In Buddhism, liberation is always from a state that needs healing and to a healed state of release and greater effectiveness.1 Buddha is viewed as like a physician; practitioners are like patients taking the medicine of Buddha’s doctrine in order to be cured from a basic illness and to achieve a state of health necessary for widely effective altruistic endeavor.
According to explanations standard in Tibetan Buddhism,2 even in the Low Vehicle3 schools of tenets – Great Exposition School4 and Sūtra School – in which the mental and physical continuum of an enlightened being is said to be completely severed at the time of death, there is a period, subsequent to enlightenment, of far more effective interaction with others, as was the case with Shākyamuni Buddha. According to the Great Vehicle schools of tenets – the Mind Only School and the Middle Way School – which hold that the continuum of mind never ends, the primary aim of Bodhisattvas is to bring about the welfare of other sentient beings and the means to accomplish this is their own enlightenment, the gaining of authentic freedom. For, with the attainment of a Buddha’s enlightenment, there is gained a limitless, unending, spontaneous capacity to help others effectively.
What distinguishes someone as a Bodhisattva is to engender an altruistic intention to become enlightened, which, through training, has become so spontaneous that it is as strong outside as it is within meditation. This is called bodhichitta, literally “mind of enlightenment” but more like “mind toward enlightenment”, “mind directed toward enlightenment”. As Maitreya’s Ornament for Clear Realization (mngon rtogs rgyan, abhisamayālaṃkāra) says:5
Mind generation is asserted as a wish for complete Perfect enlightenment for the sake of others.
This has been formulated into a definition of bodhichitta or, as I translate it, “altruistic intention to become enlightened”:
a main mental consciousness induced by an aspiration for [bringing about] others’ welfare and accompanied by an aspiration to one’s enlightenment.6
It is an attitude endowed with two aspirations, the first for others’ welfare and the second for one’s own highest enlightenment as a Buddha, the latter being seen as a means for accomplishing the first. Even though one’s own enlightenment must be accomplished first in order to bring about others’ welfare, service to others is prime in terms of motivation.
The enlightenment of a Buddha is seen as a means to bring about others’ welfare because a Buddha, being omniscient, knows all possible techniques for advancement and knows in detail the predispositions and interests of other beings. Between the two bodies of a Buddha, Truth Body and Form Body7 (the latter including the Complete Enjoyment Body and the Emanation Body), Bodhisattvas primarily seek Form Bodies, since it is through physical form that the welfare of others can be accomplished, this being mainly through teaching what is to be adopted in practice and what is to be discarded in behavior. Though Truth and Form Bodies necessarily accompany each other and thus are achieved together, the Bodhisattvas’ emphasis is on achieving Form Bodies in order to appear in myriad forms suitable to the interests and dispositions of trainees and to teach them accordingly.
Some Bodhisattvas’ motivation is described as like that of a king, for they see themselves as first becoming enlightened and then helping others. Others’ motivation is described as like that of a boatman since they strongly want to arrive at the shore of the freedom of Buddhahood in the company of everyone else. Again, others’ motivation is described as like that of a shepherd in that they want to see others safely enlightened before they become enlightened, like a shepherd returning home at the rear of the flock. The only realistic mode is said in Tibetan traditions to be the first, the king-like motivation, since there is no state superior to Buddhahood for accomplishing others’ welfare. Hence, the description that Bodhisattvas put off final enlightenment as Buddhas in order to be of greater service to sentient beings is considered to be an exaggerated statement expressing the greatness of their altruistic, shepherd-like motivation.
Buddhahood, with such altruistically oriented knowledge and activity, is the final aim – “final” in the sense that it is the path of no more learning, there being no further development of new levels of understanding or compassion. It is a beginning in the sense that for the first time one can serve others to one’s full capacity, forever, unceasingly, as long as there are beings who need to be helped, and that is forever.
This heroic effort to bring about others’ welfare is conceived in terms of there being (1) a basis for such purification and transformation within us, (2) objects of purification, (3) a path that serves as a means of purification, and (4) a fruit of that purification.
THE BASIS OF PURIFICATION
The basis of purification is the Buddha nature, which is viewed in two ways. One is the clear light nature of the mind, a positive phenomenon, and the other is the emptiness of inherent existence of the mind, a negative phenomenon, a mere absence of inherent establishment of the mind, which is a precondition for its transformation. Both of these aspects are said to be expressed in the famous statement from Dharmakīrti’s Commentary on (Dignāga’s) “Compendium [of Teachings] on Valid Cognition” (tshad ma rnam ’grel, pramāṇavarttika):8
The nature of the mind is clear light.
The defilements are adventitious.
“Adventitious” (glo bur ba) here does not mean “uncaused” but instead means that the defilements do not subsist in the very nature of the mind. Since desire, hatred, and ignorance do not reside in the very nature of the mind – because the nature of the mind is clear light – the defilements can be removed without destroying the mind.
