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Bodhicitta from the wikipedia
Jeffrey
Veteran
in Philosophy
Reading this made me happy.
Not all schools of Buddhism agree in their understandings of bodhicitta.
One tradition distinguishes between relative and absolute (or ultimate) bodhicitta. Relative bodhicitta is a state of mind in which the practitioner works for the good of all beings as if it were his own. Absolute bodhicitta is the wisdom of shunyata (śunyatā, a Sanskrit term often translated as "emptiness", though the alternatives "openness" or "spaciousness" probably convey the idea better to Westerners).[1] The concept of śunyatā in Buddhist thought does not refer to nothingness, but to freedom from attachments[b] and from fixed ideas about the world and how it should be.[c]
Some bodhicitta practices emphasize the absolute (e.g. vipaśyanā), while others emphasize the relative (e.g. metta), but both aspects are seen in all Mahāyāna practice as essential to enlightenment, especially in the Tibetan practices of tonglen and lojong. Without the absolute, the relative can degenerate into pity and sentimentality, whereas the absolute without the relative can lead to nihilism and lack of desire to engage other sentient beings for their benefit.
In his book Words of My Perfect Teacher, the Tibetan Buddhist teacher Patrul Rinpoche describes three degrees of bodhicitta:[2]
The lowest level
The way of the King, who primarily seeks his own benefit but who recognizes that his benefit depends crucially on that of his kingdom and his subjects.
The middle level
The path of the boatman, who ferries his passengers across the river and simultaneously, of course, ferries himself as well.
The highest level
That of the shepherd, who makes sure that all his sheep arrive safely ahead of him and places their welfare above his own.
Not all schools of Buddhism agree in their understandings of bodhicitta.
One tradition distinguishes between relative and absolute (or ultimate) bodhicitta. Relative bodhicitta is a state of mind in which the practitioner works for the good of all beings as if it were his own. Absolute bodhicitta is the wisdom of shunyata (śunyatā, a Sanskrit term often translated as "emptiness", though the alternatives "openness" or "spaciousness" probably convey the idea better to Westerners).[1] The concept of śunyatā in Buddhist thought does not refer to nothingness, but to freedom from attachments[b] and from fixed ideas about the world and how it should be.[c]
Some bodhicitta practices emphasize the absolute (e.g. vipaśyanā), while others emphasize the relative (e.g. metta), but both aspects are seen in all Mahāyāna practice as essential to enlightenment, especially in the Tibetan practices of tonglen and lojong. Without the absolute, the relative can degenerate into pity and sentimentality, whereas the absolute without the relative can lead to nihilism and lack of desire to engage other sentient beings for their benefit.
In his book Words of My Perfect Teacher, the Tibetan Buddhist teacher Patrul Rinpoche describes three degrees of bodhicitta:[2]
The lowest level
The way of the King, who primarily seeks his own benefit but who recognizes that his benefit depends crucially on that of his kingdom and his subjects.
The middle level
The path of the boatman, who ferries his passengers across the river and simultaneously, of course, ferries himself as well.
The highest level
That of the shepherd, who makes sure that all his sheep arrive safely ahead of him and places their welfare above his own.
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