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In Mahayana, bodhicitta ("aspiration to enlightenment" or "the thought of awakening") is the mind (citta) that is aimed at awakening (bodhi) through Prajnaparamita and compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings.Dayal, Har (1970). The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature, p. 59. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.Buswell, Robert E; Lopez, Donald S. The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 130. Princeton University Press, Nov 24, 2013.
Bodhicitta is the defining quality of the Mahayana bodhisattva (a being striving towards Buddhahood) and the act of giving rise to bodhicitta ( bodhicittotpāda) is what makes a bodhisattva a bodhisattva. Bodhicitta is the generative cause of a bodhisattva's eventual Buddhahood. The Daśabhūmika Sūtra explains that the arising of bodhicitta is the first step in the bodhisattva's career.Dayal, Har (1970). The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature, p. 50. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
According to the Bodhisattvabhumi, the bodhisattva who gives rise to bodhicitta thinks thus:
O may I obtain supreme and perfect Enlightenment, promote the good of all beings, and establish them in the final and complete nirvana and in the Buddha-knowledge!
Thus, according to the Bodhisattvabhumi, bodhicitta has two objects of thought or themes ( alambana): bodhi and the good of the living beings ( sattv-ārtha).
Similarly, in the Ornament of Realization ( Abhisamayālaṁkāra), bodhicitta is defined as follows:
The arising of the mind of is a desire for perfect, complete Bodhi, for the sake of others (Skt. cittotpādaḥ parārthāya samyaksambodhikāmatā)
According to Indian sources, the bodhicitta aspiration provides incalculable merit (such as good rebirths, a weakening of the defilements, increased mindfulness and luck).Dayal, Har (1970). The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature, p. 62. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. Bodhicitta is what makes someone a Mahayana bodhisattva, a child of the Buddha. Thus, the Indian Buddhist author Shantideva (8th century) writes in his Bodhicaryavatara:
Those who long to transcend the hundreds of miseries of existence, who long to relieve creatures of their sorrows, who long to enjoy many hundreds of joys, must never abandon bodhicitta. When bodhicitta has arisen in him, a wretch, captive in the prison of existence, he is straightway hailed son of the Sugatas the, to be revered in the worlds of gods and men.Williams, Paul (2008). Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, p. 195. Routledge.
According to Paul Williams, bodhicitta in early Mahāyāna works was less well defined and meant a "certain state of mind" characteristic of a bodhisattva.
The cultivation of bodhicitta plays a significant role in Mahāyāna liturgies, particularly in ceremonies where one takes the bodhisattva precepts. Within these texts, two distinct types of bodhicitta are identified. The first, known as "conventional bodhicitta" (samvrti), refers to the mental aspiration of a bodhisattva to attain enlightenment, as previously explained. The second, called "ultimate bodhicitta" (paramartha), denotes a mind that directly perceives either emptiness or the inherent enlightenment / buddha-nature within the mind itself.
Regarding the second aspect, some Mahayana sources discuss bodhicitta not as something that must be generated, but as something which is latent in all beings, something that is already there. This is linked to the idea of the inherently pure luminous mind (prakrtipariśuddhacitta). Thus, the Vairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra states: “Knowing one’s own mind according to reality is BODHI, and bodhicitta is the innately pure mind that is originally existent.”
the aspiration to bring about the welfare of all sentient beings and to attain buddhahood for their sake - is really the distilled essence, the squeeze juice, of all the Buddha's teachings, because ultimately, the Buddha's intention is to lead all sentient beings to perfect enlightenment.His Holiness the Dalai Lama (2011). Illuminating the Path to Enlightenment, p. 108.Thubten Dhargye Ling
Some modern East Asian authors on Buddhism, such as D.T. Suzuki and Masaharu Anesaki, define bodhicitta as an immanent inner awakening. For example, Anesaki writes that bodhicitta is "the primordial essence of our mind, which in itself consists in the supreme bodhi."
According to Zoketsu Norman Fischer, bodhicitta is a spontaneous wish to attain enlightenment motivated by great compassion for all sentient beings, accompanied by a falling away of the attachment to the illusion of an inherently existing self.
Fischer adds that bodhicitta, along with the mind of great compassion ( mahakaruna), motivates one to attain enlightenment Buddhahood, as quickly as possible and benefit infinite sentient beings through their emanations and other skillful means. Bodhicitta is a felt need to replace others' suffering with bliss. Since the ultimate end of suffering is nirvana, bodhicitta necessarily involves a motivation to help others to awaken (to find bodhi).
According to the Bodhisattvabhumi, there are two main stages of the development of bodhicitta:
Furthermore, according to Shantideva (and other sources), there are two types of bodhicitta from a practical perspective:
In his book Words of My Perfect Teacher, the Tibetan Buddhist teacher Patrul Rinpoche describes the three degrees of bodhicitta as taught in the Avatamsaka Sutra, claiming that shepherd-like is best.
Some bodhicitta practices emphasize the absolute (e.g. vipassana), while others emphasize the relative (e.g. metta), but both aspects are seen in all Mahāyāna practice as essential to enlightenment, especially in the practices of tonglen and lojong. Without the absolute, the relative can degenerate into pity and sentimentality, whereas the absolute without the relative can lead to nihilism and lack of desire to engage other sentient beings for their benefit.
