Hi Everybody,
Eight down, two to go! We're in the middle of an importany chapter, describing and analysing the Nichiren Buddhist concept of the ten worlds, or the ten states of life. What are they and how ' real' are they? Those are the questions we need answered aren't they? Up till now, if you happen to have been reading the last eight episodes, these life states have been given ordinary names like hunger and anger and learning and realisation. But the next two are defined by names that we would never use in any other context apart from a discussion of Buddhism. Bodhisattva and Buddhahood are not just relatively unfamilar, they are essentially technical terms comin gfrom Buddhist literature. The important thing I would suggest, is not to be put off by the unfamiliarity, but to get behind the names themselves and see how they relate to the real substance of our lives. The names might be unfamiliar, the life states are universal. So here we go with Bodhisattva.
The hallmark of the life state of Bodhisattva is caring for others, being concerned about their welfare or their safety or their general well-being. Spending time with an older person living on their own perhaps, supporting an anxious neighbour in a crisis, giving time to a charity, offering a colleague a sympathetic ear instead of rushing off to catch the train home. Giving oneself in all sorts of ways, big and small to support other people when they need it. It's not about being a do-gooder. Not at all. It's just about being immensely practical and alert to the fact that absolutely everybody has need for support at some time in their lives, and being ready to be there for them.
It is also mutually beneficial, although that is not the primary motivation. It is you may remember one of the primary qualities modern psychological research has marked out as being fundamental to our own sense of well-being, altruism, being prepared to put ourselves out to help others. Certainly Buddhism argues that one of the most immediate pathways out of those tough life states of hell and hunger and animality, is indeed to find some way, however small, to contribute to the lives of others. At its heart is the desire not simply to help others but to alleviate the cause of their pain or suffering, and replace it with a more stable sens eof well-being.
The prime example of this degree of compassion for others is perhpas the mother, or the parent, whose concern for the child is totally unconditional. Nothing is too much to give. other examples would be the nurse and the doctor and the social worker. Or the aid workers who are prepared to place themselves in difficult and often dangerous circumstances, in developing countries for example, constantly putting themselves at risk, and challenging their environment to ease the plight and improve the quality of life of people with whom they may have no connection except their shared humanity. It's noteworthy that those people in whom the bodhisattva life state is dominant, often receive very little public reward or recognition for their work. Clearly recognition and reward is not their motivation. They are driven by a powerful compassion to ease the suffering and raise the life state of others. That is the source of their greatest joy and fulfilment. In a sense in giving more of themselves, they become most themselves. That, in the end, might be the best description of the bodhisattva way.
That's it for today. Hope it helps to clarify things.
See you next time when we move onto Budhahood.
See you then,
William
PS Had a wonderful note the other day from a lady who lives in Montana, miles and miles she says from her nearest fellow practitioner, who thanked me profusely for writing The case for Buddhism ( no writer can have greater pleasure than being thanked for writing his book!!) because she says, it is a wonderful tool for giving others an awareness of the fundamentals of Buddhism. That is precisely why it was written. I was filled with gratitude that she took the trouble to write. And let me say thank you to her here again. Thank you so much.
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