Bodhisattas

Exploring Theravāda's connections to other paths - what can we learn from other traditions, religions and philosophies?
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Sanjay PS
Posts: 311
Joined: Thu Sep 26, 2013 2:26 pm

Bodhisattas

Post by Sanjay PS »

Hello ,

i would be very grateful if any of you could answer two queries that arose in my mind regarding Bodhisattas .

a) In the dispensation of a Buddha Sasna ( like the age we are presently living today , wherein the teaching is clear for one to strive forward) , can there be
human beings born in this age who are Bodhisattas , but completely bypass the teachings of the Buddha , and may or may not live a wholesome life .

b) Just as there can only be on Buddha at any given time , can there only be one Bodhisatta at one given time .

Please forgive me if these questions sound ignorant.

thanking you,
sanjay
The Path of Dhamma

The path of Dhamma is no picnic . It is a strenuous march steeply up the hill . If all the comrades desert you , Walk alone ! Walk alone ! with all the Thrill !!

U S.N. Goenka
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cooran
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Re: Bodhisattas

Post by cooran »

Hello Sanjay,

This article may assist:

Arahants, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... ttvas.html

With metta,
Chris
---The trouble is that you think you have time---
---Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe---
---It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---
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Dan74
Posts: 4531
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 11:12 pm
Location: Switzerland

Re: Bodhisattas

Post by Dan74 »

Sanjay PS wrote:Hello ,

i would be very grateful if any of you could answer two queries that arose in my mind regarding Bodhisattas .

a) In the dispensation of a Buddha Sasna ( like the age we are presently living today , wherein the teaching is clear for one to strive forward) , can there be
human beings born in this age who are Bodhisattas , but completely bypass the teachings of the Buddha , and may or may not live a wholesome life .

b) Just as there can only be on Buddha at any given time , can there only be one Bodhisatta at one given time .

Please forgive me if these questions sound ignorant.

thanking you,
sanjay
Sounds to me like you mean pratyekabuddhas, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratyekabuddha rather than bodhisattas?
_/|\_
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Aloka
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Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2009 2:51 pm

Re: Bodhisattas

Post by Aloka »

Hi sanjay,

This article by Ajahn Amaro might possibly be of some interest to you:

"Between Arhat and Bodhisattva - finding the perfect balance"

http://www.thebuddhadharma.com/web-arch ... attva.html


With kind wishes,

Aloka
Sanjay PS
Posts: 311
Joined: Thu Sep 26, 2013 2:26 pm

Re: Bodhisattas

Post by Sanjay PS »

cooran wrote:Hello Sanjay,

This article may assist:

Arahants, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... ttvas.html

With metta,
Chris
Thanks Chris .

Reading through , i find there are no straight answers .

i think its best then to dip oneself in , and let the knowledge come at its own pace :)

Thanks very much.
sanjay
The Path of Dhamma

The path of Dhamma is no picnic . It is a strenuous march steeply up the hill . If all the comrades desert you , Walk alone ! Walk alone ! with all the Thrill !!

U S.N. Goenka
Sanjay PS
Posts: 311
Joined: Thu Sep 26, 2013 2:26 pm

Re: Bodhisattas

Post by Sanjay PS »

Dan74 wrote:
Sanjay PS wrote:Hello ,

i would be very grateful if any of you could answer two queries that arose in my mind regarding Bodhisattas .

a) In the dispensation of a Buddha Sasna ( like the age we are presently living today , wherein the teaching is clear for one to strive forward) , can there be
human beings born in this age who are Bodhisattas , but completely bypass the teachings of the Buddha , and may or may not live a wholesome life .

b) Just as there can only be on Buddha at any given time , can there only be one Bodhisatta at one given time .

Please forgive me if these questions sound ignorant.

thanking you,
sanjay
Sounds to me like you mean pratyekabuddhas, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratyekabuddha rather than bodhisattas?
Hello Dan,

Thanks .

Prateyakbuddhas also known as Paccekabuddhas , are entirely different from Bodhisattas . They are fully enlightened beings , but are unable to communicate as to how they achieved the full serenity of mind .

sanjay
The Path of Dhamma

The path of Dhamma is no picnic . It is a strenuous march steeply up the hill . If all the comrades desert you , Walk alone ! Walk alone ! with all the Thrill !!

U S.N. Goenka
Sanjay PS
Posts: 311
Joined: Thu Sep 26, 2013 2:26 pm

Re: Bodhisattas

Post by Sanjay PS »

Aloka wrote:Hi sanjay,

This article by Ajahn Amaro might possibly be of some interest to you:

"Between Arhat and Bodhisattva - finding the perfect balance"

http://www.thebuddhadharma.com/web-arch ... attva.html


With kind wishes,

Aloka
Hi Aloka ,

Thanks very much .

