i. Establishing that enlightenment mind is the sole means of entering the Mahayana path, along with a presentation of its benefits
Motivated by the attitude of renunciation, as explained in the teachings that relate to persons of lesser and moderate capacities, a practitioner can achieve the limited goal of escaping from samsara and attaining his own liberation through practicing the three superior trainings (sila, samadhi, prajna). However, we should not be satisfied with achieving this result, because it does not represent the elimination of all objects that must be abandoned nor the attainment of all the spiritual knowledge that must be achieved. Since it brings only a partial fulfillment of our own and others' interests
(4), we would have to go back and start at the beginning of the Mahayana path. As
A Compendium of the Perfections states:
Abandon the two vehicles that are powerless
In the ways of accomplishing the welfare of the world;
Enter instead the vehicle of the King of Sages,
A path that is taught from compassion and seeks only to benefit others.
Geshe Potowa also declared that [failing to enter the Mahayana path from the outset] is like having to cross the same river twice:
Clothes shouldn't be lifted twice to ford a river once.
Enter Mahayana path from the very beginning.
In addition, when an arhat goes into the final mental absorption and passes away into the sphere of peace, he enters a state of inconceivably great bliss. His intention upon entering this state is never to arise from it again, and he remains absorbed in this mental equipoise for many kalpas. In fact, during the time he spends there, another being who is living in the hells could gain a human rebirth posessing leisure and fortune, enter the Mahayana path, and achieve ultimate enlightenment. Since anyone who enters this state greatly prolongs the length of time needed to attain Buddhahood, a practitioner of the Mahayana lineage, should not enter the Hinayana path and pursue the status of an arhat. Rather, he should listen to the Mahayana Dharma and establish a propensity for that teaching in his mindstream. Even if he should later develop a wrong view toward the Mahayana and have to be reborn in the hells, he will still achieve ultimate enlightenment sooner than a Hinayana arhat. Therefore, he is better off following such a course.
Once, the Listener arhat Kashyapa was preparing to teach Hinayana Dharma to a group of sixty bhikshus. Realizing that this would cause the monks to become arhats, Manjushri intervened and taught them Mahayana Dharma. However, since the monks could not properly comprehend this Dharma, they developed wrong view toward it and ended up being reborn in the hells. When Kashyapa informed the Buddha of this, the Master replied that Manjushri had exercised skillful means and that the teaching he had given was quite proper.
Those Listener and Solitary Realizer arhats who have entered the mental absorption known as the extreme of peace
(10) are eventually awakened from that state by the Buddha and urged to enter the Mahayana path. However, because they have become so habituated to the peaceful bliss of their former state of absorption, they do not want to make the effort to develop enlightenment mind and practice the Mahayana path. Even when they do make some effort, they find it difficult to develop compassion and other virtuous minds since they have completely eliminated their own suffering.
For instance, when the Supreme Pair (Shariputra and Maudgalyayana) were taught about the Mahayana path and its result by the Master, they responded that the Mahayana teaching was indeed marvelous, but that they could not bring themselves to practice it as they had become like charred tree trunks. In fact, this statement did not truly apply to Shariputra, since he was really a Bodhisattva who had emanated himself as a Listener arhat. Nevertheless, he made the statement with the understanding that it applied to those other disciples who were genuine Listener arhats. Thus, the condition represents a great obstacles to attainment of supreme enlightenment.
Once we have achieved an experiential realization of renunciation, it is essential that we enter the Mahayana path. In fact, the reason for practicing the path that is held in common with persons of moderate capacity is to develop the attitude of renunciation. But it is not intended that we should actually enter that path. The main element of the Lamrim path is to train ourselves in enlightenment mind (bodhicitta), a practice meant for persons of great capacity. Thus, the teachings that relate to persons of lesser and moderate capacities represent the preparatory stage of this path. Similarly, the general discussion on how to train oneself in the Bodhisattva practices represents the concluding stage.
In keeping with the instructions found in
Manjugosha's Oral Instruction, there is a tradition that holds that the benefits of developing enlightenment mind should be presented before the actual explanations of how to train oneself in the path for persons of great capacity. This is done so that we will generate enthusiasm for carrying out those practices. Therefore, I shall explain these ten points:
1. generating enlightenment mind is the sole means of entering the Mahayana path;
2. we will be called a "Conqueror's son";
3. we will surpass the Listeners (Arhat) and Solitary Realizers (Pratyekabuddha) by virtue of our spiritual lineage;
4. we will become the supreme field to which offerings should be made;
5. we will easily accumulate extensive merit;
6. we will quickly purify ourselves of bad karma and mental obscurations;
7. we will achieve whatever goals we seek;
8. we will become invulnerable to harms and obstacles;
9. we will quickly complete all the paths and levels; and
10. we will become a field that produces every form of well-being and happiness for sentient beings.
footnote:
(4) Our own interests (sanskrit: svartham) are fulfilled by permanently abandoning all the mental obscurations and by attaining the ultimate knowledge of Buddhahood. The interests of others (sanskrit: parartham) are accomplished by attaining a Buddhas's physical body, which alone has the complete ability to lead all sentient beings to ultimate happiness.
(10) Buddhism is often described as the 'middle way' between two extremes. In Mahayana doctrine, this concept of two extremes is explained in different ways depending on the context. Here the extreme of peace refers to Hinayana nirvana. It represents an extreme in that one who abides in it ignores the welfare of other sentient beings. In this context, the other extreme is samsaric existence. Similarly, the Buddha's ultimate enlightenment is referred to as the state of nonabiding nirvana (sanskrit: apratistitanirvanam) because it does not abide in either of these extremes.