What is Bodhicitta?

Lately, I’ve been having a very interesting set of realizations, one after another, these past couple weeks that have made me re-think my approach to Buddhism. My problem up to this point, as explained in my last post, was twofold. First, I keep worrying about which Buddhist sect or practice is the right one. Second, I spend a lot of time worrying about who I am as a Buddhist (i.e. what do I call myself?) Last night, as I reviewed my last post, I found myself worrying about this stuff again, the same old arguments in my head one way or another. Last night, I sat in the spare bedroom, several books open, trying to sort out the different teachings. Then, it hit me. The question is unsolvable. No wonder in three years I never made any progress. Suddenly, when I realized this, my mind dropped the issue like a hot coal, and I’ve all but forgotten the issue.

This made me then realize what matters: bodhi or awakening. In Shantideva’s work, the Bodhicaryavatara, he devotes the entire first chapter to the importance of the aspiration for awakening:

9. When the spirit of awakening has arisen, in an instant a wretch who is bound in the prison of the cycle of existence is called a child of the Sugatas [the Buddhas] and becomes worthy of reverence in the worlds of gods and humans.

Master Yin-Shun writes that the first step in the path of a Bodhisattva is to have this aspiration.

This is what is known as bodhicitta (boh-dee-chit-ta) in Sanskrit: the aspiration for awakening.

But what does it mean? I recently read a story in Steve Hagen’s, Buddhism Plain and Simple, that I think explains bodhicitta very well. He tells a story of Socrates, where Socrates wanted to test the resolve of a young man who had come to him for instruction. So, Socrates went out into the middle of a river, waist-deep, and asked the youth to follow. The young man followed out into the river, and suddenly Socrates pulled him under water, trying to drown him. The young man fought very hard to get out, and Socrates pulled him back up. Then Socrates said, “When you fight for truth as you fight for breath, come back and I’ll teach you.” (pg. 55)

A lot of people come to Buddhism, or to Buddhist temples to learn meditation or to relax, or maybe just get some help with their life. This is how many Westerners first come to Buddhism, as evinced by the article here.* For some, this is all they ever learn before they return to their lives. This is not a bad thing actually, because if Buddhism can help them in some way, then Buddhism is doing its job. However, what many such people may not realize is that this kind of help is only temporary. They want to get away from their stress, so the meditation helps treat the symptoms, but the root problem is still there and will arise again. They may come to the temple again, maybe on a periodic basis, but they’re still applying superficial solutions to very deep problems. Thich Nhat Hanh jokingly calls them hungry ghosts.

However, people who come to the realization, sooner or later, that the problem is much more fundamental to existence, are the ones who first awaken to the Buddha’s teachings, and begin to awaken bodhicitta. Once you realize that there is no real solution to life, then you realize that you must now begin to let go and transcend it, however fast or slow. That can only be done in your mind, and that’s when you realize how important bodhi or awakening is.

Once one has experienced bodhicitta, nothing will stop them in the long-run. In classic Buddhist texts, it is said a bodhisattva must complete 3 extremely long eons (kalpas) to reach full Awakening, all the while building up merit through miscellaneous good deeds, training the mind to higher and higher states of realization, and refining one’s character. But if this sounds like a hopeless task, one should ask, could they really go back to mundane life and pretend that everything is alright again? If the answer is no, chances are you’ve awakened bodhicitta. You know you can’t go back because regular life is a big lie, and death is its end, so you can only keep moving forward.

But the nice thing about Buddhism is that while the goal may be very long-term,** even Buddhist practice now has plenty of short-term and easy to realize benefits, so why worry?

A certain well-respected monk I know on a certain online Buddhist forum used to put in his profile signature: Bodhicitta: the solution to all your problems. I now realize how right he was.

Namuamidabu

* – Thanks to The Worst Horse for finding this piece.

** – Of course, not all Buddhists agree whether Buddha-hood takes a long time or not. Even pondering the question is a waste of time though, as everyone’s different, with different backgrounds and so on.