The moon calls to me through the window like a secret lover longing for my embrace.

GoingToWalden

It isn’t very far as highways lie.

I might be back by night fall, having seen

The rough pines, and the stones, and the clear water.

Friends argue that I might be wiser for it.

They do not hear that far-off Yankee whisper:

How dull we grow from hurrying here and there!

Many have gone, and think me half a fool

To miss a day away in the cool country.

Maybe. But in a book I read and cherish,

Going to Walden is not so easy a thing

As a green visit. It is the slow and difficult

Trick of living, and finding it where you are.
By Mary Oliver

ChangingEmotions

Paying attention to the flow of my emotional experience is quite a challenge. I attempt to practice mindfulness in my daily life. Satipatthana , or direct path to realization looks to the body and the experience within the body. Thoughts and feelings arise and with their coming into being there are feeling tones throughout the body. I do not know how many of these feeling tones are generated per minute, but I am sure that there are millions. This week it seemed as if I was experiencing the same feelings all week long, as if they were permanent and unchanging. These feelings and emotions were of sadness, anxiety and despair. However, I am sure I experienced many subtle feelings as well, everything from sadness to happiness and everything in between. What manifested the most this week was sadness, grief, frustration and anger. These feelings arose with thoughts about and fears of the unknown and financial stresses. I often walk around with these mind states. The emotions always have story connected to it and that story forms an illusion of permanence. I walk around in ignorance, and this we know causes suffering.
I find it curious that when I remembered to slow down during this week, I was able to experience emotions within my body. These feeling tones can be felt and investigated as objects of concentration. Emotions can lead to trigger mind states and mind states and thoughts can trigger or evoke emotions. Slowing down helps to stay embodied. All week I had to remind myself to come back home. I used the different techniques of yoga, breathing and meditation to come back. I have sat on a cushion and have done work around this. My states are often negative. Or let me reword that I notice my negative states more than I do the pleasant or neutral states, perhaps it is because I have so much aversion to what I perceive as unpleasant sensations that they become glaring. I believe I identify with the negative. The more I practice mindfulness, the more I am aware of my feeling tones within the body. I have to laugh sometimes when the same ones keep popping up over and over again, most of the time I ride the emotion or the story all the way to the end and I wonder how I got there. My ego and identity are embedded in to the story of my experience and I am so apart of my story that I find it difficult to change. I know intellectually that nothing is permanent, yet I forget all the time. I hold on to anger associated with a time and place in my life as if it were permanent. My ego holds onto anger, because it is looking for something to prove it is real or tangible and it is not. It is empty of its own being. I identify with cancer and childlessness. Cancer and hysterectomy at age 14 has left me such sadness that my heart could just burst. I am able to hold this space more these days, but I still see it ooze out into my relationships. The more I practice the more I can see the repeating thoughts, which generate feeling and body sensations. I often notice, and this week was no different, that I have a need to put on a happy, positive face.In general, I have no problem expressing my emotions. I wear my heart on my sleeve most of the time. However, I have learned that most people really do not want you to be authentic if what you feel and express is not “positive.” They only say they do, so it has been my experience that if I express more “negative” emotions people do not want to be around me. Therefore, I express happy thoughts. I am often guarded as not to offend. I monitor my thoughts; otherwise, I keep it to myself. That control only goes so far and I finally have to speak up or have “out bursts.”
I learned from a very early age that there is a distinction of what can be disclosed depends on the audience, and the emotion. So on top of experiencing a certain emotion, if I have an audience, I am also in the process of accessing the situation trying to figure what is all right to talk about. I find it quite tiring. So negative or darker thoughts are bad and happy positive thoughts are good and keep the peace. I do not walk around sad all the time. I have great moments of happiness and gratitude. The “good” thoughts are easy to disclose to others for me. It doesn’t matter who is around for that one. People like that.
I find that when I am around others who are really making an effort in mindfulness, I too become more mindful. If I am around people who are really scattered and not grounded, it takes more effort to stay grounded and centered. So for me I have noticed that sangha is very important. I need to be reminded that I walk around believing things are permanent, forming attachments and aversions. I find that this week when I was alone, I was more apt to be experiencing unpleasant emotions and feeling tones. Most of the time I could sit with these feelings with a holding and inquisitiveness, other times, I wanted to crumble up. The dialogue I have with myself often is unpleasant in nature. Like a mantra I will tell myself things that lead be to darker thoughts and emotions. This is why I sit and meditate every day, to learn to how to sit and move through these emotions without identifying myself as the emotions. They are passing clouds. I have to remember.

AllTheHemispheres

Leave the familiar for a while.
Let your senses and bodies stretch out

Like a welcomed season
Onto the meadows and shores and hills.

Open up to the Roof.
Make a new water-mark on your excitement
And love.

Like a blooming night flower,
Bestow your vital fragrance of happiness
And giving
Upon our intimate assembly.

Change rooms in your mind for a day.

All the hemispheres in existence
Lie beside an equator
In your heart.

Greet Yourself
In your thousand other forms
As you mount the hidden tide and travel
Back home.

All the hemispheres in heaven
Are sitting around a fire
Chatting

While stitching themselves together
Into the Great Circle inside of
You.

Sufi Poet Hafiz

As I reflect about healing and its meanings, I cannot help but reflect on my own life’s journey. I will not go into the biological journey right now, but I will say that I come from a place where my body has been poisoned by the environment, ravaged by cancer, and the western medical community. I can relate to the picture of Frida Kahlo with all the blood, sutures, and being put back together, but with missing parts. I will say that what enabled great healing for me during this time and since then is the psycho-spiritual line of development. I find great solace and equanimity in spiritual development because in general, development in psycho-spiritual is necessary to facilitate change in the biological, interpersonal, and worldly life; they are all interconnected with each other, helping the other along on the journey if you will. My healing orbits around a spiritual sun. It is interesting because like the earth and the rest of the solar system, my orbit moves away from that sun or healing until I end up in darkness, the dark side of the moon. The great religious mystics often talk about in the absence of God you find God. The negation or absence of healing can bring a real driving force into the equation to journey on the path of healing or drive to manifest what is missing or to balance out. So balance is very important to health. When speaking of healing and the spiritual line, it is important to note that it does not mean religion although there are some systems of religions that do have spiritual aspects within the dogma. I think healing and health surround acts and a life of altruism. Meditations, from many different religious traditions, create a way to practice compassion. Healing is embedded with compassion. I remember reading about some scientific studies that the Dalai Lama was tracking involving one of his monks. The meditation practice of Metta (lovingkindness) was scientifically recorded as being able to create wellbeing in the practitioner. This practice can evoke the sense of wellbeing in oneself however; the practice really focuses on well wishing of others. In Buddhism it is thought that humans are conditioned by ignorance and the illusion of a finite self. This is what causes disease and suffering. Its solution to the problem is to overcome the fundamental blindness of the ego and the realization that everything is interconnected. So health and healing for everyone on the planet is interconnected. So why not cultivate this sense of interconnectedness though diligence and practice. It is imperative for healing to foster a way of being present in ones one life so it spills out into the world. In regards to health, I love the holistic teachings of Buddhism and the Bodhisattva path in specific, which is meant to restore our vision, to elevate and transform the contours of the human condition. The HEALING Path is a journey towards Enlightenment, ceaseless process of advancement towards wisdom and compassion. The goal of this journey is eternally achieved and eternally in the process of being achieved.

TheField

Health and its meaning are illusive. As I sit here, I find myself with a Koan. The words slip away. I can speak in metaphor, which as an artist, I find an easier way to convey meaning of more abstract thoughts. Asking what is th meaning of health for me is like asking what is the meaning of life. The meanings I see in healing are often metaphorical. I see the meaning of healing could be likened to a field. When speaking of healing, the field metaphor resonates with me. It is symbolic of my life’s quest for health, which goes through infinite turnings, transitions and changes. One might imagine turning the soil up as farmers do in preparation of the seed, ripping through old roots and rocks, revealing rich dark earth, fertile with possibilities. Seed, water, and nutrients go into the deepest crevices of the fallow field healing those areas that hold the trauma and that are in most needed of nutrients. It is difficult to perceive, when standing looking at an empty field, that in just a few months it can change into a rich and vast field of harvestable food. Change is the only constant for us on this psychospiritual journey. Do I resist it or embrace it? This has a lot to do with health and its meaning. There is immense potential for growth and yet I act as if arising phenomenon is permanent. I cling to this and have aversion to that. Being present in the moment harbors the potential for growth and healing is always available to me in every situation if I foster a way of being more present in the world by living a more embodied life, a Life in which “preparing the field” becomes the focal point.

WiseWords

Do not believe in anything
Simply because you have heard it
Do not believe in anything
Simply because it's spoken and rumored by many
Do not believe in anything
Simply because it's found written in your religious books
Do not believe ...in anything
Merely on the authority of your teachers and elders,
Do not believe in traditions because,
They have been handed down for many generations
But after observation and analysis
When you find that any thing agrees with reason
And is conductive to the good and benefit of one and all
Then accept it and live up to it

~Buddha~

Let your love flow outward through the universe, To its height, its depth, its broad extent, A limitless love, without hatred or enmity. Then as you stand or walk, Sit or lie down, As long as you are awake, Strive for this with a one-pointed mind; Your life will bring heaven to earth. - Sutta Nipata

Embracing Change: Holistic Health Education and the Importance of the Emergent Spiritual Line of Development

By:
Carol Lynn Roselle


Embracing Change:
Holistic Health Education and the Importance of the Emergent Spiritual Line of Development


“I do not ask how the wounded one feels,
I, myself, become the wounded,” Walt Whitman 1855

The psychospiritual journey of an individual involves many transitions and changes. Ones ability to move and flow with change has an impact on ones health and wellbeing. Scientific studies show us over and over again that disease can manifest and is often accompanied by various symptoms due to stress and the inability to adapt to change in healthy ways. As a Holistic Health Educator, this has great implications. Our day-to-day participation in the outer world extends far from just our interpersonal relationships with ourselves, but also with our families, local communities, nation, planet, universe and cosmos etc. As agents of change, we need to be mindful of transitions in our lives and the ability to embrace change. That is the very purpose of our human existence. According to Dacher (2006) our human life must involve the ability to develop our capacity to change and evolve toward a progressively greater knowledge, complexity and capacity.


When speaking of change, the field metaphor resonates with many people. It is symbolic of our lives, which go through infinite turnings, transitions and changes. One might imagine turning the soil up as farmers do in preparation of the seed, ripping through old roots and rocks, revealing rich dark earth, fertile with possibilities. Seed, water, and nutrients go into the deepest crevices of the fallow field healing those areas that hold the trauma and that are in most needed of nutrients. It is difficult to perceive, when standing looking at an empty field, that in just a few months it can change into a rich and vast field of harvestable food. Change is the only constant for us on this psychospiritual journey. It has immense potential for growth and yet we act as if arising phenomenon is permanent. This potential for growth is always available to us in every situation if we foster a way of being more present in the world by living a more embodied life, a Life in which preparing the field becomes the focal point.


The more we evolve spiritually the more we can embrace and embody change. I find for myself, as Holistic Health Educator, I need to personally foster the growth of the spiritual line of development. Others may not hold this view and that is fine. Remember Integral Theory is inclusive not exclusive. Ken Wilber does say it is a separate line of development. For the purpose of this paper, I suggest suspension of old patterned thinking as we engage in this topic. Reflecting on our own personal journeys’ we might look and make note where the spiritual is showing up in our own lives. We may find some type of spiritual practice; it could show up in a person’s life as a traditional religious organization, being in nature, yoga, meditation, volunteer work, prayer, or a less traveled route. In whatever light I believe any type of spiritual practice that fosters spiritual growth is imperative to develop an empathetic and authentic way of showing up for life, which is crucial in the field of holistic health education.

In this essay, I will investigate transpersonal growth and change in regards to the importance of spiritual development because in general, development in psychospiritual is necessary to facilitate change in the biological, interpersonal, and worldly life; they are all interconnected with each other, helping the other along on the journey if you will. Since this topic is vast, this paper will focus on the psychospiritual by defining and exploring spirituality in relation to change in the Holistic Health Educator. This essay will survey the possible role of personal immunity to change and how that relates to a bigger picture of change of holistic health education. And in doing so, we will, whether implicit or explicit, first briefly touch on the importance of conscious movement from egocentric to the understanding of interconnectedness of all beings. Secondly we look at the immunity to change and lastly, the importance of working with shadow.

We can approach this by looking through the lens of Ken Wilber’s Integral theory, and drawing from the well of insight and knowledge from such sources as Presencing, Theory U and the wisdom traditions. Since I gravitate towards the Eastern wisdom traditions, I will refer to Buddhist and Yogic terms, but in no way is that saying that other spiritual traditions do not have credence. It is simply a way for me to understand and assimilate this information from my own well of knowledge and experience. Wilber (2007) emphatically emphasizes that religious is not necessarily spiritual, however there are aspects of religion that are spiritual. Integral theory is all-inclusive, not a path of reductionism. Spiritual practices are essential to initiate an inward turning and the integral process is necessary to expand consciousness and with that come an increased awareness and ability to foster change in others.