Mahāyāna Buddhism teaches that the broader motivation of achieving one's own enlightenment "in order to help all sentient beings" is the best possible motivation one can have for any action, whether it be working in one's vocation, teaching others, or even making an incense offering. Thus, the bodhisattva's Six Perfections (Pāramitās) of Buddhism only become true "perfections" when they are done with the motivation of bodhicitta. This means that any act, such as the action of giving (Skt. dāna) can be done in a mundane sense, or it can be a pāramitā if it is conjoined with bodhicitta. Bodhicitta is the primary positive factor to be cultivated.
Numerous Mahāyāna texts outline various causes and conditions that foster the development of bodhicitta. The Yogachara identifies four primary conditions ( adhipatipratyaya) for generating bodhicitta:
According to Ulrich Pagel, numerous Mahāyāna sūtras, like the Bodhisattvapiṭaka, see the arising of bodhicitta ( bodhicittotpāda) as an ongoing process which must be constantly refurbished (rather than as a static event which only happens once). At the outset of his Madhyamakāvatāra, Chandrakirti likens compassion ( karuṇā) to a seed, water, and crops, emphasizing its significance at every stage of the bodhisattva’s journey. Compassion is crucial at the beginning, as it initiates the bodhisattva’s path; in the middle, as it sustains the practitioner and prevents regression into the limited nirvāṇa of an arhat; and at the end, where it manifests as the ceaseless, spontaneous actions of a fully enlightened being for the benefit of others. Karuṇā is thus regarded as the root of bodhicitta because the arising and enduring presence of bodhicitta depend on the strength of mahākaruṇā, or profound empathy for the suffering of all beings. To cultivate bodhicitta then, it is important to cultivate compassion.
A common practice in various Mahāyāna Buddhist traditions is to recite and aspiration prayers or chants which help give rise to bodhicitta. One popular chant in India and presently throughout the Mahayana world is the Bhadracaripraṇidhāna ( Vows of Good Conduct) or Ārya-samantabhadra-caryā-praṇidhāna-rāja ( The Royal Vow to follow the Noble Course of Conduct of Samantabhadra), a verse aspiration prayer which appears at the end of some versions of the Avatamsaka sutra. This text, originally an independent set of verses, is cited in numerous sources and was known to figures like Bhavya, Shantideva, and Kamalaśīla.
One short prayer for bodhicitta which is very popular in Tibetan Buddhism was composed by the Indian paṇḍita Dīpaṁkaraśrījñāna (Atiśa):
Jingying Huiyuan (523–592), in his Dasheng Yizhang (Compendium on the Purport of Mahāyāna), categorizes the generation of bodhicitta into three types:
In East Asian traditions, a common method of developing bodhicitta is by reciting Sramana Zhiyi four-fold Bodhisattva vows formula, which is:Thích Thiện Tâm. Buddhism of Wisdom & Faith: Pure Land Principles and Practice (1994), p. 31. Sutra Translation Committee of the United States.
There is also a bodhicitta mantra which is recited in some traditions of Chinese esoteric Buddhism and Shingon Buddhism. The Sanskrit mantra is:
Oṃ Bodhicittam Utpādayāmi (Om I aspire to develop the Awakened mind).
Some Tibetan Buddhist lineages, particularly within the Nyingma tradition, incorporate Dream Yoga ( milam) as a method for cultivating bodhicitta. This practice involves maintaining awareness during dreams to simultaneously develop compassion for dream beings and recognize the illusory nature of all phenomena, thereby training both relative and absolute bodhicitta.
In Lojong's 59 slogans, Point Two: The main practice, which is training in absolute and relative bodhicitta.
When only realizing emptiness, the practitioner might not benefit others, so the Mahayana path unites emptiness and compassion, this keeps from falling into the two limits and remaining on the middle way. Traditionally, Bodhisattvas practice meditative concentration at the beginning toward attaining the noble one's wisdom level, then the main practice becomes benefiting others spontaneously, unlike other paths that might discontinue benefiting others.
All the conducive causes and auspicious conditions should be complete for bodhicitta to properly arise. After continued training, these qualities can arise in the mind without contrivance.
The two main traditions in taking the Bodhicitta vows are: 1) Nagarjuna's profound view chariot and, 2) Asanga's vast conduct chariot. After which this is guarded with what to avoid, and what to adopt.
The practice can be divided into three parts: 1) mind training, 2) arousing bodhicitta, and 3) training in what to adopt and what to avoid. These can be called the 1) preliminary practice, 2) main practice, and 3) concluding practice. The preliminary practice is training in the four boundless qualities. The main practice is arousing Bodhicitta and taking vows. The concluding practice is training in what to adopt and guarding without fail against what to avoid.
The Nyingma school preliminary practice cycle in the Adi-Buddha to Longchenpa to Jigme Lingpa's lineage of the . Invocation; Confession; Faith with Refuge: Dzogchen nature in the channels, inner air, and ; Mandala of essence, nature, and compassion; Generation: Illusory perceptions like the moon reflecting in the water. Follow like Manjushree to dedicate with the aspiration to realize the innermost meaning and realize to attain Buddhahood as a spiritual warrior. (2017). 9780980173055, Blazing Wisdom Institute. ISBN 9780980173055
According to Je Tsongkhapa the seven causes and effects are thus:
According to Pabongka Rinpoche the second method consists of the following meditations:
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