitta* to students at the Jiechuang Buddhist Research Institute. Over the course of a week, the Venerable started from "the aspirations of ordinary people" and progressed layer by layer, giving a detailed exposition of how to generate bodhicitta correctly, the extraordinary nature of bodhicitta, the causes and conditions for its arising, and its characteristics. Drawing on the view of the Huayan school, integrating Yogācāra and Madhyamaka thought, and referencing the teachings on bodhicitta passed down by great masters through the ages, as well as his own practice experience, the Venerable offered a comprehensive summary and interpretation of the bodhicitta teachings---transforming them from mere slogans into a path that moves from theory to practice.
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The two characters *faxin* (aspiration) are surely familiar to us all. We often hear elders urging us to generate aspiration, and many of us encourage each other with the same phrase. But if we look closely, how many people truly grasp its meaning? And how many can generate aspiration properly, accurately, and to a high standard? In fact, very few can. Thus, in many cases, "aspiration" seems to have become an empty slogan.
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Nearly all the important Mahayana scriptures contain instructions on generating bodhicitta. The *Avatamsaka Sutra* states, "To forget bodhicitta while cultivating wholesome roots---this is the work of Māra." This passage was cited by Master Xing'an in his *Exhortation to Generate Bodhicitta*, and it has been widely circulated in Chinese Buddhism, deeply thought-provoking. Without bodhicitta, all our efforts in practice become causes for samsara. The *Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sutra* says, "How does a bodhisattva-mahāsattva ride the Great Vehicle for the benefit and happiness of all sentient beings? Pūrṇamaitrāyaṇīputra replied: Śāriputra! When a bodhisattva-mahāsattva cultivates the perfection of wisdom, he does so with a mind oriented toward omniscience, with great compassion as the foremost, using non-attainment as skillful means." The mind oriented toward omniscience is bodhicitta. Venerable Yinshun cited this passage in *The Three Essentials of Buddhist Study* and proposed the three key principles of Mahayana Buddhism: bodhicitta, great compassion, and the view of emptiness, fully demonstrating bodhicitta's importance in the bodhisattva path.
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In the *Lamrim*, the essentials of Dharma practice are summarized as the three principal paths: renunciation, bodhicitta, and the view of emptiness. I find this summary incisive. Generating renunciation is not only for personal liberation; it also serves as the foundation for bodhicitta to arise. Because Mahayana Buddhism is grounded in bodhicitta, and buddhahood is the perfect fulfillment of bodhicitta, the view of emptiness also serves bodhicitta. From the arising of bodhicitta to its fulfillment, the guidance of the view of emptiness is indispensable. Without the view of emptiness, it is difficult even to free ourselves from the ordinary mind, let alone achieve unsurpassed enlightenment.
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Chinese Buddhism belongs to the Mahayana, yet in the course of its dissemination in China, it has not fully embodied the Mahayana spirit. Although the patriarchs of the various Chinese schools all left specialized discussions on bodhicitta when founding their traditions, these failed to draw the attention of later generations. After the Tang and Song dynasties, only the Chan and Pure Land schools retained wide influence. Yet practitioners of Chan and Pure Land often display a strong world-renouncing tone. Chan practitioners seek nothing more than liberation from birth and death, and Pure Land practitioners aspire to rebirth in the Western Paradise---also liberation from birth and death. The problem, moreover, is that they are essentially focused on personal liberation. To practice solely for personal liberation is clearly not the Mahayana aspiration.
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Why did Mahayana Buddhism, so full of the spirit of active engagement with the world, evolve into such a pronounced world-renouncing tone after coming to China? The root cause lies in the neglect of bodhicitta---in practice, people unconsciously drifted toward personal liberation as the main focus.
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What distinguishes the Mahayana from the Hinayana? Many people tend to differentiate them doctrinally, as if studying Mahayana teachings makes one a bodhisattva practitioner while studying Hinayana teachings makes one a śrāvaka practitioner. This is not the case. The key distinction between Mahayana and Hinayana lies in one's aspiration and the practice of that aspiration. If we generate bodhicitta and uphold the five precepts, then those five precepts are the five precepts of the Mahayana, an integral part of the bodhisattva path. If we generate renunciation only for personal liberation, then even if we study the most perfect and sudden teaching of the *Avatamsaka Sutra*, we still do not qualify as true Mahayana disciples.
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In today's Buddhist community, many people lack understanding of what generating bodhicitta truly entails. They do not know what genuine aspiration is, how to generate it properly, what to do after generating it properly, or how to sustain and steadily develop it. Most remain unclear about this entire range of questions, and naturally, bodhicitta can never arise.
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To resolve these issues, let us begin with the aspirations of ordinary people.
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I. The Aspirations of Ordinary People
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The "ordinary people" I refer to here are those in society who have not studied the Buddhadharma. Even without realizing it, they too are generating aspirations. Every day they have countless thoughts: they want fine clothes and rich food, wealth flowing in endlessly, and a smooth political career. Even worse, some think of cheating, swindling, and profiting at others' expense. In fact, none of these thoughts arise out of nowhere; each has its own psychological basis. That basis may be greed, hatred, arrogance, jealousy, or even wrong views and perverse knowledge. This psychological basis then gives rise to corresponding actions.
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> 1. The Formation of the Ordinary Mind
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Every action, in the process of being carried out, produces an objective result on the one hand---starting a company to make money, building a successful enterprise through decades of effort. On the other hand, that action also shapes our ordinary mind. If the psychological basis for starting the company was greed, then during the course of running it, attachment to the company will increase accordingly, and in the end, the company becomes a significant part of our life.
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In society, many young people become frantic over romantic relationships, even to the point of threatening suicide. They did not reach this extreme from the very start---it is not as if they became inseparable the moment they met. It is through the process of being in love that mutual attachment grows deeper and deeper, until it reaches an incomparable intensity, until they feel that losing the other person means losing their entire emotional foundation.
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This is precisely how the ordinary mind is continually nourished. Understood through Yogācāra principles, this is "seeds giving rise to manifest activity, manifest activity perfuming seeds." These two phrases, though simple, fully reveal the dynamics of mental functioning. "Seeds giving rise to manifest activity" is a process of repetition---but not simple repetition. The repetition of mental states changes over time, incorporating personal experience and thought, ultimately forming various mental patterns such as greed, hatred, arrogance, and jealousy. Especially in modern society, where moral standards are in decline and hearts stray from the old ways, running a business means facing many tests---one might even say traps everywhere---so that people are unconsciously carried away by various temptations. In the end, though the enterprise may succeed, the inner world is defiled beyond recognition.
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Understood in this sense, aspiration means that through our external thoughts and actions, we ultimately give rise to and solidify a certain psychological state. Therefore, whenever we do something, we must consider not only the objective outcome but also what kind of mind it is shaping. A business is short-lived, but the force of the ordinary mind affects not only this life but also the future.
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Worldly people, taking the ordinary mind as their foundation, produce all kinds of thoughts and actions, thereby shaping ordinary qualities. What are ordinary qualities? Fundamentally, they are the two graspings of self and phenomena, and the afflictions of greed, hatred, and ignorance. Of course, each person's attachments have different orientations, giving rise to different personality traits. The strength of the ordinary mind depends on how much we cultivate it. Someone habitually greedy is constantly reinforcing their greed; someone habitually hateful is constantly reinforcing their hatred. We can easily observe these phenomena in daily life. If we do not reflect and put a stop to it, greed and hatred will seek out targets at every moment and act. Over time, they become overwhelmingly powerful.
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The mind grows through repetition; each repetition strengthens it. Therefore, we must examine our every word and deed, even every thought that arises, and make timely adjustments.
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> 2. Cultivating Wholesome Mental Patterns
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Acquiring any skill also requires constant repetition. Take learning a sport, for example: we must practice repeatedly to form the correct posture. Some movements may appear simple, but it is not easy to learn them correctly. Even after learning them, we still need considerable time for consolidation. This is because we have usually already formed certain habitual postures; the moment we relax, we immediately revert to our old habits. Only when we are especially mindful do we assume the correct posture.
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In fact, behavioral habits reflect mental habits---the two are one. But bringing mental patterns into concrete behavior does require training. This training may take hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of repetitions, always adjusting our views and behavior to the correct state, then repeating it. When this repetition stabilizes in the mind, that is concentration. In fact, concentration is nothing mysterious---stable continuity is concentration. Once correct physical and mental behavior becomes stable, it unleashes tremendous energy. Otherwise, its power is very weak.
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Mindfulness likewise requires training. This is why in Buddha-name recitation, we must constantly recollect the name of Amitābha Buddha, repeating the name over and over, again and again. So what is the key to repetition? Having right view as our guide. Otherwise, repetitive training may solidify mistaken views and behaviors into stubborn bad habits.
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Right view guides us in adjusting body and mind, helping us determine: this state should be abandoned, that state should be abandoned. Through constant relinquishment, we adjust the mind until it is balanced, leaning neither to one side nor the other. Right view also tells us: with what attitude should we approach this state, and into what state might we fall otherwise, and so on. This is precisely why scriptural study matters---because the teachings help us establish right view. But in studying the teachings, we must find our footing, and that footing is in our own minds. Therefore, the focus of Dharma study is the mind, not the books.
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Correct aspiration is vitally important. The foundation of an ordinary person's aspiration is mistaken, so what gets trained in the end is the ordinary mind---greed, hatred---not the awakened mind, not loving-kindness and compassion. Conversely, if we could apply the same energy we use to train the ordinary mind to training the qualities of buddhas and bodhisattvas, to training the awakened mind, we would achieve results very quickly---perhaps using less than one percent of the effort. The key issue is that we do not understand what the awakened mind is, still less how to train it. If we find the right method, awakening is not remote. Looking through the biographies of past masters, many attained sudden awakening with a single pointer from a virtuous teacher. This illustrates from one angle that awakening is not something unattainable. While the Buddha was alive, many disciples, upon hearing his teachings, gained the pure Dharma eye and realized the noble path and its fruits there and then. If it were so difficult, instantaneous attainment would be impossible. So practice must have a simple side---the key lies in finding the right method and the right starting point.
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II. Pitfalls in Practitioners' Aspiration
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Because ordinary people act from the ordinary mind, they cultivate the ordinary mind. So, is the aspiration of Buddhist practitioners necessarily correct? Not entirely. Many practitioners' aspiration has not broken free from their ingrained mental habits, nor does it count as correct aspiration.
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> 1. Aspiration Based on Some Form of Attachment
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There are two common pitfalls in practitioners' aspiration. The first is being wrong from the start---coming to the Dharma with some form of attachment. If we delve into this, perhaps ninety percent of people begin from this starting point.
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Some people are drawn by the serene atmosphere of a monastery. After entering the monastery, they feel very peaceful, so they come to study Buddhism, imagining that living in the monastery and enjoying a leisurely life is the ultimate human ideal. In fact, they are merely attached to the ambiance of a place beyond the world. Some are moved by the pure chanting and the monks' recitations; after taking up Buddhism, they chant along every day, believing this to be the best practice, when actually they are merely attached to the chanting and the sound. Some enjoy Buddhism's profound philosophy, feeling that Buddhist studies give intellectual depth. Still others admire Buddhism's splendid art, believing the halls of Buddhist art hold rich treasures---and so on. If we come to Buddhism through attachment to some external object, then in the course of practice, that attachment will often increase as well.
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If we treat Buddhism merely as an academic subject to research, then ultimately writing papers and producing results becomes the goal. Once we have achievements, monographs, and academic titles, we may feel that the task of studying Buddhism is completely finished and life's problems entirely resolved. There are also many who treat Buddhism as pure philosophy to contemplate, whose interest in philosophical theory far exceeds their concern for resolving life's problems. The scholars of the China Institute of Inner Learning during the Republican era largely fell into philosophical research rather than being grounded in care for life itself. Some people even come to Buddhism seeking material benefits, treating the monastery as a place to make a living---an even more mistaken aspiration.
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When we analyze carefully, the vast majority of people enter the Buddha's gate through causes and conditions like these. Those who truly awaken to the impermanence of life, who seek a way out for their existence, who seek liberation from birth and death, who aspire to become buddhas and patriarchs, who study Buddhism to benefit all sentient beings---these are exceedingly rare. If, after generating some aspiration, we continue to fixate on external phenomena without elevating our aim, what we ultimately cultivate is likely attachment and the two kinds of grasping---to self and phenomena. This is the first common pitfall in aspiration.
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Of course, entering through attachment is not absolutely impermissible. The *Vimalakīrti Sutra* says, "First entice them with desire, then guide them into the Buddha's wisdom." That is, first use some skillful means to spark an interest in the Dharma, then gradually lead the person forward. For example, some centers in Australia offer free vegetarian meals. Many people initially come to the monastery not from an interest in Buddhism but for the free food. But as they visit more often, they gradually develop an affinity for Buddhism; then they listen to a few talks, read some Buddhist books, and their understanding deepens, eventually arriving at correct aspiration. So if we do not remain stuck in attachment but can establish right view through listening and reflecting on the teachings, and with right view as our guide, "diligently cultivate precepts, concentration, and wisdom, and extinguish greed, hatred, and ignorance"---then even if we began from attachment, we can ultimately let go of that attachment and still achieve liberation.
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> 2. Falling into the Ordinary Mind in the Course of Practice
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The second pitfall begins with correct aspiration---the person genuinely studies Buddhism to pursue liberation or attain buddhahood. But can this aspiration be sustained? Can it maintain its purity forever?
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We know that aspiration is only a beginning, merely the power of a single thought. This newly arisen right thought is like an infant, its strength very feeble. By contrast, the power of the ordinary mind is immense, because it originates in the beginningless torrent of existence, and its force is often stronger than we imagine. Only when we generate intense renunciation and bodhicitta does the ordinary mind temporarily retreat. Just as when a cat appears, the mouse tactfully hides in its hole.
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But the mind does not always remain in such a state, especially when we are engaged in activities---managing a practice center, administering a monastery, which inevitably involves navigating complex social relationships; traveling to various places to teach the Dharma, giving lectures, which inevitably involves dealing with all kinds of followers. In these processes, we often forget our original aspiration, even treating the achievements of our work as the goal of practice. In fact, when we act from renunciation or bodhicitta, the ultimate fruit we aim to accomplish is liberation, unsurpassed enlightenment---the work itself is merely a byproduct.
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Regrettably, most people, in the course of working, unconsciously neglect their original intention and deviate from their initial purpose. Especially once the work reaches a certain scale, we may even be like worldly people, wanting the enterprise to grow bigger and bigger, wanting it to surpass others, forgetting the mindset with which a practitioner should approach their work. And so, all the ordinary mind returns. As the work expands, attachment to it grows in direct proportion. The larger the enterprise becomes, the stronger the clinging to it grows. Although what we are engaged in is Buddhist work, the dynamics of mental functioning are the same as in any worldly undertaking.
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Whether it is attachment to Buddhist work or attachment to worldly wealth, there is no essential difference between the two kinds of greed. Of course, propagating the Dharma or supporting a center benefits many people, and the merit thus created is utterly different in its karmic results from attachment to worldly fame and gain. But we must recognize that in terms of the attachment they produce in the mind, the two are not the slightest bit different. Just as in our eyes, whether gold dust or sand is placed there, both are equally harmful.
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Many people engaged in activities---supporting the Dharma, teaching the Dharma, even practicing---do not truly understand what mindset they should bring to their work, so in the process of aspiration they unconsciously fall into the ordinary mind. This situation is quite common in Buddhist circles: while objectively accomplishing Buddhist work, subjectively they also develop a classic ordinary mind. Once the work reaches a substantial scale, it may even give rise to factionalism, departmentalism, and sectarian views. In truth, these are all manifestations of self-grasping. Because self-grasping grows alongside the work, and in the end it has nothing to do with genuine practice. On the surface, the work looks brilliant, with vast influence in spreading the Dharma, but self-grasping and attachment are increasing day by day.
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Understanding this principle is extremely important. Over ninety-five percent of people may never have noticed this point, which is why so many have fallen into the trap one after another. I myself only discovered this principle recently, while reflecting on the question of bodhicitta. Though the principle is simple, its significance is immense. For you students in particular, it is not too late to grasp this now. If we can generate intense bodhicitta and properly adjust our mental patterns, we will not be carried away by our work in the course of doing it.
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Some might say: since doing things causes so many problems, wouldn't it be better to remain detached and keep a safe distance? But then we could not benefit all sentient beings, nor could we attain buddhahood. We know that bodhicitta practice is profoundly active. If we do nothing, bodhicitta can never be mobilized, and the qualities of buddhas and bodhisattvas can never be developed. Therefore, we must cultivate altruistic action to accumulate the provisions for buddhahood. The key is to engage in work with correct aspiration and to sustain that aspiration throughout. Only in this way can we benefit sentient beings while at the same time developing buddha- and bodhisattva-like qualities within ourselves.