Spirituality as a Line for Development

Emergent Spirituality as a line of development is necessary for Holistic Health Educators to promote change by becoming the change. By weaving Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory into the dialogue of spirituality, we are able to explore the vertical altitude—or the degree of consciousness or complexity of any line. Here we are exploring the spiritual. Wilber (2007) believes simply that “all four quadrants show growth, development or evolution’ (p.22). They all show stages or levels of development and this unfolds everywhere in every moment. According to the all quadrant theory, the upper left quadrant is where we see that the self unfold from egocentric to ethnocentric to world centric or the body to mind to spirit. This evolution is imperative for spiritual growth and expresses itself in how we show up in the world.

Most spiritual traditions emphasize that a spiritual life consists of an open heart and mind. A spiritual life has a quality of openness; in order to embody this openness there are a series of practices which promote various states of consciousness. The practitioner can evolve from a self centered perspective to embody compassion, empathy and understanding the connectedness of all beings. These states or peak experiences are often fleeting “Ah Ha” moments. These states are invoked and practiced over and over again until a change occurs and often, the state becomes another stage of an evolving process of higher and higher states of being conscious in the world.

How might that show up in a Holistic Health Educator who has an immunity to change? How could we provide a space for others to embrace change when we ourselves may be resisting change ourselves? We are exploring these questions and asking the question in and of itself is necessary for us to begin to explore the possibilities. In order for us to begin to move forward with this line of thought let us define spirituality in a way that has a common root. Wilber (2007) defines spiritual as “personal values, present awareness, interior realities and immediate experience” (p.198). Ken Wilber has dedicated years to this very in depth line of questioning. Defining Spirituality, according to Wilber (2000) there are at least five definitions, Wilber includes in the Integral Model. They are as follows:

“1) Spirituality involves the highest levels of any of the developmental lines. 2) Spirituality is the sum total of the highest levels of the developmental lines. 3) Spirituality is itself a separate-developmental line. 4) Spirituality is an attitude (such as openness or love) that you can have at whatever stage you are at. 5) Spirituality basically involves peak experiences, not stages” (p.129).

Let’s look at number four in the above statement. At the heart of spirituality is an attitude of openness and love, which is accompanied by the ability to let go. I believe it is here that there can be a paradigm shift. Often we have invested so much time, into our WHOLE perceived identity this takes years of our energy into creating this perception. We have a lot invested in this reality; no wonder change is often difficult and resisted. We need to be able to let go to the attachment to old patterns.

Senge (2008) explains in his lecture The Power of Presence, a wonderful metaphor about letting go. Senge emphasizes that there is a turning point in which old patterns of perspective shift and that this shift is often associated with letting go and letting come. He talks about Jesus and the phrase “Eye of the Needle.” The meaning behind that phrase is that there is a narrow entrance way into the city of Jerusalem, in order for one to pass through; one would have to unload all their goods and wares. This is symbolic of the letting go, putting the burden down and having faith that everything will unfold with a much more open heart. I am not suggesting that Holistic Health Educators need to be ascetics, but their path should be in the direction of the eye of the needle. This is a spiritual path of inquiry and practices that develop ways of being that are much more present in each unfolding moment.

There are many reasons why we cannot be more present in our lives and I believe that trauma may be one of the main reasons why we cannot show up in an authentic manner. Everyone has suffered traumatic experiences in their lives. I do not think one can be incarnate as a human and not have experienced suffering. We can become stuck or invested in a fixed view. Levine (1997) has explored the somatic connection between trauma and resistance to change. Levine purports that “…traumatized individuals have an investment in being ill and may form some kind of attachment to their symptoms” this may explain resistance or the immunity to change. (p.218). There are many reasons why this happens. What is important is the process of healing, which requires letting go of the attachment to these symptoms. Levine’s work centers on the disconnection between body and soul. Results from his studies indicate that there is often loss of skin sensation and numbness associated with trauma, which calls for some sort of somatic component.

George (2005) indicates that it is imperative that providers of health care have “their own spiritual evolution to actually experience what the model represents. As Wilber puts it, do not confuse the map with the territory; having a map of Hawaii is not like actually being there” (p.476). In other words if we do not see ourselves as divine there is no way to fully embody the realization that each person we are working with or come in contact with is “a luminous jewel… often tarnished from …the imperfect (from a relative perspective) unfolding process of human development” (p476). This tarnish manifests as disease.

Disease often presents something, which was once hidden and brings it into the light. In the book Heal Thyself, Dr Bach (1996) tells us disease will never be cured by modern materialistic means because its origin is not material. It is the conflict between Soul and body, and “…will never be eradicated by except by spiritual and mental effort” (p.2). In his conclusion, Bach touches on reoccurring themes found in many health modalities and in spiritual practices in the context of change and its correlation to disease and health. In summary, Bach (1997) tells us we need to know that divinity within us and disease is due to a disharmony between “…the personality and the Soul.” He emphasizes the importance of “the willingness and the ability to discover the fault which is causing such a conflict…and the removal of any such fault by developing the opposing value” (p.52). I hold that the development of compassion is a value that should be cultivated to alleviate disease.

Referring to the works of Buddhist scholar and practitioner, Hixon (1993), we see that in Mahayana Buddhism the writings are concerned with karuna (compassion), the profoundly influential Perfection of Wisdom Sutra emphasizes wisdom. It is wisdom of a very specific sort: the wisdom of sunyata (emptiness). The doctrine of emptiness calls attention to the absence of inherent existence in processes that are mutually dependent. It is another way of expressing the interdependence of phenomenon that the Buddha called dependent origination. It is all about embracing change and interconnectedness as a spiritual practice. This compassionate aspiration towards an integral life is the key. In the contexts of Holistic Health Educator, in whatever capacity that might be there is a process by which a quality of spaciousness can be cultivated. This space that is created by an open mind and heart cultivated by a spiritual practice requires participation between all involved. Whether working on an inside job or with someone else both the healer and client can transform their respective lives because we are all part of the manifestation of health.

Interconnectedness

Wilber (1996) as well as integralists believe that all of nature and everywhere we look we see wholes and that these wholes are hierarchical in nature. Each field is in within a field, which goes on dynamically and energetically forever expanding through out the cosmos. This process as it unfolds in the moment is nothing other than progression and a drive to higher unities or holism. This shows up in the human psyche as development or growth. Continuing in this vein, Wilber purports that “because the human mind or psyche itself, the same hierarchical arrangement of wholes within wholes, reaching from the simplest and most rudimentary to the most complex and inclusive” (1). We could say, according to Wilber’s theory, which very much like unfolding of the cosmos can be likened to the psychological growth or development of humans. It is simply a “microcosmic reflection” of a larger evolution unfolding. We are all connected with each other and the whole Universe. Everything is changing and everything is connected.

Revisiting the metaphor of the field as an example of change, we can imagine the freshly prepared earth sending up shoots of new growth out of what seems to be nothing. If we take an Integral look at this field, we will see that much was involved in the preparation of the soil and earth. The nutrients, the water, the sunshine, the labor, and natural flow of nature unfolding, the hard work of people fostered an environment and nurtured the new growth. Everything is connected down to the worms, the birds all of nature down to the last blade of grass. This concept shows up in Buddhism known as Pratitya Samutpada or dependent origination.
Kholer’s (2002) scholarly research indicates that the historical Buddha realized that “a person’s life is not self-contained and unchanging at its core,” but instead, “a continuous process of change, rising and falling through interdependence with numerous other processes.” The Buddha described the dependence of all phenomena upon causes and conditions thusly: When this exists, that comes to be; with the arising of this, that arises. When this does not exist, that does not become to be; with the cessation of this, that ceases. This process is known as “Interdependent Arising” (Pratitya Samutpada).

This is a very holistic and integral way of viewing the world. Continuing to look through this particular spiritual lens, the health of the Holistic Health Educator is interconnected with that of the client or group. We are in a participatory creation. It is easy to understand interconnectedness on an intellectual level, but how does one embody this? Jesus was an emanation of compassion and his message was to, “Love thy neighbor as thy self” and Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to be in the world.” We can see evidence of this in the Bodhisattva Path, the Yoga Sutras, and the yogic path of Pantajali.

The Yoga sutras are just another example of a daily practice and the bedrock for cultivating interconnectedness as well. The heart of Patanjali's teachings is the eightfold path of yoga. It is also called the eight limbs of Patanjali, because they intertwine like the branches of a tree in the forest. These are not commandments (although they sometimes sound like them), laws, or hard and fast, but suggestions for living a better life through yoga. These practices are specifically set in place as vehicles. These vehicles cultivate a way to move from the egocentric consciousness to ethno centric to worldly.

Senge, & Scharmer, et al (2005), tell us the following about evolving consciousness or awareness necessary to become effective holistic health educators and as humans:
“An empowering awareness of the whole requires a fundamental shift in the relationship between “seer” and “seen.” When the subject-object duality that is basic to our habitual awareness begins to dissolve, we shift from looking “out at the world” from the viewpoints of a detached observer to looking from “inside” what is being observed. Learning to see begins when we stop projecting our habitual assumptions and start to see reality freshly (p41).

OK so if shifting the way we look at the world is at the heart of being able to let go of our preconceived ideas and that the inability to do so is holding us back spiritually, then the next logical way to proceed is to find out what fosters or aids this process? It depends on ones spiritual leanings. However some spiritual practices may include mindfulness eating, mindful walking meditation, Loving-kindness meditation, yoga, contemplative prayer, 1-2-3 process, or even simply being in nature. Wilber (2007) does not stop there; if we are to look at spirituality from AQAL then we would have to address the body, mind, spirit, shadow, ethics, sex, work, emotions, and relationships.

Immunity to Change

“At the simplest level, any particular expression of the immunity to change provides us a picture of how we are systematically working against the very goal we genuinely want to achieve” Kegan & Lahey (2009)

As agents of change, by now most of us in the Holistic Health field understand that being able to hold a space for change is one of value. Holistic Health Educators often participate in groups and even in a one on one context, will have a leadership or facilitator role. Kegan and Lahey (2002) tell us whether we have chosen to be in a “leadership role” or have found our way there through our own interests, commitments and relationships we are confronted with overwhelming recognitions. In this context, the inability or the immunity to change becomes of interest; with this in mind, we can begin to ask how can we work with the resistance in ourselves and in others? How can work with fear and defensiveness?

As Holistic Health educators if we have not already encountered some resistance from a client or group, we will. We do not have to travel far from our own personal experience to know that change is difficult. Kegan & Lahey (2009) point out that only one in seven people actually make the changes they need to after being told by their doctors they will quite literally die if not addressed. This information is of great interest because one can assume that the other six people wanted to live. The incentive for change could not be greater. If we look at our own lives, we can see this pattern as well. If people cannot make the changes even when their lives are on the line, how can we as educators or leaders at any level to support the processes of change?

What do we mean when we speak of challenge of change and how does this relate to immunity to change? Kegan & Lahey (2009) indicate that the challenge to change and improvement is often misunderstood. It is often thought of “…as a need to better “deal with” or “cope with” the greater complexity of the world” (p.11). This is not the whole picture. Though this may be true in general, we stay the same person, but we have added some new valuable skills to our already vast repertoire of responses. We have new resources; we have learned, but not developed. The challenge of change is all about an increasingly complex world made up of people and “the fit between the demands of the world and the capacity of the person or organization” (p.12).
The inability to change affects our spirituality. Embracing change becomes the New Spirituality. With this New Spirituality comes personal responsibility. Kegan & Lahey (2002) tell us that it is very difficult to lead others in the art of making the changes necessary to facilitate changes in their underlying ways of making meaning about the world without considering the possibilities that we too must also change. Kegan and Lahey’s underlying premise or course of action would be to develop and foster a sense of personal responsibility from a perspective, which addresses immunity to change and fosters this as well as our clients. Our immunity has us we do not have them.

Kegan and Lahey (2002) built their “new technology” for personal learning around the idea of transformative language. This new technology or language is a tool to gradually reveal one’s own immune system and “own dynamic equilibrium, the forces that keep the immune system in place and the possibilities of transcending it” (p.8). By using language, according to Kegan and Lahey, we are able to transform “customary internal psychological set of mental arrangements into a novel form.”

They are as follows:
1) From language of complaint to language of commitment. 2) From language of blame to the language of personal responsibility. 3) From the language of “New Year’s Resolutions” to the language of competing commitments. 4) From the language of big assumptions that hold us to the language of assumptions that we hold. 5) From language of prizes and praises to the language of ongoing regard. 6) From language of rules and policies to the language of public agreement. 7) From the language of constructive criticism to the language of deconstructive criticism (pp.8-9).

