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Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c8.s3: I. Pramuditā

Aspects of Mahāyāna Buddhism and its Relation to Hīnayāna c8.s3

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I. Pramuditā

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An adept as soon as he brings his mind up to the pitch described above¹ goes beyond the pṛthagjanabhūmi (plane of an ordinary being) and becomes definitely a bodhisattva. He can now be regarded as a member of the Tathāgata family,² becomes irreproachable (anavadya) by any taint relating to birth (sarvajātivādena), ceases from worldly existences, proceeds on in the transcendental existences, becomes established in the bodhisattvadharmatā and well established in the rank of a bodhisattva, comprehends sameness, and is destined to be included in the family of Tathāgatas of all times (past, present and future) and ultimately attains Sambodhi. Such bodhisattvas while in this bhūmi have prāmodya (joy), prasāda (faith), prīti (pleasure), utplāvanā (elation), udagri (exaltation), usī (fragrance), utsāha (energy), and become asamrambha (devoid of pride), avihimsā (devoid of malice) and akrodha (devoid of anger). The Jinaputras become joyous on remembering the Buddhas, their dharmas, the Bodhisattva practices, the pāramitā purifications, etc.³ They are pleased also because they know that they are out of worldly matters, nearing the Buddhabhūmi, the Jñānabhūmi, and cut off from births in hell or any lower form of existence. They are the refuge of all beings, and are always within the close view of the Tathāgatas. They are devoid of all sorts of fear⁴ because they have no love for self or for things. They do not expect any service from others; on the other hand, they are prepared to render service to all beings. As they have no conception of self, they cannot have any fear of death, as they know that when they are dead, they will always be with Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

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¹ Kośa, VI. 31a-b: He is now either a kāyasākṣī or dṛṣṭiprāpta or śraddhāvimukta, see ante, pp. 250, 251.

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² See infra.

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³ Cf. B. Bh., p. 7; ‘Abhisamayālaṅkārāloka’ in the Kośa, VI. 26, p. 181 fn.

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⁴ Cf. Ibid., p. 7.

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Then the Bodhisattvas having sublime aspiration and mahākaruṇā as their forethought engage themselves in the attainment of further merits. On account of their having in a greater degree śraddhā, prasāda, adhimukti, avakalpanā, kṛpākaruṇā, mahāmaitrī and having a firm mind endowed with hrī, apatrāpya, kṣānti, sauratya, and admiration for the doctrines, and being helped by spiritual guides (kalyāṇamitras) they become well-established in the first bhūmi. They now take the following mahāpraṇidhānas (resolutions) ¹—

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¹ See Śikṣā., pp. 291-5 = Daśa., p. 14 = B. Bh., p. 8; Sūtrā. (Fr. Transl.), p. 36n; Suzuki, Outlines etc., pp. 308-310; E.R.E., sv. Bodhisattva (based on the Bodhisattvabhūmi) and is not the same as Daśa.; Dharmasaṅgraha, cxii : Praṇidhānam trividham.

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(i) to perform the worship of Buddhas in every possible manner and as completely as possible ;

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(ii) to preserve and protect the doctrines of Tathāgatas ;

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(iii) to watch the Buddhotpādas of all the worlds and to accompany the Bodhisattvas in their last existence from their descent from the Tuṣita heaven up to their mahāparinirvāṇa ;

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(iv) to practise all the bhūmis along with the pāramitās ;

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(v) to ripen all beings and help them in attaining omniscience ;

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(vi) to purify all Buddhakṣetras by paying them visits ;

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(vii) to comprehend the endless distinctions that exist in the things of all lokadhātus ;

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(viii) to persuade all bodhisattvas to develop the one aspiration and collect merits therefor, and to realise the one and the same basis of all bodhisattvas, to attend upon all Buddhas, to see Buddhotpādas whenever wished for, to pass through the various forms of existence with his own body, to be accomplished in the doctrines of Mahāyāna and to propagate Mahāyāna ;

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(ix) to perform the duties of a bodhisattva, to do righteous acts by body, speech, and mind, to realise the Buddhadharma all at once, to remove afflictions by faith, to obtain a body like that of the Mahābhaiṣajyarāja or be like the wish-fulfilling gem and to obtain speech which will never be fruitless ; and

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(x) to attain Sambodhi in all lokadhātus, to take without moving a hairbreadth from the right path his birth as an ordinary human being, to retire from the world, perform miracles, attain bodhi under the bodhi-tree, preach the dharmacakra and attain ultimately the mahāparinirvāṇa.¹

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¹ Cf. Mtu., I, pp. 47 ff.

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While in the Pramuditā bhūmi, the Bodhisattvas take innumerable praṇidhānas, of which the ten mentioned are the chief. They now pity the countless beings, who are led by wrong views and blinded by ignorance, desire and so forth, repeatedly born in the three worlds and, according to the chain of causation, increase their stores of misery. They try to establish themselves in Nirvāṇa, the extreme happiness (atyantasukha).²

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² Daśa., p. 18; B. Bh., p. 9.

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While in the first bhūmi they develop compassion and love and apply themselves to mahātyāga (i.e. giving up everything) of ordinary wealth, sons, wives, etc. They seek again and again the worldly and transcendental things and thus become versed in all śāstras and are consequently able to judge what is good and what is evil for beings. They become lokajña³. By constant worship and observance of śāsana (doctrines), they possess the ten qualities needed for the purification of the ten bhūmis,⁴ viz., faith (śraddhā), compassion (karuṇā), love (maitrī), sacrifice (tyāga), patience to withstand distress (khedasahiṣṇutā), knowledge of scriptures (śāstrajñatā), knowledge of the world (lokajñatā), modesty, bashfulness, steadiness and the ability of performing the worship of the Tathāgatas.⁵ They now see many Buddhas and worship them with all the necessary requisites, show respect to their Saṅghas and transfer the merit thus acquired to the attainment of Sambodhi.⁶

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³ Cf. B. Bh., p. 9.

