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Overview of the Practices for Developing Bodhichitta through Equalizing and Exchanging Our Attitudes about Self and Others
Equalizing and exchanging our attitudes about self and others is one of the two methods for working ourselves up to an actual state of mind and heart of bodhichitta. Not only is bodhichitta itself a very extensive state of mind, but the practices that lead to it are also very extensive.
Bodhichitta itself is based on and accompanied by quite a few constructive states of mind or mental factors. Therefore, in the process of working ourselves up to being able to focus on bodhichitta – which means to focus on our own individual enlightenments which have not yet happened, but nevertheless can happen on the basis of our Buddha-nature (this is referring to the various factors of our mental continuum that will enable us to achieve the various Bodies of a Buddha) – while we’re focusing on that not-yet-happened enlightenment, we have the intention to achieve it based on our understanding and confidence that it is possible, and the intention to benefit all others equally, on the basis of that enlightenment.
In order to have that intention to benefit all others equally, we need to have, first of all, a general state of equanimity. This is the state of mind with which we have neither attraction nor repulsion nor indifference toward anyone, because not only is the goal of bodhichitta (in other words, enlightenment) extremely vast, but the scope of it (aiming it to benefit all limited beings) is likewise extremely vast. The goal is vast, and so the scope of how many others we’re going to benefit is vast. In other words, the enlightened state is very vast, and the number of beings that we’re going to help is very vast.
The type of happiness that we want to bring to others and the amount of suffering that we want to eliminate from them is also vast; it’s the largest amount possible. Because of that, we label this whole state of mind that’s involved with the process of achieving enlightenment "Mahayana.” "Maha” means vast, so vast in all these ways that I just mentioned. "Yana” is a vehicle of mind; in other words, a state of mind that acts as a vehicle to bring us to a goal. Then, of course, we have the practices and the texts that describe the process and are involved with the process of reaching that goal.
We need to have this state of basic equanimity as a foundation for bodhichitta, and this is a state of equanimity that is developed in common with the Hinayana practices. "Hinayana” means a more modest vehicle of mind that is aiming for a more modest goal, which is just our own liberation. Because this is an equanimity that is, as I say, free of attraction, repulsion and indifference, or the three poisons, the so-called poisonous states of mind. Attraction is a longing desire and attachment to others; repulsion is a rejection, which is an aspect of anger toward others; and indifference (meaning ignoring others) is an aspect of naivety; we don’t realize that they are beings who have suffering, want to be happy and don’t want to be unhappy, just as we do.
Then, we need a further type of equanimity, which is an even stronger state of equanimity that we develop specifically in the Mahayana practices, which is, when we are actually involved in helping others, not to have favorites. Then, we need to have an attitude in which we see the equality of not only all others among themselves, but the equality of ourselves with others, so that we can think to work for eliminating everybody’s unhappiness. In order to reinforce that attitude and form a basis for the further constructive states of mind that we need, we need to develop what’s called renunciation (nges-'byung), which is the determination to be free from our own suffering, which means all three types of suffering – suffering of pain and unhappiness; suffering of change (which refers to our ordinary type of happiness that never lasts and never satisfies); then the uncontrollably recurring rebirth that is the basis for the first two types of suffering, which is generated by our unawareness (ma-rig-pa), disturbing emotions (nyon-mongs) and karma (las).
When we have this attitude of seeing that ourselves and others are in the same type of situation, then we need to see the disadvantages of working just for our own welfare. That's called the self-cherishing attitude (rang bces-par 'dzin-pa) with which we work only for ourselves and ignore helping others. We see the advantages of cherishing others, with which our primary focus is on helping them and ignoring our own selfish wishes and needs. Although, obviously, if we’re working for the welfare of everyone, we are part of everyone, so we need to understand this cherishing of others and ignoring of our own selfish needs properly.
Then, on the basis of all these positive states of mind that we’ve just mentioned, we develop love (the wish for everybody equally to be happy) and compassion (the wish for everybody to be free of their suffering and the causes for suffering), which is extending that renunciation or determination to be free to others. Then, we develop what’s called the exceptional resolve. By the way, this practice of love and compassion – wishing for others to be free from their suffering and the causes and to have happiness and the causes for happiness – can be practiced and strengthened in terms of tonglen practice (giving and taking). Then, we need to develop what’s called the exceptional resolve (lhag-bsam) with which we take responsibility to help to bring everyone to enlightenment – the highest goal – and we resolve to do that by ourselves, even if we have to do it only by ourselves. Obviously, that doesn’t mean the arrogant state of mind that "I’m the only one that’s capable of it, so I don’t need anybody’s help in this process,” but it is just referring to how exceptional that resolve or wish is, even if we have to do it all by ourselves, we will do it.
Based on all of that, we have next the development of bodhichitta, because we realize that the only way that we will be able to help everybody fully to reach enlightenment is if we reach enlightenment ourselves. In the generation of that state of focusing with bodhichitta on our own enlightenment that has not yet happened, with the intention to achieve it and to benefit everybody as much as we can, on that basis, we need to work ourselves up through all these steps in order to generate that full state of mind of bodhichitta in its full strength and very sincerely. Once we have accustomed ourselves and are totally, totally familiar from repeating over and over and over again all these stages to build up to bodhichitta, then we will be able to generate that state of mind of bodhichitta just instantly with all its full characteristics.
When we need to work ourselves up through all these stages to develop bodhichitta, that’s called labored (rtsol-bcas) bodhichitta. In other words, we have to put in labor or work to achieve it; we have to construct it, like building something, which is the connotation of the Tibetan word here. However, when we are able to generate it in full, automatically, that’s called the unlabored (rtsol-med) state of bodhichitta, and at that point, we become technically what’s known as a bodhisattva.
We can see through this general introduction that there are many steps that are involved in our bodhichitta practice. Also, we should be aware that there is a second method for developing bodhichitta, a second sequence, and there’s also a method that combines these two. Nevertheless, because our time is limited, it will be difficult to go through every step with time for practicing it. To gain some familiarity with all the steps, we would require quite a large amount of time, but I would like to introduce at least all the steps in this particular method and with an elaboration of it that I learned from my teacher Serkong Rinpoche, an elaboration of some of the steps involved, more extensively than we might find elsewhere. We will only really have time to do some of the meditations for some of the parts, not all of the parts. Otherwise, we’ll never get through all of them. We’ll have a little bit of more extensive practice perhaps in the first stages of this and, after that, just a general survey of what comes next in the process.
I’d like at the end to describe a little bit more fully how we actually focus on our enlightenment which has not yet happened. In other words, when we actually get to the point in which we are meditating with bodhichitta, what actually is going on in our minds? Since there are many people who don’t really understand this, and when they consider themselves meditating on bodhichitta, in fact, what they are doing is meditating on love and compassion, which although extremely beneficial, is not actually bodhichitta meditation, it’s what comes before bodhichitta meditation, its basis.
This is from Part 1 of 9 of Practices for Equalizing and Exchanging Our Attitudes
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