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The
Bodhisattva Ideal - Buddhism and the Aesthetics of Selflessness
A group of people was once
traveling through a desert, when it so happened that three of them strayed
away and got lost. Tired and thirsty this trio wandered around the desert in
the hope of finding some respite. Finally their quest came to an end when
they discovered a high well. The first man rushed to it, looked over the
wall and found it full of delicious ambrosial water. He immediately
exclaimed in a gesture of frenzied euphoria and jumped into it never to come
back. The second too did the same. The third man finally walked over quietly
over to the well, peeped over its high wall and then turned around and went
back, returning to the desert to search for his other fellow travelers, to
help guide them to this paradise.
The life of a
bodhisattva too is made of similar stuff. In strictly canonical
terms a bodhisattva is defined as an individual who discovers the source of
the Ultimate Truth better known as
nirvana, but postpones
his own enlightenment until he has guided all his fellow
beings to this same source of fulfillment. A formidable task to say the
least. The path of the bodhisattva is thus one of extreme self-denial and
selflessness. According to the Lankavatara sutra (4th century BC):
"A bodhisattva wishes to help all
beings attain nirvana. He must therefore refuse to enter nirvana himself, as
he cannot apparently render any services to the living beings of the worlds
after his own nirvana. He thus finds himself in the rather illogical
position of pointing the way to nirvana for other beings, while he himself
stays in this world of
suffering
in order to do
good to all creatures. This is his great sacrifice for others. He has taken
the great Vow: "I shall not enter into final nirvana before all beings have
been liberated." He does not realize the highest liberation for himself, as
he cannot abandon other beings to their fate. He has said: "I must lead all
beings to liberation. I will stay here till the end, even for the sake of
one living soul."
The word 'bodhisattva'
itself is prone to a rich etymological analysis. It is composed of two words
'bodhi' and 'sattva' both of which connote deeply spiritual
meanings. Bodhi
means "awakening" or "enlightenment," and
sattva means "sentient being." Sattva also has etymological roots that mean
"intention," meaning the intention to enlighten other beings. Thus the
composite word bodhisattva signifies the very essence of the divine beings
it refers to.
Buddhist aesthetics, very much like its
literature, brings home spiritual truths in the simplest manner graspable by
all. The various bodhisattvas too dominate the spectrum of
Buddhist art ,
illustrating this abstract conceptualization in as hard hitting a manner as
do the various myths surrounding them. The most prominent bodhisattva in
this regard is
Avalokiteshvara.
The word 'Avalokiteshvara'
is derived from the Pali verb oloketi which means "to look
at, to look down or over, to examine or inspect." The word avalokita has an
active signification, and the name means, "the lord who sees (the world with
pity)." The Tibetan equivalent is Chenrezig
(the lord, who looks with eyes). The text known as Karanda-vyuha (8th
century AD) explains that he is so called because he views with compassion
all beings suffering from the evils of existence. It is interesting to note
here that a dominant feature in the description of Avalokiteshvara is his
capacity to "see" the suffering of others. No wonder then that he is often
represented with a thousand eyes symbolizing his all encompassing ability to
view with compassion the suffering of others, thus sharing in their sorrows,
a first step towards their ultimate alleviation. Not only that, he further
has a thousand hands too which help in the mammoth task of delivering
innumerable beings to their ultimate spiritual fulfillment.
The mythology associated
with Avalokiteshvara is as interesting as his iconography:
Once by his sustained efforts,
Avalokiteshvara was eventually able to deliver all sentient beings to
enlightenment, managing salvation for everyone. Enthused,
he reported the success of his efforts to his spiritual father,
Amitabha. Amitabha asked him to look behind himself. Turning back,
Avalokiteshvara saw the world again being filled with new sufferers who
awaited their escape from the constant cycle of birth and
rebirth .
Sinking into despair, the eyes of Avalokiteshvara shed tears of
compassion. He wept so pitifully that his head burst. Amitabha
attempted to assemble the pieces but did not entirely succeed. In the
ensuing confusion he put together nine complete faces, each with a gentle
expression. Above this he placed the demonic head of Vajrapani that
functions to ward off evil, and finally at the very top he placed his own
head to ensure that in the future such a happening did not recur.
He thus sits on guard at
the top of the rows of heads of Avalokiteshvara making definite that
Avalokiteshvara in his infinite compassion doesn't get carried away, leading
to his own destruction.
In addition to
Avalokiteshvara two other important bodhisattvas are:
Manjushri
 Once
at a meeting of numerous bodhisattvas at the house of Vimalakirti, the lay
disciple of Buddha, a debate developed on the meaning of nonduality, an
essential precept of
Buddhist thought .