The clear light nature of the mind in its first sense as a positive phenomenon is also emphasized in Maitreya’s Sublime Continuum of the Great Vehicle (rgyud bla ma, uttaratantra), but it has its fullest exposition in Highest Yoga Tantras such as the Guhyasamāja Tantra and the Kālachakra Tantra. In these systems it is described as the fundamental innate mind of clear light – fundamental in the sense that its continuum exists forever, that is to say, both while one is afflicted and, after enlightenment, while unafflicted. It also is described as the all-good (kun tu bzang po, samantabhadra) and as the basis-of-all (kun gzhi, ālaya) in that it is the basis of all the phenomena both of cyclic existence and of nirvana.9 At first, it may seem surprising that a system emphasizing suffering as much as Buddhism does should also have a doctrine of a basic goodness or basic purity of the mind, but such a foundation is essential for the radical transformation of the condition of suffering into a state of freedom.
The second way of conceiving the Buddha nature is as the absence of inherent existence10 of the mind. This does not refer to a non-existence of the mind, nor does it refer to its lacking definition or nature, for the definition of consciousness is “that which is luminous and knowing”.11 Rather, it refers to the mind’s not existing under its own power, the mind’s not being established by way of its own character, the mind’s not existing from its own side. This is the emptiness of the mind, which is an existent quality of the mind while at the same time being the final nature of the mind. For instance, when analyzing to determine whether a table exists in its own right, one investigates whether it is exactly the same as its parts or completely different from its parts (one of these two being required if the table exists in its own right), one does not find such a table, but rather finds a non-finding of the table. This non-finding is the emptiness of the table. Its emptiness is a mere absence of the table’s existing from its own side; this emptiness exists and can be realized, first conceptually and eventually directly.
In terms of the mind, its emptiness also can be settled by way of many approaches, examining its production by causes, its production of effects, its relationship with the beginning, middle, and end of a moment of mind, and so forth. When, through these approaches, one realizes the emptiness of inherent existence of the mind, one can for the first time understand that the mind, and other phenomena, are falsities, appearing to exist in their own right but not existing in their own right. The conflict between appearance and fact is understood, this distortion being seen as having two aspects. One is the false appearance even to non-conceptual sensory perception of objects as if they inherently exist; the other is conceptual assent to that false appearance. This error is endemic in that not only do we innately, without any training, conceive phenomena to exist in their own right but also, even in raw sense perception, phenomena appear in a false aspect due to faults embedded deep in our minds (though not in the nature of the mind).
From this point of view all phenomena except emptiness are called saṃvṛti-satya, “truths-for-a-concealer”, truths for a concealing consciousness, saṃvṛti being primarily understood as that which covers, that which obscures. “Truth” here is specified as meaning that which exists the way it appears, and only an ignorant consciousness takes objects such as tables or a mind to exist the way they appear. These objects are truths for ignorance; they are objects that are taken by ignorance to exist the way they appear.
For a non-Buddha, only emptinesses exist the way they appear in direct perception and thus emptinesses are the only truth; this does not mean that other phenomena do not exist. Both emptinesses and all other phenomena exist, objects of knowledge – existents – being what are divided into two classes: truths-for-a-concealer and ultimate truths. Emptinesses are ultimate truths in that they are objects of an ultimate consciousness and exist the way they appear in direct perception. However, an ultimate consciousness is not the final consciousness, a Buddha’s omniscient consciousness, but is a non-conceptual “reasoning consciousness”, so called because it is gained from having analyzed, through approaches such as those mentioned above, whether an object exists from its own side or not.
Thus, both the clear light nature of the mind and the emptiness of inherent existence of the mind are the Buddha nature, the nature of the mind that allows for transformation into Buddhahood. The Buddha nature is, therefore, the basis of purification and transformation in that it is that from the company of which defilements are removed.
THE OBJECTS OF PURIFICATION
The defilements that are removed are primarily the two types of distortion just mentioned; they are called afflictive obstructions and obstructions to omniscience. The afflictive obstructions prevent liberation from cyclic existence, the round of powerless, repeated birth, aging, sickness, and death. The primary afflictive obstruction is the ignorance conceiving that phenomena – persons and other phenomena – inherently exist, but also included are the unsalutory consciousnesses that such ignorance induces – desire, hatred, pride, enmity, belligerence, miserliness, laziness, and so forth. All of these depend on ignorance for their very existence; without ignorance and with wisdom they cannot exist. They are called afflictions (nyon mongs, klesha) because they afflict, they distort oneself. The most common illustration is the distortion of the face that anger brings about, but not just desire and hatred are afflictions/distortions; ignorance is the basic affliction. It is the basic bondage, the basic distortion. From its super-imposition of an exaggerated status of phenomena, and entirely dependent upon it, the other distortions arise, seeming to be in the very fabric of life but actually not.
An even deeper distortion is the second type of object to be purified, the obstructions to omniscience. This is described as the appearance of objects as inherently existent and can only be removed after the afflictive obstructions have been eradicated. Since the primary motivation of Bodhisattvas is to help others, they mainly want to remove the obstructions to omniscience, for these are what prevent full knowledge of liberative techniques and subtle knowledge of others’ minds; however, they must first remove the afflictive obstructions, subsequent to which they can gradually do away with the basic false appearance of phenomena that prevents, obstructs, and hinders knowledge of all.