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We should consider ourselves fortunate to learn about these pitfalls in aspiration early in our Buddhist study. Of course, merely knowing is far from enough. If we do not grasp the essentials of working with the mind and put them into practice, even knowing will be useless, because the power of the ordinary mind is simply too great. We must therefore combine the profound methods of mind-training from the Buddhadharma and apply ourselves diligently to mental cultivation. Otherwise, understanding the principle won't help.
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The self is wily and full of tricks. It will seek out all kinds of excuses to mobilize the ordinary mind. Our inner world has countless channels. Sometimes we clearly switch on one channel, only to have a channel with a stronger signal seize control. We encounter similar phenomena when watching television. The self not only has a powerful signal but is always watching for an opportunity to act. Deep within us, each mental factor is like a channel of the mind---some weaker, some stronger. Whichever mental factor is strongest will assert itself and dominate us. The most dangerous of these is self-grasping, for it has been formed since beginningless time. Therefore, the greatest enemy in practice is self-grasping; once we thoroughly destroy self-grasping, all other afflictions will be resolved with ease.
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How to avoid falling into the ordinary mind during the process of generating aspiration---this is an extremely crucial aspect of practice, and the essentials of aspiration lie within it. On close analysis, our inner world is highly complex. Even when doing good, it is difficult to guarantee a pure altruistic intention. Of course, altruism should be present, but self-grasping is certainly there too, and greed and judgmental attitudes are hard to avoid. We make distinctions about whom we should benefit and whom we should not, drawing many boundaries. So we can see that even when doing good, the ordinary mind starts up right alongside. If we are not vigilant, the ordinary mind will gradually take the dominant position and ultimately replace the original altruistic intention, and then what we cultivate can only be the ordinary mind. Only by generating a purely altruistic intention can we possibly develop the compassionate qualities of buddhas and bodhisattvas.
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The *Diamond Sutra* and the *Practices and Vows of Samantabhadra* tell us that genuine aspiration should possess the characteristics of awakening, altruism, boundlessness, and non-attainment. We must use these as our standard, constantly examining and adjusting our mental patterns. First we need to recognize the pitfalls in aspiration; only then can we accurately generate bodhicitta and further grasp the essentials of practice. Although the Buddhadharma has different systems---in the Mahayana, for instance, there are Yogācāra, Huayan, the Lotus, Nirvāṇa, and Madhyamaka-Prajñā---when we find their core, we discover that all scriptures and treatises are helping us on different levels. Yogācāra's analysis of the mind and its exposition of the dynamics of mental functioning are of great help in understanding aspiration. The ultimate truth of the Buddhadharma is reached by different paths that converge at the same destination; though the methods of entry and realization differ, they are interconnected at the root.
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III. How to Generate Correct Aspiration
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The entire Tripiṭaka, all twelve divisions of the canon, revolve around the nature of mind, helping us understand it. If we do not understand our own mind, and do not understand its many pitfalls, we will inevitably be unable to generate correct aspiration.
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Although Buddhism also cares about the world, the ultimate purpose of this concern is still to resolve the problem of mind. Many of our afflictions arise from mistaken understanding of the world. Are the world and our mind one or two? In most people's view, mind is mind and the world is the world---the two seem to have little to do with each other. Because we regard mind and world as two, the mind falls into dualistic grasping.
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In practice, there are two greatest enemies: the grasper and the grasped. Yogācāra explains the two graspings very clearly for us: the imagined nature is the point at which life falls from boundlessness into limitation. When we transcend the imagined nature, we can, right in the midst of dependently arisen phenomena, realize emptiness. It is because of this grasping that the world of truth becomes the world of ordinary beings. If we realize the principle that "everything is created by the mind alone," we can, through this understanding, realize emptiness---because all phenomena are manifestations of mind and are one with the mind. This is a fundamental principle we must understand when studying Yogācāra.
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Throughout history, religions have emerged one after another. Even during the Buddha's lifetime, there were ninety-six kinds of non-Buddhist paths. Why can these other religions not open great wisdom and realize emptiness? The reason lies in cognitive error: they take what is not truth, not emptiness, as the true nature of all phenomena. They remain, to varying degrees, within the two graspings of self and phenomena, attached to some notion of self or some notion of phenomena, and what they see is not the original face of things.
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A correct understanding of the nature of mind is vitally important for practice. Only when we reach this level of understanding can we clearly know where aspiration should begin. Correct aspiration consists primarily of two kinds: renunciation and bodhicitta.
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> 1. Renunciation
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What is renunciation? When many people resolve to leave the household life, they urgently want to depart from home---so urgently they cannot wait a single day. That state of mind at that moment is renunciation. When a worldly marriage dissolves and both parties are desperate to part, intent on resolving it as quickly as possible; or when we have grown weary of staying somewhere and don't want to see it for another moment, where staying an extra day feels like torment---that intense desire to separate or leave is also renunciation. As to where one goes after leaving, that is another matter; here we are merely describing the mental state of longing for release.
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Let us reflect: when we study Buddhism, leave home, and pursue liberation, do we always maintain this attitude of renunciation? Many people may have it right after leaving home, but as time passes, the monastic life gradually turns into just another lifestyle, merely a change of setting for daily living. This is not surprising. Psychologically speaking, human beings have a tendency toward habitual numbness. Once we become familiar with a certain state, we gradually lose our sensitivity to it.
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When we normally see a dead person, especially a close relative who has passed away, we are immediately alerted to the reality of death. But for mortuary workers, putting a body into the cremator is probably little different from tending a furnace. Most people would scarcely dare to do such work---to push someone once alive into the flames and reduce them to ashes is truly a difficult act. Yet these workers face so many cold, stiff bodies every day that they no longer feel any fear or alertness toward death. Similarly, every patient takes their own illness very seriously, but a doctor treats batch after batch of patients every day. No matter how serious a patient considers their illness, in the doctor's eyes it is merely one case among thousands and does not elicit the same level of concern. These are all examples of habitual numbness.
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The same applies to leaving the household life for many people. After a long time, it is easy to regard the monastery simply as an environment for daily living, concerned only with creating a comfortable atmosphere for getting through the days. That is why the Buddha exhorted monks to constantly recollect that life is but a breath, that if the next breath does not come, it is already the next life. Only thus can we remain alert to death and no longer cling to an easy, comfortable life.
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If we truly realize how urgent impermanence is, that it is right before our eyes, would we still dare to be scattered, indulge in fantasies, or chase after fame and gain? Would we have time to busy ourselves with external matters? We would then spontaneously practice with the same urgency "as if our head were on fire," maintaining a sense of pressing need in our practice, not daring to relax in the slightest. If our mind is constantly in a state of high alert, it is very easy to connect with the practice.
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Generating renunciation is the foundation of monastic practice. So what exactly are we renouncing? We renounce samsara, the world, the five desires and six sense objects. True renunciation includes two dimensions: external renunciation and internal renunciation. The external aspect means the five desires and six sense objects; the internal aspect means our attachment to those objects and the ordinary mind that arises from that attachment. Therefore, what we need to renounce is not only the environment but even more so our own ordinary mind. In fact, the purpose of renouncing the environment is precisely to renounce our attachment to it and the ordinary mind that attachment generates. Only by freeing ourselves from the ordinary mind can we realize emptiness and be liberated from afflictions.
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To renounce the ordinary mind, we must first not have the slightest attachment to the world---this is the key. The Āgama teachings tell us that contemplation of suffering should be the foremost principle in our understanding. Suffering is the foundation for Buddhist world-transcending liberation. Contemplating life as suffering, and then realizing impermanence, emptiness, and selflessness---these are the fundamental insights that give rise to renunciation.
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In terms of conduct, we should practice according to precepts, concentration, and wisdom. Since beginningless time, we have developed numerous habitual tendencies---greed, hatred, ignorance, and so on. Each afflictive tendency seeks to dominate us. We must use the power of precepts to block them, denying the afflictions any opportunity. Concentration means anchoring the mind on a chosen object---for example, practicing breath-counting meditation or contemplation of impurity, settling the mind on the breath or the visualization of impurity so that discursive thoughts cease their activity. Then we cultivate contemplation of impermanence and selflessness to bring forth flawless wisdom, thoroughly uprooting afflictions and attachments.
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Thus, after generating renunciation, we must know how to sustain it and continuously strengthen it until final attainment. Otherwise, even if we generate renunciation, it will soon be replaced by the ordinary mind. When we generate intense renunciation, the ordinary mind temporarily retreats. But the moment we relax slightly, it immediately surges back. I have deeply realized that practice must be as vigorous as a warrior's effort; otherwise, making a significant breakthrough is very difficult. That said, the courage in working with the mind does not mean applying extremely forceful attention. Although some deliberate attention is needed at the start, the more important point is to never relax. If we push too hard for extended periods, we not only become exhausted but also fall into the trap of forced attention. So the key is knowing how to work with the mind; otherwise, even vigorous effort will go wrong---as the saying goes, haste makes waste.
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The ultimate goal of generating renunciation is liberation from birth and death. In modern society, practice is indeed more difficult than in the past, because society offers far too many temptations, and monastics have far too many tasks to attend to. For most people, the early stages of practice are easily affected by the environment, so the demands on the environment must be very strict. Monastics of the past mostly withdrew to the mountains and forests, living a pure life of practice. Beyond the absolute minimum of food and clothing to sustain the body, they devoted their main energy to realizing the path. By comparison, our practice environment today is far harsher, and cultivating the path of liberation is much more difficult.
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For this reason, practice today may require some more intense methods. In other words, methods that take less time but show results quickly, able to cut off the torrent on the spot. Such methods do indeed exist in the Buddhadharma, enabling us to get on the path in a relatively short time. And once on the path, they immediately allow us to abide in a state free from conceptualization, free from fixation, and free from attainment. Today, we must seek out such skillful means for working with the mind; only then can practice be more assured. If we have to sit for ten or twenty years before seeing some progress, as the ancients did, it is very hard for modern people to practice in that way. Without a pure and supportive environment, the small progress we make in practice often cannot withstand the harm caused by external conditions.
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Though many people set aside two or more hours each day for Buddha-name recitation, sutra recitation, or meditation, for the remaining dozen or so hours they are still immersed in thoughts of greed, hatred, and ignorance. The mindfulness we cultivate through deliberate attention is still very weak and cannot possibly withstand our beginningless habitual tendencies. This is why, though many people are practicing, their afflictive habits remain exactly as they were.
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If our practice is built on the level of the ordinary mind, it is completely normal for such phenomena to occur. Because the mindfulness we are now cultivating is established on the conscious level. To use this to resist the afflictive delusions accumulated since beginningless time---with such unequal strength, how could we possibly win? It is like an infant wrestling a strongman; the outcome is self-evident. Recognizing this law of mental functioning, we can easily understand why so many people's practice fails to achieve the expected results.
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> 2. Bodhicitta
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Renunciation is only the foundation of practice; we must go further and generate bodhicitta. Renunciation can develop in two directions. One is intense personal renunciation, seeking only nirvāṇic liberation; this belongs to the śrāvaka fixed on tranquillity. The other begins with renunciation and then turns from the small toward the great, generating bodhicitta. Renunciation is the abandonment of worldly attachment, and it is precisely the foundation on which bodhicitta is built. Bodhicitta's features---non-abiding and non-attainment---are aligned with renunciation. The difference between the two lies in whether we can extend what we feel for ourselves to others, making the aspiration to benefit all beings and realize enlightenment together, based on our own wish for liberation.
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Bodhicitta has two aspects: broadly benefiting sentient beings, and seeking unsurpassed buddhahood. Is there a sequential order between these two? In the process of aspiration, do we prioritize benefiting sentient beings, or attaining buddhahood? Do we liberate beings in order to become a buddha, or do we become a buddha in order to liberate beings? There are different views on this question.
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For most Buddhist practitioners, what probably comes to mind first is "I want to become a buddha," and then, in order to attain buddhahood, to benefit sentient beings. In other words, liberating beings serves "my" attainment of buddhahood. But in the process of benefiting sentient beings, a bodhisattva should not regard themselves as benefactors to beings; rather, they should see beings as benefactors to themselves. This is because only altruistic action enables us to develop the quality of compassion and the provisions for enlightenment. The *Practices and Vows of Samantabhadra* tells us: "All sentient beings are the roots, and all buddhas and bodhisattvas are the flowers and fruits. By benefiting sentient beings with the water of great compassion, we can bring forth the flowers and fruits of buddhas' and bodhisattvas' wisdom." This clearly points out the relationship between buddhas, bodhisattvas, and sentient beings---sentient beings serve as the enhancing condition for developing compassion.
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Even if we possess the life qualities of buddhas and bodhisattvas, this seed can only mature through benefiting sentient beings, and through purely altruistic action. Only when our aspiration reaches this level can we perfect the inner quality of compassion. If it is still mixed with the ordinary mind, it can only serve as a prelude to mobilizing compassion and may even "miss by a hair's breadth and go astray by a thousand miles." At the same time, we must accumulate our aspiration to a certain degree before bodhicitta can be fully activated. This training may require hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, or even millions of repetitions. We must think this way and act this way every day, strengthening it through constant mental simulation and training. Once both the quality and the quantity of our aspiration are sufficient, we will be no different from the buddhas and bodhisattvas.
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But if we perpetually maintain this attitude---treating the liberation of beings merely as an expedient for our own attainment of buddhahood---compassion is very difficult to perfect. Because our goal is "I want to become a buddha," and as long as there is this "I," it is hard to guarantee a purely altruistic intention when liberating beings; there may even be suspicion of using beings for our own ends.
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Therefore, I think this view has both strengths and weaknesses. The strength is that when we liberate beings, we clearly know why we should benefit them: because "I want to become a buddha," I must act altruistically. The weakness is that we have not genuinely generated unconditional great compassion and the compassion of shared essence toward beings. It is merely like taking medicine because we are sick---treating altruistic action as a means to attain buddhahood. If we remain at this level, the purity of our compassion will inevitably be compromised to varying degrees.
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Another view is "for the sake of benefiting beings, may I attain buddhahood." That is to say, practice is not aimed at becoming a buddha but only at better liberating sentient beings. It is like you students coming to the institute for further study: the purpose is not to obtain a diploma but to better teach the Dharma and benefit beings in the future, to shoulder the work of the Tathāgata. If we do everything for the sake of sentient beings, without the slightest admixture of other motives, it is easier to reach the standard of buddhas' and bodhisattvas' aspiration. When we generate aspiration in this way, the qualities of buddhas and bodhisattvas are already taking effect in our life, and right here and now, on some level, we are no different from the buddhas and bodhisattvas. This is what the *Avatamsaka Sutra* means by "the initial generation of bodhicitta is itself perfect enlightenment." In other words, the beginning of practice and the ultimate result are not essentially different.
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The *Avatamsaka Sutra*'s chapter on the merit of the initial generation of bodhicitta contains a detailed exposition of this. From it, we can understand that when aspiration is generated properly, its merit is truly beyond imagination. This is because bodhicitta is none other than the mind of buddhahood!
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So, how do we generate bodhicitta? Some might find it very abstract, but in fact, there are many concrete methods. What is the content of generating bodhicitta? It is "I want to liberate sentient beings, I want to become a buddha." This mental state of "I want to become a buddha" is actually the same in kind as "I want to eat"---only the object is different. Of course, there are also differences in degree and purity. For example, "I want to eat" can range from optional to urgent to absolutely imperative. In a certain sense, the intention "I want to become a buddha" is similar.
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The problem is that when we want to eat, we feel urgent about it; when we want to become a buddha, we feel no such urgency. This is because the aspirations of daily life and the aspiration "I want to become a buddha" are, after all, different. If we want to eat, we can eat immediately. But if we want to become a buddha, how can we achieve that? There seems to be no starting point. Why does this happen? Because we do not truly recognize the meaning of becoming a buddha. Therefore, when generating aspiration, we also need a focal object---namely, the qualities of the Buddha's attainment. The *Avatamsaka Sutra* and other scriptures and treatises contain extensive passages describing the qualities of buddhahood. Only when we recognize the extraordinary value of the Buddha's attainment and understand that the meaning of human life lies in attaining buddhahood can we possibly generate intense bodhicitta.
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In my view, the practice methods expounded throughout the Mahayana canon---from the bodhisattvas' vows to the bodhisattva precepts, and the views of Huayan and Prajñā---all revolve around the fulfillment of bodhicitta. Only by making bodhisattva vows, upholding bodhisattva precepts, and walking the bodhisattva path can bodhicitta sprout, blossom, and eventually bear fruit. Thus, bodhicitta is both the point of application in practice and the result we ultimately aim to achieve. If we do not generate bodhicitta, our practice cannot find its footing.
