Tibetan Lesson: Bodhicitta

(byang
chub sems) or
(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)
is often translated using the words 'purified', 'cleared-away', 'cleansed',
or 'trained'.
(chub)
is often translated using the words 'to gain consummate mastery', 'accomplished',
'mastered', 'proficient', and 'perfected'.
The compound
(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)
is a genitive particle, and is usually translated using the word 'of',
but can also be translated with the words 'which' or 'whose'.
(sems) is a translation of the Sanskrit word 'citta', and is most easily
translated using the English word 'mind'.
Thus,
(byang
chub sems) is 'the mind which is awakened', or 'the mind which is purified
and accomplished.'
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| 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) is 'the mind which aspires to enlightenment.'
(smon
pa) is usually translated as 'to wish', 'to desire', or 'to aspire'.
(byang
chub 'jug pa'i sems) is 'the mind which enters into the conduct of enlightenment.'
('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), or 'relative bodhicitta.'
(kun)
is a word which means 'all'.
(rdzob)
is a word which means 'covered' or 'concealed'. Thus,
(kun rdzob) literally means 'all-veiled' or 'concealing' and is usually
translated using the words 'relative' or 'conventional'.
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
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(don dam byang chub kyi sems), or absolute bodhicitta.
(don)
is a word which translates the Sanskrit word 'artha', and means 'meaning',
'purpose', 'goal' or 'reason'.
(dam)
is a word which means 'best', 'sublime', 'superior' or 'excellent'.
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(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


