“May I attain
Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.”
-
Bodhisattva Vow
One reason I
am attracted to Buddhist thought has to do with this ideal of the
Bodhisattva. A Bodhisattva is a being
who has not only undertaken the task of becoming enlightened but, once
enlightened, has vowed to remain in the realms of suffering in order to
liberate others. In fact the vow or
intention is to remain in samsara until all beings are liberated. So the bodhisattva (i.e. one who has taken
the vows) forgoes the bliss of ultimate transcendence in order to be of service
to others in their spiritual awakening.
The realization of our interconnectedness and the compassion that arises
from this is a core aspect of Buddhist doctrine.
I was
brought up as a Christian (although I doubt that Christianity as now defined
and practiced has much to do with the actual teachings of Jesus Christ.) As a child I was taught that certain of us
would be saved both because we held the correct belief system and because we
tried really hard to be good. Of course,
even if we were bad, we were forgiven by virtue of adhering to the correct
belief system. I even heard the idea
expressed that those of us who made it to heaven would look down upon those
poor bastards in hell with a justified sense of superiority.
The
Bodhisattva is ready to descend into hell in order to help those poor bastards
out. I’m sorry but this is a core
distinction in spiritual thought. It is
the difference between dualistic vision and nondual awakening. As a facebook friend and teacher, Shambhavi
Sarasvati, puts it, “Everyone, without exception, is a small fish in a small
pond. That is, until you realize there is only one fish, but then size doesn't
matter.” (And all this time I was
worried about size.)
Seriously
though, compassionate love, or agape, as Jesus taught is about recognizing our
unity within our diversity. It is
realizing that we are all here as a temporary stopover on an eternal journey
home. We will only get “there” when we
realize that we are one and already home.