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IV. The Extraordinary Nature of Bodhicitta
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We have now understood that the correct aspiration in Buddhist practice is generating bodhicitta. Yet in Buddhist circles, many people treat aspiration merely as a slogan without putting it into action. Why is that? I think it must be from a lack of understanding of bodhicitta's importance.
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As for myself, in the past my understanding of bodhicitta was also quite superficial. Although I often mentioned aspiration, I was like many others in not truly implementing it in practice. Only after encountering the *Avatamsaka Sutra*'s chapter on the merit of the initial generation of bodhicitta was I deeply shaken by its power. Looking back over what I had studied for many years and delving further into the Mahayana scriptures and treatises, I came to truly appreciate the significance of generating bodhicitta.
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> 1. The Extraordinary Merit of Bodhicitta
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Like many Mahayana scriptures, the chapter on the merit of the initial generation of bodhicitta uses the method of comparative measurement to expound the merit of generating bodhicitta. The sutra employs eleven analogies: benefiting and gladdening beings, traversing universes with speed, knowing the formation and destruction of eons, knowing diverse inclinations, knowing diverse faculties, knowing diverse desires, knowing skillful means, knowing others' minds, knowing karmic appearances, knowing afflictions, and making offerings to buddhas in every lifetime.
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The main speaker in this chapter is Bodhisattva Dharmamati, and the interlocutor is Śakra, Lord of Gods. At the chapter's opening, Śakra asks Bodhisattva Dharmamati: How great is the merit of a bodhisattva's initial generation of bodhicitta? Dharmamati first explains with the analogy of benefiting and gladdening beings. The meaning of the passage is roughly: Suppose there were a person who, with all pleasurable provisions (material goods that bring benefit and happiness to sentient beings), made offerings to as many beings as there are in the worlds of the ten directions, up to ten asaṃkhyeyas in number, for a hundred eons; then taught them to cultivate the ten wholesome paths, continuing this Dharma offering for a thousand eons; then taught them to cultivate the four dhyānas for a hundred thousand eons; then taught them to cultivate the four immeasurables for a hundred million eons; then guided them in cultivating the four formless absorptions for ten billion eons; then guided them in practicing the path of liberation, enabling them to attain the fruit of stream-entry, for a hundred billion eons; then guided them in practice enabling them to attain the fruit of once-return, for ten trillion eons; then guided them in abiding in the practice of the non-returner's fruit, for a hundred million nayutas of eons; then guided them in the practice of the arhat's fruition, for a hundred thousand nayutas of hundred-millions of eons; and then taught them to accomplish the path of the pratyekabuddha.
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After this series of analogies, Dharmamati asked Śakra in reply: Son of the Buddha! How great do you think this person's merit is? Śakra answered: This person's merit is truly beyond the imagination of ordinary beings; only a buddha could know it.
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Dharmamati continued: Although this person's merit is inconceivable, compared with the merit of a bodhisattva's initial generation of bodhicitta, it does not reach one hundredth, one thousandth, one hundred thousandth, or even one upaniṣat part. In other words, the merit of a bodhisattva's initial generation of bodhicitta surpasses the above merit a hundredfold, a thousandfold, a hundred thousandfold, and an upaniṣat-fold. Upaniṣat is a Sanskrit numeral, the largest unit of quantity.
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Dharmamati then proceeded to present ten more analogies in succession, each advancing further than the last, all comparatively measuring the merit of a bodhisattva's initial generation of bodhicitta. In these ten analogies, each subsequent merit surpasses the previous one. Thus, each analogy begins with "Setting aside this analogy," letting go of the former to raise the latter, so as to highlight the extraordinary, inconceivable, and unsurpassed merit of a bodhisattva's initial generation of bodhicitta.
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Having learned of the extraordinary merit of the initial generation of bodhicitta, we may feel admiration yet also a touch of doubt: Why does a bodhisattva's initial generation of bodhicitta possess such immense merit? What is it that truly distinguishes it from the aspirations of ordinary beings and those of the two vehicles? In response, Dharmamati further explains: Śakra! When all buddhas first generated bodhicitta, they not only made offerings of all provisions to all beings in the worlds of the ten directions; not only taught beings to cultivate the five precepts and ten wholesome paths, the four dhyānas, the four immeasurables, and the four formless absorptions, helping them attain the fruits of stream-entry, once-return, non-return, arhatship, and the pratyekabuddha path. Bodhisattvas at the initial generation of bodhicitta are not satisfied with this; on this foundation, they further aspire to ensure the lineage of the Tathāgatas never ceases and spreads to all worlds, and they aspire to liberate all sentient beings and guide them to accomplish the Buddha path.
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From this we can see the fundamental difference between the initial generation of bodhicitta by bodhisattvas and the aspirations of ordinary beings and the two vehicles: the former engages in vast wholesome deeds with a boundless mind, while the latter is limited. The limitations here involve two aspects. First, the quantity is limited---although the number "ten directions and ten asaṃkhyeyas" is already unimaginably vast, it is, after all, finite. Second, the attainment is limited---whether providing beings with provisions for happiness or guiding them to achieve the four fruits of the śrāvaka or even the pratyekabuddha path, these are all finite, limited fruitions, not the limitless, unsurpassed fruit of buddhahood.
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Starting from a limited aspiration, liberating a limited number of beings, and achieving a limited fruition---the merit ultimately accomplished can only be limited. No matter how many finite quantities we add together, the result is only a larger, greater finite quantity; it can never compare with the infinite. By contrast, a bodhisattva's initial generation of bodhicitta takes limitless sentient beings as the object of benefit and the unsurpassed fruit of buddhahood as the goal of attainment.
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Some may wonder: Sentient beings are countless as particles of dust---can the buddhas and bodhisattvas ever liberate them all? Throughout vast eons, countless buddhas have already attained buddhahood. If every buddha must liberate all sentient beings before realizing enlightenment, why are there still countless beings drowning in the cycle of birth and death? Beings have not all been liberated, yet buddhas have already attained enlightenment---how is this to be understood?
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We must understand that when a bodhisattva aspires to liberate all sentient beings and guide them to accomplish the Buddha path, this does not mean their merit can only be perfected after every last being has become a buddha. If that were the case, probably no one could ever attain buddhahood. Since beings are limitless, and buddhas' and bodhisattvas' appearance in the world to liberate beings requires the convergence of causes and conditions, only when beings' own roots of virtue, merits, and karmic conditions are ripe can the buddhas and bodhisattvas successfully liberate them. Otherwise, even their efforts would be in vain.
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If a bodhisattva aspires to liberate all sentient beings and gradually fulfills this aspiration through practice, then when they can generate boundless, impartial compassion toward all beings, they have also perfected the mental patterns and qualities possessed by all buddhas, and at that very moment they are no different from the buddhas. Conversely, if in their mind there remains even a single being they reject, the bodhisattva cannot perfect unsurpassed buddhahood, because their compassion is not yet complete.
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The *Practices and Vows of Samantabhadra*, widely circulated in Buddhist circles, is precisely the shortcut to practice that Bodhisattva Samantabhadra has provided us for accomplishing the boundless merit of all buddhas. Its core content is the ten great vows of Samantabhadra: first, to pay homage to all buddhas; second, to praise the Tathāgatas; third, to make abundant offerings; fourth, to repent karmic obstacles; fifth, to rejoice in others' merit; sixth, to request the turning of the Dharma wheel; seventh, to request the buddhas to remain in the world; eighth, to constantly follow the Buddha's teachings; ninth, to accord with all sentient beings; tenth, to dedicate all merit universally. These may seem quite ordinary and are familiar to most Buddhists, yet they have always been honored as the "king of vows." Why is this?
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The *Practices and Vows* comes from the *Avatamsaka Sutra*, and its practice is grounded in the Huayan vision. This is shown mainly in the opening and closing statements of each vow. Take "paying homage to all buddhas": it begins, "Throughout the entire Dharma-realm, the realm of empty space, all buddha-lands in the ten directions and three times, as numerous as the finest particles of dust---relying on the power of Samantabhadra's practice and vows, with deep faith and understanding, I behold them as if they were before my very eyes." It concludes, "Only when the realm of empty space is exhausted will my homage be exhausted; but because the realm of empty space is inexhaustible, my homage shall have no end. So too, only when the realm of sentient beings is exhausted, the karma of sentient beings is exhausted, and the afflictions of sentient beings are exhausted will my homage be exhausted; but because the realm of sentient beings, and even their afflictions, are inexhaustible, my homage shall have no end. Thought after thought in continuous succession, without interruption, in action of body, speech, and mind, without weariness."
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"Paying homage to all buddhas"---it seems most Buddhists can do this. But when ordinary people do it from a narrow ordinary mind, the content of their homage is also narrow. In Samantabhadra's vast practice and vows, however, the object of homage is all buddhas throughout the entire Dharma-realm, the realm of empty space, in the ten directions and three times. And it is not homage for a day, a year, or even a lifetime, but endlessly into the future, without interruption. Even if oceans dry up and rocks crumble, even if the realm of empty space is exhausted, this practice of homage will continue eternally in accordance with Samantabhadra's practice and vows.
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The scope of the other nine vows is exactly the same. From this we can understand why Samantabhadra's practice and vows are honored as the king of vows: the key lies in their grounding in boundlessness---engaging in boundless wholesome deeds with a boundless mind. Paying homage to all buddhas takes all buddhas as its object; liberating sentient beings likewise takes all sentient beings as its object---and both extend into the endless future. The object is boundless, with not a single being excluded; the time is also boundless, with neither a moment of rest nor a day of conclusion.
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To generate aspiration and practice based on the Huayan view is to take boundlessness as the starting point. And the word "boundlessness" is precisely the key to understanding why the merit of a bodhisattva's initial generation of bodhicitta is inconceivable. Based on a limited aspiration, no matter how many deeds benefiting beings we perform, the result will ultimately be limited. If we wish to accomplish the boundless merit of buddhahood, it must be built on a boundless aspiration. We know that any number multiplied by infinity must result in infinity. By the same principle, when we cultivate wholesome deeds with a boundless mind, though the deeds themselves are finite, what we obtain is infinite. Therefore, if a bodhisattva at the initial generation of bodhicitta performs deeds benefiting beings with a boundless mind, they can accomplish boundless merit in every moment, perfecting the provisions for the Buddha path.
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> 2. Bodhicitta Is the Gateway to the Mahayana
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How do we distinguish the Mahayana from the Hinayana? Many people think that those who study Mahayana scriptures are Mahayana practitioners and those who study Hinayana scriptures are Hinayana practitioners, rarely considering the matter from the standpoint of their own aspiration. Chinese Buddhism is Mahayana, and therefore Chinese Buddhists mostly identify as Mahayana practitioners, as if this identity were a matter of course.
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What is the Mahayana? In the *Lamrim*, Master Tsongkhapa states: "The Buddha taught the Pāramitāyāna and the Mantrayāna; apart from these two, there is no other Mahayana. Through what gate does one enter these two? It is bodhicitta alone. The moment this arises in one's body and mind, even if no other qualities have arisen, one is established in the Mahayana." Here, bodhicitta is the criterion for determining whether one is truly Mahayana. Only when one has generated bodhicitta is one a Mahayana practitioner. Conversely, even if one realizes emptiness and attains various qualities, one is still a śrāvaka practitioner who can only liberate oneself.
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Bodhicitta and the wisdom of emptiness are the two great pillars of Buddhist practice, like the two wings of a bird, neither dispensable. The *Lamrim* states: "This unsurpassed bodhicitta is the uncommon cause, like the seed, among the causes of buddhahood. The wisdom that realizes emptiness is the common cause of the three kinds of enlightenment, like water and fertilizer." This tells us clearly: the wisdom of emptiness is the common cause of buddhahood, while bodhicitta is the uncommon cause. A common cause means that all sages of the three vehicles attain realization through the wisdom of emptiness---it is the mother of the three vehicles' practice. An uncommon cause means that among the three vehicles, only bodhisattva path practice absolutely requires bodhicitta. In other words, only after generating bodhicitta is one a true child of the Buddha, a qualified Mahayana practitioner.
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However, in the tradition of Chinese Buddhism, there seems to be greater emphasis on the wisdom of emptiness. Doctrinal school practitioners spend decades of study mainly to gain right view and, based on it, practice calm abiding and insight to realize emptiness. The Chan school places even more emphasis on seeing the nature, regarding this as the fundamental goal, as though seeing the nature encompasses the entirety of practice. Perhaps because of this special emphasis on the wisdom of emptiness, the bodhisattva path of the six perfections and four means of gathering---though emphasized in many Mahayana scriptures---has not drawn widespread attention among the fourfold assembly, and even fewer have put it into genuine practice.
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The bodhisattva path is the concrete practice of bodhicitta. In fact, because the foundation on which Mahayana Buddhism is built---bodhicitta---has been neglected, a considerable number of people's practice has already fallen into the Hinayana or even the human and heavenly vehicles. They have neither the compassionate spirit of benefiting the world nor the sense of mission that says, "Who else but me?" Perhaps they have never reflected: As a Mahayana practitioner, what qualities should I truly develop? This widespread problem has caused many people's practice to resemble the transcendent, world-renouncing path of liberation more than the active, altruistic bodhisattva path.
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V. Types of Bodhicitta
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Bodhicitta is the aspiration to attain buddhahood and the mind that seeks to benefit all sentient beings. The unsurpassed enlightenment of buddhahood is precisely the perfect fulfillment of bodhicitta. The various Mahayana scriptures and treatises classify bodhicitta in different ways.
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The *Bodhicaryāvatāra* divides it into aspiring bodhicitta and engaging bodhicitta. The text says: "In brief, bodhicitta should be understood as having two kinds: the aspiring mind for enlightenment and the mind that sets forth toward enlightenment. Just as one knows the difference between wanting to go and actually going, so the wise should understand the sequential distinction between these two."
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In the *Āryavācāprakaraṇa-śāstra* and the *Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra*, bodhicitta is divided into conventional aspiration and aspiration that realizes the Dharma-nature (ultimate bodhicitta). The former text states: "This reception and generation of bodhicitta has two kinds: first, conventional generation of bodhicitta; second, generation of bodhicitta through realizing the Dharma-nature."
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The *Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra*'s *Viniścaya-saṃgrahaṇī* section enumerates ten kinds, primarily distinguishing between conventional bodhicitta and ultimate bodhicitta: "Conventional reception and generation of bodhicitta, realization of the Dharma-nature as generation of bodhicitta; indeterminate generation, determinate generation; impure generation, pure generation; inferior generation, vigorous generation; unattained-result generation, attained-result generation. Conventional reception and generation of bodhicitta refers to the aspiration of bodhisattvas who have not yet entered the noble bodhisattva's stage of definitive deliverance from birth. Realization of the Dharma-nature as generation of bodhicitta refers to the aspiration of bodhisattvas who have already entered the noble bodhisattva's stage of definitive deliverance from birth."
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Consolidating these, we can broadly classify bodhicitta into aspiring bodhicitta, engaging bodhicitta, and ultimate bodhicitta.
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> 1. Aspiring Bodhicitta
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Aspiring bodhicitta is the power of vows regarding bodhicitta. In Buddhist study, we must first make vows, which is what is usually called setting one's resolve. "Set your aspiration high." The higher the aspiration, the greater the achievement. Generating bodhicitta is not an empty slogan. How can we embody our bodhicitta? The most basic expression is making vows.
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The *Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra*'s *Bodhisattva-bhūmi* chapter on generating bodhicitta says: "The initial generation of bodhicitta by bodhisattvas, with regard to all the correct vows of bodhisattvas---this initial correct vow universally encompasses and embraces all other correct vows. Therefore, the generation of bodhicitta has the initial correct vow as its essential nature. Moreover, when bodhisattvas arouse the mind of correct vows and seek enlightenment, they generate such a mind and speak such words: 'May I definitively realize unsurpassed perfect enlightenment, be able to bring about all that is meaningful and beneficial for sentient beings, and ultimately establish them in final nirvāṇa and in the vast wisdom of the Tathāgatas.' Such generation of bodhicitta is defined by seeking unsurpassed enlightenment for oneself and seeking to accomplish what is meaningful and beneficial for sentient beings. Therefore, the generation of bodhicitta has definite seeking as its mode of operation. Further, bodhisattvas take great enlightenment and all that is meaningful and beneficial for sentient beings as their objects, generating aspiration and seeking; it is not objectless. Therefore, the generation of bodhicitta takes great enlightenment and all that is meaningful and beneficial for sentient beings as its focal objects."
