Entering the Mahayana Path

Types of Obscurations That Are to Be Abandoned

In the context of the lam-rim graded stages, it can be said that we have progressed from the stage of functioning as a person of initial-level to one of intermediate-level motivation as soon as we start to exert ourselves in the three higher trainings motivated by a pure renunciation of the sufferings of uncontrollably recurring rebirth and their causes. In this way, we may indeed be able to cease our suffering, escape from this vicious circle and attain a state of liberation for ourselves alone. However, this is not enough because we have surmounted only one of the two obstacles there are to be overcome.

The third noble truth of true stoppings can also be defined as the abandonment of either the first or both of the two kinds of obscurations, the emotional ones preventing liberation and the cognitive ones preventing omniscience. To attain liberation from suffering in samsara, we need to overcome only the emotional obscurations. To attain the full enlightenment of Buddhahood, however, we need to overcome, in addition, the cognitive obscurations preventing omniscience.

Unawareness (ma-rig-pa, Skt. avidyā) refers to misknowing how the self and all phenomena exist. It is based on grasping for an atman-soul of persons (bdag-’dzin, Skt. ātmagrāha; grasping for personal identities) and grasping for the truly established existence (bden-’dzin, Skt. satya-grāha) of everything, including persons. According to the Madhyamaka-Sautrantika-Svatantrika tenet system, the emotional obscurations include the disturbing emotions and attitudes, unawareness of how the self exists, grasping for an atman-soul of persons, and the tendencies (sa-bon, Skt. bīja; seeds) of all of them. The cognitive obscurations include the unawareness and grasping concerning all phenomena plus the constant habits (bag-chags; Skt. vāsana) of both of them and of the emotional obscurations. 

According to this school of tenets, we attain liberation with discriminating awareness (shes-rab, Skt. prajñā, wisdom; verification) of the lack of an atman-soul of persons (bdag-med, Skt. nairātmya, selflessness), thus overcoming the emotional obscurations. We attain enlightenment with the discriminating awareness of the lack of the truly established existence of all phenomena, thus overcoming the cognitive obscurations

According to the Madhyamaka-Prasangika tenet system, however, the terms “unawareness of and grasping for truly established existence” and “unawareness of and grasping for an impossible atman-soul” are synonymous and are both included among the emotional obscurations. The cognitive obscurations, then, refer only to the constant habits of both. These constant habits cause the mind to give rise to the appearance of truly established existence and taking that appearance to correspond to how everything actually exists. 

According to this system, liberation is attained first and, with it, we are rid of taking these appearances of truly established existence to correspond to reality. With enlightenment, the mind stops giving rise to these appearances. We need the discriminating awareness of the voidness of truly established existence in order to overcome either of the two obscurations and attain either liberation or enlightenment, thus realizing the third noble truth: true stopping. The ability of our realization of voidness to eliminate these obstacles depends on the strength of our motivation. Therefore, such a realization when not apprehended by a primary consciousness of bodhichitta lacks the power to overcome the cognitive obscurations.

Thus, by not having abandoned all that must be left behind and by not having completed our attainment of all the good qualities that must be obtained, whatever we do to benefit ourselves and others will be merely superficial. However, this is only part of what must be considered. We must also realize that all motherly limited beings have been our extremely kind mothers and fathers in previous lives. The reason we do not recognize them as such is because they have all undergone the repeated process of taking rebirth, dying and changing bodies. If we neglect them and work merely for our own personal liberation, then there is no difference between ourselves and an inconsiderate animal, which grows up and forgets about balancing its parents’ kindness. Therefore, we must enter the Mahayana path.

As Aryashura has said in his Brief Composition on the Far-Reaching Attitudes (Phar-phyin bsdus-pa, Skt. Pāramitā-samāsa):

As the two (Hinayana) vehicles lack the power to fulfill the aims of the entire world, you should leave them definitely behind and enter the (Mahayana) vehicle of the Buddhas, which in its teachings on compassion has a nature of the single taste (of voidness) and the benefit of others.

In the Collected Works of Geshe Potowa (Po-to-ba’i gsung-’bum), Potowa has said:

You should ford (a stream) all at once (when you can) before it forks and you have to do so twice. You should therefore enter the Mahayana path from the start.

