Bodhicittaśāstra

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Bodhicittaśāstra

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Descriptionངོ་སྤྲོད།

The Bodhicitta-śāstra (Taishō vol. 32, no. 1665) is extant only in Chinese translation. . . . This is a Buddhist tantric text and constitutes one of the most important śāstras in the formulation of the Shingon theory of human-buddha integration. The term “human-buddha integration,” which first appears in this śāstra, called zhi shen cheng fo in Chinese and sokushin jōbutsu in Japanese, literally means “the body, just as it is, is that of the Buddha.” This śāstra claims that human-buddha integration is possible because bodhicitta (the wisdom of knowing the true nature of self, i.e., that the self is a product of emptiness) is shared by both sentient beings and the Buddha, who in this case is Dharmakāya Mahāvairocana, the personification of emptiness. (Source: Esoteric Texts, translator's introduction, 105)

Reference

Bodhicittaśāstra. Chinese Canon.

Interconnections

Works related to this item

2 Full translations

Kiyota, Minoru. Tantric Concept of Bodhicitta: A Buddhist Experiential Philosophy (An Exposition based upon the Mahāvairocana-sūtra, Bodhicitta-śāstra and Sokushin-jōbutsu-gi). Madison, WI: South Asian Area Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1982.

Books1982About this item

This work consists of an expository essay on and an anotated translation of three Buddhist Tantric texts: the Mahāvairocana-sūtra composed in India in the 7th century, the Bodhicitta-śāstra composed in China in the 8th century, and the Sokushin-jōbutsu-gi composed in Japan in the 9th century. The purpose is to supplement my previous work, Shingon Buddhism: Theory and Practice (Los Angeles-Tokyo: Buddhist Books International, 1978), the central theme of which was bodhicitta. The present work describes the

doctrinal basis of bodhicitta thought by making reference to the three texts—texts which I consider to indicate the evolution of bodhicitta thought from India and China to Japan. There are, of course, other Buddhist texts dealing with bodhicitta, but the selection was dictated by my desire to examine the doctrinal basis of Shingon's man-Buddha integration theory. Bodhicitta constitutes the agent of this integration.

This work treats bodhicitta thought as a form of an experiential philosophy and describes that philosophy by means of iconographic maṇḍalas. Experiential philosophy in the context in the context of this work means that bodhisattva practice is the norm to cultivate and perfect bodhicitta, the perfection of bodhicitta signaling the realm of man-Buddha integration. Maṇḍalas are employed to describe this type of experiential philosophy and integrating process by visual representation. This work is not a phenomenological study of Buddhist Tantrism or a historical study of the Buddhist Tantric tradition as a whole. It is a doctrinal study based upon an examination of the three texts; it zeros in on bodhicitta; it describes bodhicitta as an experiential philosophy and the agent of man-Buddha integration.

An annotated translation of the three texts is attached to this work as textual reference. (Source: Kiyota, Tantric Concept of Bodhicitta, vii)

White, Kenneth R. The Role of Bodhicitta in Buddhist Enlightenment including a Translation into English of the Bodhicitta-śāstra, Benkemmitsu-nikyōron, and Sammaya-kaijo. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2005.

Books2005About this item

This book contains the first complete translation and interpretation of two of the works of Kūkai (744–845), the founder of the Japanese Shingon School of Buddhism. As an element of Mahāyāna Buddhist thought, bodhicitta ('enlightenment mind') is integral to an accurate understanding of the quest for Buddhist enlightenment. With the development of theories of this process, bodhicitta came to serve as that impetus urging a practitioner to engage himself in practice aiming at not merely individual release from samsara in an effort to attain nirvana, but also in other-oriented compassionate acts, the embodiment of which is the bodhisattva. This important interaction with, and responsibility for, others in the enlightenment process was particularly integral to the formulation of the ethical basis for East Asian Buddhism.

As discussion of the possibilities available to sentient beings engaged in various ritual practices and devotions progressed, the notion arose that they were actual partakers in Buddha-nature, with the potential of attaining Buddhahood. That sentient beings could even think of such a notion was indeed a radical departure from the doctrines of early Buddhism.

It was perhaps Kūkai, in his Shingon Buddhist doctrine, who took this notion to its fullest extent as he forwarded his scheme of actual integration between man and Buddha, facilitated by means of specifically directed practice, including activities of body, speech and mind. Such integration was not merely a philosophical phenomenon, but was viewed as a tangible and very immediate process. This immediacy is typified in the statement adopted by Kūkai indicating that one could even 'be a Buddha in this very body' (sokushin-jōbutsu), eliminating the necessity for countless rebirths.

Kūkai saw his unique Shingon doctrine and practice as not merely an addition to Mahāyāna Buddhist thought and Japanese Buddhist ritual, but rather as the distillation of all that Buddhist doctrine had been hinting at and attempting to explain. He took it to constitute the effective essence of Mahāyāna Buddhism, emphasizing the important notion that Buddhahood is a possibility for all. Two of Kūkai's original works, Benkemmitsu-nikyōron and Sammaya-kaijo, as well as the Bodhicitta-śāstra, a text from which he often quoted, constitute the foundation of his sokushin-jōbutsu thought, and are elucidating in an analysis of the development of his bodhicitta view. (Source: Edwin Mellen Press)

1 Scholarship

Kiyota, Minoru. Tantric Concept of Bodhicitta: A Buddhist Experiential Philosophy (An Exposition based upon the Mahāvairocana-sūtra, Bodhicitta-śāstra and Sokushin-jōbutsu-gi). Madison, WI: South Asian Area Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1982.