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This passage covers the essential nature, mode of operation, and objects of bodhicitta. The essential nature refers to the initial correct vow made by the bodhisattva, namely "May I definitively realize unsurpassed perfect enlightenment, be able to bring about all that is meaningful and beneficial for sentient beings, and ultimately establish them in final nirvāṇa." This aspiration to seek unsurpassed enlightenment and benefit all sentient beings is the essential substance of bodhicitta. Aspiring bodhicitta represents the beginning of bodhisattva practice and is the initial stage of cultivating bodhicitta.
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Aspiring bodhicitta is a wish. Its mental characteristic is that it takes seeking as its mode of operation, and it takes benefiting all sentient beings and unsurpassed enlightenment as its objects. Seeking is an extremely common mental activity. Every day we live amid all sorts of seeking: seeking delicious food, a luxurious house, a comfortable environment, and so on. Then we work hard to fulfill these various wishes. Buddhist practice also begins with seeking. The difference is that what we now seek is not money and status, clothes and food, but unsurpassed enlightenment and benefiting all sentient beings. The only difference lies in the content of our seeking---from hoping for personal gain, we turn toward hoping to benefit all. This different kind of seeking determines two utterly opposite life directions: one is liberation and buddhahood, the other is continuing samsara. Because bodhicitta takes unsurpassed enlightenment and benefiting all sentient beings as its objects, when we seek these two things and put them into action, we step onto the path to buddhahood.
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Therefore, the primary issue after generating bodhicitta is making vows---transforming bodhicitta into a power of resolve that advances tirelessly. The attainment of all buddhas throughout the ten directions and three times is precisely the best model for our practice. Amitābha Buddha, in his causal stage, was the monk Dharmākara. Because he drew near to Lokeśvararāja Buddha and heard the Dharma, he generated the mind of unsurpassed enlightenment, hoping to create a magnificent buddha-land to benefit sentient beings. He then consulted Lokeśvararāja Buddha, who displayed for him twenty-one billion buddha-lands, enabling him to understand the good and evil of the gods and humans in those lands and the coarseness or excellence of those lands. After observing them, Dharmākara spent five eons in contemplation before forming the blueprint for the Land of Ultimate Bliss and the design of the forty-eight vows. Thereupon, Dharmākara made his forty-eight great vows in the presence of Lokeśvararāja Buddha, and thus came into being the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss and the attainment of Amitābha Buddha.
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The bodhisattva path has four great pillars: great compassion, great wisdom, great vows, and great action. Their representative figures are, respectively, Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva of Great Compassion, Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva of Great Wisdom, Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva of Great Vows, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva of Great Action. The *Sutra of the Fundamental Vows of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva* records: "Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva, incalculable eons ago, beyond reckoning, was the son of a great elder. At that time, a buddha appeared in the world named Siṃhavikrīḍitapūrṇavikāsatathāgata. The elder's son, seeing the buddha's magnificent marks, adorned with a thousand blessings, asked that buddha: What practice and vows must one undertake to attain such marks? That buddha replied: To attain this body, one must for a long time deliver and liberate all suffering sentient beings. Mañjuśrī, the elder's son thereupon made this vow: From now until the end of future time, throughout incalculable eons, for the sake of beings suffering for their transgressions in the six realms, I will widely devise skillful means and liberate them all; only then will I myself attain the Buddha path." The beings in the evil destinies are immeasurable and inexhaustible, yet Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva was utterly fearless, boldly taking responsibility, willing to liberate them all before realizing enlightenment. What a deeply moving and admirable power of vows this is. Because Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva made such a great vow in the presence of Siṃhavikrīḍita Tathāgata, he has passed through hundreds of thousands of myriads of hundred-millions of nayutas of eons and still appears in the form of a bodhisattva, extensively liberating sentient beings.
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Moreover, the familiar figures of Bhaiṣajyaguru, the Medicine Master Tathāgata of the East, Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva all made vast vows during their causal stages. These vows share a common feature: benefiting all sentient beings. For ordinary people, life is always about pursuing personal interests---what I want to achieve, what I want to obtain. But the power of the buddhas' and bodhisattvas' vows centers on altruism; every vow starts from benefiting sentient beings. Whether Amitābha Buddha's forty-eight vows, Bhaiṣajyaguru Tathāgata's twelve great vows, or Samantabhadra's ten great vows---there is not a single exception.
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The four great vows we often recite are a high-level summation of the bodhisattvas' power of vows and can be said to be the universal vows of bodhisattva practitioners. "Sentient beings are boundless, I vow to liberate them all; afflictions are endless, I vow to cut them all off; Dharma gates are countless, I vow to study them all; the Buddha path is unsurpassed, I vow to achieve it." For the boundless multitudes of sentient beings, we vow to deliver them; for the afflictions accumulated since beginningless time, we resolve to eliminate them; for the Dharma gates revealed by all buddhas, we commit to diligent study; for the unsurpassed fruit of buddhahood, we strive to attain it. All these aspirations belong to aspiring bodhicitta. What vast compassion and majestic vows these are.
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Some may think: that is the realm of the buddhas and bodhisattvas---how could ordinary beings like us ever aspire to such heights? We should know that when the buddhas first generated bodhicitta, they too had not yet attained it; they were ordinary beings just like us. After making their vows, they did not instantly become buddhas and bodhisattvas either; rather, they practiced through long eons, doing what is difficult to do, traveling what is difficult to travel, and only then did they perfect enlightenment. If they had never taken that first step, how could they have achieved unsurpassed enlightenment? And if we keep delaying that first step, we too will forever remain in the position of ordinary beings.
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Studying Buddhism, ultimately, is studying what the Buddha did. The practice of all buddhas and bodhisattvas began with making vows, and we should follow their example, taking the seeking of unsurpassed enlightenment and the benefiting of sentient beings as our life's purpose. Whether we can earnestly give rise to this extraordinary aspiration depends on the depth of our understanding. If our understanding is only superficial, we will naturally be unable to generate a sincere and earnest mind. Only when we deeply realize that this is the one and only way out for life can we generate intense seeking.
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But making vows is only the beginning of practice. If after generating them we no longer recollect or consolidate them, this single thought of aspiration may soon weaken or even disappear. This is because making vows merely plants a seed of bodhicitta in our life. Compared with the ordinary mind formed through endless births and deaths, its power is utterly negligible. How can we make this seed grow strong? The methods for cultivating bodhicitta found in the Mahayana scriptures and treatises are well worth our study.
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Generating bodhicitta is the foremost matter in practice. Therefore, after generating aspiration, we should confirm it through a solemn ceremony of reception with vows, formalizing this aspirational intention. The practitioner, kneeling on the right knee before the ācārya with palms joined, generates this thought and speaks: "Ācārya, please bear witness. I, [name], in this life and in future lives, with all roots of virtue of generosity, discipline, and cultivation, whether done by myself, caused to be done by others, or rejoiced in when seen done by others---with these roots of virtue, just as all past Tathāgatas, Arhats, Perfectly Enlightened Ones, and the great bodhisattvas dwelling on the stages generated bodhicitta for unsurpassed perfect enlightenment, so too do I, [name], from now until enlightenment, generate bodhicitta for unsurpassed, vast, perfect enlightenment. For all beings not yet liberated, may they be liberated; for all not yet freed, may they be freed; for all not yet emerged from suffering, may they emerge; for all not yet fully entered nirvāṇa, may they fully enter nirvāṇa." This is spoken three times.
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After receiving bodhicitta, to ensure the vow once generated never retreats, we should recite day and night, three times each, three repetitions each time: "In the Buddha, Dharma, and Noble Sangha, I take refuge until enlightenment. By the merits of my practice, may I attain buddhahood for the benefit of all." Through the repeated cultivation of receiving and reciting, bodhicitta will implant firm seeds in our life. The more devout the recipient and the more solemn the atmosphere of reception, the stronger the seeds thus implanted. Mental patterns need conditions to nourish them. Constant grasping at self causes self-grasping to grow thought by thought. By the same principle, constantly recollecting the extraordinary nature of bodhicitta is like watering the seeds we have planted, causing the power of aspiration to grow day by day.
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We must be clear: the mode of generating bodhicitta is seeking, and its objects are unsurpassed enlightenment and benefiting all sentient beings. If we take wealth, beauty, fame, food, or sleep as our seeking and our objects, we fall into the ordinary mind. If we only want to benefit a few beings or our own family and friends, we are also far removed from bodhicitta. Therefore, we must constantly remind ourselves to take the seeking of unsurpassed enlightenment and benefiting all sentient beings as the sole purpose of life.
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> 2. Engaging Bodhicitta
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Engaging bodhicitta means transforming vows into action. Once we have the aspiration to benefit others, we need to implement it in conduct. The entire bodhisattva path falls within the scope of engaging bodhicitta, its main content being the six perfections and the four means of gathering. The six perfections are generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom. Some scriptures also speak of ten perfections, adding skillful means, vows, power, and knowledge to the six. The four means of gathering are generosity, kind speech, beneficial action, and sharing the work.
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Judging by their names, the bodhisattva practices do not seem particularly unusual. These same elements appear in the human and heavenly vehicles and in the path of liberation. So what makes the six perfections and four means of gathering on the bodhisattva path distinctive? On this question, the *Madhyānta-vibhāga*'s chapter on the unsurpassed vehicle proposes twelve kinds of supremacy to demonstrate the extraordinary nature of the six perfections as practiced by Mahayana practitioners.
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The twelve supremacies are: Bodhisattvas cultivating the six perfections never take delight in worldly glory, wealth, or honor; their aspiration is vast (supremacy of vastness). They cultivate them over countless eons (supremacy of duration). They do so for the universal benefit and happiness of all sentient beings (supremacy of basis). They dedicate them to unsurpassed perfect enlightenment (supremacy of inexhaustibility). They realize the equality of self and other (supremacy of uninterruptedness). Toward all the wholesome practices of all sentient beings, they deeply rejoice (supremacy of ease). They rely on the Gagana-gañja and other samādhis (supremacy of mastery). They are embraced by non-conceptual wisdom (supremacy of being sustained). They are initiated at the stage of superior patience on the path of conviction (supremacy of initiation). At the stage of great joy, ultimate bodhicitta is realized and flawless practice is initiated (supremacy of attainment). At the eighth stage (supremacy of outflow) and up to the stage of buddhahood (supremacy of culmination).
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Regarding bodhisattva path practice, the foundational text of the Yogācāra school, the *Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra*'s *Bodhisattva-bhūmi*, elaborates extensively and meticulously on the differences in cultivating the six perfections and four means of gathering through the chapters on generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditation, wisdom, and the means of gathering. Among these, the "chapter on discipline" is the well-known *Yogācāra Bodhisattva Precepts*, separately translated by Xuanzang and widely circulated in Buddhist circles.
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The *Yogācāra Bodhisattva Precepts* consists of three parts: the precepts of restraint, the precepts of cultivating wholesome dharmas, and the precepts of benefiting sentient beings. The precepts of restraint are the individual liberation precepts for the seven assemblies received by bodhisattvas, emphasizing the cessation of evil---stopping all evil, with no evil not stopped. The precepts of cultivating wholesome dharmas refer to wholesome dharmas of body, speech, and mind, as well as the three wisdoms of listening, reflection, and cultivation, focusing on cultivating goodness---cultivating all goodness, with no goodness not cultivated. The precepts of benefiting sentient beings refer to all altruistic practices of bodhisattvas, such as the four immeasurables of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity.
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The complete content of the *Yogācāra Bodhisattva Precepts* comprises four root precepts and forty-three secondary precepts. These rules are formulated based on the six perfections and four means of gathering, as well as the obstacles likely to arise in benefiting others, to ensure the stability and continuity of altruistic practice. That is to say, not only are precepts established for stopping evil, but doing good is also codified as precept rules, so that practitioners know "what I must do for the benefit of sentient beings, and how I should do it." Otherwise, the ordinary mind will find countless excuses for laziness. Especially when altruism temporarily conflicts with personal interests, self-grasping will instinctively resist benefiting others. This requires some binding rules that leave no room for avoidance.
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Among these, seven rules are established based on obstacles to the perfection of generosity, seven for obstacles to discipline, four for obstacles to patience, three for obstacles to diligence, three for obstacles to meditation, eight for obstacles to wisdom, and eleven for obstacles to the four means of gathering. If the six perfections lean more toward the perfection of self-benefit, the four means of gathering lean more toward the practice of benefiting others---benefiting sentient beings through generosity, guiding their minds through kind speech, helping them through beneficial action, and influencing them through shared endeavor. Compared with self-benefit, benefiting others requires special attention to skillful interaction with people; we must offer help in ways the other person is willing to accept. Otherwise, we will not achieve the desired effect and may even make things worse, provoking resistance. If we examine our own attitudes and conduct against these standards, we can implement the bodhisattva path in daily life, not just in slogans.
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It is especially important to note that among the six perfections, the perfection of wisdom is the root: "The other five perfections are blind; prajñā is their guide." If we do not rely on the wisdom of prajñā to cut off the ordinary mind, the generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, and meditation we cultivate may merely be worldly wholesome deeds, and what we ultimately achieve may only be the lesser fruits of the human and heavenly realms---causes with outflows. Only under the guidance of prajñā can generosity and other wholesome deeds become provisions for the Buddha path. Therefore, the correct view of emptiness is indispensable in the process of cultivating the six perfections.
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Prajñā and skillful means are vital components of the bodhisattva path. As the *Abbreviated Lamrim* says: "If one practices only one of skillful means and wisdom, one cannot attain buddhahood." The *Mahāvairocana Sutra* also states: "That omniscience arises from the root of great compassion, arises from the cause of bodhicitta, and reaches culmination through skillful means." Buddhahood possesses the two qualities of compassion and wisdom. The great loving-kindness and great compassion attained by the Buddha have bodhicitta as their cause and are achieved through altruistic skillful means such as generosity. If bodhicitta is not generated, even if one realizes the wisdom of emptiness like a śrāvaka practitioner, this can only bring personal liberation and cannot perfect unsurpassed enlightenment.
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The practice of engaging bodhicitta is built on the foundation of aspiring bodhicitta. The bodhisattva path follows from the aspiring mind, and through the six perfections and four means of gathering, the aspiring mind is strengthened. The bodhicitta we initially generate is only conventional bodhicitta, and its power is still very weak. If this bodhi seed does not receive care and nourishment, it may soon wither. Only by tending it wholeheartedly, timely replenishing its nutrients, and creating a healthy space for it to grow can the seed grow into a towering tree. Therefore, after generating bodhicitta, we must also receive the bodhisattva precepts. These vast bodhisattva practices are the very best nourishment for bodhicitta.
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In addition to the *Yogācāra Bodhisattva Precepts*, another set mainly upheld in China is the *Brahmā's Net Bodhisattva Precepts*, from the *Brahmā's Net Sutra*'s chapter on the bodhisattva mind-ground precepts, which has ten root and forty-eight secondary precepts. Both of these apply to both monastics and lay practitioners. There is also the lay bodhisattva precepts from the *Upāsaka Precepts Sutra*'s chapter on receiving precepts, with six root and twenty-eight secondary precepts.
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> 3. Ultimate Bodhicitta
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Although we vow to benefit sentient beings and put it into action, for ordinary beings, these vows and actions are still not ultimate. This is because they are built on a conventional mental foundation---they are conditioned, limited, and full of inequality. Hence, they are called conventional bodhicitta. How can we transform this limited aspiring mind into boundless compassion? It requires purification and expansion through the wisdom of emptiness, gradually removing the impurities that have become mixed in during the process of aspiration. Only by thoroughly realizing emptiness can we truly awaken to the fact that we and all sentient beings are fundamentally one, and only then can we give rise to the unconditional great compassion and shared-essence compassion of the buddhas and bodhisattvas. Therefore, ultimate bodhicitta can only arise after realizing emptiness---in other words, it is something only first-stage bodhisattvas can achieve.
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VI. The Causes and Conditions for Generating Bodhicitta
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How can we generate bodhicitta? The root of bodhicitta is altruism. But this "other" is not a specific "other" in our minds, nor our beloved family and friends, but all sentient beings. Benefiting all sentient beings is no easy matter. If we shut the door and imagine benefiting all beings inwardly, that is relatively easy---because there are no concrete beings involved, none of those people we dislike. But in reality, sentient beings come in all shapes and forms, and a fair number of them may be people we dislike or even resent, the very people we normally try to avoid. Yet the Buddhadharma tells us that we should give rise to a mind of equality toward all sentient beings. Even if they are our enemies, even if they have repeatedly harmed and vexed us, we must treat them equally, without the slightest grudge. And not only that---we must further generate gratitude toward them, thanking them for helping us perfect our practice. For most people, this is truly an enormous challenge.
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Almost everyone has people they especially cherish and care about---children in their parents' eyes, lovers in young people's eyes. Why can't we extend this care and concern to all sentient beings? The root lies in our mind. In our current state, we have not yet developed a mind that cares for all beings. What plays the dominant role in our mind is usually emotion, and emotion is full of preferences and inequalities. With such a mindset, can we truly treat enemies and loved ones equally? Can we regard all beings with an equal eye? Even if we can manage a little on the surface, it is often very forced.