THE MEANS OF PURIFICATION
Based on its twofold analysis of the nature of the mind, Great Vehicle Buddhism holds the belief that these basic errors can be removed. However, discussion, dialogue, and argument are not sufficient for their removal. Although discussion and so forth are important aspects of many persons’ gaining the wisdom that phenomena do not inherently exist, realization that arises merely from such is not sufficient. A powerfully concentrated mind is also necessary. The path of developing a wisdom consciousness realizing the absence of inherent existence to the point where it can serve as an actual antidote to the afflictive obstructions depends upon developing one-pointed concentration and then alternating such one-pointed, fixed concentration with analytical meditation so that eventually analytical meditation, rather than harming stabilizing meditation, serves to induce a greater degree of stabilizing meditation, and vice versa. It is said that a calm abiding of the mind – a stability of mind – that is induced, not by stabilizing meditation, but by analytical meditation, far exceeds that induced only by stabilizing meditation.
Still, such a meditative stabilization that is a union of calm abiding and special insight is also not sufficient. The emptiness of inherent existence, which is the object of this consciousness of meditative stabilization, is being seen through the medium of a conceptual image called a meaning-generality. Gradually, the meaning-generality of emptiness is removed, one’s consciousness and the emptiness of inherent existence that is its object become less and less dualistic, and finally one achieves direct perception of emptiness in a totally non-dualistic cognition. It is non-dualistic in five senses:
1 there is no conceptual appearance
2 there is no sense of subject and object – subject and object are like fresh water poured into fresh water
3 there is no appearance of inherent existence
4 there is no appearance of conventional phenomena; only emptiness appears
5 there is no appearance of difference – although the emptinesses of all phenomena in all world systems appear, they do not appear to be different.12
Even this degree of perception of emptiness only removes artificially gained afflictive obstructions, that is, apprehensions of inherent existence gained through the fortification of study, analysis, and systems of philosophy. It is not sufficiently powerful to remove the innate afflictive obstructions – the ignorance, desire, and so forth that even animals and babies have. For this, repeated meditation on the reality already seen is needed; one must re-enter direct perception of emptiness again and again. Much like washing dirty clothing, the grosser levels of dirt are cleansed first, and then gradually the more subtle.
In time, all of the afflictive obstructions are removed, but this process is not sufficient to remove the obstructions to omniscience, which are primarily the appearance of objects as if they exist in their own right and the predispositions in the mind that bring about this false appearance. The same wisdom consciousness must be sufficiently empowered and enhanced through the Bodhisattva practice of the altruistic deeds of giving, ethics, and patience in what are described as limitless ways over a limitless period of time. Attitudes of altruism and the concordant deeds that such motivation induces finally somehow empower the wisdom consciousness so that it can remove the basic distortion, the false appearance of phenomena. In the sūtra system presentations, this entire process is said to take three periods of “countless” eons. In Highest Yoga Tantra, it is greatly enhanced through utilizing subtler levels of consciousness such that Buddhahood can be accomplished in one lifetime.
THE FRUITS OF PURIFICATION
Although in this way the distortions of desire, hatred, and the ignorance conceiving objects to exist in their own right are removed, love, compassion, faith, and so forth are not thereby extricated because they do not depend for their existence on ignorance, no matter how much they may at times become involved with ignorance, afflictive desire, and so forth, and thus they are not removed when ignorance is removed. Love and compassion have valid cognition as their support, and since it is a quality of the mind that, once developed, such mental phenomena do not require the same effort for their production again, they can be developed limitlessly.13
The most basic distortions impeding full development – the obstructions to omniscience that are the appearance of objects as if they exist in their own right – are removed when altruism and altruistic deeds so enhance wisdom that no trace of false appearance remains. In this sense, altruism is in the service of wisdom, but also wisdom is in the service of altruism in that, concordant with Bodhisattvas’ fundamental motivation, the full enlightenment gained through this more advanced type of wisdom allows complete, spontaneous, altruistic display in forms more numerous than the sands of the Ganges to help sentient beings in accordance with their interests and dispositions.
Buddhahood is not a state of total non-dualism as was the case with meditative equipoise on emptiness. Out of the five dualisms listed above, three exist in Buddhahood. There is no conceptual appearance, but there is a sense of subject and object in terms of realizing conventional phenomena, although not in the perspective of the omniscient consciousness’s realization of emptiness, which is totally non-dualistic. There is no appearance of inherent existence but conventional phenomena appear – it is not that just emptiness appears – and thus there is appearance of difference; both the emptinesses of all phenomena in all world systems appear and those phenomena also appear. Within totally non-dual realization of the emptiness of inherent existence, a Buddha also perceives conventional phenomena, acting in myriad ways to bring about others’ attainment of the same state. This is freedom from bondage and freedom for effective altruistic endeavor.