འཕགས་པ་ག་ཡ་མགའ་ར་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད intro.14

intro.14

Mañjuśrī’s instruction then distinguishes four kinds of “mind generation.” The term is not defined in the sūtra itself, but in the Mahāyāna sūtras and scholastic literature it is usually synonymous with the aspiration for complete awakening—in other words, bodhicitta. The four types of giving rise to the mind of awakening are (1) the initial giving rise to the mind of awakening, (2) the giving rise to the mind of awakening that is associated with conduct, (3) the giving rise to the mind of awakening that is irreversible, and (4) the giving rise to the mind of awakening that is separated from the goal by one birth. Gayāśīrṣa Hill, using various analogies and images, presents the four kinds of giving rise to the mind of awakening primarily as four different stages of the bodhisattva’s path. Vasubandhu’s commentary adds that the four kinds of giving rise to the mind of awakening are encompassed by the ten levels of noble bodhisattvas.