Bodhicitta and Bodhisattvas

For Mother’s Day, it seems appropriate to discuss two key concepts in Buddhism called Bodhicitta and Bodhisattva. The word Bodhicitta is a combination of the Sanskrit words meaning "awakening" or "enlightenment” and mind or consciousness. So, Bodhicitta can be translated as "awakening heart/mind" or "mind of enlightenment". For example, at the end of each Sunday service, we dedicate the merit that we have accrued to the benefit of all beings. The merit we are accruing through practicing meditation and mindfulness is the awakening of our mind, or more accurately our heart-mind, the wisdom of our being. And it’s important to note that the compassion is combined with wisdom. It’s not about just giving everything away to others and just doing whatever others want us to do. It’s about having the wisdom to know what truly is the compassionate thing to do.

In the Mahāyanā tradition, which is the school of Buddhismwhich started around the first century, it’s taught that once we awaken to our true nature, just as the Buddha did, compassion and wisdom will prompt us to help all other beings to become enlightened as well. So, Bodhicitta, the awakened heart-mind, is a key component of enlightenment.

There are even two types of bodhicitta identified:

§ Relative bodhicitta, which refers to a perspective in which we work for the good of all beings as if it were for ourselves.

§ Absolute, or ultimate, bodhicitta, which refers to the total freedom from attachments (particularly attachment to the idea of a separate, solid self) and from fixed ideas about the world and how it should be.

So, the term bodhicitta in its most complete sense would combine both:

· the arising of spontaneous and limitless compassion for all sentient beings, and

· the falling away of the attachment to the illusion of an inherently existent self. Once we let go of this attachment to being separate and solid, we recognize the innate interconnectedness of all beings.

That’s a pretty tall order! We might not make it completely in this lifetime but the idea is that we strive for getting as far as we can along the path. And it might be helpful to think of Bodhicitta like being a great mom; Being a great mom to not only your own children but being a great mom to the all beings.

Patrul Rinpoche in his book Words of My Perfect Teacher, talks about the various stages of Bodhicitta, of how we might not immediately experience Absolute Bodhicitta, but we dedicate ourselves to building up compassion and wisdom.The lowest level is the way of the King, who primarily seeks to attain enlightenment first for his own benefit but who recognizes that his well-being depends crucially on that of his kingdom and his subjects. The middle level is the path of the boatman, who ferries his passengers across the river and simultaneously, of course, ferries himself as well. The highest level is that of the shepherd, who makes sure that all his sheep arrive safely ahead of him and places their welfare above his own.

So, within this context of Bodhicitta, A Bodhisattva is anyone who, having experienced enlightenment, the experience of full awakening, who is then motivated by the great compassion that arises from that awakening, to spontaneously wish to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all beings, and then works toward achieving that goal.

In this holistic sense of compassion and wisdom, We can think about not only feeling love for our own mothers and not only for our own children, but also how we can be a mother to ourselves and a mother to all others in our life.

I’ll end with Patrul Rinpoche’s wonderful words about taking a vow of bodhicitta, how cultivating bodhicitta is like imagining that every being was at one time our mother, at another time our child:

“Of all the countless living creatures throughout the vast reaches of the universe, there is not one who has not been my parent in the course of our succession of lives without beginning. I can be certain that, as my parents, they have all looked after me with every possible tenderness, given me the very best of their own food and clothing and nurtured me with all their love, just as my present parents have done.

My old mothers, how could I ever liberate myself alone and leave you all behind here suffering? For the sake of all beings, I shall awaken the sublime bodhicitta. Learning to emulate the mighty deeds of the Bodhisattvas of the past, I shall make whatever efforts are necessary, till there is not one being left suffering.”