The first four involve personal learning by way of mental dialogue, which primarily takes place in the upper right quadrant; affected by cultural and worldly concepts and the last three involve social language, which is necessary in the role of facilitator or leader. These seven mental arrangements play with all of the quadrants. I see most of the action happening in the upper right quadrant with some biological activity. Their last three statements really begin to bridge the internal “I” with the cultural and worldly quadrants.

Bridges (2001) believes that with any change there are always transitions and visa versa. He writes, “reorientation, personal growth, authentication and creativity: What these four things have in common is that they all require that you let go of the way that you have experienced your work and yourself” (p.38). What seems to be of great value is that if one only lets go of the external or physical manifestations such as a person or job, but not make the internal associations one would be caught on a continuous cycle of repeating unwanted behaviors. Even if one changes the externals often, one would find the same hope, fears and belief systems in play.

In Buddhism and in Yogic philosophy this could be likened to the theory of samsara. This is the phenomenon of repeating the same patterns over and over again. This can be viewed as a form of hell. This ignorance is sometimes a deliberate decision not to engage or look at the inner workings of the mind and other times we are the fish swimming in the water, not knowing we are swimming in the water. Human beings have the tendency to disassociate from their lives and emotions and when this occurs, disharmony a rises contributing to disease states. What I see evolving here is the introduction of the shadow and the importance of how to begin to reclaim that which has been displaced. Let us briefly turn our attention to the Shadow and its role in the challenge of change.

Embracing Shadow

Anything that impedes our spiritual growth can lead to immunity to change. This can foster a view of the world that embraces states of the lack of awareness. This lack of awareness creates ignorance. This ignorance manifests as the denial that all things are interconnected things, and promotes a displacement of shadow by disconnecting from what is considered and labeled wrong, dark or bad. Wilber (2007) indicates that virtually every one of the modules of the Integral operating System or IOS can get sabotaged by unconscious motives as a direct consequence of not doing shadow work. The shadow is a term, which represents the personal unconscious. It can be thought of as all the repressed, denied or disowned material of the unconscious. As we all might know, denying this energetic material does not make it go away, quite the opposite occurs. Often we will see this energy emerge as painful memories and emotions, neurotic symptoms, obsession, and fears. Taking the time to own and uncover these repressed materials is necessary for the healing process and for the removal of the painful symptoms. This process of identifying and coming to terms with the shadow enables us to move towards a more accurate and healthy image of ourselves. Often there is a displacement of the feelings associated with the suppression of emotions. If for example, anger is disowned, it is likely that out of ignorance a person may believe or perceive that this anger is coming from someone else.

A very interesting and key point to understanding shadows is that I can deny “I.” Wilber (2007) points out that a person can take the “I” and parts of it and simply can push it to the side of the self –boundary. This is reductionist thinking instead of an all inclusive approach, which is characteristic to healthy living and spiritual integral life. Wilber (2007) writes this about shadow and the displacement of our own “Iness.”

One of the great discoveries of modern Western psychology is the fact that, under certain circumstances, 1st person impulses, feelings and qualities can become repressed, disowned, or dissociated and when they do, they appear as 2nd person or even 3rd person events in my own 1st person awareness’ (p.120).

This phenomenon allows us not to address all these areas in our lives in a mindful and meaningful way, we are unable to leave the proverbial cave. Scharmer (2009) turns to the Theory U, which speaks of this in the following statement:
…sensing experience – the view from within—we realize that our normal way of operating—the view from outside—offers us, as Plato eloquently put it, nothing but shadow (or secondary) reality, rather than the primary reality. For that reason the image of being imprisoned inside a cave is not totally inappropriate. As long as we are merely downloading, we are fully imprisoned. All we see are shadows on the wall, shadows produced by passing figures in our own mind” (p.160).

There are many effective forms of shadow psychotherapy. Wilber (2007) names Gestalt, psychoanalytic to transactional Analysis, although he does not believe them to deal directly with the shadow. In addition, Wilber purports that though meditation does help one to be more mindful and aware of repressed and disowned, it does not necessarily dismantle the shadow. The reason for seems to be, according to Wilber that “unless you know exactly what you are looking for, the panoramic awareness of mediation is too much of a shot gun approach” (p.189). However, meditation does increase the capacity for sensitivity and the awareness feeling.

Wilber recommends a practice exercise called the 3-2-1 Process , which helps takes the “it” symptoms, the symptoms that have been displaced from the “I” and converts them back to the “re-owned aspects of self by facing the shadow as a 3rd person, talking to it as a 2nd person, then being it as a 1st person” (p.192). In this same vein, Wilber (2007) introduces us to “The Three Faces of Spirit” otherwise known as “The 1-2-3 of God.” The idea here is that Spirit manifests within the four quadrants or we can look at it thought the 1st, 2nd and 3rd person perspective. Spirit, the “I” in the 1st person is the witness, Atman that is Brahman or the awareness that exists in this and every moment. The Spirit in the 2nd person would be a living intelligence and love. The Spirit in 3rd person is the great Web of Life. All of these faces of Spirit are right and can help to embrace and face shadow reclaiming our birthright and an authentic way of living.

Conclusion

In this essay, we explored personal growth and the challenge to change in regards to spiritual development, within the context of the role of a Holistic Health Educator. This study concluded that the development of the psychospiritual seems necessary to facilitate change in the biological, interpersonal and worldly life; they are all interconnected with each other. Our inquiry into the emergent line of spirituality has revealed a web of complexities on many levels. This study explored and defined spirituality from an integral perspective, explored disease in relation to a disharmony of body, mind and spirit. We briefly investigate interconnectedness, and the shadow, all in an attempt to draw some correlation between this line of inquiry and the importance of this work as in regards to the role of a Holistic Health Educator.

We as humans and of course as educators have a great responsibility to promote health. I believe that in order to promote health we must promote change. In order to promote change we must embrace it and become the change and that starts on the inside. We need to foster a practice in our own lives that will enable us to authentically show up for our life and the lives of others. This is an ongoing process; it is a constant attention to evolution. Through exploring the spiritual line of development, we see how important it is to be active in knowing and learning what prevents change in ongoing immune systems that manifest personally, individually as well as collectively. I feel that the Holistic Health Educator should proceed with the intention dedicated to raising all sentient creatures to higher ground, starting with us. We as humans are conditioned by ignorance and the illusion of a finite self. A solution to the problem is to overcome the fundamental blindness of the ego. We are in a ceaseless process of advancement towards wisdom and compassion. The goal of this journey is eternally achieved and eternally in the process of being achieved.

References
Bach, E. (2004). Heal Thyself. Boston: C.W. Daniel Company, Limited.
Bridges, W. (2000). The Way of Transition Embracing Life's Most Difficult Moments. New York: Perseus Books Group.
Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral Health The Path to Human Flourishing. New York: Basic Health Publications.
George, L. E. (2005). Transformation of the Healer: The Application of Ken Wilber's Integral Model to Family Practice Medicine. In M. Schlitz (Author), Consciousness & healing integral approaches to mind-body medicine (pp. 465-476). Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone.
Hixon, Lex. Mother of the Buddhas: Meditation on the Prajnaparamita Sutra. Wheaton: Quest Books, 1993.
Kegan, R., & Lahey, L. L. (2002). How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work Seven Languages for Transformation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Kegan, R., & Laskow Lahey, L. (2009). Immunity to Change: How to Overcome it and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization. Boston: Harvard Business School Corp.
Koller, John M. Asian Philosophies. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2002.
Levine, P. A. (1997). Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Scharmer, O. C. (2009). Theory U: Leading From the Future as it Emerges. San Francisco: Berett_Koehler.
Senge, P. (2008). The Power of Presence. Louisville: Sounds True.
Senge, P. M., Scharmer, C. O., Jaworski, J., & Flowers, B. S. (2005). Presence An Exploration of Profound Change in People, Organizations, and Society. New York: Currency.
Wilber, K. (1996). Atman project a transpersonal view of human development. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books, The Theosophical Pub. House.
Wilber, K. (2007). Integral Spirituality A Startling New Role for Religion in the Modern and Postmodern World. Boston: Shambhala.
Wilber, K. (2007). The Integral Vision A Very Short Introduction to the Revolutionary Integral Approach to Life, God, the Universe, and Everything. Boston: Shambhala.
Wilber, K. (2000). Integral Psychology: Consciousness, Spirit, Psychology, Therapy. Boston: Shambhala.

The Camera Obscura through the Integral Lens

I realize that change is an ongoing process it occurs not just at a young developing age but also at a more mature stage in one's life. Change in general can include the basic journeys in ones life of love, children, memories, place and events. Some changes that happen aren't as mundane and expected as some may think, for example my time with cancer as a youth and the hysterectomy. The pure effect of change is that it may occur at any time, anywhere. It is always in process. Changing self becomes a part of an individual's improvement process, where they may transform for personal need, opportunities, values and other reasons. Change reveals to anyone a broad range of limits and yet possibilities able. Knowing this entire why do I then go back to what is familiar over and over again as if revisited I will experience something new when what I desire is an evolution. It is difficult to answer that question. I say for our very survival it is important to reflect and revisit what once worked looking and analyzing what works and what is old and crusty or in the way. But what was once old and crusty can bring newness to our lives when we revisit.
It is difficult to change when one is constantly referring to old patterns of thinking, even if the thinking is progressive and holistic in nature. Looking through a particular lens will shape the thought process and the patterns identified, leaving little room for new possibilities. Take the camera obscura for example, looking through the lens of one of those for the first time opened up a whole world no one ever thought was possible. It seemed magic! This English veiled chamber allowed the projection and documentation of people and things never ever recorded with such accuracy. The image would appear and artists could draw and even though, at first, the image was upside down, this invention helped artists paint and changed the whole way artists looked at their subject. It changed the subject object relationship. It remove the viewer from an the active roll of using their own eyes, but at the same time it freed up much of their resources so they could interpret their subject in a whole new light. The principle can be demonstrated with a box with a hole in one side Light from a scene passes through the hole and strikes a surface where it is reproduced, in color, and upside-down. The image's perspective is accurate. The image can be projected onto paper, which when traced can produce a highly accurate representation. Finally, later 18th century the use of mirrors made it possible a right-side-up image. The camera obscura was the springboard for photography. The camera kept on evolving and with it came more complexity. As a youth, I used to have cameras. I had to know about apertures, and F-stops because though the image was better recorded and represented then say, the camera obscura we had to participate in taking the picture because the camera “Lied” and could not think and adjust to the different conditions. Now we have cameras that focus and all you do is click. The memory card can hold thousands of pictures. One can down load them and share them through phones and computers that go to a satellite and family members can see these images in seconds. I really like that, my, we have really evolved and come a long way. Right?
I thought so until I came across a roll of film the other day. Wow, I hadn’t seen a roll of film in such a long time. I decided I wanted to take photos again. I always had my Minolta when I was growing up and my friends often joked about my camera and me. I found a camera on Ebay, it came with 8 lenses, a stand, filters, and everything! I got the camera and I realize immediately that I had forgotten how to load the film into it. I figured it out. I had to get all my old photography books out and re learn about F-stop, apertures, and focusing. I appreciated the participation and hands on involvement. I enjoyed, though strange, bringing the film to the store and waiting for the pictures to be developed. Since there is no way to see how your pictures were going to come out, there was an element of surprise and not knowing. I enjoyed the whole process. The pictures came in an envelope with the negatives. They had that just processed smell. I held the photos in my hand and went through each and each was a gift. The pictures were beautiful!
Revisiting something after a long time away is pregnant with possibilities because we bring to it a new perspective of where we are now. For me I was experiencing a lot of gratitude, empowerment, expression, and an authentic appreciation. I believe that if we evolve without taking within our consciousness the beautiful and simple practices, of who we once were, I think we lose a big part of who we are as individuals and as a collective in the NOW. I constantly revisit places I have been in order to move forward both literally and metaphorically. I often drive past the houses I used to live in Mill Valley and West Marin. I remember people, voices, smells, images, good time, and bad. I can stand there and miss some things while others things are just much better in the past. I become the satellite but remember and pay homage to the camera obscura for with out that manifestation of agency I would not be able to evolve to a higher agency. Conscious participation is what I think it is all about. It seems the more accurate and complex these inventions of my mind and culture became the less participation was needed. We dubbed that as good! But was it? Is it?I say we need to use the Integral lens and with that a new type of participation but just as conscious. It is necessary to know how to look back through the lens of the camera obscura but with a new vision and appreciation.