After many bodhisattvas had finely expressed their opinions on the subject
and their success at understanding its essence, it came to Manjushri's turn.
He got up and announced that all the previous speeches were themselves
conditioned by linguistic limitations and were subtly dualistic. When
Manjushri turned to Vimalakirti and asked for his views,
Vimalakirti just maintained silence, thus demonstrating the truth of
Manjushri's statement.
This story is a
beautiful reflection on the irony of scholarship attempting to express
itself through a medium (speech/language), which contains within itself a
contradiction of the very fundamental ideals which it proposes to expound.
In this particular case Manjushri identifies this sublime and intrinsic
inconsistency. An exalted individual may wax eloquent upon the virtues of
non-duality and his grasp of this abstract concept, but the very language
used to expresses these views is inherently dual as it is composed of word
and it's meaning, two exclusive entities. This subtle, nonetheless
significant gradation brings home a profound truth taking the wind out of
any sense of achievement derived out of purported scholarship. Verily thus
Manjushri carries in his two hands a book and a sword.
This sword is there to cut of fetters
born not out of ignorance but those which arise through knowledge, signified
by the book. This is not a negation of bookish knowledge, but only an
assertion of the realization that unless we gain it we cannot know the
futility of it in the quest towards ultimate spiritual
truths. Manjushri appropriately suggests not the path of renunciation but
that of righteous karma. A
Zen
story illuminates this aspect:
Once the chief cook of a temple
on Mount Wutai (the favorite mountain of Manjushri), was busy making lunch.
Manjushri repeatedly appeared sitting above the rice pot. This chief cook,
who later became a noted Zen master, finally hit Manjushri with his stirring
spoon and drove him away, saying, "Even if old man Shakyamuni
came, I would also hit him" In Zen temples the position of chief cook is
highly esteemed. This story denotes the priority of taking care of everyday
life, beyond attention to high-flowing rhetoric. Caring for the details of
daily life is sometimes seen as more important than spending time in
studying sutras or in concentration in the
meditation
halls, and indeed many monks perhaps including this chief
cook, have been encouraged to abandon any preference for meditation over
ordinary work.
Reconciling Manjushri's actions with his
status as a bodhisattva we realize that here we see a rare but distinctly
significant affirmation in Buddhist thought of an existence composed of
normal and 'ordinary' family life rather than that of denial. The carrying
out of one's duties is as spiritually fulfilling an activity as any other 'bodhisattvic'
deed. Consider for example the activity of cooking. The
Bhagavad Gita
says that one who cooks for others acquires the highest merit, while that
who selfishly cooks food only for his own consumption commits a sin.
Likewise the temple cook was engaged in an effort of the highest merit.
Indeed for contemporary times this is an ultimate tribute to those women of
the house who diligently provide us with sustenance which fulfills not only
our physical needs, but also nourishes us spiritually.
Maitreya
 According
to some Buddhist traditions, the period of the Buddhist Law is divided into
three stages: a first period of 500 years is of the turning of the Wheel of
the Law; a second period of 1,000 years is of the deterioration of the Law,
and the third period of 3,000 years is the one during which no one practices
the Law. After this, Buddhism having disappeared, a new Buddha will appear
who will again turn the Wheel of the Law. This future Buddha known as
Maitreya is believed to be still in the Tushita
heaven, in the state of a bodhisattva. It is believed that
Gautama Buddha himself enthroned him as his successor.
The word 'maitreya' is
derived from the Sanskrit word for friendliness. Thus this bodhisattva is
fundamentally said to embody the qualities of amiability and an attitude of
well-meaning sympathy.
According to a legend
there once descended to the earth from Maitreya's Tushita heaven a
Chinese layman and teacher named Mahasattva Fu, widely regarded as
an incarnation of Maitreya.
Fu attracted many students to his
Dharma
lectures. Living in a time of great hardships and famines for the peasants,
he sold all of his possessions to feed the local villagers, and also fasted
to give away his food to the needy. Fu once undertook a long hunger fast to
protest against the king's treatment of the poor. He announced that he would
finish the fast with a fiery self-immolation, as an offering to benefit all
suffering beings. At the culmination of his fast, many of his followers
offered to burn themselves in his place, some going to the extent of burning
their fingers or cutting off their ears as offerings and engaging in other
ascetic extremes. They finally convinced Fu to abandon his plan.
The notion of a
bodhisattva sacrificing his complete physical self or at least parts of it
conforms to a similar notion expounded in ancient Buddhist texts. For
example the 'Shat-sahasrika Prajna-paramita' (5th century AD) says: "Besides
wealth and material objects, a bodhisattva should be ready to sacrifice his
limbs for the good of others, his hand, foot, eye, flesh, blood, marrow,
limbs great and small, and even his head." Indeed in the Jataka tales which
are legendary stories about bodhisattvas, there abound numerous instances
where they are shown sacrificing parts of their bodies or even their lives
to save that of another.
