The Ten Stages of the Bodhisattva Path - Seventh Bhumi (7/10)

 

Sarvanivarana-Vishkambhin Bodhisattva 除蓋障菩薩

In Buddhism, Bhumi, or stage. Every stage represents a level of attainment in that case and serves as the basis for the next one. Each level marks a definite advancement in one's training that is accompanied by progressively greater power and wisdom.

Stages, or Bhumi, is a Sanskrit word for "land" or "ground," and the list of ten Bhumis are ten "lands" a Bodhisattva must pass through on the way to Buddhahood. The Bhumis were important to early Mahayana Buddhism. A list of ten Bhumis appears in several Mahayana texts, although they are not always identical. The Bhumis are also associated with the perfections, or Paramitas.

The ten Bhumis literally mean the "grounds" or levels of Bodhisattvas in which the qualities of their training unfold. With the attainment of the tenth Bhumi, one arrives at and eventually reaches perfection at complete enlightenment. 

Maitreya Bodhisattva 彌勒菩薩

Many schools of Buddhism describe some kind of path of development. Often, these are extensions of the Eightfold Path. Since this is a description of the progress of a Bodhisattva, much of the list below promotes the turning from concern for oneself to concern for others.

In Mahayana Buddhism, the Bodhisattva is the ideal of practise. This is an enlightened being who vows to remain in the world until all other beings realise enlightenment.

Here is a standard list taken from the Dashabhumika-sutra, which is taken from the larger Avatamsaka, or Flower Garland Sutra.

In the Ten Bhumis of the Dasabhumika Sutra. It refers to the following ten Bhumis:

1. The stage of joy, in which one rejoices at realising a partial aspect of the truth. 
2. The stage of freedom from defilement, in which one is free from all defilement.
3. The stage of the emission of light, in which one radiates the light of wisdom.
4. The stage of glowing wisdom, in which the flame of wisdom burns away earthly desires. 
5. The stage of the Difficult to Master. (Sanskrit: sudurjaya), in which one surmounts the illusions of darkness, or ignorance as the Middle Way. 
6. The stage of the sixth Bhumi, the manifest (Sanskrit: Abhimukhī) in which supreme wisdom begins to manifest.   
7. The stage of  the seventh Bhumi, the Gone Afar (Sanskrit: Duramgama), in which one rises above the states of the two vehicles. 
   
   Arya White Tara  白度母

The seventh Bhumi, the Gone Afar, is when the Bodhisattvas on the seventh level develop the ability to contemplate signlessness uninterruptedly and enter into advanced meditative absorptions for extended periods of time, thus passing beyond both the mundane and supramundane paths of sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas (hearers and solitary realizers). 

For this reason, this level is called Gone Afar. According to Nagarjuna,

The seventh is gone afar because
The number of his qualities has increased.
Moment by moment, he can enter
The equipoise of cessation 

On this level, Bodhisattvas perfect their skill in means of meditation and practice (Thabs la mkhas pa, Tibetan; Upaya-Kausalya, Sanskrit), which is their ability to cleverly adapt their teaching tactics to the individual proclivities and needs of their audiences. They also develop the ability to know the thoughts of others and, in every moment, are able to practice all the perfections. All thoughts and actions are free from afflictions, and they constantly act spontaneously and effectively for the benefit of others. 

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Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development?

We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in 2008, we have been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 14 years. We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.

 

Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

 

Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.

 

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease.

But increase further and further.

 

Dedication of Merit

By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrongdoings

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

 

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).

Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios

The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.

The Ten Stages of the Bodhisattva Path - Sixth Bhumi (6/10)

Manjushri Bodhisattva

In Buddhism, Bhumi, or stage. Every stage represents a level of attainment in that case and serves as the basis for the next one. Each level marks a definite advancement in one's training that is accompanied by progressively greater power and wisdom.

Stages, or Bhumi, is a Sanskrit word for "land" or "ground," and the list of ten Bhumis are ten "lands" a Bodhisattva must pass through on the way to Buddhahood. The Bhumis were important to early Mahayana Buddhism. A list of ten Bhumis appears in several Mahayana texts, although they are not always identical. The Bhumis are also associated with the perfections, or Paramitas.

The ten Bhumis literally mean the "grounds" or levels of Bodhisattvas in which the qualities of their training unfold. With the attainment of the tenth Bhumi, one arrives at and eventually reaches perfection at complete enlightenment.

Manjushri in tantric union with his consort, the Bodhisattva Saraswati

Many schools of Buddhism describe some kind of path of development. Often, these are extensions of the Eightfold Path. Since this is a description of the progress of a Bodhisattva, much of the list below promotes the turning from concern for oneself to concern for others.

