Becoming a Bodhisattva
It was the craziest, the scariest… It was the smartest step I’ve
ever taken, buying myself that ticket to Kathmandu. Let me first say, I do not
think a life in Nepal is for everyone. But when reflecting on the more than a
year I’ve spent here I’m overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude for what I’ve
experienced so far, and also a trust that there is more to come.
In my first year at the Shedra I had the great fortune of
studying Śāntideva’s, “The Way of the Bodhisattva” – the title says it
all. In his text, the first century Buddhist master expounds on the
meaning of becoming a bodhisattva and I’d like to share a few thoughts on
why the bodhisattva path is just as relevant and perhaps even more
challenging within the capitalist societies of today's world.
Entering the bodhisattva path is
a willingness to transform into a super-human. According to the tradition,
bodhisattvas are “…heroic,
indefatigable beings…who generate the supreme thought of enlightenment and who
strive in the practice of the six paramitas…”[1] Bodhisattvas not only promise to attain awakening,
but also pledge to relinquish a self-cherishing attitude and dedicate
themselves completely to the welfare of others. This quality of putting others
first and to work ceaselessly for the benefit of all beings is what
characterizes a bodhisattva as a super-human.
Buddha-Dharma
practitioners formally become aspiring bodhisattvas through a ritual in which
they receive the bodhisattva vows and commit themselves to putting the vows and
trainings into practice. The most fundamental of these precepts is “not to
forsake any sentient being.” As I understand it, this means to generate
appreciation for all sentient beings and embrace the world with a humble
attitude of appreciation and carefulness. Zen master, Dogen, explains:
It is not only that
there is water in the world, but there is a world in water. It is not merely in
water. There is a world of sentient beings in clouds…There is a world of
sentient beings in the world of phenomena. There is a world of sentient beings
in a blade of grass. There is a world of sentient beings in one staff.[2]
Dogen invites us to contemplate upon the preciousness and
vastness of sentient beings. The bodhisattva vow allows us to recognize and
appreciate the presence and existence of others – sentient beings – so that we
can genuinely give rise to an attitude of taking care of them and become
responsible for their welfare.
A sincere attitude of
appreciation and carefulness – two essential aspects of the bodhisattva vow –
seems foreign to capitalistic values and ideals. The capitalist worldview
stresses a utilitarian relationship where there is no real care for others nor
for the environment. Eduardo Galeano, in an article titled “Use it and Throw it
Away (translated title),” depicts the capitalist spirit by saying: “In the
realm of the ephemeral, everything immediately converts into waste so that
demands, debts and gain are multiplied...”[3] On the other hand, the two aspects of the bodhisattva vow,
appreciation and carefulness, counters capitalistic values by seeing the needs
of others as more valuable than the needs of the self. Therefore, we can argue
that appreciation for others and taking care of others show an ideal that
directly challenges the capitalistic values.
That bodhisattvas are not in
accordance with capitalistic values shows that, in most countries today, to
take and specially to maintain bodhisattva vows is akin to being a super-human
– an extraordinary being that goes against the mainstream capitalistic values
of materialism and egocentricism.
Pledging to become a bodhisattva
does not only entail immense courage, but it also denotes great significance,
particularly when wanting to contribute to the world in which we live in, by
taking on a true responsibility.
By taking and keeping the vows
of a bodhisattva, we allow that part of ourselves that wants to be heroic, to
reveal itself. We dare to go beyond attachments and habitual patterns, the root
of suffering. Śāntideva emphasizes that aspiring bodhisattvas give up bodily
attachment before we waste our lives striving for sensory-pleasure, fame,
praise, gain, and so forth[4] – signs of success in a capitalist system.
It becomes evident that there is
a significant tension between that which is valued and stressed in capitalism
(a strong sense of “I” and “mine”) and the bodhisattva’s approach, where one heroically
trains to give everything away (including ones own body) for the benefit of
others.
It’s known that salmon swim
upstream, against the current. Similarly, bodhisattvas living within today’s
capitalist context must move against the mainstream. But an extraordinary thing
about the bodhisattva spirit is that they somehow remain fully engaged in the
world around them, nourishing sentient beings wherever they happen to swim.
While living within our current society, it is easy to forget, and so we must make
a point to remind ourselves, that we cannot fully embrace the bodhisattva path
unless we increase our appreciation and care for all sentient beings. It’s the
only way to inspire more bodhisattvas.
[1]
Khenpo Kunzang Pelden. The Nectar of Manjushri’s
Speech: A Detailed Commentary on Shantideva’s Way of the Bodhisattva.
Padmakara Translation Group, (Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2007) 32
[2] Dogen. Treasury
of the True Dharma Eye. (Boston:
Shambhala, 2012) 606-607.
[3] The original
quote by Eduardo Galeano in Spanish, which I translated into English is the
following: “En el reino de lo efímero, todo se convierte
inmediatamente en chatarra para que bien se multipliquen la demanda, las deudas
y las ganancias…” Eduardo Galeano, “Úselo y tírelo,” El País (April 9th 1994) / http://elpais.com/diario/1994/04/09/opinion/765842411_850215.html
[4] In the Buddhist
doctrine these are considered to be within the “eight worldly concerns.”
Basically, they refer to the objects in which we, deluded human beings, put our
trust when we are aiming for the experience of happiness. Capitalism can only
survive through the emphasis (and “selling”) of these concerns. Buddhism, on
the contrary, stresses the need to detach oneself from these mundane affairs,
that ultimately bring nothing but suffering.
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