Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c8.s2.t3.25

c8.s2.t3.25

We have in the Hīnayānic works also an elaborate description of the qualities necessary for a person to pass from the puthujjana stage to the Ariya. Like the general stateśrutamayī and cintāmayī prajñā (knowledge derived from hearing and reflection),¹ which again sometimes gets bewildered. He follows the bodhisattva-path with great difficulty and sluggish knowledge (dhandha-abhijñā) and does not develop a very strong desire for bodhi. Now and then he forgets the right means in which beings should be trained and even the Buddhavacana. Occasionally he imparts teaching incautiously and fails to produce the desired result. At times he takes away his mind from bodhi and loses energy for the observance of Bodhisattva-saṃvaras (disciplines) or for rendering service to beings. Sometimes he also seeks his own happiness, though after reflection he seeks the happiness of others as well. Not unoften he notices his own failings but lacks sufficient energy to correct them. He likes instruction in the Bodhisattva-dharmas but sometimes he gets frightened by the magnitude of the task. He is not endowed with all the bodhipakṣika-dharmas. These are the chief indications by which it can be ascertained whether or not a person is in the Adhimukticaryābhūmi.