In Mahayana Buddhism, the Bodhisattva is the ideal of practise. This is an enlightened being who vows to remain in the world until all other beings realise enlightenment.

Here is a standard list taken from the Dashabhumika-sutra, which is taken from the larger Avatamsaka, or Flower Garland Sutra.

In the Ten Bhumis of the Dasabhumika Sutra. It refers to the following ten Bhumis:

1. The stage of joy, in which one rejoices at realising a partial aspect of the truth. 
2. The stage of freedom from defilement, in which one is free from all defilement.
3. The stage of the emission of light, in which one radiates the light of wisdom.
4. The stage of glowing wisdom, in which the flame of wisdom burns away earthly desires. 
5. The stage of the Difficult to Master. (Sanskrit: sudurjaya), in which one surmounts the illusions of darkness, or ignorance as the Middle Way. 
6. The stage of The sixth Bhumi, the manifest (Sanskrit: Abhimukhi) in which supreme wisdom begins to manifest.   
   
   Akasagarbha Bodhisattva 虛空藏菩薩

The sixth level is called the "Manifest" because the bodhisattva clearly perceives the workings of dependent arising and directly understands "the signless" (in Tibetan: Mtshan ma med pa, in Sanskrit: Animitta). The term signless refers to the fact that phenomena seem to possess their apparent qualities by way of their own nature, but when one examines this appearance, one realises that all qualities are merely mentally imputed and not a part of the nature of the objects they appear to characterise. 

As a result of these understandings, bodhisattvas manifest meditative wisdom and avoid attachment to either cyclic existence or nirvana. Having overcome all attachments, Bodhisattvas on this level can attain nirvana, but because of the force of the mind of awakening, they decide to remain in the world in order to benefit other sentient beings. 

They cultivate the perfection of wisdom, through which they perceive all phenomena as lacking inherent existence, as being like dreams, illusions, reflections, or magically created objects. All notions of "I" and "other" are transcended, along with conceptions of "inherent existence" and "inherent nonexistence. These sixth-level bodhisattvas abide in contemplation of suchness, with minds that are undisturbed by false ideas.

Donations for our Buddhist research and development

Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development?

We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in 2008, we have been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 14 years. We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.

 

Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

 

Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.

 

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease.

But increase further and further.

 

Dedication of Merit

By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrongdoings

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

 

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).

Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios

The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.

The Ten Stages of the Bodhisattva Path - Fifth Bhumi (5/10)

 

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva

In Buddhism, Bhumi, or stage. Every stage represents a level of attainment in that case and serves as the basis for the next one. Each level marks a definite advancement in one's training that is accompanied by progressively greater power and wisdom.

Stages, or Bhumi, is a Sanskrit word for "land" or "ground," and the list of ten Bhumis are ten "lands" a Bodhisattva must pass through on the way to Buddhahood. The Bhumis were important to early Mahayana Buddhism. A list of ten Bhumis appears in several Mahayana texts, although they are not always identical. The Bhumis are also associated with the perfections, or Paramitas.

The ten Bhumis literally mean the "grounds" or levels of Bodhisattvas in which the qualities of their training unfold. With the attainment of the tenth Bhumi, one arrives at and eventually reaches perfection at complete enlightenment.

Many schools of Buddhism describe some kind of path of development. Often, these are extensions of the Eightfold Path. Since this is a description of the progress of a Bodhisattva, much of the list below promotes the turning from concern for oneself to concern for others.

In Mahayana Buddhism, the Bodhisattva is the ideal of practise. This is an enlightened being who vows to remain in the world until all other beings realise enlightenment.

Here is a standard list taken from the Dashabhumika-sutra, which is taken from the larger Avatamsaka, or Flower Garland Sutra.

Forest Goddess, Parnashavari

In the Ten Bhumis of the Dasabhumika Sutra. It refers to the following ten Bhumis:

1. The stage of joy, in which one rejoices at realising a partial aspect of the truth. 
2. The stage of freedom from defilement, in which one is free from all defilement.
3. The stage of the emission of light, in which one radiates the light of wisdom.
4. The stage of glowing wisdom, in which the flame of wisdom burns away earthly desires. 
5. The stage of the Difficult to Master. (Sanskrit: sudurjaya), in which one surmounts the illusions of darkness, or ignorance as the Middle Way. 
   
   The fifth level is called "Difficult to Master" because it involves practises that are so arduous and require a great deal of effort to perfect. It is also called the "Difficult to Overcome level because, when one has completed the training at this level, one has profound wisdom and insight that are difficult to surpass or undermine. According to Nagarjuna,

The fifth is called extremely difficult to overcome.
Since all evil ones find it extremely hard to conquer him,
He becomes skilled at knowing the subtle
Meanings of the noble truths, and so forth.

