The Bodhisattva’s Path

The Sanskrit word "Bodhisattva" refers to a being who is dedicated to awakening and acts in the best interests of all life. Among all Buddhist practices, the method of the Bodhisattva is one of the most radical and potent. 

It is radical because it contends that fulfilling the needs of others as well as our own is the true fulfilment of happiness. Our highest levels of happiness are associated with the wellbeing of others.

The Bodhisattva’s path is in striking contrast with the excessive individualism of our culture. Every wisdom tradition tells us that human meaning and happiness cannot be found in isolation but come about through generosity, love, and understanding. The Bodhisattva, knowing this, appears in a thousand forms, from scientist to teacher, activist, or nurse, from a caring grandmother to an engaged global citizen.

Meditators often recite the Bodhisattva vows when they sit, offering the benefit of their practice for the sake of others: “Sentient beings are numberless; I vow to bring liberation to us all.” Like the ancient Hippocratic oath, the vow to serve the sick taken by every physician, the bodhisattva vows to serve the welfare of all. In a more poetic fashion, the Dalai Lama regularly recites Bodhisattva vows based on the words of the beloved sixth-century sage Shantideva:

May I be a guard for those who need protection?
A guide for those on the path
A boat, a raft, and a bridge for those who wish to cross the flood
May I be a lamp in the darkness?
A resting place for the weary
A healing medicine for all who are sick
A vase of plenty, a tree of miracles
And for the boundless multitudes of living beings
May I bring sustenance and awakening?

Enduring like the earth and sky

Until all beings are freed from sorrow
And all are awakened. 

A Bodhisattva (Pali, Bodhisatta) is a person who, according to Buddhism, is on the path to attaining the status of an enlightened being. More specifically, the term is commonly used for someone on the path to becoming a fully enlightened Buddha.

As part of the Bodhisattva path

Passage through the grounds and paths begins with Bodhicitta, the wish to liberate all sentient beings. Aspiring Bodhicitta becomes engaged Bodhicitta upon actual commitment to the Bodhisattva vows. With these steps, the practitioner becomes a Bodhisattva and enters the paths. 

Before attaining the ten grounds, the Bodhisattva traverses the first two of the five Mahayana paths:

1. The path of accumulation
2. The path of preparation

The ten grounds of the Bodhisattva are grouped within the three subsequent paths:

1. Bhumi 1: The Path of Seeing
2. Bhumi 2-7: The Path of Meditation
3. Bhumi 8-10: The path of no more learning.

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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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