HEART AND MIND OF ENLIGHTENMENT: A STUDY OF THE BODHISATTVA IDEAL IN MAHAYANA BUDDHISM

The ideal of the Bodhisattva was crucial in the development of the Mahayana branch of the Buddhist tradition. The Mahayana school evolved out of earlier Buddhist thought by breaking away from the Theravada Buddhism’s doctrinaire and conservative view of enlightenment towards a more adaptive and multi-faceted one. It has often been remarked that the two pre-eminent contributions of the Mahayana to the spiritual treasury of Buddhism are the metaphysic of sunyata and the Bodhisattva Ideal. The thesis will be a study of the Bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism. It will address the following topics: the transition from oral to written transmission of doctrines in the early Buddhist tradition; the emergence of new doctrines (such as emptiness (sunyata) and the Three Bodies (Trikaya)) and treatises (such as the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajna paramita) literature) that form the conceptual spine of the Mahayana school of thought; the religious and philosophical significance of the Bodhicitta or “thought-of-enlightenment” said to be the initiatory spark of The Bodhisattva Path; and an investigation of The Bodhisattva Path itself including, most importantly, critical analyses of the six ethical and psychological perfections (paramitas) namely charity, morality, forbearance, diligence, meditation and wisdom.


The formation of the Bodhisattva ideal was a crucial factor in the development of the Mahayana branch of the Buddhist tradition. The Mahayana school evolved out of earlier Buddhist thought. With the introduction of new doctrines and beliefs, the Mahayana broke away from the Theravada’s doctrinaire and conservative view of Enlightenment towards a more adaptive and forward -thinking one. It has often been remarked that the two pre-eminent contributions of the Mahayana to the spiritual treasury of Buddhism are the metaphysic of sunyata and the Bodhisattva ideal. To these might be added the Mahayanist doctrine of the Trikaya, the Three Bodies of the Buddha, which stratifies the reality of Awakening across three major domains, the meta-cosmic, the cosmic and the phenomenal. While the Mahayana revered the Tripitaka (Sanskrit, lit. three baskets) of the Theravada canon, it added its own new scriptures to advance its special emphasis on these three doctrines and to create an atmosphere that enabled laymen to strive for Enlightenment. The vow of the Bodhisattva, to forego Nirvana until all beings have been released from suffering, was especially pivotal in the development of the Mahayana. It reflected a shift from Theravada’s arhat[1] ideal of private attainment of Nirvana to one in which the goal of Nirvanic wisdom was tempered by an altruistic striving for the universal deliverance of all beings.

The great aim of the Mahayana, then, is to attain Buddhahood for the benefit all living beings and its Bodhisattva Path supersedes the Eightfold Path as the great means for the cultivation and development of compassion (karuna) and wisdom (prajna) crucial to eliminating suffering. The path of the Bodhisattva requires a profound intention to abandon all unwholesome action and to develop through meditation a liberating realization of the interdependence of all beings. To accomplish this aim the practitioner first generates and maintains Bodhicitta (the thought of Enlightenment), by taking the Bodhisattva Vow and then reinforcing the vow by practicing the Six Perfections. My thesis is an attempt to understand how the Bodhisattva doctrine arose in early Buddhist thought and to understand the nature and dynamics of the Bodhisattva path within the wider context of Mahayana Buddhism. This will include an attempt to analyze the nature of the sunyata, realization of which is reputed to be the very substance of a Bodhisattva’s Enlightenment.
The Rise of the Mahayana


No great religion is a dead, static formula for salvation; it is constantly evolving and dynamic. Historically, disciples try to render explicit all that was implicit in the original teachings of the founder as well as contribute congruent new ideals and ideas and so it was for the early Buddhist community. Buddhist scholars tell us that approximately a hundred years after Buddha’s Parinirvana[2], the Buddhist monastic community convened in order to decide on the exact nature of the Dharma (doctrine) and the Vinaya [3] (rules of discipline and community living). The Buddha had taught for decades, transmitting a vast amount of knowledge. Now the monastic community had to interpret and preserve his teachings, in accord with Buddha’s saying, “You must be your own lamps, be your own refuges… Work out your own salvation with diligence.”[4]

The original doctrines did not exist in written form. They subsisted only in the memory of the monks and those memories were starting to diverge. Therefore it was the objective of this first Council to recite the Buddha’s words (Sutras) from memory and codify monastic rules in order to formulate his teachings accurately and preserve them in writing for the first time. There were a series of councils in early Buddhist centuries, but it was in the fifth century B.C. that the Council of Rajagraha established at least two of the three divisions or “baskets” (pitaka)[5] of teachings.

Since the Buddha’s teachings were at this time a matter of memory, disagreements about the accuracy of specific memories gave rise to debate and division in the monastic community. It was the fourth Buddhist council which convened around 100 AD at Jalandhar (modern Kashmir), which is usually associated with the formal rise of Mahayana Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism does not recognize the authenticity of this council and it is sometimes called the "council of heretical monks." This council did not rely on the original Pali Canon (the Tripitaka). Instead, sets of new scriptures were approved, as well as fundamental principles of Mahayana doctrine. The new scriptures were rewritten in the classical language of Sanskrit, to many scholars a turning point in the propagation of Buddhist thought. The characteristics of this new form of Buddhism were characterized by an almost God-like treatment of the Buddha, by the idea that all beings have a Buddha-nature and should aspire to Buddhahood. Though there were many distinct Buddhist sects, two main schools of thought came to dominate the developing tradition, the Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) and the Theravada (Way of the Elders).

The Mahayana and the Theravada share a commitment to the central teachings of the Buddha, the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path and the taking of the Triple Refuge.[6] However, key points distinguish them. John M. Koller suggests that the Mahayana and Theravada provide different answers to seven essential questions, namely: Who is the Buddha? Which are the essential teachings? Who is a member of the Buddhist community? At what ideal should one aim? What path should one follow? In what does one have faith? And what is the nature of reality?[7]

The Mahayana’s distinctive answers to these questions took shape between 150 BCE and 100 CE. To the question, “Who is the Buddha,” the Mahayana asserted that the historical Buddha, Siddhartha, was but one of innumerable manifestations of an eternal and transcendent Buddha-nature. The Theravada viewed the Buddha first and foremost as the historical person, Siddhartha Gautama, who achieved Enlightenment in the sixth century BCE.[8] They held that as an earthly being, he achieved Enlightenment releasing himself from the cycle of samsara and thereby attained complete liberation. The historical Buddha, according to the Theravada, had overcome every kind of craving (trishna) and although he still had pleasant and unpleasant sensations, he was not ruled by them. He lived his life as an ascetic who wondered teaching the Dharma which was founded on the experience of his Enlightenment, the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.

The Theravada believed that the Buddha’s essential teachings were contained in Tripitaka. Though the Mahayana accepted these scriptures as correct, they gave emphasis to the Buddha’s teaching by example, specifically, the practice of compassion as shown by the Buddha towards all living beings and the importance he placed upon alleviating suffering. Because the Mahayana saw the Buddha as the embodiment of all-inclusive truth and enlightenment, they believed his teachings must be presented in different forms at different times according to the differing needs of people.[9] For the Mahayanists then, the Theravada literature was only a primer. The essential teachings of the Buddha were recorded in new literature, the Mahayana Canon, of which we will have more to say. In order to qualify these new teachings as authentic doctrines of the Buddha, the Mahayanists claimed that these scriptures had been recovered rather then created after the Buddha’s death.

The sangha is the monastic order or community in the Buddhist religion. Generally, the term encompasses both the lay and the monastic communities. According to the Theravada, the primary members of the sangha, the monks and nuns, known as 'noble disciples' (ariyasangha),[10] have to adhere to ethical principles and disciplines, particularly with regard to the ordination. Without living the life of a monastic, it is held that the layperson was inferior and incapable of attaining Nirvana, since he or she could not follow the austere rules outlined by the vinaya. Some writers of Sanskrit literature state that life in the home has “hindrances while the monk’s life is like open air.”[11] In contrast, the Mahayana elevated the layperson. Mahayanists held that by way of upaya (skill in means) and the Bodhisattva career, the layperson was capable of attaining Enlightenment without having to live the life of an ascetic. According to the Mahayana tradition, many great Bodhisattvas had been lay people. Mahayana literature routinely asserts that the layperson can attain profound enlightenment. Conze states, “In its essence and inner core, Buddhism was and is a movement of monastic ascetics. A laity is, however, indispensable to it…as Buddhism grew…the lay-followers became increasingly important.”[12]

One of the most significant distinctions between the two Buddhists schools is the goal of the practitioner. According to commonly held theoretical models the goal of Mahayana practitioner is to become a Buddha by following the path of the Bodhisattva, whereas the goal of the Theravada practitioner is to become a Buddha by following the path of the arhat. The ultimate goal of the Theravadin practice is to attain the state of an arhat, which is synonymous with Buddhahood. Although helping other sentient beings is accepted as an important Buddhist practice, the arhat’s main motivation for following the spiritual path is to achieve liberation (Nirvana) for oneself. The Mahayana viewed the arhat as selfish and looked to the life of Buddha to support its philosophy that the ultimate goal of the path is to become a Bodhisattva, one who, while on the brink of liberation, forgoes Nirvana to return the world to save all sentient beings. Buddha stated, “Go your ways, oh monks, for the benefit of many, for the happiness of many, for the good, benefit and happiness of gods and men”[13]and the Mahayana placed commitment to minister to the world at the very heart of its spirituality.

The path of the Theravada is defined by the practice of morality, meditation and knowledge which encapsulates the Noble Eightfold Path as a way to overcome suffering therefore ending samsara. The Mahayana reformulated this as the path of the Paramitas (perfections) as obtainable by the means of the Bodhisattva Path, which will lead all beings towards Enlightenment. Theravada Buddhism emphasized faith (sraddha) in the historical Buddha, the truth of his teachings and the power of the sangha to aid the practitioner to progress on the path, where as the Mahayana added a host of celestial beings who had attained Enlightenment and now held sovereignty over the world. Faith and devotion towards these celestial beings was thought to aid the practitioner in attaining Enlightenment.

Koller’s seventh question, “What is the nature of reality?” will detain us for sometime for the Mahayana’s answer to it is complex indeed. Yet, without an understanding of its cosmology an adequate understanding of its Bodhisattva doctrine is impossible. It is to this subject we now turn.
Overview of Mahayana Cosmology
The Wheel of Becoming



As long as our actions are dominated by anger, ignorance and pride, we are lost in a world of illusions, spinning in an endless cycle from which we will not escape.[14]

Figure 1 Wheel of Becoming

Even the earliest Buddhists, following the traditions of their Indian fore-fathers, saw the universe as infinite in time and space and filled with an infinite number of worlds like our own.[15] This is how it looked. Above our ordinary world, there were two realms: the realm of form (rupa-dhatu) and the even higher realm of formlessness (arupa-dhatu). Below these is our world, the realm of desire (kama-dhatu), which contains six domains (gatis), each with its own kinds of beings: Devas or gods, asuras (demons),[16] humans, animals, pretas (hungry ghosts) and narakas (hell beings). All of the realms are in samsara, imperfect existence, and therefore governed by karma and its fruits (vipaka).

The historical Buddha realized that “a person’s life is not self-contained and unchanging at its core,” but instead, “a continuous process of change, rising and falling through interdependence with numerous other processes.”[17] The Buddha described the dependence of all phenomena upon causes and conditions thusly: When this exists, that comes to be; with the arising of this, that arises. When this does not exist, that does not become to be; with the cessation of this, that ceases. This process, known as “Interdependent Arising” (Pratitya Samutpada), or the twelve links of the chain of conditioned genesis, is the engine of Buddhist Cosmology, the very generator of all these realms. Pratitya Samutpada and karma are directly complicit in both to bondage to and liberation from the cycle of rebirth (samsara). These twelve links, pictured around the rim of the wheel, can be read either in a forward or reverse order, either emphasizing the arising or ceasing of human bondage. Each link depends upon the one before or after it; therefore, when in motion toward liberation, when ignorance ceases, when disposition ceases dispositions cease consciousness ceases, and so on all the way to aging and dying that cease when rebirth ceases, ending, the cycle of samsara.

The Wheel of Life thus didactically represents the drama of personal choice and consequence. Each reincarnation of a being into of one of these realms is determined by his or her karma, the sum of all acts, reactions and mental activity in the previous life. The whole wheel is held in the mouth and claws of Mara,[18] who represents impermanence and death. As already stated, the outside edge of the wheel depicts the twelve stages of dependent arising and ceasing. In the hub of the wheel, there are the representations of the three poisons: the rooster symbolizing desire, the snake, anger and the pig, delusion. These poisons are considered the driving forces of the cycle of existence. An individual's response to these forces generates karma, which determines where on the wheel he will be reborn. If these poisons can be overcome through the attainment of knowledge and wisdom, then release from the necessity for further rebirths can be achieved. This deliverance from samsara is Nirvana.[19] The Wheel of Life illustrates important aspect of Buddhist cosmology. Another aspect, especially important to Mahayana doctrine is the Three Bodies of the Buddha. To this we now turn.
Trikaya Doctrine

“Dharmakaya is like the sun, sambhogakaya is like the rays and nirmanakaya is like the rays hitting the objects on the earth. Nirmanakaya is the physical situation and sambhogakaya and dharmakaya are the level of mind.”[20]

The Trikaya or "Three bodies” doctrine is an extremely influential Mahayana Buddhist teaching on both the nature of reality and the nature of Buddha. Trikaya is a Sanskrit word used to refer to three levels of Buddhahood’s manifestation or activity. According to the Trikaya Doctrine, “Buddha” is a reality with a three-fold nature: the dharmakaya (the body of ultimate Truth), the sambhogakaya (body of bliss) and the nirmanakaya (emanation body, i.e. physical embodiment such as the historical Buddha).[21].

