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Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c8.s7: V. Sudurjayā or Satyapratisamyuktā-dhiprajñāvihāra

Aspects of Mahāyāna Buddhism and its Relation to Hīnayāna c8.s7

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V. Sudurjayā or Satyapratisamyuktā-dhiprajñāvihāra

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A Bodhisattva passes from the fourth to the fifth bhūmi by developing the cittāśayaviśuddhisamatā¹ (uniformity and purity of intention) relating to the following ten matters: doctrines of the past, present and future Buddhas, moral precepts, mental discipline, removal of wrong views and doubts, knowledge of the right and wrong path, practice of the Bodhipakṣika dharmas, and the duty of elevating beings morally.

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¹ The fourth bhūmi in the Mtu. is not very clearly described. It mentions some evils which retard the progress of a Bodhisattva and speaks about the avaivartika qualities attained or to be attained. See Sata., pp. 1455, 1462-3, which gives a slightly different list.

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In this bhūmi, on account of the repeated practice of the various Bodhipakṣika dharmas, the possession of a still more purified intention,² the comprehension of tathātva (thatness) of all dharmas, and the further increase of his aspiration, compassion, love, etc., he understands the four Āryasatyas.³ He becomes proficient in understanding the

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² Cf. B. Bh., p. 16. The Mtu. (p. 110) says that the citta of a bodhisattva when passing from the fourth to the fifth bhūmi realises "ādīptam sarvabhavam rāgadveṣamohebhyah". But this is mentioned in the Daśa. in connection with the 3rd. bhūmi (see ante, p. 267). The account of the Sata. is also different and speaks only of some disciplinary rules. It says that in this bhūmi a bodhisattva avoids gṛhisamstava, bhikṣuṇī-saṃstava, kulamātsarya, saṃgaṇikāsthāna, ātmotkarṣaṇa, vyāpāda, parapamśana, daśākuśalakarmapathā, māna, stambha, viparyāsa, rāga, dveṣa and moha. (Sata., pp. 1456, 1463-5).

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³ B. Bh., p. 16.

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(a) Conventional truth (saṃvṛti) on account of catering to the wishes of other beings;

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(b) Transcendental truth (paramārtha) on account of following only one path;

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(c) Truth of signs (lakṣaṇa) by realising the generic and particular characteristics of things (svasāmānyalakṣaṇa);

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(d) Truth of analysis (vibhāga) by knowing the various divisions of dharmas;

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(e) Truth of overcoming (nistīraṇa) on account of knowing the real condition of skandhas, dhātus, āyatanas, etc;

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(f) Truth of things (vastu) by subjecting his body and mind to afflictions;
(g) Truth of origin (prabhava) on account of births;
(h) Truth of decay and non-origin (kṣayānutpāda) on account of the complete suppression of all sufferings;
(i) Truth of the knowledge of the path (mārgajñānāvatāra); and
(j) Truth of the origin of Tathāgata knowledge (tathāgatajñānasamudaya) on account of attaining knowledge in all its details and for following the bodhisattvabhūmis.

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Having known the truths he realises that all the constituted things are essenceless, false. He pities the ignorant beings who undergo repeated births and the consequent sufferings for not knowing the truth and wishes that all his merits be transferred to them for their happiness, training, and ultimate emancipation.

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In this bhūmi he becomes smṛtimān, i.e., does not get bewildered, matimān for having clear knowledge, gatimān for knowing the sense in which a sūtra is uttered, hrīmān for preserving himself as well as others, dhṛtimān for practising the disciplinary rules, and buddhimān for being proficient in ascertaining what is proper and improper and such other things.¹ His desire and energy for acquiring further merits and rendering service to beings become greater and greater. He pleases the beings by means of all the four samgrahavastus, by showing his rūpakāya, by giving discourses on the doctrines, on the Bodhisattva practices, on the greatness of Tathāgatas, on the evils of the world, on the virtue of acquiring Buddhajñāna, and by performing miracles. For establishing the Buddha dharma he also acquires the secular sciences, viz., mathematics, medicine, poetry, drama, metallurgy, astronomy, etc.²

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¹ Cf. B Bh., p. 17.

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² Ibid.

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He sees the Buddhas, and hears the dharma from them. He renounces the world, becomes a dharmabhāṇaka. Of the ten pāramitās, he likes dhyānapāramitā.

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