Bodhisattvas on this level cultivate the perfection of samadhi. They develop strong powers of meditative stabilisation and overcome tendencies towards distraction. They achieve mental one-pointedness, and they perfect calm abiding. They also fully penetrate the meanings of the Four Noble Truths and the two truths (conventional truths and ultimate truths) and perceive all phenomena as empty, transient, and prone to suffering.

Donations for our Buddhist research and development

Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development?

We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in 2008, we have been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 14 years. We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.

 

Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

 

Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.

 

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease.

But increase further and further.

 

Dedication of Merit

By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrongdoings

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

 

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).

Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios

The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.

The Phenomena of The Tibetan Female Oracle (2/2)

 

The Tenma Goddesses are the Twelve Guardian Deities 

The word oracle is an ancient Greek word that can be found in the Oxford dictionaries, and the simple definition means "a priest or priestess acting as a medium through whom advice or prophecy was sought from the gods in classical antiquity."

In the Tibetan tradition, the word oracle is used for a spirit that enters those men and women who act as mediums between the natural and spiritual realms. The mediums are, therefore, known as kuten, which literally means "the physical basis."

 

According to Tibetan tradition, Guru Rinpoche said Padmasambhava was born on a lotus in a Dhanakosha Lake on the tenth day of the monkey (fifth) month in the Year of the Monkey.  

When Guru Rinpoche, Padmasambhava, consecrated Samye Monastery with the Vajrakilaya dance, he tamed the local spirit protector, Pehar Gyalp, and bound him by oath to become the head of the entire hierarchy of Buddhist protective spirits. Pehar, later known as Dorje Drakden, became the principal protector of His Holiness The Dalai Lama, manifesting through the Nechung Oracle.

The Communist Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959.

After years of guerrilla war between Tibetan rebels and Chinese soldiers in a land that China considered to be its territory, thousands of protesters surrounded the Dalai Lama’s palace in Lhasa to keep His Holiness from being abducted, arrested, or assassinated. 

Over the following days, the State of the Oracle, the Dalai Lama’s advisor, urged him to flee. The Tibetan government-in-exile reports, variously, 87,000 deaths for Tibetans, and this included the monks and nuns during the rebellion.

According to the Dalai Lama, "Tibetans rely on oracles for various reasons. The purpose of the oracles is not just to foretell the future. They are called upon as protectors and sometimes used as healers. However, their primary function is to protect the Buddha Dharma and its practitioners. 

Who is the female oracle of Tibet?

Her title is Rangjung Neljorma self-arisen dakini. She is also the state oracle of Tsering Chenga, the goddess protector of Tibet. The female Khadro-la, Khadro-la is the State Medium of the Tenma Oracle (The Tenma Goddesses are the Twelve Guardian Deities of Tibetan Buddhism).

What does Khandro mean in Tibetan?

The Tibetan term 'Khandro' literally means 'sky-goer', indicating one who traverses the 'sky' of the expanse of wisdom. The masculine form of the word is Daka, which is usually translated into Tibetan as pawo "hero".

What is the state Oracle of Khadro La in Tibet?

Khadro-la is the State Medium of the Tenma Oracle. The Tenma Goddesses are the Twelve Guardian Deities of Tibetan Buddhism. In Dharamsala, India, there is a Tenma oracle, consulted and honoured by HH Dalai Lama, for which this young Tibetan woman is the kuten, which literally means "the physical basis".

What does Khandro mean in Buddhism?

Dakini in Sanskrit, Khandro in Tibetan, literally means "sky dweller, or "sky dancer," and is the most sacred aspect of the feminine principle in Tibetan Buddhism, embodying both humanity and divinity in feminine form.

Tibet takes a special position in the world in certain respects: even nowadays the Tibetan Government employs an oracle and it regularly consults him on governmental, political issues as well as on personal matters concerning the Dalai Lama. 

The phenomenon of oracles remains an important part of the Tibetan way of life. Tibetans rely on oracles for various reasons. The purpose of the oracles is not just to foretell the future. They are called upon as wisdom protectors and sometimes used as healers. However, their primary function is to protect the Buddha Dharma and its practitioners. 

Donations for our Buddhist research and development

Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development?

We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in 2008, we have been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 14 years. We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.

 

Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

 

Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.

 

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease.

But increase further and further.

 

Dedication of Merit

By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrongdoings

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

 

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).

Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios

The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.