Reading through , i find these questions i had posed may well be ignorant , and best left at that :)

Once again , thank you.

sanjay
The Path of Dhamma

The path of Dhamma is no picnic . It is a strenuous march steeply up the hill . If all the comrades desert you , Walk alone ! Walk alone ! with all the Thrill !!

U S.N. Goenka
rohana
Posts: 121
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2012 11:43 pm

Re: Bodhisattas

Post by rohana »

Hmm..
a) In the dispensation of a Buddha Sasna ( like the age we are presently living today , wherein the teaching is clear for one to strive forward) , can there be
human beings born in this age who are Bodhisattas , but completely bypass the teachings of the Buddha , and may or may not live a wholesome life .
A Bodhisatta is not guaranteed to become a Buddha until such a guarantee (niyata vivarana) is received from a living Buddha. So I'd guess a Bodhisatta who has not received such a guarantee may fall off the path at any given point - either through bad conduct or lack of zeal. Would a Bodhisatta avoid an existing sāsana while being in the human realm? Hmm.. I'd say possible, but unlikely, assuming the Bodhisatta is making progress in her career.

For either kind of Bodhisatta, since the Bodhisatta is a worldling, she is liable to breaking precepts; I think the jātaka stories have the Bodhisatta breaking all the five precepts except the fourth(lying). Being a worldling the Bodhisatta cannot avoid the bad realms: sometimes the Bodhisatta is an animal in the jātakas - so no chance of learning from any existing Buddha-sāsana in such situations.
b) Just as there can only be on Buddha at any given time , can there only be one Bodhisatta at one given time .
I don't think that would be the case. Even if we limit our consideration to Bodhisattas who have received niyata vivarana, a few such Bodhisattas existing simultaneously would be possible. e.g. Maitreya Bodhisatta and Gautama Bodhisatta would have existed simultaneously before the awakening of Gautama Bodhisatta.

That being said:

Pretty much all this is mostly guesswork based on writings about the Bodhisatta path, since a Bodhisatta path is not mentioned by the Buddha anywhere in the Suttas. I think the Āgamas may have one or two mentions, but the rarity of such a mention and that it doesn't exist in the other canons doesn't make it a very trustworthy source. Perhaps a clear-cut path doesn't exist for becoming a Buddha. Scholars like Dhammapāla(5th century?) used the various hagiographic information written about the Buddha and his disciples to create a framework for a Bodhisatta path. All of this is rather late work, inclduing the jātaka tales(some of which seem to be common Indian folklore). That's why it's hard to give any straightforward answers to your questions.

P.S. Searching for the Āgama material mentioning the Bodhisatta I found this sūtra: Ekottara Agama 20.6—Maitreya’s effort.

And this message on a Pāli mailing list:
  • In SN(Sutta-nipata), Parayana-vagga, 16 pupils asked questions to Buddha. Ajita is the first one and Tisa Metteyya is he second. According to Chinese translation, The name of Matteya Bodhisatta is Ajita.
    But in SN, it is described as two persons. First of all, reading SN you may find out what described about so-called Matteya Bodhisatta is different with what in SN. There is no reasons to assume they are the same people.
    According to Agamas, there is no descriptions of [Matteya Bodhisatta] in Samyutta Agama, there is only
    one sutta each in both Majjima Agama and Digha Agama talking briefly about [Matteya Bodhisatta], but having nothing to do with [Matteya Bodhisatta]'s special charateristics:[not praticing jhana, not totally-abandoning kilesa]. In both Majjima Agama and Digha Agama, this short description about [Matteya Bodhisatta] is related to descrptions of another Indian Myth--Cakkavatti-Sihanada(King of wheels). It should be treated as fairy story instead of history. There are seven to eight (longer) descriptions in Anguttara Agama. Due to strong flavor of Mahayana in Anguttara Agama, I do not want to quote them as bibliographical reference.
    Matteya Bodhisatta
"Delighting in existence, O monks, are gods and men; they are attached to existence, they revel in existence. When the Dhamma for the cessation of existence is being preached to them, their minds do not leap towards it, do not get pleased with it, do not get settled in it, do not find confidence in it. That is how, monks, some lag behind."
- It. p 43
rohana
Posts: 121
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2012 11:43 pm

Re: Bodhisattas

Post by rohana »

"Delighting in existence, O monks, are gods and men; they are attached to existence, they revel in existence. When the Dhamma for the cessation of existence is being preached to them, their minds do not leap towards it, do not get pleased with it, do not get settled in it, do not find confidence in it. That is how, monks, some lag behind."
- It. p 43
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