Volume 2: No. 1
Summer 2006

News Front Page

Letter to the sangha from Khandro Rinpoche

Like Pearls on a String:
A short biography of
His Eminence Kongtrül Rinpoche

Meeting the Buddha Within:
VKR presents the Uttaratantra

Remaining Like a Log:
Memories of Shedra 2006

Stand-Up-Sit-Down-Zen!
Kyudo comes to Lotus Garden

Turning the Wheel of Dharma:
Annual Retreat is just ahead

Tibetan Lesson: Bodhicitta

Lotus News Contributors

Tibetan Lesson: Bodhicitta

Tibetan 'bodhicitta'

byang chub sems(byang chub sems) or byang chub kyi sems(byang chub kyi sems), is the translation of the Sanskrit word 'bodhicitta', which is often translated as 'awakened mind', 'awakened heart', or 'the mind of enlightenment' in English.


byang(byang) is often translated using the words 'purified', 'cleared-away', 'cleansed', or 'trained'.


chub(chub) is often translated using the words 'to gain consummate mastery', 'accomplished', 'mastered', 'proficient', and 'perfected'.


The compound byang-chub(byang chub) is used to translate the Sanskrit word 'bodhi', which means 'awake' or 'enlightened', and conveys the sense of something that is purified and accomplished.


kyi(kyi) is a genitive particle, and is usually translated using the word 'of', but can also be translated with the words 'which' or 'whose'.


sems (sems) is a translation of the Sanskrit word 'citta', and is most easily translated using the English word 'mind'.


Thus, byang chub sems(byang chub sems) is 'the mind which is awakened', or 'the mind which is purified and accomplished.'


Maitreya
Maitreya Shantideva Longchenpa

 

The buddha Maitreya famously defines bodhicitta as follows in the Abhisamayalamkara (The Ornament of Clear Realisation):

"Arousing bodhicitta is
The longing to attain perfect enlightenment for the benefit of others."


In the Bodhisattvacaryavatara, Shantideva explains that bodhicitta should be understood in two aspects, bodhicitta in aspiration and bodhicitta in application.

"In brief, this bodhicitta
Is known to have two aspects:
The mind that aspires to enlightenment,
A nd the mind that enters into the conduct of enlightenment.

Just as one understands the distinction between
Desiring to go and actually going,
In the same way the wise ones should understand
The distinction between these two in their successive order."


byang chub smon pa'i sems(byang chub smon pa'i sems) is 'the mind which aspires to enlightenment.' smon pa(smon pa) is usually translated as 'to wish', 'to desire', or 'to aspire'.


byang chub 'jug pa'i sems(byang chub 'jug pa'i sems) is 'the mind which enters into the conduct of enlightenment.' 'jug pa('jug pa) is usually translated as 'to enter' or 'to undertake'.


These two aspects, bodhicitta in aspiration and bodhicitta, are included within the category of kun rdzob byang chub kyi sems(kun rdzob byang chub kyi sems), or 'relative bodhicitta.' kun(kun) is a word which means 'all'. rdzob(rdzob) is a word which means 'covered' or 'concealed'. Thus, kun rdzob (kun rdzob) literally means 'all-veiled' or 'concealing' and is usually translated using the words 'relative' or 'conventional'. kun rdzob refers to that which is covered by the obscurations: the emotional and the cognitive obscurations,as well as karma and habitual patterns.


However, if there is relative bodhicitta, this implies that we must also have don dam byangchub kyi sems (don dam byang chub kyi sems), or absolute bodhicitta. don(don) is a word which translates the Sanskrit word 'artha', and means 'meaning', 'purpose', 'goal' or 'reason'. dam(dam) is a word which means 'best', 'sublime', 'superior' or 'excellent'. dondam (don dam) then thus means 'the superior meaning' and is often translated as 'ultimate', 'absolute', or 'true meaning'.


In this regard, Longchen Rabjam (1308-1364) defines bodhicitta in The Precious Treasury of Dharmadhatu as follows:

"A dharma which is wondrous, spontaneously present from the very beginning,
Is luminous self-arisen primordial wisdom, bodhicitta,
The treasury from which arises all that appears and exists, the universe and the beings within it, samsara and nirvana,
Unwavering and free from conceptual elaborations-prostrations to you."

and:

"Bodhicitta is like the heart of the sun.
It is luminous of its own accord, uncompounded from the beginning.
With nothing to obscure it, it is unimpeded and spontaneously present.
Free from conceptual elaboration, it is the sphere of dharmata beyond thought."


These quotes refer to absolute bodhicitta, the definitive meaning of the word 'bodhicitta'.


Contributed by: Geoff Picus