By Victor M Fontane
Shantideva, who lived in the 8th century CE, Indian philosopher, Buddhist monk and scholar at the mahavihara of Nalada, composed two texts the ‘Compendium of Training’ and ‘Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life’, which complement each other. Shantideva followed the Consequentialist Middle Way view propounded by Chandrakirti that asserts that while things have no objective existence they nevertheless exist conventionally.
Buddhahood is attained by overcoming ignorance, clearing away the obstructions to knowledge by developing an understanding of emptiness, supported by the skillful means of bodhichitta. The Buddha made it clear that this is something we have to do for ourselves by following the path he revealed.
“Buddhas do not wash unwholesome deeds away with water,
Nor do they remove the sufferings of beings with their hands,
Neither do they transplant their own realization into others.
Teaching the truth of the ultimate nature is how they liberate (beings).”
The Buddha’s 84,000 teachings were taught in order that people could develop an understanding of reality such that they could purify their minds of all defilements. To overcome ignorance that is the basis of disturbing emotions like attachment we need to know things as they really are. Amongst human beings, there are those who use their minds to investigate reality, who the text refers to as yogis, and those who simply follow their day to day lives. We could say that today, scientists are like yogis in that they attempt to see things as they really are. But even among yogis there are differences of understanding. Only when you develop some understanding of emptiness do you become aware of the actual possibility of attaining Buddhahood. Although we all recite the verse for taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and developing the awakening mind of bodhichitta, we generally don’t understand what it means. If you think closely about it, you can understand the process of transforming the mind into the mind of enlightenment.
The Bodhisattva vow is a vow (Sanskrit: praṇidhāna, lit. aspiration or resolution) taken by some Mahāyāna Buddhists to achieve full buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings. One who has taken the vow is nominally known as a bodhisattva (a being working towards buddhahood).
Enlightening beings have ten pure vows: (1) they vow to develop living beings to maturity, without wearying; (2) they vow to fully practice all virtues and purify all worlds; (3) they vow to serve the Enlightened, always engendering honor and respect; (4) they vow to keep and protect the true teaching, not begrudging.
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