The Ten Stages of the Bodhisattva Path - Fourth Bhumi (4/10)

In Buddhism, Bhumi, or stage. Every stage represents a level of attainment in that case and serves as the basis for the next one. Each level marks a definite advancement in one's training that is accompanied by progressively greater power and wisdom.

Stages, or Bhumi, is a Sanskrit word for "land" or "ground," and the list of ten Bhumis are ten "lands" a Bodhisattva must pass through on the way to Buddhahood. The Bhumis were important to early Mahayana Buddhism. A list of ten Bhumis appears in several Mahayana texts, although they are not always identical. The Bhumis are also associated with the perfections, or Paramitas.

The ten Bhumis literally mean the "grounds" or levels of Bodhisattvas in which the qualities of their training unfold. With the attainment of the tenth Bhumi, one arrives at and eventually reaches perfection at complete enlightenment.

Many schools of Buddhism describe some kind of path of development. Often, these are extensions of the Eightfold Path. Since this is a description of the progress of a Bodhisattva, much of the list below promotes the turning from concern for oneself to concern for others.

In Mahayana Buddhism, the Bodhisattva is the ideal of practise. This is an enlightened being who vows to remain in the world until all other beings realise enlightenment.

Here is a standard list taken from the Dashabhumika-sutra, which is taken from the larger Avatamsaka, or Flower Garland Sutra.

Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva / 大勢至菩薩

In the Ten Bhumis of the Dasabhumika Sutra. It refers to the following ten Bhumis:

1. The stage of joy, in which one rejoices at realising a partial aspect of the truth. 
2. The stage of freedom from defilement, in which one is free from all defilement.
3. The stage of the emission of light, in which one radiates the light of wisdom.
4. The stage of glowing wisdom, in which the flame of wisdom burns away earthly desires. 

In the fourth stage, the Bodhisattva addressed the ignorance of attachment to attainments in concentration and the ignorance of attachment to religion. The stage of glowing wisdom, in which the flame of wisdom burns away earthly desires. 

On the fourth level, the "Radiant Intellect", Bodhisattvas cultivate the perfection of effort and eliminate afflictions. According to Wonch'uk, this level is so named because fourth-bhumi Bodhisattvas "constantly emit the radiance of exalted wisdom." 

He also cites Maitreya's Ornament for the Mahayana Sutras, which explains that Bodhisattvas on this level burn up the afflictive obstructions and the obstructions to omniscience with the radiance of their wisdom. They enter into progressively deeper meditative absorptions and attain powerful mental clarity as a result.

This eliminates laziness and increases their ability to practise meditation for extended periods of time. They destroy deeply rooted afflictions and cultivate the thirty-seven factors of awakening.

Through training in these thirty-seven practises, Bodhisattvas develop great skill in meditative absorptions and cultivate wisdom while weakening the artificial and innate conceptions of true existence. 

Donations for our Buddhist research and development

Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development?

We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in 2008, we have been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 14 years. We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.

 

Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

 

Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.

 

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease.

But increase further and further.

 

Dedication of Merit

By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrongdoings

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

 

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).

Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios

The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.

The Ten Stages of the Bodhisattva Path - Third Bhumi (3/10)

 

Eleventh-Faced Avalokiteshvara

In Buddhism, Bhumi, or stage. Every stage represents a level of attainment in that case and serves as the basis for the next one. Each level marks a definite advancement in one's training that is accompanied by progressively greater power and wisdom.

Stages, or Bhumi, is a Sanskrit word for "land" or "ground," and the list of ten Bhumis are ten "lands" a Bodhisattva must pass through on the way to Buddhahood. The Bhumis were important to early Mahayana Buddhism. A list of ten Bhumis appears in several Mahayana texts, although they are not always identical. The Bhumis are also associated with the perfections, or Paramitas.

The ten Bhumis literally mean the "grounds" or levels of Bodhisattvas in which the qualities of their training unfold. With the attainment of the tenth Bhumi, one arrives at and eventually reaches perfection at complete enlightenment.

Many schools of Buddhism describe some kind of path of development. Often, these are extensions of the Eightfold Path. Since this is a description of the progress of a Bodhisattva, much of the list below promotes the turning from concern for oneself to concern for others.

In Mahayana Buddhism, the Bodhisattva is the ideal of practise. This is an enlightened being who vows to remain in the world until all other beings realise enlightenment.

Here is a standard list taken from the Dashabhumika-sutra, which is taken from the larger Avatamsaka, or Flower Garland Sutra.

In the Ten Bhumis of the Dasabhumika Sutra. It refers to the following ten Bhumis:

1. The stage of joy, in which one rejoices at realising a partial aspect of the truth. 
2. The stage of freedom from defilement, in which one is free from all defilement.
3. The stage of the emission of light, in which one radiates the light of wisdom.
   

