The Commitments of Awakening Mind 165 The Commitments of Awakening Mind The ethical system of the bodhisattva is treated in seven parts: (1) the causes of awakening mind; (2) the essence of its commitments; (3) distinctions; (4) the two traditions for the development of awakening mind; (5) training common to both traditions; (6) formation of ultimate awakening mind; and (7) the consequences of damaging the commitments and benefits of safeguarding them [A synopsis of the phases of the path in the Universal Way forms the conclusion.] THE CAUSES OF AWAKENING MIND [I] The causes of awakening mind are discussed in three parts: (1) causes in general, (2) specific factors that contribute to its formation, and (3) the particular [cause according to a] quintessential instruction Causes in General [A] The ethics of awakening mind in the Universal Way Arise from awakened affinity, faith, love, and courage To enter the path to enlightenment, the Universal Way, one must first generate an altruistic resolve to awaken and assume its commitments The formation of this “awakening mind” depends on the following causes: signs of an awakened affinity for the Universal Way, faith in the unfailing sources of refuge [the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha], loving concern for others, and the courage to endure great hardships [for their sake] The Stages of the Bodhisattva states1: 166 Buddhist Ethics What are the four causes [of the mind of awakening]? The most perfect affinity is the first cause of the spirit of a bodhisattva The support of the buddhas, bodhisattvas, and spiritual guides is the second cause of the spirit of a bodhisattva Compassion for others is the third cause of the spirit of a bodhisattva Fearlessness in facing the lengthy, diverse, intense, and constant misery of existence and the hardships [endured for the sake of others] is the fourth cause of the spirit of a bodhisattva Specific Factors that Contribute to its Formation [B] Awakening mind is formed through the strengths of a friend, cause, effect, path, and familiarization The specific factors that contribute to the formation of the relative awakening mind in its two aspects3 are stated in [Maitreya’s] Scripture Ornament4: Awakening mind is generated through the [five] strengths Of the friend, cause, root [of virtue], learning, and familiarization with the wholesome It is said to be unstable when revealed by others (the strength of the friend) And stable when born from the latter [four] strengths In other words, an awakening mind is formed in dependence upon [one or more of] these five factors: the strength of [i.e., indication by] a spiritual guide (the friend)5; the strength of awakened affinity (the cause)6; the strength of a nurtured root of virtue (the result)7; the strength of study of the scriptures of the Universal Way (the path)8; and [the strength of] increased familiarization with what one has learned.9 An awakening mind formed as a result of the first factor is unstable because it relies upon a friend One formed as a result of [one of] the latter four factors is stable since it will not be easily damaged in adverse circumstances The relative awakening mind is formed principally due to [the first factor], the strength of others’ [indications].10 The Particular Cause according to a Quintessential Instruction [C] It arises from compassion, which springs from love Awakening mind, the intention to attain enlightenment, arises from compassion, the wish that all beings be free of suffering and its root Compassion arises from the cultivation of love, the essence of which The Commitments of Awakening Mind 167 is the wish to give help and happiness to others Therefore, the cause of all noble qualities is love This teaching is found in the Advice to the King Scripture THE ESSENCE OF THE COMMITMENTS [II] The essence of the commitments consists in the ethical conduct that forsakes unwholesome deeds of body, speech, and mind, Motivated by the intention to attain complete awakening for the sake of others The essence of the commitments of awakening mind is defined as the ethics of renunciation endowed with an exceptional scope: the motivation to attain awakening for the sake of others, and the resolve (and its concomitant mental factors) to engage in concordant conduct and to forsake unwholesome thoughts, words, and deeds that are incompatible with one’s goal [Maitreya’s] Ornament of Realizations states11: Awakening mind is the intention to achieve Complete and authentic awakening for others’ sake DISTINCTIONS OF AWAKENING MIND [III] Different aspects of awakening mind are distinguished according to (1) its characteristics, (2) the ways it is formed, (3) differentiation of its stages, (4) similes for awakening mind, (5) its focuses, and (6) its ceremonies Characteristics [A] The aspiring mind is characterized by wish; the venturing mind, by endeavor Two aspects of awakening mind are distinguished on the basis of its principal characteristics: (1) the commitments of the aspiration to awaken, and (2) the commitments of venturing [on the path to awakening] The first is defined as the ethics of a bodhisattva on the training [stage] of the Universal Way, accompanied by the wish to attain complete awakening for the sake of others The second is defined as the ethics of a bodhisattva on the training [stage] of the Universal Way, accompanied by the intention to engage in a vast range of virtuous activity that leads to the goal of awakening Aspiring mind is exemplified by 168 Buddhist Ethics the awakening mind in the continuum of a bodhisattva on [the path of] accumulation or preparation Venturing mind is exemplified by the awakening mind that exists as the nature of the post-equipoise state of an exalted bodhisattva.12 In drawing distinctions between the aspiring and venturing aspects of awakening mind, Damstrasena13 and other masters explain that the former pertains to the worldly paths,14 and the latter to the supramundane paths Abhayakara,15 Smritijnana,16 and other scholars maintain that aspiration [corresponds to the awakening minds illustrated by] the first three similes listed below17 and venturing [corresponds to those indicated by] the other nineteen [similes] Moreover, Sagaramegha18 and other masters believe that a mind of awakening formed without relying on a ceremony is an aspiring mind, and one formed during a ceremony is a venturing mind Lord Atisha19 and other masters of the magnificent deeds lineage explain that aspiration is the promise to attain the goal of awakening, and venturing is the promise to [create] the causes [leading to this goal] In addition, some scholars believe that until it has become irreversible, an awakening mind is one of aspiration; once it is irreversible,20 it is venturing mind Shantideva and the masters of the profound view lineage assert that an aspiring awakening mind is simply the formation of the wish to awaken born out of compassion for sentient beings and other positive factors This may or may not be formalized in a ceremony The wish to awaken is likened to the desire to set out on a journey A venturing awakening mind begins with the full acceptance of the mind of aspiration and its commitments and is likened to the actual journey Simply put, aspiration is the resolve to awaken, and venturing is the acceptance of the commitments of such a resolve The noble Sakya patriarchs21 assert that the aspiring and venturing minds are characterized by three aspects each: Aspiration, forming the aspiration, and safeguarding the aspiration from degeneration; venturing, forming the venturing [mind], and safeguarding the venturing mind from degeneration.22 These masters maintain that aspiration and venturing minds in themselves not constitute commitments Commitments are assumed The Commitments of Awakening Mind 169 only when these minds are permeated with an indispensable element: the intention to give up what is directly or indirectly incompatible [with their training] The Ways It Is Formed [B] Awakening mind is approximate or subtle, depending on the way it is formed Two kinds of awakening mind are distinguished according to the ways it is formed: approximate and subtle An approximate awakening mind arises from an indication [by a spiritual guide], and a subtle one is attained through [the realization of] the fundamental nature of things Accordingly, Shantipa’s Four Hundred and Fifty Lines Commentary states23: A mind of awakening is conceived through indications as long as one has [only] an intellectual understanding of emptiness, but has not yet realized it directly However, once [emptiness] has been realized, the mind of awakening should be understood to be ultimate [awakening mind] 24 Differentiation of Stages [C] Its stages are differentiated by appreciation, intention, full maturation, and freedom from all impediments There are four aspects to the formation of awakening mind according to differentiations of the stages of the path These are set forth in [Maitreya’s] Scripture Ornament25: The awakening mind formed on each respective stage Is said to be a mind of appreciation, Extraordinary intention, maturation, And likewise, freedom from all impediments During the paths of accumulation and preparation, the awakening mind is formed by appreciation26; on the seven impure stages, by an extraordinarily [pure] intention27; and on the three pure stages, by maturation.28 At the stage of a buddha, the awakening mind is one of freedom from all impediments [emotional and those preventing omniscience].29 ... friend )5; the strength of awakened affinity (the cause)6; the strength of a nurtured root of virtue (the result)7; the strength of study of the scriptures of the Universal Way (the path)8; and [the. ..166 Buddhist Ethics What are the four causes [of the mind of awakening]? The most perfect affinity is the first cause of the spirit of a bodhisattva The support of the buddhas, bodhisattvas,... happiness to others Therefore, the cause of all noble qualities is love This teaching is found in the Advice to the King Scripture THE ESSENCE OF THE COMMITMENTS [II] The essence of the commitments