The History of Buddhist Thought c24.11

c24.11

The *Mahāvastu* is a long exposition of the career of the bodhisattva, but it always refers to the historical bodhisattva, Gotama, or as it usually calls him, Śākyamuni. It begins by explaining the four kinds of conduct of bodhisattvas, (1) their conduct as natural unconverted men (*prakṛticaryā*), when they follow the ordinary moral rules, pay reverence to Buddhas and their disciples, but do not produce the thought of attaining perfect enlightenment, (2) their conduct in making the vow (*praṇidhāna*) to become a Buddha, (3) their conduct in practising the ten stages leading to Buddhahood (*anulomacaryā*), (4) their reaching a stage from which there is no falling back (*avaivartacaryā*).