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⁴ Mtu., I, p. 78 has tyāga, karuṇā, aparikheda, amāna, sarvaśāstrā dhyāyitā, vikrama, lokānujñā, and dhṛti. Sata. (p. 1454) has adhyāśaya, sarvasattvasamacittatā, tyāga, kalyāṇamitrasevanā, dharmaparyeṣṭi, abhīkṣṇanais-kramya, buddhakāyaspṛhā, dharmavivaraṇa, mānastambhananirghātana, satyavacana. For an explanation of these terms, see Sata., pp. 1458-1460. It will be observed that all the attainments mentioned in the Mtu. and Sata. appear in the account of the Daśa. Cf. B. Bh., p. 9: daśa vihārapariśodhakā dharmā.

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⁵ Daśa., p. 19; B. Bh., p. 9. Mtu., I, p. 78 mentions these eight qualities in connection with the first bhūmi.

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⁶ Cf. B. Bh., pp. 9-10.

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They gain the power to ripen beings through gifts (dāna) and affable words (priyavadya) and adhimukti (strong desire). Over and above these, they gain the other two saṃgrahavastus¹ (elements of popularity) but not yet the insight into the unlimited knowledge. Of the ten pāramitās,² their dānapāramitā is of an extraordinary nature. A bodhisattva who has attained the first bhūmi is entitled to become a king of Jambudvīpa and be a righteous ruler with mind always turned towards Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha, and the bodhisattva practices and omniscience. Wishing to become a leader of men, he renounces the world, takes ordination³ and in a moment enters into a hundred samādhis, sees a hundred Buddhas, traverses over a hundred lokadhātus and performs other extraordinary things.

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¹ Mvyut. 35: dānam priyavāditā arthacaryā samānārthatā; see also Lal. Vis., p. 38; Daśa., p. 22; B. Bh., p. 10.

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² Mvyut. 34 gives a list of ten. This is common in Pāli works.

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³ Cf. Śata., p. 1459: Tathāgata-śāsane pravrajati. See infra, p. 270.

Correspondence of Bhūmis with Maggas and Phalas

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The Hinayāna system does not offer any parallel to the first bhūmi of the Mahāyānists, for it has no concern with Bodhicitta, Praṇidhānas, Maitrī, Karuṇā, and the ten qualities needed by a bodhisattva for fortifying himself to march along the ten bhūmis. It is from the second bhūmi that the Hinayāna system offers a parallel to the Mahāyānic stages of progress. The Bodhisattvabhūmi⁴ and the Madhyamakāvatāra⁵ notice this fact in their treatment of the bhūmis.

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⁴ See Rahder's edition in the App. to Daśa., p. 1.

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⁵ M. Ava., ch. I (Le Muséon, VIII).

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In the Hinayāna system a very common way of speaking about the various stages of progress is that an adept by complying with the rules of Adhisīla⁶ (entire moral precepts) becomes a Sotāpanna and Sakadāgāmi, by complying with the rules of Adhicitta, an Anāgāmi, and by those of Adhipaññā, an Arhat. So we can name the Hinayāna stages also as (1) Puthujjana but Gotrabhū, (2) Adhisila, (3) Adhicitta, and (4) Adhipaññā.¹ If we now compare with these the Mahāyānic bhūmis as named in the *Bodhisattvabhūmi*, the relation of the Hinayānic to Mahāyānic bhūmis becomes apparent. They are as follows: (1) Gotra-Vihāra, (2) Adhimukticaryā-Vihāra, (3) Pramuditā-Vihāra, (4) Adhiśīla-Vihāra,² (5) Adhicitta-Vihāra, (6), (7) and (8) Adhiprajñā-Vihāra, (9) Sābhisaṃskāra-sābhoga-nirnimitta-Vihāra, (10) Anābhoga-nirnimitta-Vihāra, (11) Pratisamvid-Vihāra, and (12) Parama-Vihāra. Of these twelve Vihāras, we have already dealt with the first two, the preparatory Bhūmis,³ which are, as a rule, not included in the usual list of bhūmis, and correspond to the Hinayānic Puthujjana or pre-Sotāpanna stage. Hence, if they be left out, we have the usual ten bhūmis. Evidently the five bhūmis (4-8 of the *Bodhisattvabhūmi*, and 2-6 of the *Daśabhūmikasūtra*) correspond to the four Hinayānic stages. The higher knowledge and attainments, which the Bodhisattvas claim and which, according to the Mahāyānists, are beyond the capacity of the Hinayānists, are to be attained in the last four bhūmis.

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⁶ The Aṭṭhaṅgika Magga is arranged thus : Sīla = Sammāvācā, °kammanta, and °ājīva. Citta or Samādhi = Sammāsaṅkappa, °vāyāma, °sati, °samādhi. Paññā = Sammādiṭṭhi. See, e.g., Vis. M., pp. 4, 510; Dīgha, III, p. 219

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¹ Three samaṇakaraṇīyas in the *Aṅguttara*, I, p. 229.

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² *B. Bh.*, p. 12 tells us that the Adhiśīla-V. is the same as Vimalā-bhūmi of the *Daśa*.

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³ See *ante*, pp. 243 ff.

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