Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c8.s2.t1: Pre-Bodhisattva or Pre-Sotāpanna Stage, (i.e. Pṛthagjanahood to Āryahood)
Aspects of Mahāyāna Buddhism and its Relation to Hīnayāna c8.s2.t1
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Pre-Bodhisattva or Pre-Sotāpanna Stage, (i.e. Pṛthagjanahood to Āryahood)
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The most difficult task of an adept both in Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna is the fulfilment of the conditions laid down for passing from the state of a pṛthagjana (ordinary man of the world) to that of an Ārya (a man capable of attaining the highest knowledge). The Mahāyānists demand that one must develop Bodhicitta before he can be entitled to commence the practices of bhūmis,¹ while the Hīnayānists hold that one must understand the Four Truths and have faith in the teachings of Buddha, or in other words, he must complete the fifteen kṣaṇas of the Darśanamārga to be able to drift himself along the stream (sota) of sanctification—the eightfold path.¹
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¹ *Bodhic.*, pp. 86 f.
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¹ Saṃyutta, V, 347: soto soto ti ha Sāriputta vuccati; katamo nu kho Sāriputta soto ti? Ayam eva hi bhante ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo soto seyyathīdam sammādiṭṭhi pe. sammāsamādhī ti.
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About the pre-Bodhisattva stage we come across very often in the Prajñāpāramitās and other Mahāyāna works a general remark that a being who has performed meritorious acts (avaropitakuśalamūla), served many previous Buddhas (pūrvajinakṛtādhikāra), and has had many kalyāṇamitras (spiritual guides) is destined to attain Bodhi.² In a slightly different manner the Sūtrālaṅkāra³ says that a being who has developed Adhimukti⁴ (aspiration) through innumerable æons, filled himself with merits as the sea is by water, gone through the preliminary purification by the observance of the Bodhisattva discipline, becomes wise by learning śāstras, and makes his mind soft and pliable,⁵ is entitled to exert himself in bhāvanā (i.e. repeated darśana) and benefit by the teachings of Buddha.
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² Pañca. (A.S.B. ms.), leaves 204b, 223b, 232a. Cf. Mtu., I, p. 57.
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³ Sūtrā., xiv. 1-3, p. 90. The Sūtrā. is mainly a treatise on the Bodhisattvacaryā. Its treatment is general and comprehensive. As we are here concerned mainly with the Bhūmis, we shall pass over the minor details.
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⁴ For a note on Adhimukti, see Lévi, Translation of the Sūtrā., p. 13 fn.
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⁵ For kalpacitta read kalyacitta, see Lévi, Transl. of the Sūtrā., p. 16 n.
Linked texts (4)
- Paṭhamasāriputtasutta — Pāli
- Mahāvastu — Sanskrit
- Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā — Sanskrit
- Bodhicaryāvatāra — Śāntideva, Sanskrit