Arhats or Bodhisattvas? The goals of Theravada and Mahayana monastics

 The Arhat Goal

·        Most Theravada Buddhists aim to become an arhat, one who gains enlightenment through the help of someone else. Arhat literally means “worthy one” as it is someone who has become worthy of achieving the difficult goal of enlightenment.

·        The first arhats were the Buddha’s ascetic companions who converted to Buddhism after hearing the Buddha’s First Sermon at the Deer Park in Sarnath.

·        As someone progresses through the Buddhist path, they may acquire supernatural powers through mastering meditation practices, but there are strict guidelines about how one should use these, and this should never be their intention – they should aim for nirvana, not to gain supernatural powers like the ability to fly and read minds.

·        It is a grave sin in Theravada Buddhism to falsely claim that you have become enlightened.

·        Arhats are treated with respect by Theravada Buddhists because they have undertaken the great feat of becoming nirvanaed – this is one of the reasons why the laity supports the sangha by giving donations. However, arhats should not be worshipped, as this could cause attachment.

The Bodhisattva Goal

•        A bodhisattva is a being that vows to become a future Buddha. As soon as the vow is taken, they are on the bodhisattva path (this is a vow taken only by monastics). A person who becomes a bodhisattva is motivated by compassion (karuna) for all of humanity and wants to save them from suffering. They therefore work over many lifetimes to help other beings to escape from Samsara. They do this by choosing to delay their own entry into pari-nirvana and instead remain in Samsara even after they have gained enlightenment, in order to wait for their time cycle and be able to become a Buddha once Buddhist teachings have been forgotten by the world.

•        Mahayana Buddhists view their teaching as the greater teaching/greater vehicle because the aim is more compassionate for all of mankind. In the Mahayana view, bodhisattvas are worshipped and are seen as being responsible for beings within Samsara, whilst the Buddha is in pari nirvana. The origin of the bodhisattva goal is explained in the Lotus Sutra. The Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra after his death when he appeared to his followers in the Samboghakaya (heavenly body). He introduced the bodhisattva path as the greatest goal for all Buddhists: it is greater to become a Buddha and to save others than to be an arhat.

•        A bodhisattva’s career starts with following the path of Buddhism, but then the thought of enlightenment (the ‘bodhicitta’) will arise in them, giving them karuna (compassion) for all beings in the universe. This will lead them to vow before the body of the heavenly Buddha (the Samboghakaya) that they will become a Buddha in a future timecyle for the benefit of all beings.

•        Avalokiteshvara is believed to be at the very end of his bodhisattva career, so he has unlimited punya (merit) to share with all followers. For this reason, he is known as the ‘Bodhisattva of Compassion’. Known as the ‘bodhisattva of 1,000 arms’ to show how much karuna he has to give. Also shown through his many faces – he is looking down on all beings in Samsara. In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha recommended that his followers worshipped Avalokiteshavara, as he is able to hear all the suffering in the world and stop the suffering from occurring. If someone cries out to Avalokiteshvara when they are suffering (e.g. drowning or burning to death) he will save them.

•        Many Tibetan Buddhists argue that the 14^th Dalai Lama is the earthly form of Avalokiteshvara. Tibetan Buddhists believe that the current Dalai Lama is the earthly reborn form of Avalokiteshvara. He is therefore seen as Avalokiteshvara’s earthly instrument. ‘He is the “Bodhisattva” of our age, the “chief deity” of Tibet and the divine energy which functions directly behind the person of the Dalai Lama.’ Victor & Victoria Trimondi. This means that the Dalai Lama is believed to have all the same character aspects as Avalokiteshvara: being wholly compassionate for all beings. The Dalai Lama therefore suffers himself in order to help others escape Dukkha.

Nirvana and Samsara: Ultimate Reality in Buddhism

 

Nirvana

·        Nirvana is the state that one reaches when they attain Bodhi and become enlightened. It is possible for one to enter nirvana whilst they are alive and live a completely “other” existence on earth, where they are truly aware of the true nature of things. It may be more accurate to view “nirvana” as a verb, as one becomes “nirvanaed” rather than nirvana being a specific place that one goes to. The most accurate definition of nirvana is ‘total understanding of the true nature of things.’

·        Nirvana during life is impossible to describe, but in this state one cannot create more bad karma as at death they will leave Samsara. Whilst one may still experience physical suffering such as an illness, having total awareness of the true nature of things brings people into the awareness that this suffering will pass.

