Most people who have confidence in the Buddhadharma and consider
themselves Buddhists do not vow the develop the bodhicitta. Thus,
they remain mere worldlings if they do not choose to add to
themselves to dimension of Bodhisattva mind. Genuine Buddhists who
have determined the Bodhicitta are as rare as the feathers of a
phoenix or the horn of a unicorn. Another kind of Buddhist are
those who, after encountering the Buddhadharma, imagines the
accomplishment of Buddhahood to be so lofty as to be virtually
unreachable. Because of their inadequate self- confidence, such
people fail to realize the real goal and cannot complete the Buddha
Tao. They grasp the expedient teaching which was revealed gradually
by the Buddha -- i.e., wholesome karma in this world and the
subsequent reward of heavenly bliss. Learning this very shallow
dharma, they wish only to satisfy their desire for bliss and
blessings in the present life. They can be said to have learned
some Buddhadharma, but they are still quite far, in reality, from
any genuine, profound understanding of teaching. In short, they are
merely grasping expedient teaching as absolute truth. Buddha was
the censure this kind of understanding as /ichchantika/ or the
state of being unable to make spiritual progress.
Yet another kind of Buddhist is the sort who is personally aware of
the suffering of birth and death and so learns the void dharma of
the Middle-Way beyond the two extremes of "is" and "is not". Always
grasping the extremes of "is" and "is not", and then one can enter
the stage of void samadhi. Even though this is considered a
superior position and can lead to the practice of Mahayana, it is,
however, not the Bodhisattva Tao leading to the Supreme Buddha
Fruit. Thus, this approach was censured by the Bodhisattva Dharma,
whether high or samadhi. The practice of Bodhisattva Dharma,
whether high or low, worldly or transcendental, starts from the
human level and proceeds until the complete Tao of Bodhi is won.
This characterizes that practice that goes all the way through from
top to bottom, and it require nothing apart from determining the
Bodhicitta and vowing to act as a Bodhisattva. This development is
analogous, by way of example, to a person beginning kinder-garten
and proceeding until he eventually reaches the research institute
and earns his doctoral degree; at all stages of his academic career
he is called a student. Similarly, in developing Bodhisattva
practice, one begins by vowing to determine the Bodhicitta and
progresses to the Final-Diamond-Heart stage. The beginning one
approaches the Buddha Fruit. All stages are termed Bodhisattva, and
practice is an ongoing matter. The Bodhisattva stage immediately
preceding the Buddha Fruit is termed the Final Diamond Heart.
Though it is not easy to carry through, by not letting go of
Bodhisattva Mind even for one instant, one will gradually complete
the work and achieve the goal.
The practice of this Bodhisattva Dharma is easily initiated by
accepting the Three Refuges of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Because
it is feared that a person might stray onto wrong paths, one, after
accepting the Three Refuges, is encouraged to determine to hold the
Four Great Vows. These are
1)
Sentient beings without number I vow to enlighten; (2) Vexations
without number I vow to eradicate; (3) limitless approaches to
Dharma I vow to master; (4) Supreme Bodhi I vow to achieve. The
purpose of taking the Three Refuges is to enable people to
disentangle themselves from erroneous views; the Four Great Vows
are used to teach people to hold to no desire for the bliss of men
and devas and the void samadhi of Dviyana (the two yanas of
Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas). This path can be termed the direct
road of the Bodhisattva Tao that leads one to the Supreme Bodhi.
After accepting the Three Refuges and thus inaugurating the
Bodhisattva-Dharma training, it is very important for one to
practice everywhere, continually turning the wheel of the Dharma
and aiding all sentient beings. Relative to this view, the
/Vimalakirtinirdesa Sutta/ says: "The Bodhimandala (place of
spiritual practice) of the Bodhisattva is everywhere."
**excerpts from http://www.purifymind.com/Bodhisattva.htm
