IN PRAISE OF BODHICITTA
by Paul Levy
During his recent visit to Portland, His Holiness theDalai Lama gave teachings on bodhicitta. Bodhicitta is a sanskrit word thatmeans "awakened heart," or the "mind of awakening." Accordingto His Holiness, bodhicitta is "the heart of the Bodhisattva path." Whendoing any practice in Tibetan Buddhism, the practitioner always generates the"precious bodhicitta." This is the very high octane rocket fuel whichpropels our journey out of the fear based nightmare of the separate self intothe true heart of love, compassion and wisdom.
When we are thinking about our own self and our ownproblems, this very narcissistic, self-concerned thinking is itself theactivity that precludes our enlightenment. The Buddha saw through the fictionof the separate self with all its problems; he realized it was something wewere literally imagining into existence moment by moment. He saw that we hadall gotten absorbed into a habit pattern of imagining that we existed in acertain substantial, and hence separative way that we simply do not
To generate the precious bodhicitta, we need to step outof the arbitrary, imaginary and false identity pattern that we are separateselves, and make a slight though radical adjustment in the way we view realityand ourselves. To use a modern metaphor that I imagine the Buddha would bequite happy with, instead of looking out of windows when we look out of oureyes, it is like we are wearing a big enclosed motorcycle helmet, the inside ofwhich is mirrored, where everywhere we look we see nothing but the reflectionof our own true face. In other words, our definition of who we are imaginingourselves to be literally expands to include and embrace everything andeveryone we are experiencing. It is like stepping into a new suit of clothes,in which we are much more expansive, multi-dimensional and nonlocalized than wepreviously imagined.
As latent bodhisattvas, it is our responsibility tostrengthen the muscle of bodhicitta, as the precious bodhicitta is somethingthat can be cultivated. Just like we make butter by churning cream, wecultivate the precious bodhicitta by recognizing the truth of our situation,which is that we are all interconnected and not separate. This is exactly thestate of mind that Christ was pointing at when he said "whatever you do tothe least of my breatheran you do unto me," and "treat your neighboras thyself." The natural expression of this realization is the intentionto be of help to seemingly other beings, who are now recognized to be embodiedreflections of parts of our true self. Our intention to help others can be usedas a springboard to deepen our commitment to our own spiritual practice.
Paradoxically, to have the intention to help and serveseeming others is the very state of consciousness which redeems our ownsuffering. For the precious bodhicitta is both the foundation as well as theultimate fruit of the path. We realize that the best way for us to receive theblessings we've been seeking, be it of love, healing, or enlightenment, is toembody and radiate out these very qualities for the benefit of others, as theduality between self and others has been seen through. This is the place where togive is to receive, where we become a true servant of God. To quote theBuddhist saint Shantideva, "All of those who are in a condition ofunhappiness in the world, are that way because of desiring their own release.All of those who are in a condition of happiness in the world, are that wayfrom seeking the release of another."
A healer, Paul Levy is a spiritual and political activist. Heis in private practice, helping other people who are also spiritually awakeningto the dream-like nature of reality. He can be reached at
© 2005 Paul Levy