The Mahayana taught that while the historical Buddha appeared to be born, live and die; this physical form was merely created by the eternal Buddha-nature (Dharmakaya) out of its compassion for suffering beings. Siddhartha Gautama was viewed as an embodiment of the Dharmakaya’s compassion, who used skill-in-means (upaya) to do whatever was necessary to bring sentient beings to enlightenment. Mahayana thinkers, in contrast to their Theravadin brethren, concluded that the ultimate referent of the term “Buddha” was this transcendent reality (Dharmakaya). It is the ultimate Absolute Reality, the essence of the universe, the formless totality of existence and a synonym for Reality as such, which includes everything material and immaterial within it. All types of phenomena, all beings, everything seen and unseen can be considered emanations of this ‘Divine Ultimate Source.’

The Sambhogakaya is that aspect of the ultimate Buddha nature, or Dharmakaya, that one meets in visions and in deep meditation. It is a grosser form of the Dharmakaya but a subtler form of the Emanation Body (Nirmanakaya). As Sambhogakaya, the eternal Buddha-nature manifests itself in an infinite number of forms which appears all places and times according to the different needs of sentient beings.[22] This belief is crucial to the Mahayana Bodhisattva Path because it encompasses the idea that reality contains a benevolent omnipotence that responds to the needs of all suffering beings.[23] The Sambhogakaya is also to be said the archetypal form of the historical Buddha through which the latter can be perceived by Bodhisattvas who achieve advanced levels of consciousness. Let us look at just a few Bodhisattvas, out of the infinitely vast pantheon, which are influential to the Mahayana tradition.
Cosmic Buddhas and Bodhisattvas: The Realm of the Sambhogakaya

Avalokitesvara, think of me.
Look upon me from the realm of sambhogakaya, luminosity.
Pacify completely the suffering of the six realms.
Shake us from the depths of the three realms of samsara.[24]



While Theravada Buddhism focuses almost exclusively on the Buddha as a human being who taught a method for attaining Enlightenment, the Mahayana tradition projects an elaborate pantheon of spiritual beings and cosmic forces that are the objects of worship and devotion. They represent various aspects of the enlightened consciousness and for the Mahayana are guides to spiritual transformation. The key purpose of cosmic Buddhas and Bodhisattvas is said to be to enable the practitioner to tap onto the innate qualities that exists within the self to aid in spiritual growth. They are said to help draw out qualities that are already within the practitioner.

Many sutras name many of these celestial beings: Amitabha, Aksobhya and Vairocana, associating them with various spiritual qualities, which represent the Buddha-nature as an object of devotion. For example, Vairochana represents wisdom, Akshobhya, mirror like wisdom, Ratnasambhava, equanimity, Amitabha, discriminating awareness and Amoghasiddhi, all-accomplishing wisdom.

Avalokitesvara



Compassion sets in motion an exponential multiplication of our powers.

We might even feel as though we have the powers of a thousand arms, a thousand eyes and nine heads of Buddha…[25]



Figure 2 Avalokitesvara

In response to the Theravada exalting wisdom over karuna (compassion), the Mahayanist sought to restore the balance by placing much more emphasis on the latter. Within the vast pantheon of Bodhisattvas figures, one of the most important is Avalokitesvara,[26] who is thought of as the embodiment of mercy and compassion. The Pali verb soloketi translates as “to look down or over”, or “to look at, to examine.” The word avolokita would then mean “the lord who sees the world with pity.”[27]

Avalokitesvara is often depicted with many heads and arms, the former symbolizing his ability to see the suffering of all beings and the latter his ability to serve all beings. Mahayana doctrine tells us that Avalokitesvara made a great vow to listen to the prayers of all sentient beings in times of difficulty to eliminate suffering and postponed his own Buddhahood until he has helped every being on earth achieve Enlightenment, “down to the last blade of grass.”[28] Often associated with The Heart Sutra, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva practices the profound prajna-paramita (perfection of wisdom) and contemplates and sees the emptiness of the five skandhas (the five fundamental conditions of passions and delusions) and thus attains deliverance from all suffering. This signifies that the surpassing prajna paramita cannot be reached through concepts, but can be reached through the intuitional wisdom of seeing things as they are.

In meditative visualizations, practitioners imagine themselves to be Avalokitesvara thereby reducing and eventually removing the fixation on their personal self. This in turn results in an expression of loving kindness and compassion towards others. In most religious traditions, one prays to the deities in the hopes of receiving their blessing, which will benefit one in some way. In the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, the blessings and the power of the superlative qualities of the enlightened beings are not considered as coming from outside, but are believed to be Maitreyainnate aspects of the practitioners own true nature.

Maitreya



I am Maitreya, the Buddha of the sun
I shine with equal love upon all
I am called the coming Buddha not because I will manifest in physical form
But because I come to those at advanced stages of the spiritual path
and say: "Be blessed friends and give blessings."
I am called the Buddha of friendship

For I take all beings as equals
And do not accept the hierarchies of institutions.[29]

Figure 3 Maitreya

Maitreya is comparable to the savior in second coming prophecies of other religions. According to the Mahayana tradition, the period of the Buddhist Law is divided into three stages: a first period of five hundred years of the turning the Wheel of Dharma, a second period of one thousand years of the deterioration of the dharma, and a third period of three thousand years during which no one practices the dharma. Buddhism will then have virtually disappeared, but eventually a new Buddha, Maitreya, will appear and will again turn the Wheel of Dharma. [30]

Maitreya means “Loving One” and according to the Mahayana is the embodiment of all-encompassing love. He is often depicted on a raised seat with his feet resting on the ground as a sign of readiness to arise from his seat to appear to the world. It is said he is a Bodhisattva who will eventually appear on earth in the future as the fifth and final earthly Buddha. Maitreya represents hope. Through him, Conze states, “Salvation became a hope of the remote future not only for laity but for monks as well.”[31] The Mahayana believed that those who look to Maitreya will lose their doubts and cravings and that Maitreya's teachings will lead them to a holy life.[32]Maitreya is the only celestial Bodhisattva recognized by the sects of the Theravada school. He is represented standing or seated: when seated, as an ornamented Buddha, with long thin hair on the shoulders or tied in a chignon on his head and his hands in Dharmacakra mudra, or when standing Vitarka and Varada mudras.[33]

Manjushri



Your dragon-thunder proclamation of the Dharma arouses us from the stupor of our delusions and frees us from the iron chains of our karma. Your powerful sword of wisdom hews down suffering wherever its sprouts appear, clearing away the darkness of all ignorance.[34]

Figure 4 Manjushri

Manjushri means 'gentle glory' and is a Bodhisattva who represents wisdom. His task is to incite investigation into such topics as Emptiness, free will and the nature of the self and to lead beings to the true nature of reality. He is viewed both as a historical Bodhisattva and as an emanation of Vairochana, a primordial Buddha that is often compared to the sun, whose nature is everywhere. He is usually depicted displaying two tools essential to that investigation: in his right hand, he wields the double-edged sword of logic or analytic discrimination and in his left, the Prajna paramita Sutra, the text of the teaching on Emptiness, which is cushioned on the lotus of compassion. It is said that:

Seventy myriad eons ago and seventy-two hundred billion Buddha-fields to the east of the world, Manjushri was a pious king who offered worship to the Tathagata and aroused the Bodhicitta. He resolved to pursue an endless but unhurried career toward Awakening, staying in samsara as long as there remained even one being to be saved. Although he has now fulfilled all the virtues of Buddha, he has not yet considered being one, although eventually he will.[35]

Samantabhadra



All that appears and exists, all of samsara and nirvana, has one ground, two paths and two results. It is the display of awareness and ignorance.[36]

Figure 5 Samantabhadra



Samantabhadra means Universal Virtue or Universally Auspicious and is the Bodhisattva of Great Conduct although some esoteric traditions regard him as a primordial Buddha. He forms the Mahayana Buddhist trinity together with Shakyamuni and fellow disciple Manjushri.[37] He is often depicted riding a six-tusked elephant. The elephant's six tusks represent the six paramitas: Charity, Morality, Patience, Diligence, Meditation and Wisdom. Samantabhadra therefore embodies all of the practices and merits which must be perfected in order to attain Buddhahood. He is the patron of The Lotus Sutra and according to the Avatamsaka (The Flower Ornament) Sutra, in the section called the Gandavyuha (Flower Array); he originated the ten great vows,[1] which are the basis of a Bodhisattva Path.[38]

Ksitigarbha



Not until the hells are emptied will I become a Buddha;
Not until all beings are saved will I certify to Bodhi.[39]

Figure 6 Ksitigarbha

Ksitigarbha whose name means “Earth Encompasser” is known as the Great Vow Bodhisattva. Primarily, he is the Bodhisattva who vowed to postpone Nirvana until all those beings trapped in hell-worlds are free. Ksitigarbha, moved by compassion, is said to have made the wish to renounce the status of Buddha until the advent of Maitreya. His mission is to lighten the burdens caused by previous evil actions, to secure from the judges of hell an alleviation of the fate of the condemned and to console them.[40]

Iconographically, Ksitigarbha is typically depicted with a shaven head, dressed in a monk's simple robes (unlike most other Bodhisattvas, who are dressed like Indian royalty). In his left hand, Ksitigarbha holds the wish-granting jewel Cintamani; in his right hand, he holds a monk's staff called a shakujo in Japanese (jingle staff), which is used to alert insects and small animals of his approach, so that he will not accidentally harm them. Such a staff is traditionally carried by high ranking monks of Chinese Buddhist temples. Ksitigarbha will sometimes be seen wearing a crown depicting the Five Wisdom Buddhas;[41] a similar crown is worn by high ranking monks.



Tara



Here there is no man, there is no woman, No self, no person and no consciousness. Labeling ‘male or ‘female’ has no essence, but deceives the evil-minded worlds. And she made the following vow; there are many who desire Enlightenment in a man’s body, but none who work for the benefit of sentient beings in the body of a woman. Therefore, until samsara is empty, I shall work for the benefit of sentient beings in a woman’s body.[42]



Figure 7 Green Tara

Tara, a female Buddha, is arguably the most popular goddess in the Buddhist pantheon. She is considered the goddess of universal compassion and enlightened activity. The word Tara itself is derived from the root ‘tri’ (to cross), hence the implied meaning: ‘the one who enables living beings to cross the Ocean of Existence and Suffering.’ Her compassion for living beings, her desire to save them from suffering, is said to be even stronger than a mother's love for her children. She also brings about longevity, protects earthly travel and guards her followers on their spiritual journey to enlightenment.

According to the Tara Tantra, Tara was born eons ago as a king's daughter. A kind-hearted princess, she regularly gave offerings to the monks and nuns. She thus developed great merit and the monks told her that, because of her spiritual attainments, they would pray that she be reborn as a man and spread Buddhist teachings. She responded that in reality there was no male and no female, that these distinctions are empty and that she wished to remain in female form to serve other beings until everyone reached enlightenment, thus nullifying the monks’ assumption that great teachers were necessarily male.

Tara is typically depicted as a dark green-skinned girl and has her right foot extended as if about to rise. Her left hand, in the gesture of granting refuge, holds the stem of a blue water lily or utpala that waves over her left shoulder, while her right hand, also holding a flower, offers that which is a boon. According to the first Dalai Lama (1391-1474) her hands with their blue utpalas signal, "Samsaric beings! Cling not to worldly pleasures. Enter the great city of liberation! … Homage to you!” [43] The Mahayana believes that Green Tara helps to overcome fear and anxiety and can grant wishes, eliminate suffering of all kinds, and bring happiness. When called upon, she instantaneously saves being from calamities.

