Gate 197: נע — THE BODHISATTVA

נע

Pillar 7: THE RETURN

[197:1] "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:

[197:2] and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find

it."

[197:3] --- Matthew 16:25

[197:4] "All sentient beings without number, I vow to

liberate."

[197:5] --- First Bodhisattva Vow

[197:6] "A bodhisattva is a person who has a vision of

liberation*

[197:7] and will not rest until all beings share that vision."

[197:8] --- Tibetan teaching

[197:9] [197:1] The bodhisattva is the awakened one who

remains---postponing final liberation until all beings are free.

[197:10] [197:2] In Buddhist tradition, a bodhisattva

("enlightenment being") is one who has reached or is near the goal but

refuses to enter final nirvana while others suffer. The vow is radical:

all sentient beings without number, I vow to liberate. Not some, not

many, but all---without exception, without limit.

[197:11] [197:3] "Whosoever will save his life shall lose it."

Jesus's paradox resonates: grasping at your own liberation, you lose

it; giving your life away, you find it. The bodhisattva embodies

this---finding liberation precisely by not grasping it, entering the

fullness of awakening through the door of service.

[197:12] [197:4] The bodhisattva vow is impossible by ordinary

standards. All beings---humans, animals, insects, beings on other

worlds, beings in other realms? Without number---infinitely many,

forever? This is not a realistic goal; it is an orientation, a

direction, a commitment that defines a way of being.

[197:13] [FIGURE 197.1: Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin) with a thousand

arms---each arm reaching to help a being, the multiplication of

compassion into infinite service.] [197:5] The bodhisattva ideal

contrasts with the arhat ideal: the arhat achieves personal liberation

and enters nirvana; the bodhisattva achieves liberation and stays in the

world. Both are valid; the bodhisattva path emphasizes that liberation

is not truly personal---if others suffer, your liberation is incomplete.

[197:14] [197:6] "A vision of liberation and will not rest

until all beings share that vision." This is the motivation: having

seen what is possible, how can you rest while others remain trapped? The

vision creates the vow; the vow expresses the vision; the practice of

the vow embodies the vision in the world.

[197:15] [197:7] The bodhisattva cultivates specific perfections

(paramitas): generosity, ethical conduct, patience, diligence,

meditation, and wisdom. These are not achievements to accumulate but

qualities to embody, muscles to develop for the work of universal

liberation.

[197:16] [197:8] Is the bodhisattva vow literal or symbolic?

Perhaps both. Literally, you can dedicate your actions to the benefit of

all beings. Symbolically, you recognize that your awakening is not

separate from the awakening of all---the Universal Mind (Gate 181)

awakens as a whole, and you are not a separate piece.

[197:17] [197:9] The bodhisattva in the world may not look

special. They may be your neighbor, your nurse, your teacher, your

garbage collector---anyone who has made the commitment to live for

others without fanfare. The vow does not require monastic robes; it

requires only the turning of the heart.

[197:18] [197:10] Can you take the bodhisattva vow? Begin where

you are, with the beings around you. Vow to contribute to their

liberation---their freedom from suffering, their awakening to their

nature. You need not free all beings tonight; you need only commit to

the direction. The vow will deepen as you walk it.

[197:19] See Also: • Gate 157: יב (Yav) --- The Gate of Service

(the bodhisattva's activity) • Gate 184: לד (Lad) --- The Gate of

Beatitude (what the bodhisattva experiences while serving) • Gate 187:

לז (Laz) --- The Gate of Liberation/Moksha (what the bodhisattva

postpones) • Gate 196: לפ (Laph) --- The Gate of the Illumined Ones (the

company the bodhisattva joins) End of Gates 195-197 Batch 43 Complete

--- Pillar VII: The Return (Continued)