Taking the historical
context, Mahayana school came about because there was a legitimate
unease about the increasing quietism, self-absorption and over
emphasis of monasticism within early Buddhism.
Like martial arts, different
schools have different strokes. In this thread,
I see that arahat and bodhisattva though ‘enlightened’ are not
similar. It is like they are both karate black
belt holders but of different ‘dan’. Mahayana
views arahat as of a lower grade because an arahat is still short
of certain quality. The arahat is ‘self’ centred
while bodhisattva is ‘sentient’ centred.
Both arahat and bodhisattva
desires to attain Buddhahood – to be like Buddha in all
respect. In other words, Nirvana is not THE
goal. It is like a kungfu student who wants to
be equal to his master if not greater!
There can only be one Buddha
who developed the Four Noble Truths. Another
Buddha would have to develop another set of
Truths. One kungfu master cannot have the same
skill-set as another master. Each master must
have his trademark kick or punch.
Strange as it may be, one who
attains nirvana during his life and parinirvana upon his death,
still want to return to samsara. Isn’t this
rebirth? Or does it mean the bodhisattva resides
in Nirvana and performs his salvation role ‘up’ there?
Either way, both arahat and
bodhisattva are very much alive after parinirvana, striving to be
another Buddha.
I am not sure if this is Buddha-divinity or the legend of
Bruce Lee.
Bodhisattvas abide in the nirvana of non-abiding, neither
attaching to a state of nirodhasamapatti (cessation of perception
and feeling) nor attached to samsara (ordinary, dualistic
perception).
The Bodhisattva engages in the world but due to his wisdom of
emptiness, abides in the nirvana of non-abiding and does not suffer
- a Bodhisattva is liberated even in the midst of the world.
Also, the Bodhisattva manifests here not due to karma, but due
to the power of his/her vows. Therefore it is not the same as
ordinary birth of sentient beings - sentient beings are reborn due
to their karma and are in the uncontrolled cycle of birth and
death.