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva / 南無地藏王菩薩

The stage of the emission of light, in which one radiates the light of wisdom.

The Third Bodhisattva Bhumi, the ‘Luminous’:A copper-coloured glow is seen due to the fact that Primordial Wisdom shines through the phenomena. Perceived. Gradually, streams of rainbow light can appear. Here Kshanti Paramita, ‘Patience, is perfected.

Bhumi      : 3rd Stages
Qualities/realisation  : The Bodhisattva can take birth as a ruler over the Heaven of Thirty-three, like Indra.

Perfecting the paramita of : Patience 

The light maker/the luminous (Prabhakari): Bodhisattvas on this level cultivate the perfection of patience. Trainees on the third level overcome all tendencies towards anger, and never react with hatred (or even annoyance) to any harmful acts or words. Rather, their equanimity remains constant, and all sentient beings are viewed with love and compassion. 

All anger and resentment rebound on the person who generates them, and they do nothing to eliminate harm that one has already experienced. They are counterproductive in that they destroy one’s peace of mind and lead to unfavourable future situations. 

There is nothing to be gained through anger and resentment, revenge does nothing to change the past, and so the bodhisattva avoids them. Moreover, one’s present suffering is only a result of one’s own past misdeeds; so one’s enemy is only an agent of the inevitable fruition of karma.

Donations for our Buddhist research and development

Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development?

We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in 2008, we have been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 14 years. We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.

 

Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

 

Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.

 

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease.

But increase further and further.

 

Dedication of Merit

By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrongdoings

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

 

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).

Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios

The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.

The Ten Stages of the Bodhisattva Path - Second Bhumi (2/10)

Akasagarbha Bodhisattva / 虛空藏菩薩

In Buddhism, Bhumi, or stage. Every stage represents a level of attainment in that case and serves as the basis for the next one. Each level marks a definite advancement in one's training that is accompanied by progressively greater power and wisdom.

Stages, or Bhumi, is a Sanskrit word for "land" or "ground," and the list of ten Bhumis are ten "lands" a Bodhisattva must pass through on the way to Buddhahood. The Bhumis were important to early Mahayana Buddhism. A list of ten Bhumis appears in several Mahayana texts, although they are not always identical. The Bhumis are also associated with the perfections, or Paramitas.

The ten Bhumis literally mean the "grounds" or levels of Bodhisattvas in which the qualities of their training unfold. With the attainment of the tenth Bhumi, one arrives at and eventually reaches perfection at complete enlightenment.

Many schools of Buddhism describe some kind of path of development. Often, these are extensions of the Eightfold Path. Since this is a description of the progress of a Bodhisattva, much of the list below promotes the turning from concern for oneself to concern for others.

In Mahayana Buddhism, the Bodhisattva is the ideal of practise. This is an enlightened being who vows to remain in the world until all other beings realise enlightenment.

Here is a standard list taken from the Dashabhumika-sutra, which is taken from the larger Avatamsaka, or Flower Garland Sutra.

In the Ten Bhumis of the Dasabhumika Sutra. It refers to the following ten Bhumis:

1. The stage of joy, in which one rejoices at realising a partial aspect of the truth. 

The stage of freedom from defilement, in which one is free from all defilement.  

The Second Bhumi: The stage of freedom from defilement

Bodhisattvas on the second level, the "Stainless", perfect ethics and overcome all tendencies towards engagement in negative actions. Their control becomes so complete that even in dreams, they have no immoral thoughts. 

On all occasions of waking and dreaming, his movements or activities of body, speech, and mind are pure of even subtle infractions. He fulfils the three paths of virtuous actions—abandoning killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct—with his body; the middle four—abandoning lying, divisive talk, harsh speech, and senseless chatter—with his speech; and the last three—abandoning covetousness, harmful intent, and wrong views—with his mind. Not only does he refrain from what is prohibited, but he also fulfils all the positive achievements related to proper ethics.

According to Nagarjuna

The second is called the Stainless
Because all ten [virtuous] actions
Of body, speech, and mind are stainless
And they naturally abide by those [deeds of ethics].
Through the maturation of those [good qualities],
The perfection of ethics becomes supreme.
They become Universal Monarchs, helping beings,
Masters of the glorious four continents and of the seven precious objects.

Because of this, the bodhisattva's mind becomes purified and equanimous, which is a prerequisite for training in the four rupadhyanas ("form" meditative absorptions, i.e., those correlated with the form realm) and the four arupadhyanas (formless absorptions).

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Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease.

But increase further and further.

 

Dedication of Merit

By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrongdoings

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

 

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