Vajrapani

Wanderer along the path to heaven
My task is to aid you
If you are pure, my sword and knowledge
Are at your disposal
If you yearn after purity, yet cannot escape
The barbed tendrils and strangling life-slime
Meditate upon me, for my life is virtuous and my mind is free
Like an icy mountain lake, or a clear autumn evening
No illusions may exist around me. [44]

Figure 8 Vajrapani



Vajrapani, the manifestation of all the Buddhas' power, is one of the earliest Bodhisattvas of Mahayana Buddhism. He is the protector and guide of all the Buddhas. Vajrapani appears extensively in Buddhist iconography as one of the three protective deities surrounding the Buddha.[45] His taut posture is the active warrior pose (pratayalidha) and his outstretched right hand brandishes a vajra. The vajra is a five-pronged scepter, which represents the combination of wisdom and compassion. In his left hand, he skillfully holds a lasso with which he binds demons. He wears a skull crown; he has a wrathful expression and a third eye. Around his neck is a serpent necklace and his loin cloth is made of the skin of a tiger, whose head can be see on his right knee. Though the appearance of Vajrapani is demonic, devotees view him as angelic. For the aspiring human bodhisattva, Vajrapani is an archetypal deity of fierce determination and symbolizes unrelenting effectiveness in the conquest of negativity.[46]

Prajnaparamita (Yum-Chenmo)

Figure 9 Yum Chenmo

Her right hand holds a gold drum,
Its beat resounds through the universe.
From the supreme domain of awakening, the realm of totality,
Her offspring gather, awakened ones, awakening beings and masters,
Coming like flower petals swirling in the wind.
All of them are absorbed into Only Mother's body.[47]



In Mahayana Buddhism, the Perfection of Wisdom sutras were elevated to objects of devotion and eventually became symbolized in the form of a great celestial female being, a magnificent Bodhisattva named Prajnaparamita. Her Sanskrit name means ‘Perfection of Wisdom’; in Tibetan, she is also known as Yum Chenmo, or 'Great Mother,’ is often referred to as “mother of all Buddhas” to emphasize the sutras’ great importance. Usually she appears as a tranquil seated figure clothed in silks; her body is gold in color and she has one face and four arms. Her first two arms are held in meditation posture in her lap, while the other right hand holds a vajra (thunderbolt scepter symbolizing compassion and bliss) and the left, the text of the Heart Sutra, which summarizes the essential message of the Prajna paramita teachings on sunyata or emptiness. With the Perfection of Wisdom, we enter the atmosphere of emptiness, that peculiar and all-important Mahayana conception, which along with the Trikaya provides the basis for a true understanding of the Bodhisattva.
The Doctrine of Sunyata



Avalokiteshvara, the Holy Lord and Bodhisattva, was moving in the deep course of the Wisdom, which has gone beyond. He looked down from on high, He beheld but five heaps and He saw that in their own-being they were empty. Here, O Sariputra, form is emptiness and the very emptiness is form; emptiness does not differ from form, form does not differ from emptiness, whatever is emptiness, that is form, the same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses and consciousness.[48]



While many Mahayana writings are concerned with karuna (compassion), the profoundly influential Perfection of Wisdom Sutra emphasizes wisdom. It is wisdom of a very specific sort: the wisdom of sunyata (emptiness). The doctrine of emptiness calls attention to the absence of inherent existence in processes that are mutually dependent. It is another way of expressing the interdependence of phenomenon that the Buddha called dependent origination. Whereas earlier Buddhist teaching focused on the impermanence of phenomena, the doctrine of emptiness teaches that all phenomena are essentially void and are, therefore, essentially one. Even samsara and Nirvana are ultimately the same.[49]

Western scholars believe that the doctrine was developed about the first century BCE derived from Shakyamuni’s inspirational experience and therefore attributed to him. According to Mahayana legend, the Perfection of Wisdom sutra, recorded by the Buddha himself, was taken from the human realm by the gods and asuras only to be returned later. This ‘temporary hiding’ was said to be prophesied by the Buddha, the reason being that the developing societies at that time needed years of monastic preparation and purification by way of disciplined meditation before they could be safely entrusted with the profound liberation the teaching provides.[50]

The original Prajna paramita text, called the ‘Great Mother.’ consisted of ten thousand lines. It is seen as a defining point in Buddhist thinking and considered “a vast maturing in Buddhist mind and heart after five hundred years of intensive meditation and realization” following Shakyamuni’s parinirvana. It is said to create “a heightened poetic and heart-melting devotional atmosphere.”[51]

There are two of the Prajna paramita texts that are singled out as being the “holiest of the holy,” The Diamond Sutra and the Heart Sutra. The Diamond Sutra is known in Sanskrit as the Vajracchedika Prajna paramita, the “Perfection of Wisdom that cuts like a thunderbolt.” It is thought that the Vajracchedika Prajna paramita reflects the brilliancy and clarity of Buddha’s mind. As a teacher, the Buddha “intuited the manifold doubts of his students” and like a diamond cutter, cut them away with precision before those doubts could fully manifest. This Sutra too is able to sever the doubts of students with diamond-like precision—thus the nickname “Diamond” and to enable the fledging Bodhisattvas to enter the door of the Perfection of Wisdom.[52]

The Bodhisattva Path requires the skillful balance of two contradictory forces, wisdom and compassion. In her wisdom, the Bodhisattva sees no persons; in her compassion, she is resolved to save them. The Bodhisattva’s ability to combine these contradictory attitudes is the source of her greatness. The Diamond Sutra perfectly illustrates this combination of attributes and states that a Bodhisattva should think thus:

As many beings as there are in the universe of beings—be they egg-born, or born from a womb, or moisture born, or miraculously born; be they of form, or without; be they with perception, without perception, or with neither perception not no perception –as far as any conceivable universe of beings is conceived; all these should be said to be led to Nirvana, into the realm of Nirvana which leaves nothing behind. And yet, although innumerable beings have thus been led to Nirvana, no being at all has been led to Nirvana. And why? If in a Bodhisattva the perception of a being should take place, he would not be called an enlightened being (bodhisattva).[53]

Thus, two things are needful to the Bodhisattva, “Never to abandon any beings and to see into the truth that there are no beings because all things are empty.”[54]

The Heart Sutra serves as a sort of summarization of the Prajna paramita sutra’s attempt to reveal the very heart of reality. Its speaker is Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion, who will nevertheless reveal the wisdom with which compassion must be tempered. He teaches that in a human being there is nothing that lies outside the five skandhas and that the five skandhas are empty of own-being. Avalokitesvara addresses Shariputra,[55] who in this text is a representative of the Theravada school, whose adherents do not fully understand emptiness. The Bodhisattva famously states, "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form." Avalokiteshvara then goes through some of the most fundamental Buddhist teachings and explains that they are simply statements about reality; they are not reality itself and are therefore not true in the highest sense. In other words, the aspiring Bodhisattva cannot rely on mere words. All reality is the nonexistence of diversified form and reality, in truth, does not comprise any realm. [2]

In the Heart Sutra, Avalokiteshvara is engaged in the practice of transcendental wisdom, which embodies the religious imagination of the Mahayana. He is the ideal Buddhist, one who strives to win enlightenment, but because of ultimate karuna, is unwilling to enter the bliss state unless he can take all of creation with him.

The Perfection of Wisdom sutras are revered because they succeed in:

…accomplishing the impossible, expressing the inexpressible, and making trans-verbal enlightened reality accessible to the verbally cultivates mind. They [The Prajna paramita Sutras] constantly deconstruct themselves as they go along, proclaiming that their teaching is not a teaching at all, that there is not attainment, no attainer, no understanding, no understander, but importantly, no nonattainer nor nonunderstander either.[56]

This ‘knowing wisdom’ is at the very heart of the Bodhisattva Path. It is the key to the development of intelligent compassion and to the elimination of suffering for all sentient beings. With a general understanding of The Perfections of Wisdom literature behind us, we will now embark upon a study of the path of the Bodhisattva.
The Mahayana Bodhisattva Ideal
The Mahayana Bodhisattva

May those who are suffering abide in happiness. I am the medicine for the sick. May I be both the doctor and their nurse, until the sickness does not recur. May I avert the pain of hunger and thirst with showers of food and drink. May I become both drink and food in the intermediate aeons of famine. May I be the inexhaustible treasure for impoverished beings. May I wait upon them with various forms of offering. See, I give up without regret my bodies, my pleasures and my good acquired in all three times, to accomplish good for every being.[57]



“Bodhisattva” literally means enlightenment being. Bodhi is derived from the root budh and its related meaning is “to know, understand.” The term sattva can be traced back to the Vedic word satvan, which means “a strong or valiant man, hero and warrior.” [58] Terms such as bodhi-being, heroic being, or spiritual warrior are often used to define the Bodhisattva. The Mahayana defines the Bodhisattva as one who strives to gain bodhi while renouncing the final deliverance of Nirvana, in to help his fellow sentient beings in the world. It is held that a Bodhisattva is a being whose life is dedicated to the attainment of Enlightenment for the benefit of others and capable of leading others to the same dedication. The Bodhisattva is the influential figure in Mahayana Buddhism.

It is obvious to the Mahayanist, who believes in reincarnation, that Gautama did not come into the world for the first time at 563 BCE. As a Bodhisattva he had already gone through many rounds of rebirths and accumulated vast amounts of merit. The Bodhisattva career was a defiant reaction to the early Buddhist reverence for the arhat. An arhat was one who was liberated, and who knew he would not be reborn. He had accomplished what was to be done. He had been able to lay down his burden and thus attain final emancipation of mind and body. However, the Mahayana felt that in this conception of Buddhist’s development certain aspects were being neglected. They viewed the arhat ideal as too self-centered and not interested in servicing ordinary people.

Dayal tells us that the Bodhisattva Ideal can only be understood against the background of the Theravada’s monastic community “… [which was a] saintly and serene, but inactive and indolent monastic Order.”[59] In reaction to this inactivity Mahayanists developed the practice of what Conze terms the Unlimited.[60] This trained the Mahayana monks not to discriminate between themselves and others. The Unlimited, (apramana) refers to four great virtues that can be limitlessly cultivated: Friendliness, Compassion, Sympathetic-Joy and Even-Mindedness. In effect these virtues reduce the boundary lines between oneself and other people. They develop from two pre-eminent methods of practice. The first is their direct cultivation through acts and emotions of friendliness and compassion. The second is the meditative practice of detachment from the ideas of “I” or “mine” or “self.” This is done by developing an awareness that whatever one thinks and feels is actually the interplay of impersonal forces called dharmas.[61] These two methods are paradoxical because meditation on the dharmas dissolves other people and oneself into a conglomeration of impersonal and instantaneous dharmas. Since it reduces beings to impersonal heaps, this method, if not counterbalanced, leave nothing on which friendliness and compassion could work. “One cannot wish well to a Dharma which is gone by the time one has come to wish it well, nor can one pity a Dharma—say a ‘mind object,’ or ‘a sight—organ,’ or a ‘sound—consciousness.”[62] So this method must be counterbalanced by practice of the Unlimited. Only then can the wisdom of emptiness, which can lack warmth, be tempered by compassion. The Mahayana believed compassion to be the most powerful resource for facilitating liberation. When there is a clear perception of the suffering of others, one can begin to eliminate the ego and its ignorant desire.

To balance wisdom and compassion a Bodhisattva practices “skill in means” (upaya). Upaya is also the ability to bring out the spiritual potentialities of different people by statements or actions which are adjusted to their needs and adapted to their capacity for comprehension.[63] The notion of Upaya enabled the Mahayana to diversify its practice and thus to accommodate larger patrons of society.

It is put forward by the Mahayanists that the layperson and even householders could be Bodhisattvas who could maintain progress on the spiritual path by maintaining an ethical code put forth by Buddhism as a way of life. Since the layperson had remained in the world, this ethical code was maintained by the Five Precepts and taking refuge in the Dharma, sangha and the Buddha. The Mahayana sutra, The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti, there is an emphasis on both the layperson and the concept of upaya. It is conveyed by the life of the main character, Vimalakirti, a famous householder Bodhisattva. The text tells us of his life in the city of Vaisali, where he was a well-known enlightened teacher involved in the business and political scene. Vimalakirti taught people wherever they were and through whatever they were doing.

How does one become a Bodhisattva? How does one embark on the path of this sublime spiritual ideal? The answer necessitates an in-depth explanation. We now turn our attention to the concept of Bodhicitta, for it is the bedrock by which the ideal is built.



Bodhicitta: Embarking On the Path of the Bodhisattva



May the Bodhicitta, precious and sublime,

Arise where it has not yet come to be;

And where it has arisen may it never fail

But grow and flourish ever more and more.[64]



The term Bodhicitta means the “Thought of Enlightenment.” According to Buddhist writers, there are several considerations that should induce the average person to produce the ‘thought of bodhi.’ One is the consideration that birth as a human being is a very rare privilege. Another is that enlightenment can bring about good for the world. [65]

Often referred to as “the great spiritual poems of humanity,”[66] the Bodhicaryavatara (Entering the Path of Enlightenment), known to have been composed in Sanskrit by the Buddhist philosopher Santideva, deals with the Bodhisattva’s path to awakening. Most importantly, one of the central themes is the concept of Bodhicitta. Santideva reveals Bodhicitta primary function as an ethical commitment, which moves from aspiration to application to realization.

