I don’t mean to be condescending, but isn’t “aspiring” to be a bodhisattva contradictory? Wouldn’t that mean that you are desiring/craving enlightenment?

“Question: I don’t mean to be condescending, but isn’t “aspiring” to be a bodhisattva contradictory? Wouldn’t that mean that you are desiring/craving enlightenment?”

Aspire: as-pire, verb, direct one’s hopes or ambitions toward achieving something.

If I were to desire or crave to be a Bodhisattva then I would just call myself a Bodhisattva and eliminate the aspiring part, wouldn’t you think?

So then we could ask, “What’s the goal of every Buddhist?” To become a Buddha! That’s every Buddhist’s light at the end of the tunnel. That’s the goal of every Buddhist. So one way, the Mahayana way, to achieve Buddhahood is through the Bodhisattva’s way. To be a Bodhisattva doesn’t mean to be Enlightened. The Bodhisattva knows the way to Enlightenment, some take it and some don’t, but the job is to use that knowledge to help others achieve Enlightenment.

So we all “desire” to be a Buddha, but we don’t crave on the idea. The Buddha even said to not even attach to the Dharma. The Dharma is the tool, the way to liberation, but is not liberation itself. You can want and desire many things: good health, financial stability, a great marriage, etc., but we must not attach to them, that’s when it becomes problematic and suffering can arise.

All Buddhists are aspiring Buddhas. That’s the goal. That’s the desire. Does that make us selfish? Not at all! Once a Buddha, we’ll attain all the knowledge of all the Buddhas and be equal to all Buddhas, and we’ll be able to teach and liberate sentient beings from suffering and guide them to Nirvana.

Smile and be well!

How we view the Buddha

Question: I’m curious, how do you view The Buddha? What I mean is what do you consider him? A friend? A guide? A teacher? All of them, or none of them?

The amazing thing about Buddha is that he never claimed to be a God or some kind of deity. So yes, I, and the majority of all Buddhist, see Buddha as a guide, a Teacher. That was his life’s mission; to be a teacher, to guide us out of a life of suffering and Samsara.

Sometimes I get asked the question of why Buddhist bow when entering temples or at images or statues of Buddha. When we bow, we’re not bowing for Buddha – He isn’t here! He’s no longer in our world, or present with us, or living a life in Samsara. So we don’t bow to him. We bow to ourselves. To our own Buddha Nature. We bow to remind us that our Buddha Nature is there, it exist in all of us, in everyone, in every sentient being. We bow to be mindful of the Buddha’s Path that we live and practice in order to find liberation!

 

Smile and be well!

The Bodhisattva Path

Question: “I hope you don’t mind if I ask you about the Bodhisattva path. I want to understand it. Isn’t it scary to think that you might stay in samsara for a really long time, maybe forever? And also, how does a person that is not enlightened help others become enlightened? And what exactly does a Bodhisattva do? Thank you.”

First, what is a Bodhisattva? It is a person who delays their own Enlightenment (depending on the tradition) and entrance into Nirvana in order to help all sentient beings become Enlightenment first. In Vajrayana (TIbetan Buddhism), there are three kinds of Bodhisattvas: King-like Bodhisattvas, those who become Enlightened first then help others find Enlightenment; Captain-like Bodhisattvas, those who become Enlightened with the sentient beings/people the Bodhisattva has been teaching; and Shepard-like Bodhisattvas, those who become Enlightened after all sentient beings have become Enlightened first.

And yes, at first it might be a scary thought to think about being stuck in Samsara for what could be forever, but eventually when you realize Emptiness, that thought will never occur again. At least think of it this way: Because you’re a practicing Buddhist, an aspiring Bodhisattva, at least your future lives will be much better (depending on your past and present Karma). But from a mundane point-of-view, your body isn’t going to be here forever – it’ll only be alive for as long as that life will be breathing, so there’s not any of that “Oh I’m going to live forever!” thoughts. You, in this body, will not be living forever, nor will you even know of any of your future lives, so there’s really shouldn’t be any worry about living in Samsara forever. Instead of worry about that, know and feel the great realization of all those you can help find Enlightenment. Know that you can end the suffering and cycle of Samsara for so many others! That should be a great feeling, not a scary one!

So for us non-Enlightened beings, we can take the Bodhisattva Vows. The vows are “don’t” rules, but they also tell you how you can help others. By being a Bodhisattva, you’re essentially a teacher of the Dharma. Some live the monkhood life as Bodhisattvas (total dedication). For laypeople, many laypeople that I’ve met or know of teach Dharma sessions as part of their Bodhisattva duties, others teach meditation or are members of a temple or monastery (teaching, learning, or doing other duties and activities). Your overall job duty as a Bodhisattva is to help liberate others and lead them to Nirvana. This happens over the course of many, many lifetimes obviously. You might not Enlighten anyone in this lifetime or the next, but just by showing them the way to liberation might bring them to Enlightenment in their next life – and the same goes for you, because whenever you’re teaching others, you’re also teaching yourself! The Bodhisattva path is a beautiful and fulfilling path, and should be everyone’s aspiration if practicing Mahayana.

Smile and be well!