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Benefiting others with a mind of impartial awakening sets an extremely high bar for our mental patterns. Yet it is precisely through this that the qualities of buddhas and bodhisattvas are cultivated---there is no second path. Faced with such difficulties and inner conflicts, we can first use visualization and the corresponding skillful means to overcome our limitations and activate the positive inner forces such as impartial altruism. Within our life, we are fundamentally endowed with the same mind as the buddhas and bodhisattvas, endowed with the same boundless compassion. The key is to awaken this long-dormant mind and allow it to take effect.
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Bodhicitta is also dependently arisen. As Master Xing'an said in his *Exhortation to Generate Bodhicitta*: "This bodhicitta is the king of all wholesome dharmas. It must have its causes and conditions in order to arise." Bodhicitta is the mental state with the highest level and greatest energy among all wholesome dharmas, and its fulfillment is the most perfect. But such wholesome dharma does not emerge out of thin air; it depends on the convergence of various causes and conditions. The generation of bodhicitta usually follows these paths.
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> 1. The Sevenfold Cause and Effect
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In the *Seven Points of Mind Training*, Atiśa taught the sevenfold cause-and-effect method, progressing from recognizing all beings as our mothers, recollecting their kindness, repaying their kindness, cultivating loving-kindness, cultivating compassion, and generating the extraordinary attitude to entering bodhicitta. Among these, recognizing all beings as our mothers, recollecting their kindness, and repaying their kindness are the prelude to generating bodhicitta, while cultivating loving-kindness and compassion belong to the content of bodhicitta.
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"Recognizing all beings as our mothers" means seeing all sentient beings as our own birth mothers. Throughout beginningless time, all beings have at some point been our flesh-and-blood relatives---parents, elders, older or younger siblings. As the *Brahmā's Net Sutra* says: "All men have been my fathers; all women have been my mothers." Many other Buddhist scriptures also discuss this relationship. But for modern people, whether "recognizing mothers" can actually arouse the mind of repaying kindness is highly questionable. A considerable number of people are unwilling even to honor and serve their present-life mothers, let alone mothers from past lives. Some might think that treating all beings as our own children would work better, since the overwhelming majority of people care deeply and lovingly for their children. There are indeed similar teachings in the sutras, saying that bodhisattvas should regard all beings as their only children. But why emphasize "recognizing mothers" here? Because what follows involves "recollecting kindness" and "repaying kindness." People's love for their children is instinctive, born of nature, but we cannot generate the same natural love for all sentient beings. Hence, we must still "recognize mothers." Seeing all beings as mothers is the start of the bodhicitta cultivation method and also its key.
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"Recollecting kindness" means remembering the nurturing kindness our mothers have shown us. Starting from the ten months of pregnancy, they not only gave us this physical body and nourished our growth but also cared for us meticulously throughout the entire process of growing up, investing untold labor and love. When we contemplate in this way, we should frequently recite the *Sutra on the Profound Kindness of Parents*, which elaborates in detail on parental kindness.
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The kindness of parents is as weighty as a mountain---how could we know of this kindness and not repay it? We must give rise to the mind of repaying kindness not only toward our present-life parents but also toward the parents of all our lives, and further toward all mother-like sentient beings. Since beginningless time, all sentient beings have at some point been our most intimate parents---not only human beings but all sentient beings in every life form.
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Next is cultivating loving-kindness---the wish to give happiness. Having recognized the kindness of our parents, we should do our utmost to repay it, bringing them joy and well-being, and bringing joy and well-being to all sentient beings as well. Only when we feel gratitude toward all beings can loving-kindness become universal. Cultivating loving-kindness also requires skillful means: we can begin with our own family members and people we like, gradually extending to those toward whom we feel neutral or indifferent, and finally to our enemies and adversaries. Step by step in this sequence, we can progressively expand our heart's capacity, improving our own mental state even as we benefit others. When our heart can accommodate more and more beings, the narrow self dissolves accordingly. Our mind falls into limitation precisely because of the two graspings of self and phenomena; it becomes narrow and petty. If we can give rise to loving-kindness toward all sentient beings, we can break free from the bonds of these two graspings and return to boundlessness.
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Cultivating compassion means removing the suffering of all sentient beings. Suffering can be classified into three kinds or eight kinds. The former are the suffering of suffering, the suffering of change, and the all-pervasive suffering of conditioning. The latter are the suffering of birth, aging, illness, death, separation from what we love, meeting what we hate, not getting what we seek, and the suffering of the five aggregates. From the Buddhist perspective, all sentient beings are drowning in the ocean of suffering. Even those who temporarily enjoy some happiness are still sowing the causes of future eons of suffering. Therefore, we must give rise to compassion and vow to rescue them from pain. At the same time, we must actively uphold and propagate the Buddhadharma, for without the illumination of the Buddha's wisdom, the world would sink into utter darkness. This feeling of "unable to bear the suffering of sentient beings, unable to bear the decline of the noble teaching" is precisely the driving force behind our seeking the Buddha path above and transforming sentient beings below.
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So, how can we give rise to this feeling of being unable to bear the suffering of sentient beings? Faced with the suffering of others, we often turn a blind eye, displaying an indifference that says, "This has nothing to do with me." If we see someone we dislike suffering, we might even gloat. These are all common problems in the process of cultivating compassion. Sometimes, when people come seeking the Dharma or asking for help, we might blurt out without thinking, "I don't have time." Why are we more accustomed to refusing than offering help? Precisely because we cannot feel the suffering of sentient beings as our own. We may even find ourselves a high-sounding excuse: "I'm busy with more important matters right now."
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Self-grasping is extremely cunning. When we don't want to be compassionate toward sentient beings, it will find all sorts of justifications, allowing us to forgive our own faults with a clear conscience and easily regain psychological equilibrium. In fact, how many justifications we have is not what matters. What matters is: is the motive behind those justifications altruistic? If not, then no amount of justification is anything more than self-deception, merely making our existing faults more entrenched, more concealed, and harder to correct. To transform from the ordinary mind into the great loving-kindness and great compassion of buddhas and bodhisattvas, we must not only treat sentient beings with a tender heart and deeply feel their suffering, but also face ourselves with a resolute heart, never indulging the self's tricks for any reason.
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Cultivating loving-kindness and compassion involves visualization on the one hand. According to Tibetan Buddhist requirements, one must practice the bodhicitta ritual three times a day. The purpose of both ritual practice and visualization is to nurture this mental pattern. Each time we visualize, the power of compassion is strengthened once in our thinking. In Buddhist practice, the power of visualization can be used to transform mental states, because what practice accomplishes is not an objective result. If we were building a school, then an objective building would be the goal. But the fruit of practice is primarily an inner transformation, and its key lies in the dynamics of mental functioning.
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Daily visualization is a necessary process for transforming mental patterns. In Yogācāra terms, it is the process of "seeds giving rise to manifest activity, manifest activity perfuming seeds." If we have just practiced loving-kindness and compassion meditation on the cushion, then when we see a person we normally dislike, we are less likely to feel strong aversion. Even if we fail to control our thoughts well, we are more likely to recognize the mistake afterward and feel ashamed. Thus, cushion practice and off-cushion application are complementary aspects. While practicing the bodhicitta ritual in seated meditation, we must also constantly apply and adjust it in daily life. It is like drilling wood to make fire: two sticks must be rubbed together continuously before the spark of compassion and wisdom can be struck.
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The highest attainment in Buddhist study is none other than the perfection of bodhicitta, the perfection of compassion. If we could achieve buddhahood by cultivating just one practice, it would surely be compassion. As the *Avatamsaka Sutra* says: "Even empty space can be measured, but bodhicitta is beyond knowing---and the reason it cannot be measured is that great compassion is immeasurable." Some might ask: Isn't buddhahood the attainment of both compassion and wisdom? Why would cultivating compassion alone suffice? This is because perfect compassion necessarily includes wisdom. Without the wisdom of emptiness, compassion cannot reach ultimate perfection, cannot free itself from the defiled ordinary mind, and remains merely a conditioned, limited worldly good deed. For a long time, the propagation of bodhicitta has tended to emphasize altruism without stressing the relationship between wisdom and compassion. In fact, cultivating compassion likewise depends on the guidance of prajñā wisdom. If there is compassion without wisdom, good intentions can easily lead to bad outcomes. Therefore, we should simultaneously nurture both compassion and wisdom, without neglecting either.
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Once compassion is present, we should further generate the extraordinary attitude---that is, an intense altruistic intention. This is the guiding force that leads to the generation of bodhicitta and a special condition for its arising.
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> 2. Exchanging Self and Other
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In addition to the seven points of mind training, Śāntideva's "exchanging self and other" is another important teaching for cultivating bodhicitta. Theoretically, exchanging self and other is highly convincing. What characterizes ordinary beings? Precisely the cherishing of self and the discarding of sentient beings---always thinking of oneself, indifferent toward others. Self-grasping originates from ignorance. It is an innate force, continually nourished throughout the endless continuity of lives. Hence, this grasping pervades almost every mental activity and is the fundamental force shaping the ordinary personality.
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Although on some level of life we are no different from the buddhas and bodhisattvas, at present we are still ordinary beings. Why? Precisely because of ignorance and self-grasping. Once these two are resolved, we will no longer be ordinary beings. All afflictions and unwholesome karma also stem from this. Self-grasping is constantly packaging itself, protecting its own interests, and finding every way to avoid anything unfavorable to itself. Killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying---which of these is not due to my greed, my hatred, my ignorance? We are entangled in greed, hatred, and ignorance, yet we do so only to seek happiness, never intending to create suffering. But in the end, it brings us endless bitter results. Thus, it is said that self-grasping is the door to all decline and ruin.
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So what exactly is this "self" that we construct and grasp? When we speak of what is grasped, we first must consider the grasper, that is, conscious activity. But everything consciousness grasps---whether the mental or the physical aspect---is illusory and impermanent; no fixed substance can be found. Where is the foothold of life? Where is our place of true security? The wealth, family, and career we cling to are all temporary, in a state of flux and change. The true foothold of life is surely not what consciousness grasps; it cannot be fully captured by either "self" or "non-self." What is certain is that the self constructed by consciousness is absolutely mistaken. Yet this mistaken construction has, since beginningless time, become the source of all suffering. We have set up an unstable object as our basis, but as the self, we must try with all our might to protect this instability. To protect instability as if it were stable---how exhausting that is. Lamentably, we have always been caught up in this meaningless struggle, almost without exception. The primary purpose of studying Buddhism is to destroy self-grasping. It is precisely because they transcended self-grasping that the arhats were able to realize nirvāṇa and cut off afflictions.
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The practice of exchanging self and other, though it begins from the ordinary mind, requires one cognitive prerequisite: a genuine recognition that "self-grasping is the door to all decline and ruin, and altruism is the root of all merit." These two statements are extremely important. The reason the buddhas and bodhisattvas have been able to liberate themselves from birth and death and accomplish boundless merit is precisely that all their thoughts and actions proceed from altruism.
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Altruism may seem quite ordinary---many people engage in altruistic acts, including many who have not studied Buddhism. But to what degree is their altruism pure? If we measure altruistic purity on a hundred-point scale, the buddhas' purity is one hundred, while the purity of ordinary beings is at most several dozen or even just a few points, mixed in with greed, self-grasping, arrogance, and other afflictions. As ordinary beings, even when we act altruistically, the compassion we generate is often outweighed by the self-grasping or attachment to merit mixed in.
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The purest altruism is the most thorough compassion. Its standard is twofold: realizing the threefold purity, and taking all sentient beings as its object. To achieve these two, we must deeply recognize the faults of self-grasping. Self-grasping is not only powerful; it is also skilled at disguise. No matter what we do, even the most selfish thing, we can usually find a respectable excuse. That is precisely what makes self-grasping so formidable. Let us look inward, and then observe others: we will find that people can always find reasons for whatever they do. There are reasons for doing good and reasons for doing bad; reasons we can speak aloud and reasons we cannot; reasons for answering others and reasons for comforting ourselves. Therefore, we must become skilled at unmasking the true face of the self. In truth, exposing the self's tricks and schemes is like uncovering one's own unsightly scars---pain is inevitable. But we have no other choice; we must act decisively. Otherwise, we will continue, as always, to be directed by self-grasping and continue, as always, to wander through birth and death.
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Altruism not only develops compassion but also breaks down self-grasping. If self-grasping is strong, we certainly cannot be purely altruistic. When we resolve to benefit others, the first to oppose us will surely be self-grasping, and the one creating obstacles will likewise be self-grasping. This also proves, from the other side, that altruism is a powerful weapon for destroying self-grasping.
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Once we have fully recognized the faults of self-grasping and the merit of altruism, we are qualified to practice exchanging self and other. Take the mind that cherishes the self, protects the self, and seeks every way to benefit the self, and turn it toward benefiting sentient beings. Take the mind that discards sentient beings, remains indifferent to them, and keeps a safe distance, and turn it toward oneself. This is how exchanging self and other works. If we can develop the same kind of loving-kindness toward sentient beings that we normally reserve for ourselves, the seed of bodhicitta begins to sprout. Further, we treat all sentient beings equally, without the slightest distinction between close and distant, so that altruism extends to all. The practice of exchanging self and other is a special skillful means for giving rise to bodhicitta. As long as we do it earnestly, step by step, we will gradually achieve the unconditional great compassion and shared-essence compassion of the buddhas and bodhisattvas.
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> 3. The Ten Causes and Conditions
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Among the teachings on bodhicitta in Chinese Buddhism, the most widely circulated is undoubtedly Master Xing'an's *Exhortation to Generate Bodhicitta*. In it, he discusses the eight aspects of bodhicitta: deviant and correct, genuine and false, great and small, partial and perfect. When we first generate aspiration, it is difficult to get it completely right. This requires constant examination: Is this aspiration deviant or correct? Genuine or false? Great or small? Partial or perfect? Each has its corresponding criteria, enabling us to check ourselves point by point, see where our problems lie, and make timely adjustments.
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In his *Exhortation to Generate Bodhicitta*, Master Xing'an summarizes ten causes and conditions for generating bodhicitta. If we frequently contemplate these points, we will feel that generating bodhicitta is the only choice in life; apart from it, nothing is more meaningful. The ten causes and conditions are: recollecting the Buddha's profound kindness, recollecting parents' kindness, recollecting teachers' kindness, recollecting benefactors' kindness, recollecting the kindness of sentient beings, recollecting the suffering of birth and death, honoring one's own spiritual nature, repenting karmic obstacles, seeking rebirth in the Pure Land, and ensuring the Dharma endures for long.
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First is recollecting the Buddha's profound kindness. Because the Buddha proclaimed the essential Dharma, the Buddhadharma has been transmitted in the world, and sentient beings have thus found the path to liberation. With his great loving-kindness and great compassion, the Buddha earnestly taught the Dharma and liberated beings for forty-five years. How can we repay such incomparable kindness? We must generate bodhicitta: "Offering this body and mind to the lands as numerous as dust particles---this is called repaying the Buddha's kindness." Merely liberating ourselves is insufficient to repay it. Of course, the prerequisite is that we must recognize how profound the Buddha's kindness truly is. This recognition, in turn, is based on an intense concern for our own life. If we do not take seeing the path and liberating ourselves from birth and death seriously, we cannot appreciate the Buddha's kindness to us or recognize the Buddhadharma's significance for life. But if, in the course of our life's journey, we have searched high and low, studied all worldly philosophies and religions without finding the path to liberation, and finally found the way out through the Buddhadharma---for such a person, the Buddha's profound kindness can be deeply felt. Modern people have easy access to the Dharma; we can even sit at home and listen to Dharma masters' teachings through recordings and videos. This makes it difficult to develop a sense of rarity and preciousness. In fact, our attitude toward hearing the Dharma directly affects how much we benefit from it. The more we treasure the Dharma, the greater the benefit, and vice versa.
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Second is recollecting parents' kindness. The kindness of nurturing is beyond repayment. Only by generating bodhicitta can we best repay our parents. When Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva was cultivating in his causal stage, his mother, due to wrong views and lack of faith in the Three Jewels, fell into the evil destinies. To save his mother, Kṣitigarbha made great vows. But the very moment he made those vows, not only was his mother born from hell into the heavens, but all the beings in the Avīci Hell that day were also born into the heavenly realms. This shows that after generating bodhicitta, we can repay not only the kindness of our present-life parents but also the kindness of parents from countless past lives. Otherwise, if we ourselves have no way out, how can we repay our parents' profound kindness?
