Bodhicitta is often mentioned in Mahayana scriptures. It refers
mainly to a strong and steadfast personal vow to attain Buddhahood
in the future. And to do that, one would have to purify his/her
mind and at the same time help all who approaches him/her for help
or is observed to be in need of help.
So for the modern man, for beginner Buddhists, and some who may
have Theravada beliefs and goals of attaining Arahanthood as the
final spiritual goal, how do we explain Bodhicitta in such a way
that these groups of people and maybe one day any person in the
street could easily understand and come to respect, accept and
practise?
Many people during the Buddha's times have attained some form of
spiritual progress. Some attained the first stage of sainthood
(reborn 7 times at most and thereafter no more rebirths) More can
be read from this link: http://www.lakehouse.lk/mihintalava/vesak-07.htm
However, I noticed that not many attained the first stage of
Bodhisattvahood. There are altogether 52 stages to attain in
Bodhisattvahood before one finally becomes a fully-enlightened
Buddha. And for the first stage of Bodhisattvahood, how many times
does the person need to reborn before he can end all rebirths?
Which stage of Bodhisattvahood can be compared to that of
Arahanthood where all rebirths have ended from that present
lifetime upon attaining that level of awakening?
What is Bodhicitta? Why is it constantly mentioned in the path to
becoming a Buddha? What does one need to do in order to make sure
that he has the right Bodhicitta mind?
The Pureland school mentions that without making the vow to become
a Buddha to deliver all beings, which is what Bodhicitta is mainly
about, one would find it difficult to be successfully reborn into
Amitabha Buddha's Pureland.
If Bodhicitta can be easily cultivated by all, then there wouldn't
be Arahants in the first place. That's because, any person who has
made a serious vow to attain Buddhahood and does not give up in his
cultivation till he reaches full awakening, he would not be known
as just a Buddhist practitioner or a saint, but a bodhisattva. This
is not merely about a change in titles, which are at most created
for the convenience of easy references and understanding. Any
person who seriously undertakes to become a Bodhisattva and
ultimately a Buddha is not an ordinary person anymore.
The amount of understanding required to first be able to cultivate
Bodhicitta, maintain it and finally make a formal undertaking to
practise it till the final achievement of Buddhahood, is not
something anybody can easily explain to others and for others who
have heard to gain a basic but firm understanding. This applies to
most except for Bodhisattvas belonging to last ten stages of
Bodhisattvahood and Buddhas of course.
I have no answers to what I am asking here. I have heard and read,
but I have only ended up with more questions. I wonder very deeply
about whether everyone who starts getting in touch with Buddhism,
or even after decades of listening and practising Buddhist
teachings, can truly understand what it really means to want to
attain Buddhahood, and what it really means to attain perfect
wisdom and universal compassion for the sole benefit of all living
beings; especially for our modern age, where everything is about
money, career and social status. Where everything is about being
efficient, creative and world-savvy.
I like this verse in the Bible: "Ask and you shall receive. But do
so in faith."