·        After death, one enters pari-nirvana, there are different interpretations of Nirvana after death – Theravada Buddhists believe that one leaves samsara, becoming inaccessible to the beings that are within the wheel, and that this state is impossible for humans to know about or truly understand. Mahayana Buddhists view pari-nirvana as a splendid heavenly paradise which lasts forever as it is outside of Samsara, but those who enter it are still accessible to beings in Samsara.

·        Nirvana is a state that is difficult to describe, even the Buddha struggled to describe it to his followers, and this struggle was later documented in the Questions of King Milinda in the 80^th Dilemma of the Pali Canon (the Milindapanda). The monk Nagasena tells King Minlinda that it is impossible to describe nirvana through an analogy, as nothing is like nirvana. However, he is able to provide analogies for some of the effects of nirvana, for example it is said to be like a cooling drink of water that assuages one’s thirst. There are strengths in this approach as it presents a realistic picture of a difficult religious concept, but it is also problematic as followers are left unable to truly understand nirvana and this may prevent them from progressing on the path to enlightenment.

·        There is debate in Buddhism as to whether one should aim to become nirvanaed or if it is better to aim for a good rebirth. This entirely dependent on which stage of life a Buddhist is in – it is probably more unrealistic for a lay Buddhist to aim for nirvana in their lifetime if they do not plan on renouncing the world and becoming a monk. They should instead aim for a better rebirth by performing good karmic deeds, which will ensure a good rebirth as a human or God, where they can either focus on nirvana or on creating good punya through good actions. However, for monks it may be more realistic for them to aim for nirvana, which is the final goal of Theravada Buddhism. Buddhists acknowledge that it takes many lifetimes for one to be ready to reach nirvana, the Buddha was said to remember over 100,000 past lives on the night of his enlightenment.

The Arhat Goal

·        Most Theravada Buddhists aim to become an arhat, one who gains enlightenment through the help of someone else. Arhat literally means “worthy one” as it is someone who has become worthy of achieving the difficult goal of enlightenment.

·        The first arhats were the Buddha’s ascetic companions who converted to Buddhism after hearing the Buddha’s First Sermon at the Deer Park in Sarnath.

·        As someone progresses through the Buddhist path, they may acquire supernatural powers through mastering meditation practices, but there are strict guidelines about how one should use these, and this should never be their intention – they should aim for nirvana, not to gain supernatural powers like the ability to fly and read minds.

·        It is a grave sin in Theravada Buddhism to falsely claim that you have become enlightened.

·        Arhats are treated with respect by Theravada Buddhists because they have undertaken the great feat of becoming nirvanaed – this is one of the reasons why the laity supports the sangha by giving donations. However, arhats should not be worshipped, as this could cause attachment.

Samsara

·        Samsara is often visually depicted as a wheel, as it represents the constant cycle of death and rebirth that all beings are caught up in. Samsara has many realms: heavenly realms such as those of the Gods and demi-Gods, and hell realms and animal realms, where people go to suffer and produce more bad karma. One’s rebirth is dependent on one’s past karma.

·        Karma is the universal law of cause and effect that governs samsara. It is a universal law like gravity, and is not controlled by any external authority. Karma is seen as the invisible force that drives the wheel of Samsara – good karma results in a good rebirth and bad karma results in a bad rebirth. Karma is also responsible for determining one’s form, status and gender in the next life, amongst other things. Buddhists aim to perform actions which create good karma and avoid actions which cause bad karma. This is because they wish to have a better rebirth as a human (to be able to gain nirvana and escape samsara) or as a God (where it is harder to gain bad karma and one lives a long and happy life).

·        Samsara is linked with the concept of paticassamuppada – this is known as the ‘chain of dependent origination’ and suggests that actions cause other actions in a constant chain. This chain can only be broken by achieving nirvana and escaping Samsara after death.

       Most Buddhists understand Samsara in the literal sense – this suggests that the wheel is real, it is how the cosmology of the universe is really organised, and the realms are real places where people have real experiences. However a minority of people interpret samsara in a purely psychological way. They suggest that instead of one being reborn into different states, one’s behaviour creates mental states which are compared to the realms in a metaphorical way. For example, someone may have a very animalistic state of mind because of their past behaviour, rather than literally being reborn as an animal. Mark Epstein suggests that Samsara is indicative of “neurotic suffering” and different states of mind