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Third is recollecting teachers' kindness. In our process of growing up, it is thanks to worldly teachers that we come to understand various fields of knowledge and moral principles; it is thanks to world-transcending teachers that we can hear the Buddhadharma and understand the path to liberation. The Tibetan tradition's great emphasis on the guru truly has deep significance. The guru not only transmits the authentic Dharma to us but also guides us in applying it to practice. The buddhas of the ten directions are indeed important, but without the guru as a bridge, we could not become Buddhist disciples, could not develop faith in the Buddha, or begin practicing the Dharma and benefiting from it. A realized guru is himself or herself a symbol of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Through reverence for the guru, we can also help destroy self-grasping and receive the true benefit of the Dharma from that reverence. How can we repay the kindness of our teachers? We must also generate bodhicitta and perpetuate the lineage of the Buddha. Our teachers have transmitted the path of practice to us; the only proper repayment is for us to earnestly carry it on, propagate it, and thereby benefit sentient beings.
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Fourth is recollecting benefactors' kindness. Making a living in modern times is not easy; people toil all day for their livelihood. They live to survive, and survive to live. As monastics, we do not need to struggle for survival; we can lead a life devoted to seeking truth and liberation---this is truly an immense blessing. Therefore, no matter what our living conditions are like, we should be full of gratitude toward the Three Jewels and the wider society. How can we repay the support of the faithful donors who have created these conditions for our study and practice? Again, by generating bodhicitta, practicing diligently, and spreading the Dharma to benefit beings. Only in this way do we have the merit to properly receive the offerings of the faithful.
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Fifth is recollecting the kindness of sentient beings. Since beginningless time, all sentient beings have at some point been our parents and siblings, and all have shown us kindness. But in the wandering of birth and death, some have fallen into the hell realms, some are immersed in the realm of hungry ghosts, some are circling through the animal realm. Even those fortunate enough to be born in happy destinies cannot enjoy happiness forever; once their blessings are exhausted, they are bound to fall. If we think only of our own liberation and simply leave them behind, how could we bear it in our hearts? Thinking of sentient beings' kindness to us, thinking of their suffering, we have no choice but to generate bodhicitta, taking the deliverance of all mother-like sentient beings as our personal mission---repaying the four great kindnesses above and relieving the sufferings of the three lower realms below. Only thus can we give back to society and to all sentient beings.
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Sixth is recollecting the suffering of birth and death. Through endless births and deaths, we have experienced everything---fallen into the hells, been animals. Even when born human, we have not necessarily lived happily. In the journey of our past lives, we were probably like many people who never heard the Buddhadharma, living mediocre, confused, and perplexed lives. Day after day, we squander our time; life after life, we waste our existence. In the torrent of life, the only thing we can grasp is this present thought, this present moment. We cannot even be sure about tomorrow. Can we guarantee that we will still be alive tomorrow? The past is already gone, beyond our grasp; the future has not yet arrived, also beyond our grasp. How can we use this present identity to improve our life? The only thing we can do is still to generate bodhicitta. Of course, we could also generate renunciation. But if we only generate renunciation, we cannot benefit all sentient beings, and it is ultimately not the perfect aspiration.
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Seventh is honoring one's own spiritual nature. We may never have imagined that we and all the buddhas, bodhisattvas, and patriarchs through the ages are fundamentally no different. In our own mind-nature, we share the same dimension as they do. Yet they have already become buddhas and patriarchs while we are still wandering in samsara. We are born with a priceless treasure within, yet we live as beggars. How can we face our own inner riches? Out of respect for this life quality, we should also generate bodhicitta. Otherwise, we can never unearth this treasure; it can only lie buried. Of course, śrāvakas also uncover it, but not completely. Only the buddhas and bodhisattvas who have generated bodhicitta can thoroughly uncover this treasure and bring all its functions to full perfection.
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Eighth is repenting karmic obstacles. There are many ways to repent, but the best is generating bodhicitta. Once bodhicitta is generated, what governs our life is bodhicitta, not karmic obstacles. We know that karma is the force propelling the continuity of life. Our present identity is the result of one phase of karma. What we call destiny is also intimately related to karma. The guiding karma and completing karma constitute the general and specific results of life and follow certain laws. But destiny can also be changed. The moment bodhicitta is generated, our destiny will unfold along the trajectory of bodhicitta, no longer drifting along the course set by karmic forces. This is because bodhicitta is the king of all wholesome dharmas; its power is fierce and unstoppable. Having generated bodhicitta, we have already taken hold of the rudder of destiny. Therefore, once bodhicitta is truly generated, there is no need for any further worry, because the power of bodhicitta can destroy everything. How great is the power of the entire universe? Yet bodhicitta can concentrate the power of the whole universe into a single thought. What could possibly obstruct it? Thus, the best way to repent is also generating bodhicitta.
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Ninth is seeking rebirth in the Pure Land. Pure Land practitioners recite the Buddha's name seeking rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. In fact, the best method for rebirth in the Pure Land is also generating bodhicitta. When we practice based on bodhicitta, at the moment of death, the king of bodhicitta vows can, in a single thought, propel us to the Western Pure Land, where we will attain perfect enlightenment and then, according to our own wishes, travel to worlds in the ten directions to teach the Dharma and liberate beings. As the *Practices and Vows of Samantabhadra* states: "Further, when this person is on the verge of death... only this king of vows does not abandon them; at all times, it guides them forward. In a single instant, they attain rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Upon arrival, they see Amitābha Buddha, Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, Maitreya Bodhisattva, and others. These bodhisattvas, with their majestic forms and perfect merits, surround them. The person sees themselves born from a lotus flower and receives the Buddha's prediction of enlightenment. After receiving the prediction, over countless hundreds of thousands of myriads of hundred-millions of nayutas of eons, throughout untold worlds in the ten directions, they employ the power of wisdom and, according to the minds of sentient beings, bring them benefit. Before long, they will sit at the seat of enlightenment, subdue the armies of Māra, attain perfect enlightenment, turn the wondrous Dharma wheel, and enable beings as numerous as the finest particles of dust in buddha-lands to generate bodhicitta, teaching and maturing them according to their faculties, and for eons as vast as oceans in the future, they will broadly benefit all sentient beings."
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Tenth is ensuring the Dharma endures for long. Upholding the Buddhadharma fundamentally depends on generating bodhicitta. After generating bodhicitta, our strength becomes inexhaustible. If we work from the ordinary mind, we are inevitably of two minds. Today we think of liberating sentient beings; tomorrow we think it is better to retreat and practice in seclusion. This is the mental state monastics are most prone to: one moment advancing, the next wanting to retreat. Why do worldly people consider monastics passive? Because we can find scriptural support for both advancing and retreating. The Buddhadharma is vast and profound; there seems to be solid justification for almost any course of action. The reason for this is simply that different stages of practice have different emphases. If we have generated bodhicitta, we should take whether or not we can benefit sentient beings as our measure.
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Frequently contemplating these ten reasons can lay a solid foundation for generating bodhicitta. When we comprehensively examine life, we will see that generating bodhicitta is the only meaningful choice. Were it not grounded in the ultimate concern for life, it would seem that life offers many choices---we could develop in this direction or in that one. But none of these choices is ultimate; they bring only temporary benefit. To waste a precious human life, so rare and endowed with leisure and opportunity, for a little immediate gain---the price is far too high. Can we afford it? We may not be able to when we want to turn back. Only by generating bodhicitta can life find its true direction and be thoroughly liberated from samsara---not only liberating ourselves but also bringing liberation to all sentient beings.
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VII. The Characteristics of Bodhicitta
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In the mental world of ordinary beings, each kind of mental activity has its own characteristics: greed has the characteristics of greed, hatred has the characteristics of hatred, arrogance has the characteristics of arrogance. So what are the characteristics of bodhicitta? The *Avatamsaka Sutra* tells us: "To generate bodhicitta means to generate the mind of great compassion, to universally rescue all sentient beings; to generate the mind of great loving-kindness, to equally protect all worlds; to generate the mind of peace and joy, to cause all sentient beings to extinguish their sufferings; to generate the mind of benefiting, to cause all sentient beings to depart from unwholesome dharmas; to generate the mind of empathy, to protect all those who are fearful; to generate the mind without obstruction, to abandon all hindrances; to generate the vast mind, to pervade the entire Dharma-realm; to generate the boundless mind, reaching wherever empty space reaches; to generate the capacious mind, to behold all Tathāgatas; to generate the pure mind, with wisdom unhindered regarding the dharmas of the three times; to generate the mind of wisdom, to universally enter all oceans of wisdom."
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In addition, many Mahayana scriptures and treatises elaborate on the content of bodhicitta from different angles, and the material is extremely rich. Based on my own study and practice, I have summarized several key points below. If we can grasp these essentials, our aspiration will never go astray in direction.
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> 1. Awakening
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The characteristic of the ordinary mind is non-awakening, also called ignorance. Deluded by ignorance, we fall into the two graspings of self and phenomena and the three poisons of greed, hatred, and ignorance, thereby creating the karma of samsara. That is why the first link of the twelvefold dependent origination is ignorance. Ordinary beings, due to ignorance, are unawakened in every thought. When self-grasping arises, because of non-awakening, we sink into the mire of self-grasping. When greed arises, because of non-awakening, we sink into the bondage of greed. When hatred arises, because of non-awakening, we sink into the flames of hatred. Continuously grasping at greed, hatred, ignorance, and their perceived images, we sink deeper and deeper, with the result that we wander through long eons.
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Bodhicitta, by contrast, represents the power of awakening. As the *Mahāyāna Sutra on the Contemplation of the Originally Arisen Mind-Ground* states: "The mind of self-awakening can generate bodhi; this awakening mind is bodhicitta; the two are not different." The distinction between ordinary beings and sages hinges on the single thought of delusion or awakening: "The preceding thought deluded is the ordinary being; the succeeding thought awakened is the buddha. The preceding thought attached to objects is affliction; the succeeding thought free of objects is bodhi." The generation of bodhicitta marks the awakening of sentient life. This awakening dispels the long night of ignorance and illuminates the dream of birth and death. In bodhicitta practice, we must take awakening as fundamental, maintaining wakefulness in every thought, seeing the five desires and six sense objects as illusory dreams and bubbles, and clearly recognizing the manifestations of greed, hatred, ignorance, and the ordinary mind without being carried away by them. Thus, the *Mahāsaṃnipāta Sutra* says: "What is called generating bodhicitta? Clearly knowing the nature of greed is called generating bodhicitta. Moreover, clearly knowing hatred, ignorance, miserliness, jealousy, the aggregates, sense bases, and realms; ignorance, formations, consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense bases; and even birth, aging, sickness, death, and great suffering---this is called generating bodhicitta." We can see that clearly knowing the truth of greed, hatred, and ignorance is also an important aspect of generating bodhicitta.
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As a bodhisattva, one not only clearly knows that self-grasping is the root of all faults but also clearly knows that altruism is the source of all merit. The term "bodhisattva" comes from the Sanskrit *bodhisattva*, "awakened sentient being". Therefore, while awakening themselves, bodhisattvas take awakening others as their mission, liberating sentient beings through the four immeasurables---loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity---and moving together toward the state of perfect awakening and action.
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> 2. Selflessness and Altruism
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The ordinary mind grasps at "self." In daily life, what people think of most often is precisely themselves. Their whole lives are spent struggling for their own clothing, food, shelter, and transportation; for fame, profit, status; for career and wealth. Yet all the afflictions, suffering, conflicts, and disputes in the world also arise from nothing other than this "self."
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Selflessness is the core teaching that distinguishes Buddhism from worldly and non-Buddhist paths; in Buddhism, it is listed as one of the three Dharma seals. Whether in the śrāvaka path or the bodhisattva path, practice is built on the foundation of selflessness. Śrāvaka practitioners achieve liberation by knowing selflessness; bodhisattva practitioners can be completely altruistic by thoroughly realizing selflessness. In the process of generating bodhicitta and walking the bodhisattva path, the greatest obstacle is self-grasping. This is because the ordinary mind habitually thinks of "me" in everything---a deeply ingrained tendency. When we resolve to benefit all sentient beings, we inevitably face sharp conflicts with self-interest. Only by removing the obstacles on the road ahead can we advance boldly on the great path of bodhi. So how do we remove this obstacle? The Buddhadharma tells us that self-grasping is caused by ignorance---because we do not understand the truth of life, we either cling to the physical body as the self, or cling to various ideas as the self, or cling to property and career as the self. If we illuminate with the wisdom of prajñā, we can clearly see that all phenomena are illusory appearances produced by the convergence of causes and conditions, impermanent and selfless.
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Once we thoroughly see the illusory and insubstantial nature of the "self," grasping at it becomes meaningless, and the chasm between self and other will vanish. Only by thoroughly realizing selflessness can we be completely altruistic; and through the practice of altruism, we can continue to dismantle self-grasping. The *Diamond Sutra* particularly emphasizes applying the insight of selflessness in practice: "A bodhisattva who generates the mind of unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment should give rise to this thought: I must liberate all sentient beings, causing them to enter the realm of nirvāṇa without remainder. Yet having thus liberated all sentient beings, not a single sentient being has truly been liberated. Why? Subhūti, if a bodhisattva clings to the notion of a self, a person, a sentient being, or a life span, they are not a bodhisattva. Why? Subhūti, there is in fact no dharma called 'generating the mind of unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment.'" Similar passages appear repeatedly throughout the sutra, earnestly instructing practitioners who have generated bodhicitta that in the process of cultivating the bodhisattva path, they must use the wisdom of emptiness to know that there is "no notion of self, no notion of person, no notion of sentient being, no notion of life span"---only thus can they become qualified bodhisattvas.
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> 3. Boundlessness
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The ordinary mind is limited. All its mental activities come from the accumulation of certain experiences in the continuity of life, and they have specific objects. Greed has the objects of greed, hatred has the objects of hatred, arrogance has the objects of arrogance---and these objects are necessarily limited. People only develop attachment toward pleasant and delightful circumstances; they cannot be attached to everything. They only develop hatred toward disagreeable conditions; they cannot hate everything.
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Bodhicitta is different: its objects are boundless. Generating bodhicitta takes all sentient beings in the ten directions as its object and benefiting all sentient beings as its mission. This point is mentioned in many Mahayana scriptures. The *Avatamsaka Sutra* states: "A bodhisattva does not generate bodhicitta merely to teach and tame a single sentient being, nor to teach and tame a hundred sentient beings, nor even to teach and tame an inexpressibly inexpressible number of sentient beings... Therefore, O son of good family, only when all worlds are purified will my vows be fulfilled; only when the afflictive habits of all sentient beings are uprooted will my vows be complete." What vast and profound power of vows this is.
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In the *Diamond Sutra*, the Buddha likewise gave this teaching on generating aspiration: "A bodhisattva-mahāsattva should thus subdue the mind: all the various kinds of sentient beings, whether egg-born, womb-born, moisture-born, or transformation-born; whether with form or without form; whether with thought or without thought, or neither with nor without thought---I shall cause them all to enter the nirvāṇa without remainder and liberate them." This similarly tells us that bodhisattvas should take the deliverance of all sentient beings as their object. Regardless of which realm they are in or what life form they take, all are the objects of the bodhisattva's full effort to deliver, without exception.
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In the *Devarāja-pravara-prajñāpāramitā Sutra*, there is this dialogue: "World-Honored One, how does one generate bodhicitta? The Buddha said: Great king, by giving rise to great compassion. World-Honored One, how does one give rise to great compassion? The Buddha said: By not abandoning any sentient being." The heart of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, because they do not abandon any sentient being, is vast and boundless. In the familiar ten great vows of the *Practices and Vows of Samantabhadra*, whether paying homage to all buddhas or according with all sentient beings, every vow takes as its object all buddhas throughout the entire Dharma-realm, the realm of empty space, the ten directions and three times, or all sentient beings throughout the entire Dharma-realm, the realm of empty space, the oceans of worlds in the ten directions---fully embodying the vastness and boundlessness of bodhicitta.
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> 4. Equality
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The ordinary mind is unequal. Because ordinary beings have self-grasping and grasping-at-mine, they are destined to be unable to treat all equally. Because there is a self, there is the division between self and other; because there is "mine," there is the distinction between close and distant. As ordinary beings, we always cling to self and discard others, and in our relationships with people, we are full of likes, dislikes, preferences, and rejections---thus giving rise to all kinds of inequality in the world.
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The practice of bodhisattvas requires breaking free from this unequal ordinary mind. After generating bodhicitta, on the one hand, we must recognize through listening and reflecting on the teachings that all dharmas are equal and all sentient beings are equal. On the other hand, we must, through meditative cultivation and actual practice, give rise to a genuine mind of equality toward all sentient beings. For a bodhisattva practitioner, if there remains even the slightest discrimination between those we like and dislike, close and distant, we cannot be qualified bodhisattvas. As Master Tsongkhapa points out in the *Lamrim*: "If one does not first eliminate the categorization of attachment to one kind of sentient being and aversion to another and cultivate equanimity, then however one may generate compassion, it will still have categories." Therefore, the equanimity of impartiality is also an essential practice for bodhisattva practitioners.
