Heroic Beings
I want to share about a Buddhist text I studied in RYI that has been extremely helpful for me to embark on the Buddhist studies. This text is The Way of The Bodhisattva. Since it is in verse, it was easier to study with a commentary. First of all, a Bodhisattva is a being who possesses bodhichitta, which is the mind that wishes to obtain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. This definition shows the main characteristic that a Buddhist (in the Mahayana tradition) must possess. In the broad view, Buddhas teach the dharma, the path towards cessation of suffering. Meanwhile, they also help and protect sentient beings from immediate sufferings such as deprivations for survival and fear from the adversaries, through their generosity. The intention behind this, which is bodhichitta, is solely to relieve the beings from suffering in this life and future lives. That is the reason why bodhisattvas are called sometimes heroic beings. Heroic is their practice and supre...