The Mahayana Model of Awakening
(Image: The Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva)
About 400 years after the passing away of Shakyamuni Buddha, i.e.
around 1 century BCE, the school of Mahayana Buddhism developed
with a different emphasis and focus of practice as compared to the
practitioners of Early Buddhism (Also see: Early Buddhism's Model of Awakening). Examples
of forms of Mahayana Buddhism practiced today include Zen, Pure
Land, Tantric/Vajrayana (including Tibetan, Japanese Shingon),
Tendai, and a number of others schools that no longer exist today
or are absorbed into Zen (e.g. Huayan). Today, the number adherents
of the Mahayana forms of Buddhism in the world have exceeded the
number of adherents of the Theravada/Early form of Buddhism due to
the extent in which Mahayana forms of Buddhism have spread into
China, Japan and Tibet.
The practitioners of Early Buddhism (of which Theravada is modeled
after), or what Loppon Malcolm calls "Mainstream Buddhism" (because
it was a much more commonly practiced form of Buddhism in the past
in India), aimed to attain their own liberation or Nirvana by
removing the afflictions (passion, aggression and delusion) that
causes rebirth. Thousands of Buddha's students attained that goal
called Arahantship.
However, Mahayana Buddhism has a higher aim. Not only do they want
to remove the causes for samsaric birth, they also want to remove
all knowledge obscurations preventing the attainment of omniscience
and Buddhahood, for the sake of liberating all sentient beings.
Mahayana Buddhists feel that the scope of attaining liberation for
oneself is too limited, so out of great compassion and for the
benefit of all sentient beings, they want to attain the same
Buddhahood as Shakyamuni. The practitioner walking the path to
Buddhahood is called a Bodhisattva.
This post attempts to share the model of awakening in classical
Mahayana Buddhism. There are 10 stages of an awakened Bodhisattva,
beginning with the direct realization of twofold emptiness. (The
Tibetan/Vajrayana traditions may also add a few more stages, making
it 13 or 16)
From a writing I wrote:
...The reason I said Bernie is a 'real
bodhisattva' is not because of impressive sounding words he spoke
but rather that he clearly actualizes and expresses his wisdom in
compassionate activities. He is tremendously involved in
compassionate and selfless activities empty of self and in total
exertion. He is able to apply his wisdom of anatta and D.O. to
dissolve I/mine making in the practice of paramitas in his
encounters with sentient beings, which as Thusness said is the
'great anatta' (Thusness two weeks ago: "...anatta in the 6
paramitas...it is great actualization of anatta."). For most of us,
although we may have this and that Bodhisattva vows or believe
ourselves to be practicing the Bodhisattva way, it is as Thusness
said, "In my opinion many of our great aspirations and high views
turn empty talks easily...." - http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com.au/.../the-path-of...
- or like my Mahayana teacher said, even the greatest vow
becomes merely a discursive/fanciful thought when not
actualized....
...The practice and engagement of the 10 paramitas (or 6) in
the daily life becomes of utmost importance in Mahayana Buddhism,
allowing the twofold cultivation of merits and wisdom so necessary
for the attainment of full Buddhahood. It is in fact in the very
mundane activities of daily life and interactions that allows us
the opportunity to attain the ten perfections (paramitas) that
allows us to attain full Buddhahood. The paramitas are not just
'mundane qualities', but the actualization of awakened wisdom - for
example, the perfection of generosity is not just the ability to
give lots of money to other people, but rather, the selfless giving
freed from any confusion of a giver-giving-gift. The wisdom of the
emptiness of self and phenomena allows our act of generosity to be
perfected. When our giving transcends giver-giving-gift, without
attachments we relinquish and give and sacrifice for other beings
out of genuine compassion, that is true generosity. The cultivation
of the ten paramitas in conjunction of the wisdom of emptiness is
itself a method for the liberation of our mental afflictions,
clinging, I and mine-making, as well as the cultivation of immense
merits required for Buddhahood.
It is said that at each of the ten bhumi
stages, one of the perfections have been perfected. For example,
the first bhumi perfects the perfection of generosity, second bhumi
the perfection of precepts, so on and so forth.
In short, in the Mahayana path, as Huayan Patriarch Cheng'guan
explained ( http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com.au/.../httpssites...
), the essential wisdom that allows for the twofold liberation of
afflictive obscurations and knowledge obscurations is the wisdom of
twofold emptiness. Then there is the emphasis on cultivating the
paramitas.
I translated an excerpt from 法语缤纷（2） by Venerable Shen Kai (my
refuge Master) on the Mahayana Ten Bhumi Model of Awakening. Bhumi
means 'Ground'.
1. The Joyous Ground: The Bodhisattva's initial entrance into
sainthood, breaking through the confusion of views, realizing the
principle of twofold emptiness of person and dharma. (The
Bodhisattva) gives rise to great joy, therefore it is called The
Joyous Ground. At this ground, (one) accomplishes the Paramita of
Dana (generosity) among the Bodhisattva Ten
Paramitas.