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The compassion of bodhisattvas is unconditional great compassion and shared-essence great compassion. Unconditional means without any added conditions; shared essence means without distinction between self and other, liked and disliked, close and distant. Such compassion is built on the equality of self and other. The *Practices and Vows of Samantabhadra* tells us: "Because the mind is equal toward all sentient beings, one can achieve perfect great compassion." Because of impartial equality toward all sentient beings, perfect great compassion is achieved. In fact, it is not only bodhisattva practitioners who should maintain equality---the Buddha himself set this example for us. In the *Sāgaramati-paripṛcchā Sutra*, the assembled bodhisattvas praised him thus: "Knowing the bodhicitta of equality, the World-Honored One constantly practices the Dharma of equality." The World-Honored One's conduct precisely illustrates the significance of cultivating the mind of equality.
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> 5. Signlessness and Non-Attainment
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The ordinary mind clings to signs. Because ordinary beings are full of the view of intrinsic nature, they experience everything in the world of body and mind as substantially real, clinging to real notions of beautiful and ugly, pure and impure, real self and real mine. Hence, whatever they do is done with a mind seeking attainment. If we stand on the ground of the ordinary mind---which is attached to signs and attainment---then no matter how hard we try, what we ultimately develop is still the ordinary mind.
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Bodhicitta, by contrast, is signless. First, "a bodhisattva should generate the mind of unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment free from all signs"---the generation itself is signless. Second, in the process of walking the bodhisattva path, we must also not dwell on signs. As the *Diamond Sutra* says: "(When giving) one should not give rise to a mind that dwells on form, nor on sound, smell, taste, touch, or mental objects; one should give rise to a mind that dwells nowhere." In this passage, the Buddha instructs us: when giving, do not dwell on the sign of giving; do not cling to the notion of a giver who gives, a recipient who receives, or a gift that is given. Only with the threefold purity can the perfection of generosity be fulfilled and become provision for the bodhisattva path. Otherwise, how would it differ from the wholesome deeds of humans and gods? This applies to generosity, and the same holds for all six perfections and myriad practices. Third, when bodhisattvas cultivate all Dharma gates, they must not only avoid dwelling on signs but must also not give rise to a mind of attainment. This is what the *Diamond Sutra* emphasizes: "There is in fact no dharma called arhat. World-Honored One, if an arhat should think, 'I have attained the path of the arhat,' that would be clinging to self, person, sentient being, and life span. World-Honored One, the Buddha has said that I have attained the samādhi of non-contention and am foremost among humans, the foremost arhat free from desire. Yet I do not think, 'I am an arhat free from desire.' World-Honored One, if I were to think, 'I have attained the path of the arhat,' the World-Honored One would not call Subhūti one who delights in dwelling free of contention. Because Subhūti truly has nothing that he practices, he is called one who delights in dwelling free of contention." Whether dwelling on signs or on attainment, both are expressions of the ordinary mind. Only by thoroughly realizing signlessness and non-attainment can we achieve ultimate bodhicitta and perfect unsurpassed buddhahood.
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The practice of bodhicitta moves from aspiring bodhicitta into engaging bodhicitta. Whether in making vows or in actual practice, we should examine ourselves against the characteristics of bodhicitta, checking: Is this mental state awakened or not? Is it selfless or self-centered? Is it self-serving or altruistic? Is it equal or discriminatory? Is it limited or boundless? Is it dwelling on signs or free from signs? Is it seeking attainment or free from attainment? The process of bodhicitta practice is precisely the process of continually adjusting our mental patterns. If our aspiration is unawakened, self-centered, self-serving, discriminatory, limited, sign-dwelling, and attainment-seeking, then it shows we are still thoroughgoing ordinary beings. Conversely, if our aspiration is endowed with the characteristics of awakening, selflessness, altruism, equality, boundlessness, non-dwelling, and non-attainment, then it is qualified bodhicitta, a mental state no different from that of all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
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VIII. Models for the Practice of Bodhicitta
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When we speak of models for the practice of bodhicitta, the buddhas and bodhisattvas come first. When we read Mahayana scriptures such as the *Sutra of the Merits of the Fundamental Vows of the Medicine Master Tathāgata of Lapis Lazuli Radiance*, the *Sutra of Immeasurable Life*, and the *Sutra of the Fundamental Vows of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva*, we should not merely focus on what the buddhas and bodhisattvas can do for us. We should also see how they themselves attained realization. Their practices and Dharma gates during their causal stages are the best models for our own study and practice. Each buddha and bodhisattva has their own power of vows and approach to practice, some starting from great compassion, some from wisdom, displaying different paths of cultivation for us.
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If we feel a particular affinity with Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, we can choose Mañjuśrī's Dharma gate and study it, delving into the treasury of sutras until wisdom is as vast as the ocean, just as Mañjuśrī did. If we feel a particular affinity with Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, we can choose Kṣitigarbha's Dharma gate and study it, vowing not to become a buddha until the hells are empty, just as Kṣitigarbha did. If we take Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva as our model for study, we should take Avalokiteśvara's vows as our own vows and Avalokiteśvara's conduct as our own standard of behavior, responding to the cries of the suffering, answering whenever called upon, as the bodhisattva does. If we take Amitābha Buddha as our model, we should take Amitābha's forty-eight vows as our guiding principles for practice, always remembering that our goal is to create a pure land and benefit boundless sentient beings.
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We can even visualize ourselves as emanations of Avalokiteśvara or Amitābha Buddha. Establishing this identity can further inspire us to take the great vows of the buddhas and bodhisattvas as our personal mission, generating bodhicitta to seek true awakening and forgetting the self to benefit all beings. Buddhist practitioners should certainly be humble and modest, but this spirit of courageous commitment is extremely important. Otherwise, if we are content to remain at the level of ordinary beings, only knowing to beseech the buddhas without knowing to walk the buddhas' path, how can we ever develop the qualities of buddhas and bodhisattvas within ourselves? After we position ourselves as emanations of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, we must also continually draw closer to them in our mental patterns, until ultimately our awakening and action are perfect and we are no different from Avalokiteśvara or Amitābha.
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In fact, this is exactly how Avalokiteśvara and Amitābha attained realization during their causal stages. And not only they---all buddhas and bodhisattvas attained realization this way. Before Śākyamuni Buddha, there were many other Śākyamuni Buddhas; before Amitābha, there were many other Amitābha Buddhas, as expressed in the phrase, "Homage to the thirty-six trillion, one hundred nineteen thousand five hundred Amitābha Buddhas of the same name in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss." When they first began their practice, they too sought an ancient buddha as their model. Avalokiteśvara studied under the ancient Avalokiteśvara Buddha and then cultivated the Dharma gate of great compassion to achieve realization. Since the buddhas and bodhisattvas did it this way, we can also do exactly the same. To directly start from a particular buddha's or bodhisattva's power of vows and approach to practice, visualizing ourselves as emanations of Avalokiteśvara or Amitābha, will bring tremendous blessings and make it much easier to connect than relying solely on our own effort.
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In Tibet, we often hear that a certain master is an emanation of Avalokiteśvara, or that another master is an emanation of Mañjuśrī. In fact, when we take a particular buddha or bodhisattva as our yidam and practice accordingly, what we ultimately realize are precisely the qualities of that buddha or bodhisattva. Seen from this angle, such statements are not without basis and need not be treated as myth. Of course, this is not to deny that some accounts involve embellishment or exaggeration. Yidam practice is not mysterious; we can perfectly well apply its methods to the cultivation of bodhicitta.
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I normally live on the rear mountain of Nanputuo Monastery, which is a sanctuary of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva. During my meditation, I visualize the entire Wulao Peak as Avalokiteśvara's maṇḍala and myself as an emanation of the bodhisattva, endowed with the same great loving-kindness and great compassion, and then I radiate this compassion throughout the worlds of the ten directions, wishing that all sentient beings, through this boundless compassion, may leave suffering and attain happiness. When we visualize in this way, our mental state resonates with the bodhisattva's. Of course, we have not yet reached the purity and intensity of Avalokiteśvara; the quality still needs further improvement. But through continuous practice and reinforcement, we can gradually draw closer in our mental patterns. Over time, not only can we generate boundless compassion toward sentient beings during seated meditation, but we can also gradually bring it into daily life. At that point, we will truly be emanations of Avalokiteśvara in both name and substance.
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We can compile the important buddhas and bodhisattvas and their related Dharma gates from the Mahayana scriptures. Material about Avalokiteśvara can be organized as "Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva and the Avalokiteśvara Dharma Gate"; material about Kṣitigarbha can be organized as "Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva and the Kṣitigarbha Dharma Gate." This requires work in two areas: first, understanding how this bodhisattva practiced during their causal stage; second, understanding the distinctive features of this Dharma gate. In this way, it will not only greatly benefit our own study and practice but also provide learning resources for fellow practitioners who aspire to cultivate the bodhisattva path. The Mahayana sutras and treatises are not lacking in practice methods; it is just that we have not paid attention to them or found the right way to connect with them.
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The *Avatamsaka Sutra* states: "Mind, Buddha, and sentient beings---among these three there is no difference." On the level of Dharma-nature, we and the buddhas and bodhisattvas are not essentially different. On the contrary, we share the same essence. When we merge ourselves with the buddhas and bodhisattvas in visualization, what takes effect in our mental patterns is precisely the qualities of the buddhas and bodhisattvas. Through this visualization, through emulating the conduct of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, we can activate the noble qualities within our life that are no different from theirs. Otherwise, our practice will remain at the level of the ordinary mind and cannot achieve an essential transcendence.
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Although we are essentially the same as the buddhas and bodhisattvas, we still feel in our hearts that they are far beyond our reach. The reason is that what has always played the dominant role in our life is the ordinary mind, and what we ultimately develop can only be the ordinary mind. If we can practice according to the power of the buddhas' and bodhisattvas' vows, our mental patterns will gradually draw closer to theirs. In the early stages of practice, this aspiring mind still belongs to conventional bodhicitta, not ultimate bodhicitta. But we need not be discouraged. If conventional bodhicitta can be properly tuned, it is like the open sky seen through a pane of glass---though separated from the actual sky by one layer, it is already close. As long as we persevere unremittingly, the day will come when that pane of glass is smashed to pieces and we merge into the ocean of emptiness.
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I believe that if we carefully study the practice approaches of all Mahayana bodhisattvas, we can fully organize them into concrete practice guidelines with strong applicability, leading us step by step along the path. In fact, beginning from the approach to practice is more powerful than beginning from theory. Among Buddhists, a fair number practice in a very detached manner, and most of these are people who start from theory, overly immersed in doctrinal study and indifferent to the real world. If we start from bodhicitta, taking the buddhas' and bodhisattvas' practice approaches as our starting point, and then use view to adjust our mental patterns, our study and practice will be very active. We will proactively spread the Dharma and benefit beings, voluntarily shouldering the work of the bodhisattvas rather than being content with "few activities, few undertakings, and few expectations."
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IX. Conclusion
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The foregoing introduction to bodhicitta has given you only a broad outline of the essentials of generating aspiration. In truth, every Mahayana scripture can serve as a textbook for bodhicitta and can be interpreted from the perspective of bodhicitta. Whether the *Avatamsaka Sutra*, the *Diamond Sutra*, or the *Mahāprajñāpāramitā Śāstra* and the *Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra*, all contain complete methods for generating aspiration, representing different levels of aspiration.
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That we are fortunate enough to hear the Buddhadharma and find the method for liberating ourselves from afflictions is truly the fruit of blessings accumulated over many lifetimes. Since beginningless time, the two graspings of self and phenomena have been continually harming us. If we cannot make a breakthrough in practice, afflictions will trouble us endlessly into the future---this is the fundamental problem that Buddhist study must solve. Compared with the inner transformation of life, everything external is trivial. A little more knowledge or an extra diploma is like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow. Even to be a king with dominion over the entire world is only a few decades of glory and splendor, brief and illusory. In the boundless torrent of life, practice is our only way out. Only by walking the path of liberation pointed out by the Buddha can we find the light and awaken from the great dream of birth and death.
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Generating bodhicitta is an enormous challenge to the self, and this is also the great difficulty we face in the process of aspiration. But as long as bodhicitta is generated properly, all afflictions become inconsequential. For afflictions arise from nothing other than the two graspings of self and phenomena, and bodhicitta is the best weapon for destroying these two graspings. In the Buddhadharma, different methods are usually employed to counter different afflictions. But the highest Dharma gate can resolve everything in a single move, dealing with the ever-changing by remaining constant. The bodhicitta teaching is precisely that one move of matchless power. Once applied, all problems are solved with ease.
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I sincerely hope that this extraordinary teaching of bodhicitta will spread far and wide, so that the seeds of bodhicitta may be sown across the land of China. Of course, enthusiasm alone is not enough. While bodhicitta teachings lead the way, they must also be accompanied by profound methods of working with the mind as deeper guidance. As the scriptures say: "Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas also have two kinds of correct practice to solidify bodhicitta. What are the two? First, correctly recollecting bodhi practice; second, cultivating meditative concentration to cut off all afflictions." Prajñā and skillful means---one is the mother, the other the father; neither can be missing. Buddhahood is the fulfillment of compassion and wisdom. Specifically, it is the fulfillment of bodhicitta and the view of emptiness. If we work from both these directions and help produce a generation of genuine practitioners, the face of Chinese Buddhism will surely be transformed.
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X. Questions and Answers
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Student: Must the generation of bodhicitta be based on renunciation?
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Venerable: Renunciation and bodhicitta belong to two different levels of aspiration. The Mahayana scriptures and treatises mainly focus on bodhicitta and rarely touch on renunciation. In the śrāvaka scriptures such as the Āgamas, renunciation is central, and bodhicitta is scarcely discussed. The linking of renunciation and bodhicitta is primarily found in the *Lamrim* as constructed by Master Tsongkhapa.
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Early śrāvaka practitioners can be divided into two types: those fixed on tranquillity and those who turn from the small toward the great. The former generate renunciation and follow it all the way, directly realizing the fruit of arhatship without seeking further for the Buddha path. Their determination to leave the three realms is extremely intense; they seek nothing else. That is why, when the Buddha taught the *Lotus Sutra*, five thousand śrāvakas withdrew from the assembly---these belonged to the type fixed on tranquillity. The other type, after encountering the śrāvaka teachings, later had the opportunity to study the Mahayana and ultimately turned from the small toward the great, shifting from renunciation to bodhicitta.
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During the Republican era, Master Taixu highly praised the *Lamrim* translated by Master Fazun, for this path is truly secure. The three principal paths constructed by Master Tsongkhapa---renunciation, bodhicitta, and the view of emptiness---corrected the widespread flaws that easily appear in practitioners' cultivation. Using renunciation as the foundation not only helps us break free from the ordinary mind but also gives rise to genuine, uncontrived bodhicitta---this is of great significance. Although many Mahayana scriptures do not emphasize this sequence and directly start from generating bodhicitta, liberation from the suffering of samsara is always the important prerequisite for practice.
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If renunciation refers only to leaving samsara and attachment to the three realms, this content is already encompassed within bodhicitta. Bodhicitta possesses the characteristics of signlessness, non-dwelling, and non-attainment and is naturally free from attachment to the five desires and six sense objects. Thus, bodhicitta itself already includes part of what renunciation entails. Those with especially keen faculties can directly start from bodhicitta---this is also why the Mahayana scriptures often only discuss generating bodhicitta without emphasizing renunciation. It is just that for most people, bodhicitta is not easy to generate immediately, still less to generate properly. If our understanding is not clear, it is very easy in the course of aspiration to confuse bodhicitta with the ordinary mind, not even knowing what kind of mind we are actually generating, perhaps even mistaking the wholesome mind of the human and heavenly vehicles for bodhicitta. If renunciation is used as the foundation, the purity of bodhicitta is better assured.
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We should also note that although aspiration can follow the conventional path from renunciation to bodhicitta, generating renunciation and realizing emptiness does not necessarily lead to the perfection of great loving-kindness and great compassion, nor does it necessarily lead to bodhicitta---otherwise, there would be no distinction between the śrāvaka vehicle and the bodhisattva vehicle. In Chinese Buddhism, whether Chan practitioners or Pure Land practitioners, although they study Mahayana Buddhism and recite Mahayana scriptures, they often only generate renunciation, treating personal liberation from birth and death as the entirety of practice while forgetting bodhicitta. Generating bodhicitta requires bringing forth compassion through corresponding observation and reflection. That is to say, it does not arise spontaneously; it still requires the convergence of causes and conditions, just as cultivating meditative concentration does not necessarily give rise to wisdom. In most people's impression, it seems that once concentration is attained, wisdom will burst forth immediately. This is not the case. Otherwise, why would non-Buddhist paths take the four dhyānas and eight concentrations as their ultimate goal, their final nirvāṇa? "From concentration arises wisdom" merely indicates that attaining concentration is one of the conditions for giving rise to wisdom; one must also cultivate the contemplation of impermanence, dependent origination, and selflessness to bring forth flawless wisdom.
