Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c8.s8.3

c8.s8.3

Looking upon all things in this manner, the bodhisattva through his deep faith reaches the sixth bhūmi but does not yet attain the anutpattikadharmakṣānti (faith in the non-origination of things by nature). As mahākaruṇā predominates in his mind, he pities the beings who, on account of their ignorance, think of the things of the world as originating, decaying and possessing a soul (ātman). Not knowing the truth, they walk along the wrong path, are moved by merits and demerits, and thus have some abhisamskāras (thought-constructions). The thought-seed (citta-bījam) thus produced by the abhisamskāras becomes contaminated (sāsrava), being full of upādāna (attachment to existence) and productive of birth, old age, death and rebirth. Then by the thought-creation of karma-kṣetra (fields of action), ignorance and desire, a net of views is woven, from which come name and form (nāma-rūpa); from them arise in succession the five organs of sense, contact, feeling (vedanā), abhinandana (enjoyment) combined with tṛṣṇā (desire), attachment (upādāna), desire for existence (bhava), and five skandhas distributed into five classes of beings (gatipañcaka). These beings fade into old age, despair, etc. The bodhisattva comprehends that there is really no doer of these, which, being by nature uncreated by any power (anābhoga, śāntilakṣaṇa), disappear and there is no destroyer of them. The bodhisattva further realises that the non-comprehension of the highest Truth is avidyā (ignorance) and avidyā is the source of saṃskāras, which produce the first citta-vijñāna with its concomitant (sahaja) the four upādāna-skandhas, from which arise name and form and gradually the mass of sufferings. The tree of suffering grows without any doer, or feeler (kārakavedakarahita). So he realises that these three worlds are all mere thought-constructions (cittamātram yad idaṃ traidhātukam).¹