Since generating Mahāyāna bodhicitta is directly related to whether one can realize emptiness, it also serves as one of the distinctions between the Mahāyāna and theTheravāda. In daily practice, once genuine Mahāyāna bodhicitta has arisen, one will naturally sense the difference without anyone else pointing it out. Powerful bodhicitta brings about many profound transformations and beneficial effects.
Many of us have studied The Bodhicaryāvatāra (The Way of the Bodhisattva) for years. It expounds countless merits of bodhicitta. Why then, after practicing for so long, do we still fail to experience these cities ? Did the bodhisattvas deceive us, or are we deceiving ourselves? The answer is the latter—we are deceiving ourselves.
Everything we have learned and contemplated about bodhicitta is doctrinally correct. Yet these concepts have never truly been integrated into our mental continuum. This is precisely what I wish to discuss today: conceptual bodhicitta and genuine bodhicitta.
If we remain forever at the level of conceptual bodhicitta, it is as though our guru and the Three Jewels have presented us with a wish-fulfilling jewel, yet all we do is walk around it, admire it with endless praise, and then simply walk away—leaving behind a "carefree" silhouette as we head toward the hell realms. That would truly be a profound tragedy.
The Mahāyāna and the Theravāda differ both in the path to realization and in what is ultimately realized. With respect to what enables realization, bodhicitta serves as the primary distinction between the two vehicles, , together with differences in philosophical view. Regarding what is realized, practitioners of theTheravāda do not realize the emptiness of partless particles or indivisible moments of time. In terms of fruition, the Theravāda culminates in the attainment of an arhat or a pratyekabuddha, whereas the Mahāyāna culminates in Buddhahood.
Therefore, from the perspective of dependent origination, the distinction between the two vehicles lies in whether bodhicitta has been generated. From the perspective of emptiness, the distinction lies in whether one has realized great emptiness.
The reason bodhicitta serves as the dividing line from the standpoint of dependent origination is that many Mahāyāna practitioners have not yet realized emptiness. Therefore, whether bodhicitta has genuinely arisen provides a practical basis for distinguishing the two vehicles.
Could philosophical view alone serve as the criterion? A Mahāyāna practitioner may hold that both partless particles and partless moments are empty. Yet from the standpoint of actual realization, this remains merely conceptual understanding—nothing more than doctrinal formulations. An arhat's realization may well surpass that of a Mahayana practitioner by a considerable margin. Therefore, conceptual understanding alone proves very little, whereas one's aspiration and motivation can, to a certain extent, reveal the true state of one's practice.
Sometimes, our so-called conceptual bodhicitta is not even as genuine as the motivation cultivated by an arhat of the Theravāda. In countries such as Thailand, many practitioners follow the Theravāda tradition, yet they devote themselves to charitable work and display impeccable integrity and character. By contrast, some of us who proudly objectify ourselves as Mahāyāna practitioners proclaim bodhicitta in theory while harboring petty, self-serving intentions within. Our conduct may even become ignoble and shameless. When the two are compared, we cannot help but feel deeply ashamed. Whenever I exam myself honestly, I find that I am no exception.
Every one of us must learn to exam ourselves. Whether we are cultivating renunciation or generating bodhicitta, one essential principle is paramount : observe your own mind. Only through continual self-examination can we discover whether our aspiration are genuine.
Excerpted and adapted from "Genuine Bodhicitta and Conceptual Bodhicitta."
This article is a preliminary translation draft and has not yet been reviewed or proofread by the speaker.
Comments (0)