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Student: If bodhicitta is generated directly without renunciation as a foundation, can it cut off afflictions and bring liberation from birth and death? What is the relationship between Humanistic Buddhism and bodhicitta?
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Venerable: If bodhicitta is generated, even the fruit of buddhahood can be achieved---how could it fail to cut off afflictions? Among all Dharma gates of practice, the merit and power of bodhicitta are supreme. On this point, the *Avatamsaka Sutra*'s verses in which Maitreya Bodhisattva praises bodhicitta contain an extremely detailed exposition.
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As for the Humanistic Buddhism now being promoted, if it can be endowed with the content of bodhicitta and the view of emptiness, it can directly reach the fruit of buddhahood and truly realize what Master Taixu meant by "the perfection of the person is the perfection of buddhahood." But from the present situation, the propagation of Humanistic Buddhism does show a tendency toward superficiality, and there is a need to deepen its content. The path is upheld by people; the banner of Humanistic Buddhism is indeed timely. The key lies in how it is promoted and what view and depth are given to it.
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Student: Are there also distinctions of sudden and gradual in generating bodhicitta? Is it possible to directly enter through ultimate bodhicitta?
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Venerable: Whether a Dharma gate is sudden or gradual is determined by the level of one's view. The Huayan teaching that "the initial generation of bodhicitta is itself perfect enlightenment"---leaping directly into the Tathāgata's stage in a single bound---can be called the ultimate in perfect suddenness, unsurpassed. The teachings of Chan and Dzogchen also tell us that even on the level of the ordinary mind, the awakened mind can be touched. Because afflictions are without intrinsic nature, once we realize this, every thought can be liberated the moment it arises. It is like a snake that can untie its own coiled knots without needing any external help. However, these teachings require very high faculties; most people may not be able to practice them. By comparison, the Yogācāra teachings start from the level of the deluded mind and are easier to grasp. But when practicing according to Yogācāra doctrine, aspiration is just aspiration and the result is just the result---three great asaṃkhyeya eons slowly pass, and it is hard to believe that one can see the path and be liberated from birth and death in this very life. Therefore, Yogācāra students often tend to slacken in their practice. During the Republican era, many students of Yogācāra eventually turned it into philosophy, and the influence of this tendency persists to this day.
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The normal path of practice proceeds from aspiring bodhicitta and engaging bodhicitta to ultimate bodhicitta. We can all begin from this conventional route, accumulating some provisions, and only then will we have the conditions and capacity to practice the teachings of direct entry.
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Student: In the process of generating bodhicitta, what is the greatest obstacle?
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Venerable: In the process of generating aspiration, the greatest enemy is precisely self-grasping. Self-grasping is utterly cunning; it will use all the knowledge we have learned, even the Buddhadharma itself, to disturb our mind, and its reasons are often high-sounding, making them hard to refuse. Therefore, we must clearly recognize: What do I truly want to achieve? This point is extremely important. Our aspiration determines our final attainment, but when it comes to specific tasks, it is often very difficult to tell which kind of mind is actually operating. For example, when we manage a practice center or teach the Dharma to benefit beings, on the surface it all seems to be bodhicitta at work. Perhaps we ourselves believe we are turning the great Dharma wheel and broadly liberating sentient beings, thinking we are not far from the buddhas and bodhisattvas. But what is the real mental basis? If we analyze carefully, it may be attachment, or it may be self-grasping. Such phenomena are everywhere. In the end, the larger the enterprise, the deeper the attachment to it. If this is the case, what we ultimately develop will inevitably be self-grasping and the thoroughgoing ordinary mind.
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Student: Should we first benefit sentient beings, or should we first attain realization and then benefit them? Is there a sequential order between self-benefit and benefiting others?
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Venerable: In the bodhicitta teachings, there are three different modes of generating aspiration: the king-like, the boatman-like, and the shepherd-like.
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The first is the king-like aspiration, believing that one must first become a king before having the capacity to broadly aid the multitudes. This mode emphasizes self-benefit first, beginning altruistic activity only after reaching a considerable level of practice. Of course, the goal is always "for the sake of benefiting beings, may I attain buddhahood," not personal achievement. In Tibetan Buddhism, Milarepa exemplified this mode of aspiration. The second is the boatman-like aspiration: sharing the boat with passengers, practicing simultaneously, and reaching the other shore together. Many great masters throughout history actively spread the Dharma and benefited beings while simultaneously engaging in their own practice. The third is the shepherd-like aspiration: first drive the sheep and cattle home. Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva is the classic example of this, with his vow: "Only when all beings are liberated will I realize bodhi; until hell is empty, I vow not to become a buddha"---thinking only of sentient beings, not of himself at all.
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Regarding these modes of aspiration, each person can choose according to their own situation. Some are suited to being a king, some prefer to be a boatman, and some wish to be a shepherd. Whichever mode is chosen, the common prerequisite and the foundation of aspiration must be altruism. That is to say, there must be no admixture whatsoever in the process of generating aspiration. If there is even the slightest defilement or tinge of self-interest, one will inevitably be unable to destroy self-grasping and perfect bodhi.
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Student: Tibetan Buddhism teaches that one who has generated bodhicitta must not abandon any sentient being, yet it also particularly emphasizes keeping a distance from those who have broken their precepts. How should we resolve this contradiction?
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Venerable: In the process of study and practice, we need to draw near to virtuous teachers and keep a distance from harmful companions. Confucius also said: Do not befriend those who are not your equals. That is, associate with friends who surpass you, so that you may learn from their example. This instruction is especially important for beginners. Because beginners often cannot distinguish good from bad and are easily influenced by their environment, the requirements for their environment must be strict---this benefits both academic progress and the perfection of character.
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However, after reaching a certain level of attainment, one must take all sentient beings as the objects of deliverance. At that point, there is no longer any distinction between virtuous teachers and harmful companions. When Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva vowed to go to the hells, he certainly did not go there to draw near to virtuous teachers. From the perspective of bodhisattva path practice, after generating bodhicitta, on the one hand, we should draw near to virtuous teachers; on the other, we should compassionately benefit others and not abandon any sentient being. When we speak of not abandoning sentient beings, the key lies in our mental state. As long as we are equal and impartial toward every sentient being, our compassion is perfect.
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Thus, these two teachings are not contradictory. The Buddhadharma is adapted to the different faculties of sentient beings, and at different stages of practice, the requirements also differ.
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Student: How can we perfect our aspiration? Must we liberate all sentient beings? What standard of merit must the fruit of buddhahood reach?
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Venerable: To achieve unsurpassed bodhi, one certainly takes all sentient beings as the objects of deliverance. But this does not mean one must liberate all beings before becoming a buddha, because liberating beings is also a matter of causes and conditions---it is not something you can do just because you want to. Nor does the accumulation of the merits of buddhahood depend on reaching a certain quantity. In the common understanding, people tend to think that a bodhisattva's practice throughout three great asaṃkhyeya eons requires accumulating a certain amount of merit and liberating a certain number of beings to qualify---just as in society, earning a doctoral degree or professorship requires a certain number of achievements. But buddhahood is not an achievement on the phenomenal level, nor the attainment of external merit. If one clings to the mark of merit, one cannot perfect the fruit of buddhahood.
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When we speak of liberating all sentient beings, we should not forget that we ourselves are also sentient beings. Of course, the key is not whether we have liberated ourselves or others, but whether our aspiration takes all sentient beings throughout the Dharma-realm as its object. When we practice, the key is not whether we are engaged in self-benefiting or other-benefiting practices, nor whether we are practicing calm abiding and insight or generosity---the key is: What is the aspiration behind this action? What is its object? This is the fundamental point. If our aspiration is perfect, all wholesome deeds we cultivate, including our own merit of practice and realization, are provisions for buddhahood.
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Once we understand this principle, we will see that whether it is the king-like, boatman-like, or shepherd-like aspiration, there is essentially no difference. Even if we temporarily focus on self-cultivation and realization, our aspiration is still for the sake of benefiting others, not for ourselves. For example, is meditation self-benefiting or other-benefiting? If one meditates out of aversion to the world and avoidance of responsibility, lacking compassion for sentient beings and content merely with self-liberation, this is certainly not altruistic practice. Conversely, if one practices in order to better liberate sentient beings, then even the same act of meditation falls within the scope of altruistic practice. Clearly, the key lies in aspiration, not in the action itself. At different stages of practice, we may have different emphases, but our aspiration must be perfect---this point is extremely important.
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In the past, practitioners placed greater emphasis on stopping unwholesome conduct. The bodhicitta teachings further require us to actively accomplish wholesome dharmas, benefit sentient beings, and perfect compassion. In this age, there is a special need to widely propagate the bodhicitta teachings. Once a vast aspirational mind has been generated, strength will flow forth continuously.
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Student: At the beginning, the aspiration can be quite intense, but I often fail to sustain it. How should I deal with this?
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Venerable: The difficulty of generating aspiration lies precisely in generating it accurately and sustaining it over the long term. This is the same principle as "doing one good deed is easy; what is difficult is doing good deeds for a lifetime." The power of mental patterns comes from accumulation. Generating aspiration once only has the power of one time, and that one time may not even be pure. The bodhicitta teachings are precisely meant to help us generate aspiration continuously and accurately, and to gradually consolidate it through view and practice. Among these, view is used to adjust our mental patterns, while practice brings bodhicitta into concrete reality, producing stable and sustained effects on the mind. In this way, the power of bodhicitta grows day by day.
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Student: How should we put bodhicitta into practice?
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Venerable: The practice of bodhicitta includes two aspects: visualization and altruistic action. Through visualization, we keep our mind constantly connected to sentient beings, never forgetting to benefit others whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. There are many concrete instructions for this way of working with the mind in the *Avatamsaka Sutra*'s chapter on pure conduct. When eating, we wish that all beings in the world may have ample food and clothing. When healthy and happy, we wish that all beings may likewise be healthy and happy. When encountering setbacks, we hope that whatever we endure may spare all beings from similar setbacks. By continuously visualizing in this way and bringing this mind to everything we do, bodhicitta will certainly grow rapidly.
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When we have the opportunity to benefit others, we should see the other person as an auspicious condition for perfecting bodhicitta, feel grateful, and in the process never forget our original intention, acting thought after thought for the benefit of sentient beings. Before bodhicitta is perfected, this is indeed somewhat difficult. But as long as we have faith and practice perseveringly, this mental pattern can be consolidated. Over time, bodhicitta will arise spontaneously.
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Student: What is the relationship between bodhicitta and right view?
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Venerable: Once bodhicitta is generated, view finds its field of action. Whether Madhyamaka view or Yogācāra view, both can guide us in adjusting our mental patterns, removing the impurities that adhere to bodhicitta one by one. Emphasizing the importance of bodhicitta is by no means a denial of the role of doctrinal study. But what must be clear is that discoursing on emptiness and existence should not be taken as the purpose of study and practice.
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In the process of Buddhist study, right view is extremely important. If one's view is not correct, practice cannot possibly advance. The Chan school places great value on the role of view, as expressed in the saying: "What matters is your view, not your conduct." This view is not merely the view of listening and reflection but, more importantly, the view of mental realization. If one's view has not reached the proper level, even if one practices diligently every day, what exactly is one practicing? Conversely, when view is correct, carrying firewood and drawing water, speech and silence, movement and stillness---all are unsurpassed wondrous practice. Thus, view and bodhicitta are non-dual. View needs a point of application to exert its function. When bodhicitta is generated, view finds its point of application.
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Student: How should we regard the five lineages? If a person is destined to be without lineage, can they still generate bodhicitta?
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Venerable: The Yogācāra school classifies lineages into five: śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, bodhisattva, without lineage, and indeterminate. According to Yogācāra, the lineage determines future attainment. If one lacks the bodhisattva lineage, buddhahood is certainly hopeless. If one possesses the bodhisattva lineage, one's life starts from a higher point than that of the śrāvakas.
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Although sentient beings are equal, the accumulations since beginningless time have indeed created differences in life's starting points. Some have deep roots of virtue; some have heavy obstacles and shallow wisdom; some are born with bodhisattva tendencies, enthusiastic about public welfare; others are naturally indifferent, unconcerned with society. But viewing the world through dependent origination, we should not understand these differences as fixed and unchanging. Therefore, I tend toward the view that all sentient beings can generate bodhicitta and all can be cultivated into the bodhisattva lineage. However, due to different starting points, the degree of difficulty will vary. For those who are eager to help others and full of compassion, bodhicitta aligns with their natural disposition and is relatively easy to generate. For those with cold and withdrawn temperaments, the difficulty of generating bodhicitta is naturally much greater. But as long as they make the effort with the right direction, they can ultimately achieve results.
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Student: How should we decide between different altruistic actions? For example, if I have leftover cookies, should I feed them to fish or give them to a beggar? Some say that feeding fish does not create karma, while others lean toward giving to the beggar because a human birth is precious and closer to buddhahood than a fish.
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Venerable: From the standpoint of the bodhicitta teachings, to say that we should first finish delivering human beings and only then begin to feel compassion for fish is itself incorrect. If that were the case, bodhicitta could never be perfected. Sentient beings are inexhaustible in number---when would we ever finish? Therefore, the key does not lie in the objective outcome of deliverance but in being full of compassion for every sentient being, never abandoning any one of them. Whether toward animals or humans, we must have the equally impartial mind of compassion---only such a mental state is perfect. If there is still a sense of higher and lower in the mind, what we ultimately develop can only be the unequal ordinary mind. The compassion of buddhas and bodhisattvas is uniformly equal: toward humans, it is one hundred percent; toward fish, it is also one hundred percent. Aspiration determines the final attainment---this point must be firmly kept in mind.
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Of course, altruism also requires wisdom. In such a situation, who truly has the greater need? How can we distribute more reasonably? With wisdom, we will naturally know how to decide. According with sentient beings does not mean giving them whatever they want, still less following their desires, greed, hatred, and ignorance. We must consider whether it truly benefits them and use this as the criterion for choice. Therefore, in the practice of bodhicitta, first make the aspiration pure, and then decide with wisdom.
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Student: What is the relationship between studying Madhyamaka and generating bodhicitta?
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Venerable: The view of emptiness is an integral part of bodhicitta. The characteristics of bodhicitta---signlessness, selflessness, non-attainment, and so on---all belong to the scope of the view of emptiness. Without this understanding, bodhicitta can never be generated properly, nor can it be perfected. For bodhicitta is not a matter of words; it must be tested in reality. Why do we find it difficult to generate bodhicitta? Why do we feel resistance toward sentient beings? It is precisely because we perceive ourselves and sentient beings as solidly real, which creates opposition and discrimination. If we realize that all phenomena are signless, selfless, and unattainable, we can accept all sentient beings. Since self and other are one, generating altruistic bodhicitta is no longer a difficult matter.
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The entire Tripiṭaka, all twelve divisions of the canon, and all Dharma gates of practice can be subsumed under bodhicitta and find their place in the process of cultivating bodhicitta. Thus, bodhicitta is the core of the Buddhadharma and can encompass all Mahayana Dharma gates.
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Student: How should bodhicitta be brought into concrete reality?
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Venerable: Although our current mental state is the ordinary mind, even at this level, if we have profound methods for working with the mind, we can still touch fundamental awakening. First, we must find the footing for our mental patterns. The footing of the ordinary mind is discrimination, grasping, and limitation. This needs to be adjusted, moving closer toward equality, signlessness, and boundlessness. Of course, doing this is indeed somewhat difficult, because the power of the ordinary mind is great. But do not let the mindset that "the bodhisattva path is hard, buddhahood is hard" take root---such fear of difficulty is a huge obstacle to generating aspiration.
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In fact, every kind of mental power is built up through cultivation. Sand can be piled into a pagoda because of the accumulation of tiny grains. The Foolish Old Man could move mountains because of unremitting effort. One more key point: we must genuinely recognize the importance of bodhicitta, recognizing that it is the only way out in Buddhist study. Otherwise, let alone liberating sentient beings, we can barely take care of ourselves. Out of responsibility for our own life and compassion for sentient beings, we have no other choice but to give it our all. There are countless precedents for the perfection of bodhicitta. The buddhas as numerous as the Ganges' sands walked this path, and the great masters and patriarchs through the ages walked this path too.
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iacore