The term Bodhicitta can be misleading because the translation of the word “citta” implies mind, but in order to attain Bodhicitta, one has to do more then contemplate it. Bodhicitta “is not a mental state, activity or function at all.” It is not an act of will on any level and “neither is it being conscious, if by that, one merely means being conscious of the fact that there is such as thing as Enlightenment.”[67] According to Santideva, “…Bodhicitta is not a thought, not a propensity, not an idea, not a concept but a profound transcendental experience which reorients our entire being…”[68] Bodhicitta contains compounded ambiguity and shifting nuance of meaning, it is thought that it is operative on three levels of definition to which citta is susceptible. First, “the simple thought of Bodhi.” Second, “the consciousness which is permeated with the idea, which results in the total transformation of one’s personal life,” and thirdly Bodhicitta, “partakes of a quasi universal aspect, where it is a force let loose in the universe to work for the good of all.”[69]

It is commonly thought that Bodhicitta can be divided into two categories, the Bodhicitta of Aspiration and the Bodhicitta of Application (engaged). Santideva states:

Then, in short, one should know that the Bodhicitta is two fold: the mind having made a resolve for bodhi and the actual proceeding towards bodhi… Just as a difference is perceived between the one who desires to go and the one who is going, so a difference between both [types of Bodhicitta] is acknowledged by the wise men.[70]

The Aspirational Bodhicitta is the complete wish to overcome emotional afflictions and delusions and represents the intention to bring all fellow beings to the enlightened state. Two key practices associated with this stage of development are the heartfelt wish to become a Buddha to benefit all sentient beings and to pledge never to abandon this aim until it is achieved. Moving from aspiration to application, the fledgling Bodhisattva cultivates awareness and concentration. This is accomplished by never excluding even one sentient being from one’s thoughts, being conscious of the benefits ensuing from the Enlightened Attitude (Bodhicitta), and practicing the Four Immeasurables: Love, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity.[71]

Bodhicitta is crucial to the traveler on the path of a sublime spiritual ideal of the Bodhisattva. “May I attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.”[72] This is the root Mahayana aspiration. Involved Bodhicitta means engaging in the practices that bring about this goal and taking bodhisattva vows to restrain from actions detrimental to it. Next on the path of spiritual progression is the decision to take the Bodhisattva Vow. This marks a turning point in the aspirant’s practice and to do so is usually based on the conclusion that is reached after extensive analysis and profound insight into the nature of existence. With that in mind, we now turn to the Bodhisattva Vow.
The Bodhisattva’s Vow

However innumerable sentient beings are, I vow to save them.
However inexhaustible the defilements are, I vow to extinguish them.
However immeasurable the dharmas are, I vow to master them.
However incomparable enlightenment is, I vow to attain it.[73]



The intentional quality of the Bodhicitta naturally generates a vow. A Bodhisattva’s vow is a determination to abandon particular faults. It is traditionally made in conjunction with a ritual, an ordination consisting of two parts: the taking of the vow and the acceptance of the Bodhisattva’s precepts.[3] Numerous lists of these precepts are to be found throughout Mahayana scriptures. The precepts represent a more specific and detailed application of the vow. At the heart of the Vow is a public acceptance of the Bodhisattva Ideal that recapitulates what happened when ever someone met the historical Buddha. Upon hearing hear him teach and her “…Dharma eye would open.”[74] The taking the Vow does not award any spiritual status, for divine status. The intention of the initiatory ceremony is to leave imprints on the mind so to develop an altruistic attitude which proceeds and progresses even into future lifetimes accumulating vast amounts of merit.

When taking the Bodhisattva Vow, the trainee pledges to abstain from certain negative acts that would deter the Bodhisattva from reaching Enlightenment. In the Pratimoksha Sutra,[75] the Buddha tells us that it would be better to die than to break moral discipline because death destroys only this life, whereas breaking moral discipline will affect future lives and keep one in samsara.[76] Therefore, once the Bodhisattva Vows are taken, to prevent them from degenerating, it is crucial that the aspirant know the four main causes of the degeneration. They are: Not knowing what causes the degeneration of the vow, lack of respect for Buddha’s instructions, strong delusions and non-consciousness. Antidotes to these can be found in detailed extrapolations of the Bodhisattva Vow, known in the Mahayana traditions as The Eighteen Roots Vows and Forty-Six Secondary Vows.[4]

Even if not formally embraced, the Bodhisattva Vow and the numerous other vows it entails provide constructive guiding principles on how to properly proceed on the Bodhisattva Path. Mahayanists hold that one should take the time to become familiar with the vows before taking them. That way one can avoid the discovery later on that they are unable to keep them. Great emphasis is put on this point because these vows are a mammoth commitment, as they are not just taken for this life, but all future lives as well. The Mahayanist believes that breaking a root vow completely nullifies one’s Bodhisattva ordination, whereas breaking a secondary or branch vow does not, though it damages it. If one has nullified the Bodhisattva Vow by breaking a root vow, one can restore the vow by re-taking the vows in front of at least four people who understand and hold the vow themselves (preferably fully ordained monks), generating a sincere regret and an intention not to repeat the same mistake again.[1] If there is nobody available, one can restore the vows in front of a Buddha statue or visualization.[77] After a sincere confession and restoring of the vows, the original negative consequences cannot be undone, but at least the negative karma stops increasing further.

After taking the vows the aspirant begins to train and develop the mind with the practice of the Six Paramitas or perfections. We now turn the Six Perfections, which once perfected, provide a perfectly clear mind by which the accumulated obscuration and habitual tendencies of mind through countless lifetimes will be perfectly purified.[78]


The Paramitas



If we wish to become Enlightened, but do not practice the six perfections, we are like someone who wants to go somewhere but does not actually set out on the journey.[79]



The Bodhisattva Path comprises a number of perfections (paramitas). They are described as “the great oceans of all the bright virtues and auspicious principles” and are said to confer prosperity and happiness on all creatures. They are considered the Bodhisattva’s refuge and shelter.[80] Buddhist texts differ somewhat as to their identity and number. Their common significance rests in the intention to transcend the limitations of the ordinary self. All the paramitas encourage control of the mind and body. Six perfections are described in the Perfection of Wisdom Literature. Four other were added to match the number of stages (ten) thought to comprise the Bodhisattva Path. I will deal with the six-fold formulation. The Six Perfections are: charity (dana), moral conduct (sila), patience (ksanti), strength (virya), contemplation (dhyana) and wisdom (prajna). [5]

The origin of the six-fold formula of the paramitas can be found in the early Buddhist triad, Sila (virtuous conduct), Samadhi (concentration) and Prajna (wisdom), the three cikas (branches of instruction)[81] that comprise the Eightfold Path. The Mahayana reformulated The Eightfold Path as the Path of the Paramitas by adding the social virtues of the layperson with the ascetic ideals of a meditative monk. ”Thus,” according to Dayal, “they [the Mahayana] bridged the gap that yawned between popular and monastic Buddhism. They taught that a Bodhisattva should not cease to practice charity and forbearance in social life when he ascended to the higher stages of Concentration and Wisdom.”[82]

The paramitas are in a particular order, to imply that one builds upon another in a progressive scheme of action.[83] The practice of each paramita is impossible without the cultivation of the proceeding one and has three degrees: ordinary, extraordinary, or superlatively extraordinary. The ordinary is practiced by the common worldly person for the sake of happiness in this life or the next. It is extraordinary when it is cultivated by the Theravada for the sake of personal nirvana, but the highest degree is when it is perfected by the Mahayanist Bodhisattvas for the welfare of others. All the Perfections require attentive, thought resolute purpose, self-mastery and wisdom in the choice of means.
The Perfection of Charity (dana)

Here a Bodhisattva gives a gift and he does not apprehend a self, nor a recipient, nor a gift; also no reward of his giving. He surrenders that gift to all beings, but apprehends neither beings nor self. He dedicates that gift to supreme Enlightenment, but he does not apprehend Enlightenment. This is called the supramundane perfection of giving[84].



The first paramita is dana, "giving" or “charity” and centers on the concern for others by being altruistic in thought, speech and acts. This stage of the path concentrates on developing the perfection of generosity to a high degree, achieved by giving away wealth, teachings, life, limbs and even a spouse and family for the benefit of others. The practice of renunciation is almost synonymous with dana, though the former is not formally considered one of the six paramitas. In order to achieve dana, it is necessary to rid oneself of materialistic tendencies and selfishness by exhibiting kindness to others and to be openhanded to those who lack.[85]

Dana paramita emphasizes how, what, when and why one should give. Buddhist literature focuses on the motives, both high and low, that may inspire a donor. The lowest would be for selfish reasons such as the deliberate seeking for power, longevity, pride or merit. The highest would be for the genuine care and concern for others without desire for rewards of any sort. Cultivating generosity is dependent upon the attitude behind generosity and the latter is of utmost importance; giving with anger or the desire for payment is not a good motivation.[86] Dana can be motivated and inspired only by love, pity, mercy and compassion. There is something more precious than a Bodhisattva’s wealth, limbs and family and that is Merit (punya), often defined as parinama (bending round or towards, transfer or dedication). The idea of punya is one of the central concepts of Buddhism. The merit gained from such acts is said to further one’s quest for Buddhahood.

It is thought that a Bodhisattva should help all supplicants, but the latter are sometimes divided into three levels of priority. First, the Bodhisattva should help friends and relatives, secondly, the sick, the needy, the poor and the helpless, and thirdly, Buddhist monks.[87] A Bodhisattva should use discretion in the choice of gifts and should not give anything which may be used to inflict injury on other living things and should refrain from supplying others with the means of gratifying their sensual appetites and passions such as: alcohol, nets to capture animals, weapons and instruments of torture or for suicide.[88] The practice of Dana is harmonious with sila. Together they are recognized as the laymen’s special duties, which paved the way to happy re-births. It was held that dana was the first step that an ordinary person was to take and it was placed before sila as a distinct duty, though it logically included moral conduct.[89]
The Perfection of Morality (sila)

Where can fish and others be led, from whence I may not destroy them? But when thought of cessation is obtained, that is regarded as the perfection of conduct (sila paramita). [90]



The second paramita sila or morality requires the practice of the Five Precepts[6] before starting proceeding to the other paramitas. The root of the word sil means to exercise or practice. Sila encourages meritorious deeds as is the bedrock of all the framework of Buddhist teachings. Sila is said to be a golden ship by which one can cross the ocean of Samsara. Without sila, there is no concentration or meditation and therefore spiritual advancement cannot be achieved and one must have a solid groundwork of sila.

The Bodhisattva concentrates on sila until her conduct becomes spontaneously pure. In addition, the Bodhisattva urges others to avoid immorality. Sila includes all the ordinary virtues, and associated with the ideals of purification and restraint of body, speech and mind.[91] To practice the perfection of sila means to refrain from doing harm to yourself and all those around you. Killing, sexual misconduct, consuming harmful substances such as alcohol or drugs, being deceitful and using abusive language must be avoided. All harmful actions are caused by a mind that harbors them; therefore, it’s highly important to be mindful of all thoughts.

According to the accepted Buddhist doctrine, the body can be controlled and purified by practicing the abstention of killing a living being, theft and unchastity. Speech can be controlled and purified by abstaining from untruthfulness, slander, harsh or impolite speech and senseless talk. The mind can be purified by the avoidance of malevolence and wrong views.[92] When the body, speech and mind are purified by the perfection of sila, there is a sense of freedom. In general sila is an attempt to eradicate the three basic faults poisons. These are raga (passion, lust, sense desire), dvesa (hatred, or ill will) and moha (delusion or folly).[93] Even if sila is perfected in oneself, the ability see through the delusions of the poisons in others requires the perfection ksanti.
The Perfection of Patience (ksanti)

Hostility destroys all the moral conduct, charity and reverence of Buddhas, which has been achieved in thousands of aeons. No evil is equal to hatred and no austerity is equal to patience. Therefore, one ought diligently to cultivate patience by a variety of means.[94]



The third paramita is the perfection of patience or “ksanti,” the kindly perception that others' failings are no worse and perhaps less severe than one's own. Ksanti is praised as the Perfection of Forbearance and Endurance. The Bodhisattva cultivates these virtues in their full range by forgiving others for all kinds of injury, insult, abuse and censure. The Bodhisattva must forgive in both private and public, at all times and must forgive past, present and future transgressions with his body, mind and spirit. In order to achieve the perfection of ksanti, the Bodhisattva should cultivate certain modes of thoughts and to understand why he should forgive others by keeping in mind the words of the historical Buddha: “The strength of a religious teacher is his patience.” [95] Knowing that there is no permanent substantial individuality in any being, an enemy in this life may be a friend, a relative or teacher of a past life and should be regarded as such. Those perceived enemies are not free agents; their previous actions are produced by causes over which they have no control, just as disease originates in physiological conditions. Enemies are only instruments of the cosmic law of karma.[96]

Patience (ksanti) is the antidote to anger, “… [ksanti is] nothing other than absolute tolerance directed primarily against all forms of hatred.”[97] The Mahayana believe that since hatred causes the destruction of all merit, it is pragmatic that a Bodhisattva must practice patience; otherwise the negative effects will radiate out in both this life and to all worlds to come. The practice of patience develops a certain type of mental attitude, which can overcome suffering, whether its source is bodily or spiritual. Ksanti must be all encompassing and uncompromising in its nature since patience alleviates sorrow.