A persistent paradox
regarding Maitreya is his visualization as an entity of the future. This
presents a contrast to much of Buddhist practice and teaching which
emphasizes the importance of the present, the current moment. This is
sometimes referred to as the timeless eternal. According to the Buddhist
viewpoint time does not exist as some external container, but is the vital
expression and enactment of our own being right now. Time does not exist
separate from our own presence.
As a bodhisattva associated with the
future, as against the fundamental stress
Buddhism
places on the present moment of time, Maitreya presents a wondrous
amalgamation and a complex composite on the plane of time. Buddhist esoteric
thought achieves this is in a skillful manner by associating him with
children. Children are but the 'present' of our 'future.' A number of
stories abound which illustrate his loving-kindness for children:
Once in his incarnation
as a spiritual poet, Maitreya was asked by a relative to help in dealing
with his son, who was becoming a delinquent. The poet (Maitreya) visited the
family and stayed the night without saying anything to the son. The next
morning as he prepared to depart, he asked the boy's help in tying up his
sandals. As the lad looked up from doing so, he saw a tear roll down the
poet's cheek. Nothing was said, but from that time the boy completely
reformed. The easy camaraderie with children and attention to young people
shown by Maitreyan figures amply justifies the 'friendly' origin of his name
as described above.
In China too, Maitreya is synonymous
with his supposed incarnation as the tenth-century Chinese
Chan
(Zen) monk Hotei, popularly known as the Laughing Buddha.
Hotei is legendary as a wandering sage with supernatural powers who spent
his time in village streets rather than the security of temples. His image
is recognizable as the fat, jolly Buddha, whose statue can be seen in all
Chinese Buddhist temples.
Hotei's name means
"cloth bag," and he is believed to have carried a sack full of candies and
toys to give to children with whom he is often depicted in play.
This scruffy, disheveled
Buddha adds to our understanding of Maitreya's warmth and loving-kindness.
Hotei's fat belly and affinity with children reflects yet another aspect of
Maitreya in popular folk religion, that of a fertility deity. He indeed is
worshipped by those wanting to have children, This ritual is especially
popular in Korea.
Conclusion
The Samadhiraja-sutra
(4th century) explains why a bodhisattva does not feel any pain, even when
he mutilates himself for the good of others. When Buddha was asked how a
bodhisattva could cheerfully suffer the loss of his hands, feet, ears, nose,
eyes and head, he explained that pity for mankind and the love of bodhi
sustain and inspire a bodhisattva in his heroism, just as worldly men are
ready to enjoy the five kinds of sensual pleasure, even when their bodies
are burning with fever.
A bodhisattva should
regard every action and movement of his body as an occasion for the
cultivation of friendly thoughts for the good of all creatures. When he sits
down he thinks thus: "May I help all beings to sit on the throne of
enlightenment." When he lies on his right side, he thinks thus: "May I lead
all beings to nirvana." When he washes his hands, he thinks thus: May I
remove the sinful propensities of all creatures." When he washes his feet,
he thinks thus: "May I take away the dirt of sins and passion from all
creatures." In this way the body can be converted into a holy vessel of
benediction. Blessed indeed is he who loses his physical existence in doing
good to others. A bodhisattva can never love the body for its own sake, if
he cherishes it, he does so only because he will gird himself up to save
someone sometime somewhere on some occasion in the moment of tribulation.
By conceptualizing the
lofty ideal of a bodhisattva, Buddhism sets a high standard of virtuous
conduct for us ordinary mortals to emulate, thus striving for a spiritually
enriched life radiant with the glow of selflessness, indeed the foundation
for a meaningful and fulfilling existence, both for the individual and for
the world around him, of which he is but a microcosm.
References and Further Reading
 | Dayal, Har. The
Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature: Delhi, 1999.
|
| Frederic,
Louis. Buddhism (Flammarion Iconographic Guides): Paris, 1995.
|
| Leighton,
Taigen Daniel. Bodhisattva Archetypes: New York, 1998. |
| Meulenbeld,
Ben. Buddhist Symbolism in Tibetan Thangkas: Holland, 2001.
|
| Pal,
Pratapaditya. Art of Tibet. Los Angeles: The Los Angeles County Museum of
Art, 1990 |
Copyright ©2005, ExoticIndiaArt (Reprinted with permission)
This article by Nitin Kumar
Editor
http://www.exoticindia.com ExoticIndiaArt |
