It is in those who possess love, which is wishing happiness on others, and compassion, which is the wish to free them from suffering, that bodhichitta, which is the wish to bring about the ultimate benefit of others, arises. Therefore the most important practice on the path is to cultivate bodhichitta, because it is the seed of perfect buddhahood, the entranceway to the universal vehicle, and the source of all happiness and good.

 

As it says in the Gandhavyuha Sutra:

Son of noble family, bodhichitta is the seed of all the buddhas’ qualities. It is like a field in which all the virtuous qualities of beings can grow. It is like a raging apocalyptic fire, burning away all harmful deeds. It is like a chasm in the earth, swallowing all unwholesome traits. It is like the supreme wish-fulfilling jewel, accomplishing all that could be wished for. It is like an excellent vase, perfectly fulfilling all that we desire. It is like a hook lifting beings out of the waters of samsara. It is like a sacred shrine venerated by gods, humans and asuras. In short, whatever virtues and qualities are possesed by the buddhas, the qualities and benefits of bodhichitta are equally extensive. Why? Because all the realms of a bodhisattvas’ activity arise therefrom. Even the bodhisattvas of past, present and future arise from bodhichitta.

This is how it is explained in some detail. Similarly, the Heart of the Middle Way says:

The seed of buddhahood is bodhichitta,

Adorned with love and compassion,

And great wisdom—

The wise therefore do not forsake it.[1]

Regarding the essence of bodhichitta, the Ornament of Clear Realization says:

Bodhichitta is: for the sake of others,

Longing to attain complete enlightenment.[2]

As this says, bodhichitta combines is the thought of seeking the goal, which is perfect enlightenment, for the sake of the objective, which is benefitting others. There are many means of classifying bodhichitta, but since on this occasion we are concerned with relative bodhichitta, and mainly the bodhichitta of aspiration, there are the three types: king-like bodhichitta, boatman-like bodhichitta, and shepherd-like bodhichitta. Of these, we are primarily concerned with the latter, because our attitude here is one of putting ourselves aside at first, and wishing intensely to lead others to the level of buddhahood. As the Dharmasangiti Sutra says:

Bhagavan, the bodhisattva first awakens all beings, not himself.

As for how bodhichitta is cultivated, to pursue a state of peace for ourselves alone, while all beings—who are our very own mothers—languish in the ocean of suffering, would be quite shameless. As it says in the Letter to a Disciple:

To see our dear ones submerged in samsara’s ocean,

As if they had fallen into a swirling pool,

But, failing to recognize them after birth and death, to then abandon them,

Only to escape alone—what could be more shameless?[3]

Therefore, the Precious Garland says:

As long as there are still some beings

Who have not been freed,

Even if I gain unsurpassed awakening,

May I still remain.

As this says, we must have the noble intention (lhag bsam) to be able to put aside our own awakening for the sake of even just a single being, and to take on the burden of working for others’ benefit. As it says in the Sutra of the Secret of the Tathagatas:

“Bhagavan, who possesses bodhichitta?” “Your Majesty, it is possessed by whosoever has a noble intention that is stable and unperturbed.”

Then, if we consider the goal of benefitting others, there are numerous possibilities, and they might all be suitable objectives as and when it is appropriate, but in the ultimate analysis, the higher realms do not last and are not beyond suffering. In fact, even the lower forms of awakening do not completely fulfil one’s own benefit and do not contribute to others’ welfare. In the end it will still be necessary to enter the great vehicle, and at that time any past inclinations for lesser paths will only slow down the process of gaining realization. On account of these and other faults, these can not be the main objectives. The principal goal therefore is nothing other than buddhahood in which the two kinds of obscuration have been entirely overcome, one attains the two kayas, and spontaneously brings about one’s own and others’ benefit.

 

Therefore we must say to ourselves: “How wonderful it would be if all beings could attain this precious state of perfect enlightenment! They must attain it! I shall be the one to help them attain it! Through the wisdom and care of the Lama and the Three Jewels may they attain it!”

 

As we think in this way, we must ensure that our body, speech and mind are all in unison. Then, in order to bring this about, we meditate in different ways, repeatedly and using various methods, we say to ourselves, “May the causes of suffering present in all beings, as well as the result, which is suffering itself, and the stains of the two obscurations—in short, anything that obstructs the attainment of the higher realms, liberation and omniscience, together with its seeds and habitual tendencies—all ripen on me!” and so on. With this, we consider that the objects of our practice are freed from every kind of fault and gain every excellence. This we should do repeatedly, counting the visualizations in the session. Even to cultivate bodhichitta like this just once is said to produce boundless merit. As it says in the Sutra Requested by Viradatta:

If the merit of the mind of awakening

Were to take on form,

It would fill the whole of space

And more besides.

A person might offer to the Lord of the World,

As many buddhafields as there are grains of sand in the Ganges,

All filled with precious gems,

But greater still is the offering made

By holding one’s palms together

And mentally paying homage to bodhichitta,

Because such an act is without limit.

There are other such statements and examples.

 

If, by contrast, we lack bodhichitta but still exert ourselves on other paths, we can not advance beyond the extreme of quiescence. As it says in the Ornament of Mahayana Sutras:

Those who forsake bodhichitta, which is so exceedingly worthy of praise,

May find quiescence, but will miss out on the joys of intending others’ benefit,

Seeking methods to do so, understanding great wisdom,

And seeing the truth of this.[4]

Having developed some certainty about the advantages of having bodhichitta and the faults of being without it, we must train methodically in the ways of generating bodhichitta in our own and others’ minds, causing it to remain and to increase further and further. As Lord Atisha said:

Those who seek to enter the doorway to the Mahayana teachings,

Must exert themselves even for an aeon

To arouse this sun and moon-like bodhichitta,

Which dispels the darkness and quells afflictions.

You might think that great benefits are not to be afforded merely by the bodhichitta of aspiration, but that would be incorrect. As the Introduction to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life says:

For the very instant that bodhichitta is born

In the weary captives enslaved within samsara,

They are called heirs of the bliss-gone buddhas,

Honourable to gods, humans, and the world.[5]

In this and other verses the benefits are explained in detail, mainly in terms of the bodhichitta of aspiration. And the Liberation of Maitreya describes the advantages of the bodhichitta of aspiration, that is still lacking earnest application, with the following analogy:

Son of noble family, it is like this. A diamond, even if it is flawed, surpasses in its splendour all the most splendid jewellery made of gold. It does not lose the name of diamond, and it can dispel all poverty. Son of noble family, in just the same way, to the omniscient mind, the diamond of bodhichitta, even if it lacks the element of earnest application still surpassess the golden jewellery of the shravakas’ and pratyekabuddhas’ qualities. Those who possess it do not lose the name of bodhisattvas, and they can dispel all the poverty of samsara.

The Shurangama Sutra says:

When it is taught that even to be deceptive and generate bodhichitta is the cause of buddhahood, what need is there to mention carrying out various virtuous deeds and generating bodhichitta?

There are countless other such quotations.

 

The ocean of compassion is unfathomable in its depth and breadth,

And in the centre of a noble intention’s vast and stable golden expanse,

Is bodhichitta, finely crafted from the supreme of precious substances,

The most perfect splendour of all existence and quiescence.