Developing Compassion in Mahayana Buddhism

A Bodhisattva is a person who is dedicated to attaining enlightenment. A Buddha is a being who has attained enlightenment. In the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism, Bodhisattvas take vows to work for the complete enlightenment of all sentient beings. A Bodhisattva strives to become fully enlightened as a Buddha. Developing compassion to help other beings and taking vows, instead of entering Nirvana, is the work of a Bodhisattva.

Compassionate determination to aid all beings on their quest for the highest state of development, Buddhahood, is what Bodhisattvas possess. This type of motivation is known as bodhicitta. Bodhi means "enlightened" and citta means "mind" in Sanskrit. There are ten ways a Bohisattva uses to develop compassion.

Bodhisattvas practice ten virtues. These ten virtues are cultivated as a way of purifying the self, building good merit, and helping the aspirant to live an unobstructed life. The ten paramita's are:

1. virtue
2. patience
3. energy
4. renunciation
5. transcendental wisdom
6. compassion
7. determination
8. power
9. generosity
10. truthfulness

Bodisattvas should have moral discipline. Buddha says, "Even if everyone else is not doing good, I alone will. Even if everyone else is doing wrong, I alone will not." Practicing the five precepts is a good start to developing moral discipline, which results in compassion. The first precept is not to steal. This shows compassion to others property. Second precept is not to lie, and displays compassion in words. The third precept is to not harm any being, which is considered the ultimate form of compassion. Fourth precept is to refrain from sexual misconduct, and shows compassion to your loved one. The fifth precept is not taking in intoxicants, and displays compassion toward oneself.

Patience is a virtue of a Bodhisattva. This virtue helps all sentient beings, and the light of Dharma is said to radiate from the Bodhisattva. Practice exercising patience toward behavior or situations that might not necessarily deserve it. This is seen as a conscious choice to actively give patience as a gift, rather than being in a state of oppression in which one feels obligated to act in such a way.Giving the gift of patience will let compassion flow from your heart into other's hearts.

Energy of a Bodhisattva stands for strenuous and sustained effort to overcome. In the absence of sustained efforts in practicing meditation craving creeps in, and the meditator comes under its influence. Becoming lazy or lacking in moral discipline will hinder the development of compassion. A popular saying is, "You can't help those you don't help themselves."

Bodhisattvas who strive to help sentient beings attain maturity, and do not become emotionally involved. When beings respond negatively meditative concentration aids in being compassionate. Being mindful allows the Bodhisattva to act with right intentions. Otherwise, we are just acting out bad habits.

Wisdom is the ability of the Bodhisattva to understand the Dharma, or truth. Buddha described wisdom as, "And what is the training in heightened discernment? There is the case where a monk discerns that it actually is, 'This is stress... This is the origination of stress... This is the cessation of stress... This is the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress. This is called the training in heightened discernment." Meaning that once you know the problem, find it's cause, and practice the cure. The problem could be lack of compassion. It's cause may be misunderstanding. The solution to misunderstanding is patience, truthfulness, and other Buddhists practices, which ultimately leads to compassion.

The idea is that a bodhisattva may use any expedient methods in order to help ease the suffering of people or introduce them to the Dharma is the concept of skill in means. A famous story from the Lotus Sutra explains that a man came home and found his house on fire. His children were inside entertaining themselves with their favorite playthings. He called out to his children to leave the house, but they did not believe it to be on fire, and they did not stop playing with the toys. Thinking about how he may use expedient means, the man told his children that he arranged for a them to receive gilded carts and toy oxen to play with, and that these entertainments await just outside the gate of the house. Hearing this, the children then ran from the burning house and were saved. Compassion is used to teach everyone and not a chosen few. A simple farmer to a phycisist for NASA needs different methods to understand the Dharma. Buddha taught 32,000 ways to practice, because he knew that everyone has different skill levels.

Bodhisattvas are immovable. They aspire to better themselves, reach a higher rebirth, and become a Buddha. This is the determination to cultivate compassion to it's fullest extent.

Strong determination leads to power. Once compassion is at it's fullest saving the world seems like a walk in the park. Amitabha Buddha made 48 vow when he was a Bodhisattva. In these vows Amitabha vowed to save all beings once he became a Buddha. Since he has become a Buddha, it's believed in the Pure Land tradition that we are already saved. Amitabha is called "Limitless Life and Limitless Light" because he is so powerful. Determination to practice the power of compassion enables many rewards.

The quality of giving is one of the virtues perfected over numerous lifetimes by a Buddha in his Bodhisattva life. After giving up everything one then sacrifices his own body when he has nothing else to offer an unexpected guest. A story of two lay Buddhist that only had one rob is recited to inspire generosity. As the husband went to work his wife stayed home unclothed. When the wife went to the store the husband also had to sit unclothed. Both husband and wife hearing that monks were coming for donations passed their only robe outside of the window. The king hearing of this great generosity blessed them with many gifts.

Truthfulness is the practice of stating what's right, but it also means to take refuge in the Dharma. Dharma is the truth that has existed from the beginning of time. Taking refuge in the Buddha's words is also apart of truthfulness. Taking refuge in others who practice Dharma, the Sangha, is also necessary. Taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha is way to compassion.

Before a bodhisattva arrives at the first ground, he or she first must travel the first two of the five paths, which are said to correspond to words from the mantra that appears at the end of the Heart Sutra. The mantra is: gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate bodhi satva. The mantra can be broken down:

1. the path of accumulation (gate)
2. the path of preparation (gate)
The ten grounds of the bodhisattva then can be grouped into the next three paths
3. the path of insight (paragate)
4. the path of meditation (parasamgate)
5. the path of no more learning (bodhi)

Once these ten grounds are completed one is said to become a Buddha. A modern bodhisattva for many is the H.H. Dalai Lama. He is considered by many followers of Tibetan Buddhism to be an incarnation of Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. The H.H. Dalai Lama once said the meaning of life is happiness. A Zen saying, "If a green tree is kept in the heart a singing bird is sure to come!"