Books1982About this item

This work consists of an expository essay on and an anotated translation of three Buddhist Tantric texts: the Mahāvairocana-sūtra composed in India in the 7th century, the Bodhicitta-śāstra composed in China in the 8th century, and the Sokushin-jōbutsu-gi composed in Japan in the 9th century. The purpose is to supplement my previous work, Shingon Buddhism: Theory and Practice (Los Angeles-Tokyo: Buddhist Books International, 1978), the central theme of which was bodhicitta. The present work describes the

doctrinal basis of bodhicitta thought by making reference to the three texts—texts which I consider to indicate the evolution of bodhicitta thought from India and China to Japan. There are, of course, other Buddhist texts dealing with bodhicitta, but the selection was dictated by my desire to examine the doctrinal basis of Shingon's man-Buddha integration theory. Bodhicitta constitutes the agent of this integration.

This work treats bodhicitta thought as a form of an experiential philosophy and describes that philosophy by means of iconographic maṇḍalas. Experiential philosophy in the context in the context of this work means that bodhisattva practice is the norm to cultivate and perfect bodhicitta, the perfection of bodhicitta signaling the realm of man-Buddha integration. Maṇḍalas are employed to describe this type of experiential philosophy and integrating process by visual representation. This work is not a phenomenological study of Buddhist Tantrism or a historical study of the Buddhist Tantric tradition as a whole. It is a doctrinal study based upon an examination of the three texts; it zeros in on bodhicitta; it describes bodhicitta as an experiential philosophy and the agent of man-Buddha integration.

An annotated translation of the three texts is attached to this work as textual reference. (Source: Kiyota, Tantric Concept of Bodhicitta, vii)

2 A topic of

Kiyota, Minoru. Tantric Concept of Bodhicitta: A Buddhist Experiential Philosophy (An Exposition based upon the Mahāvairocana-sūtra, Bodhicitta-śāstra and Sokushin-jōbutsu-gi). Madison, WI: South Asian Area Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1982.

Books1982About this item

This work consists of an expository essay on and an anotated translation of three Buddhist Tantric texts: the Mahāvairocana-sūtra composed in India in the 7th century, the Bodhicitta-śāstra composed in China in the 8th century, and the Sokushin-jōbutsu-gi composed in Japan in the 9th century. The purpose is to supplement my previous work, Shingon Buddhism: Theory and Practice (Los Angeles-Tokyo: Buddhist Books International, 1978), the central theme of which was bodhicitta. The present work describes the

doctrinal basis of bodhicitta thought by making reference to the three texts—texts which I consider to indicate the evolution of bodhicitta thought from India and China to Japan. There are, of course, other Buddhist texts dealing with bodhicitta, but the selection was dictated by my desire to examine the doctrinal basis of Shingon's man-Buddha integration theory. Bodhicitta constitutes the agent of this integration.

This work treats bodhicitta thought as a form of an experiential philosophy and describes that philosophy by means of iconographic maṇḍalas. Experiential philosophy in the context in the context of this work means that bodhisattva practice is the norm to cultivate and perfect bodhicitta, the perfection of bodhicitta signaling the realm of man-Buddha integration. Maṇḍalas are employed to describe this type of experiential philosophy and integrating process by visual representation. This work is not a phenomenological study of Buddhist Tantrism or a historical study of the Buddhist Tantric tradition as a whole. It is a doctrinal study based upon an examination of the three texts; it zeros in on bodhicitta; it describes bodhicitta as an experiential philosophy and the agent of man-Buddha integration.

An annotated translation of the three texts is attached to this work as textual reference. (Source: Kiyota, Tantric Concept of Bodhicitta, vii)

White, Kenneth R. The Role of Bodhicitta in Buddhist Enlightenment including a Translation into English of the Bodhicitta-śāstra, Benkemmitsu-nikyōron, and Sammaya-kaijo. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2005.

Books2005About this item

This book contains the first complete translation and interpretation of two of the works of Kūkai (744–845), the founder of the Japanese Shingon School of Buddhism. As an element of Mahāyāna Buddhist thought, bodhicitta ('enlightenment mind') is integral to an accurate understanding of the quest for Buddhist enlightenment. With the development of theories of this process, bodhicitta came to serve as that impetus urging a practitioner to engage himself in practice aiming at not merely individual release from samsara in an effort to attain nirvana, but also in other-oriented compassionate acts, the embodiment of which is the bodhisattva. This important interaction with, and responsibility for, others in the enlightenment process was particularly integral to the formulation of the ethical basis for East Asian Buddhism.

As discussion of the possibilities available to sentient beings engaged in various ritual practices and devotions progressed, the notion arose that they were actual partakers in Buddha-nature, with the potential of attaining Buddhahood. That sentient beings could even think of such a notion was indeed a radical departure from the doctrines of early Buddhism.

It was perhaps Kūkai, in his Shingon Buddhist doctrine, who took this notion to its fullest extent as he forwarded his scheme of actual integration between man and Buddha, facilitated by means of specifically directed practice, including activities of body, speech and mind. Such integration was not merely a philosophical phenomenon, but was viewed as a tangible and very immediate process. This immediacy is typified in the statement adopted by Kūkai indicating that one could even 'be a Buddha in this very body' (sokushin-jōbutsu), eliminating the necessity for countless rebirths.

Kūkai saw his unique Shingon doctrine and practice as not merely an addition to Mahāyāna Buddhist thought and Japanese Buddhist ritual, but rather as the distillation of all that Buddhist doctrine had been hinting at and attempting to explain. He took it to constitute the effective essence of Mahāyāna Buddhism, emphasizing the important notion that Buddhahood is a possibility for all. Two of Kūkai's original works, Benkemmitsu-nikyōron and Sammaya-kaijo, as well as the Bodhicitta-śāstra, a text from which he often quoted, constitute the foundation of his sokushin-jōbutsu thought, and are elucidating in an analysis of the development of his bodhicitta view. (Source: Edwin Mellen Press)