Tolerance is attained if one understands the pattern of causation and that all beings are part of an enormous network of causation which creates suffering. Matics states:

On one hand there is nothing to excuse, because cause and effect are illusionary in character and there is no relation or connection between them… all beings are excused because they are immersed in the terrible mesh of interrelated causality which is the illusionary world of everyday perception in which all things are relative in character to all other things.[98]

Unhealthy mana (pride) hinders forbearance. Pride is very dangerous, destructive and demoralizing. Therefore, a Bodhisattva should be humble in spirit. The Bodhisattva is urged to strive not to hate nor despise an enemy or to capitalize on his injuries. Perceived enemies are not obstacles, but a person’s own self-preoccupation is. Self-preoccupation and hatred must be eradicated, not the object of hatred. The Bodhisattva’s enemies become the greatest tool to learn about the truth of life. The main concept of the ksanti paramita is that there is nothing to condemn because there is neither existence nor nonexistence of beings. A Bodhisattva exercises ksanti of the highest and most difficult kind by the realization of insight into the real Law and Truth of the universe. This is accomplished by thoughtfully and diligently investigating the Doctrine. Such ksanti is developed only through pure knowledge and persistent practice, which takes strength or virya.
The Perfection of Strength (virya)

Thus having become patient, one should become heroic (virya), for Enlightenment is gained by standing strong. Without strength (virya), there is no merit as without the wind there is no movement. What is strength? Proper effort. What is adversary? Sloth: attachment to contemptible things, despair, self-despising.[99]



The fourth paramita calls for concentration on virya (strength); this is accomplished by a developing compassion and an increasing energy. Virya is a multifaceted and comprehensive term. The word “virya” is derived from vira, which literally means “the state of a strong man, vigor, strength, heroism and courage.”[100] Virya is also known as diligence and as the enthusiastic effort that is necessary if one wants to achieve anything, especially something as noble and challenging as joining the ranks of the Bodhisattvas. The way of the Bodhisattva is arduous and requires fearlessness, which is yet another aspect of virya and a result of the practice of patience. Virya is often praised by the Mahayanist writers; its fundamental importance is indicated in unequivocal terms. Enlightenment depends entirely on virya; where there is virya, there is bodhi and it is better to live one day with virya then a lifetime without. The Bodhisattva needs to cultivate virya to destroy all darkness of ignorance to ensure its success counteracts all fears and evil proclivities.[101]

Viyra can be cultivated by way of religious studies, healthy pride and careful and mindful undertakings. The Bodhisattva dispels hatred by the energetic cultivation of love and has to exert himself continually in his studies. The Bodhisattva devotes his energy to five principal subjects of study: Buddhist Philosophy, logic, dialectics, grammar, medicine and arts and crafts. Diligence in these studies enables the Bodhisattva to transport the dharma to the people, heal the sick and confer benefits on all.[102] The Bodhisattva utilizes all his knowledge to live an altruistic way of life. With knowledge, the Bodhisattva can live by two great principles, “Equality of self and others” and “Regard of others in place of self.”[103]

Another important ally to virya is healthy pride as it may be properly utilized for the furtherance of the Bodhisattva. Pride generally has negative connotations but in this context, pride (mana) means a lively spirit and a sense of respect and honor for oneself. Mana, in the sense of proper self-respect, is a pervasive virtue and it may be noticed as an underlying theme in many utterances of the Bodhisattva as he undertakes the great task of the emancipation of all beings. Pride is to be employed in three ways: in work, in opposition to passion, and in strength.[104]

For the Bodhisattva, the attempt to liberate of all beings comes with a warning not to undertake that which they do not seriously intend to accomplish. Once on the Path of the Bodhisattva, strength is needed to accomplish this responsibility. Careful and mindful consideration and preparation must be taken before committing oneself to the path. Failure only results in karmic demerits and increase of sorrow. Virya is a mental activity and exactly like Dana, Sila and Ksanti, is crucial to the tranquility of citta. It is a quality of Mindfulness; of being alert that the passions may not pervade the citta and the attainment of concentration.
The Perfection of Concentration (dhyana)

Having thus increased one’s energy, the mind should be established in meditation (Samadhi), since the man of agitated mind stands between fangs of passion…By means of tranquility (samatha) one achieves clarity of vision (vipasyana). Tranquil person destroys passion when he has become tranquil...[105]



The fifth perfection is dhyana (concentration) allows the ultimate goal, the emptying of oneself and an oneness with Absolute Truth. The root dhyai means to think of, imagine, contemplate, call to mind and recollect. The perfection of concentration is the mind's ability to stay focused. To develop concentration, one has to discipline and stabilize the mind and refine the intellect. It is also necessary to pay constant attention to the first four perfections. In contrast to the four previous paramitas, the perfection of concentration shifts attention from the world without to the world within. This is often one of the hardest of the paramitas to complete since it is elusive in nature and the hardest to ‘find’. Matics states that “… [dhyana is] to pass through the door of the mind to other regions of experience than those provided by the common faculties of thought and sense perception.”[106]

It is thought that it takes extreme asceticism to be able to concentrate one’s faculties in order to fully realize the Dharma. Dayal points out that many critics associate dhyana with the realm of asceticism. In contrast, Mahayana literature often supports that dhyana paramita is not limited to monks, for example, The Vimalakirti Sutra reveals that both laymen and Bodhisattvas can experience dhyana without complete renunciation.

A Bodhisattva who begins to practice dhyana must go through a preliminary stage of preparation involving renunciation and solitude. Some writers of Sanskrit literature state that life in the home has “hindrances while the monk’s life is like open air.”[107] The method to make the mind stable and attentive is meditation (Sanskrit: bhavana). A concentrated mind that is familiar to contemplation makes it possible to attain states of meditative absorption (Sanskrit: samadhi). The Pali canon and the historical Buddha stressed the importance of absorption, because when the mind is unwavering, the production and destruction of the appearances of dharmas in the physical world can be known. For this reason, Buddhist practice constantly and vigorously cultivates concentration. Buddhist teachings describe a wide range of meditative practices. There are two essential kinds, Samatha-bhavana and Vipassana.

Samatha-bhavana is calm abiding meditation. It is referred to as the perfect absorption of mind within mind and is often thought of as a means to cultivate a mind that is not disturbed by mental wandering. Developing a calm mind sharpens concentration. Being able to focus single-pointedly on one object with a non-wavering mind is a great advantage to the Bodhisattva. It is thought that by enabling a calm-abiding mind aids in the development of clairvoyance and the ability to heal others. Disciplined attention enables the practitioner to have an unfaltering focus on the perfections, and to form a clearer understanding of all the paramitas as well as of Buddha’s teachings.

Vipassana is insight meditation, also known as analytical meditation, with which it is possible to gain insight into the true nature of reality. Vipassana is a way of self-transformation through self-observation by focusing on the interconnection between mind and body. The goal is to dissolve mental impurity, resulting in a balanced mind full of love and compassion.

Classically, there are nine distinct states of dhyana. The first four of these states are known as the four dhyanas and the last five are known as samapattis (attainments).[7] The historical Buddha attained the four dhyanas on the night of his Enlightenment and is said to have passed into Nirvana from the fourth dhyana. The first dhyana is freedom from sensual pleasures and demeritorious states of mind. The second is the cessation of reflection and investigation by concentrating the mind on one point. The third dhyana renounces the attachment of joy and becomes devoid of joy. The fourth dhyana is the abandonment of pain and pleasure through mindfulness. The five samapattis has five stages are supposed to bring a Bodhisattva into direct contact with different worlds and spheres. [108]

The aim of every Buddhist meditative technique is to liberate the psychic faculties from disturbance. Tranquility and an awareness of ultimate truth are the results of this liberation.[109] It is by way of dhyana that a Bodhisattva can end attachment and fully realize interdependent arising. The Bodhisattva then can be among the madness of the world and be untouched by the madness. The ultimate goal of dhyana is the unity of a mind that rests in equanimity and understands reality with perfect clarity. The unification of a stabilized, calm, abiding mind with a mind that achieves penetrating insight is necessary to overcome disturbing emotions. By the power of dhyana, the Bodhisattva can attain prajna paramita, the perfection of wisdom, through the understanding of emptiness.
The Perfection of Wisdom (prajna)

The Buddha taught that this multitude [of virtues} is all for the sake of wisdom (prajna); hence, by means of one’s desire for the extinction of sorrow, let wisdom arise. It is understood that truth is of two kinds; the veiled truth (samvrti) and the truth, which is concerned with that which is beyond the veiled (paramartha). True reality is beyond the range of understanding (buddhi); so, understanding is called veiled.[110]


Prajna paramita is the knowledge of truth. It is said that tradition may speak of six or ten perfections but in a sense, there is only one: prajna paramita, the perfection of wisdom, the direct realization of reality. The understanding of emptiness can be briefly summarized as insight into the true nature of interdependently arising phenomenon. When the conscious mind is completely free of its usual dualistic thinking in terms of self and objects, it undergoes a transformation which renders it pure, blissful, compassionate, deeply satisfying and revelatory. To Bodhisattva in this state, all of reality appears as one vast and pure 'thusness' or 'suchness', which is also often described in the prajna paramita literature as 'like space' or 'like a dream.’[111]


It is held that prajna admits of three phases, each phase is important because the latter depends on the former. The first phase is wisdom through hearing and studying the teachings' words and meaning. Next is the wisdom through critical and analytical investigation of reality. Thirdly is wisdom through insight gained in meditation (dhyana).

The first phase in developing wisdom is to listen to and study the Shakyamuni Buddha's doctrine. The second phase is the critical examination of reality. A fundamental investigation that the Mahayana teachings advise is to start searching for what one calls "self" or "ego.” Close examination will reveal that the ego is impossible to locate within oneself. In fact, no phenomenon one investigates exists, as it appears to do. It seems to have an inherent existence, but through analyzing it, one will see that it does not. The teachings explain that this means that the nature of all phenomena is empty. By analyzing reality repeatedly in this way, one can develop a firm intellectual understanding of emptiness. This conceptual understanding is a necessary step to developing transcendental wisdom, but the direct realization of emptiness is only possible through meditation. Transcendental wisdom, the final goal, is the effect of practicing the perfections.

Conclusion

…to understand the Mind of Enlightenment, … is to understand all the myriad worlds of illusion through which we are said to be swept by Karma, … to understand exactly how to escape from those terrible worlds,…it is to find out…what lies beyond them…and to be what lies beyond them. It is not only to understand all things, but it is to be all things. It is to become oneself the Mind of the Bodhisattva and then to realize there is no Mind…there is no Bodhisattva.[112]

It was the purpose of this study to investigate a number of themes which are at the heart of the Bodhisattva ideal. An exploration of the Bodhisattva path has revealed first and foremost that the Mahayana regards the Bodhisattva as an actual religious goal for the lay and monastic Buddhists as well as the name for a class of celestial beings who are worshipped along with Buddha. The key difference between the Bodhisattva Ideal and the earlier arhat ideal is that the Bodhisattva Ideal centers on a compassionate vow to postpone Nirvana until all sentient beings are similarly enlightened. The keystones to their teachings were on essential purity of consciousness which generated ideas of potential Buddhahood in all living beings. To further distinguish itself from the Theravada, The Mahayana developed a number of doctrines namely the Trikaya and the Perfection of Wisdom literature. The Trikaya pertains to the eternal and absolute nature of Buddha, which embraces the belief that the historical Buddha is only a manifestation. The Perfection of Wisdom literature was pervaded by the concept that all things are empty. The Bodhisattva Path begins with the initiatory spark of Bodhicitta and in conjunction with the Bodhisattva vow and a life long cultivation of the six paramitas journeys toward Buddhahood.

The Bodhisattva Ideal is dedicated to raising all sentient creatures to higher ground. The Mahayana Buddhist tradition believes that humans are conditioned by ignorance and the illusion of a finite self. Its solution to the problem is to overcome the fundamental blindness of the ego. The Mahayana teaching of the Bodhisattva is meant to restore our vision, to elevate and transform the contours of the human condition. The Bodhisattva Path is a journey towards Enlightenment, ceaseless process of advancement towards wisdom and compassion. The goal of this journey is eternally achieved and eternally in the process of being achieved.