Paths of Shravakas, Pratyekabuddhas and Bodhisattvas

As the stages and paths of the various Buddhist vehicles are traditionally studied from the point of view of the Yogachāra-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka theories and based on A Filigree of Realizations (mNgon-rtogs rgyan, Skt. Abhisamayālaṃkāra) by Maitreya, the following further introductory material is in those terms:

The two Hinayana traditions are those of the shravakas and the pratyekabuddhas. Following either one, we progress as far as a person of intermediate level motivation. Thus, motivated by a renunciation of samsara, both shravakas and pratyekabuddhas work for their own attainment of liberation. The latter, however, seek a more refined discriminating awareness that the former. Shravakas strive to overcome unawareness of grasping for an atman-soul of persons and its tendencies, both of which are included as emotional obscurations. Pratyekabuddhas, in addition, work to overcome the unawareness and tendencies of grasping for forms of physical phenomena to be external objects (gzugs phyi-rol don-’dzin) of different natal source (rdzas, Skt. dravya, natal substance) than the conscious cognizing them, both of which are included as gross cognitive obscurations (shes-sgrib rags-pa).

Shravakas rely on a guru throughout their spiritual training and by teaching others lead them to their own level of realization. Pratyekabuddhas, on the other hand, do not rely on gurus during the final stages of their path. If they teach others, they do so only by gestures. They appear primarily during the long dark ages between the times of the Buddhas prophesied as universal teachers, and they are of two types: those who live and attain arhatship alone like the rhinoceros (bse-ru lta-bu’i rang-rgyal) and those who live in small groups (tshogs-bcas rang-rgyal). The latter live during the time of a Buddha and are holders of views attending the third turning of the wheel of Dharma. The former flee at the coming of a Buddha and live primarily during the long dark ages.

Bodhisattvas are those who follow the Mahayana path, developing themselves through all three levels of motivation: initial, intermediate and advanced. In addition to renouncing their own suffering in samsara, they are motivated by bodhichitta, the wish to attain enlightenment in order to be able to liberate all limited beings. Bodhisattvas thus work to attain enlightenment by striving to overcome not only the emotional obscurations and the gross cognitive obscurations, but the subtle form of the latter as well (shes-sgrib phra-mo). Thus, they work to eliminate completely all traces of even the constant habits of the subtlest form of unawareness, that of grasping for truly established existence of everything, and only they attain true, not partial, omniscience.

Five Pathway Minds (Five Paths)

The stages of training through which we progress toward either a Hinayana goal of liberation or a Mahayana one of enlightenment are classified into the five paths: 

1. A building-up pathway mind (tshogs-lam, Skt. saṃbhāra-mārga, path of accumulation)
2. An applying pathway mind (sbyor-lam, Skt. prayoga-mārga, path of preparation)
3. A seeing pathway mind (mthong-lam, Skt. darśana-mārga, path of seeing)
4. An accustoming pathway mind (sgom-lam, Skt. bhāvanā-mārga, path of meditation)
5. A pathway mind needing no further training (mi-slob-lam, Skt. aśaikṣa-mārga, path of no more learning).

Although shravakas, pratyekabuddhas and bodhisattvas have different motivations and specialize in overcoming different forms of unawareness, they each pass along these five successive paths.

The distinctions between each of these five can be roughly described in terms of our level of understanding the lack of an impossible atman-soul of persons, nonduality (gnyis-stong, Skt. dvaya-śūnya) or voidness, respectively. For simplicity’s sake, only voidness will be mentioned.

[1] With the building-up pathway mind, divided into nine stages, among other things we practice shamatha meditation and develop absorbed concentration (ting-nge-’dzin, Skt. samādhi). We gain the conceptual cognitions of voidness that arise from hearing (thos-byung rtog-pa, Skt. śrutamayī-kalpana) and thinking (bsam-byung rtog-pa, Skt. cintāmayī-kalpana). As soon as we achieve that which arises from meditation (sgom-byung rtog-pa, Skt. bhāvanāmayī-kalpana) with a joined state of shamatha and vipashyana, we reach the next pathway mind.

[2] With the second applying pathway mind, we apply these concentration skills we have mastered to further our practice of voidness meditation. As we habituate ourselves to absorbed concentration on our conceptual cognition of voidness arising from meditation, we pass through four stages:

• Heat (drod)
• Peak (rtse-mo)
• Patience (bzod-pa)
• Supreme Dharma (chos-mchog). 

On the first, we have such conceptual cognition while awake, on the second even in dreams, during the third we have no more fears about losing our identity, and on the fourth we have such an cognition specifically about our minds.

[3] We attain the third seeing pathway mind when, as the result of our growing familiarity and our network of positive force (bsod-nams-kyi tshogs, Skt. puṇya-sambhāra, collection of merit), we achieve a nonconceptual, bare cognition of voidness. At this point, we leave the ranks of ordinary beings (so-so skye-bo, Skt. pṛthag-jana) and become an arya (’phags-pa), a noble one. Thus, depending on the level at which we are progressing along these five paths and what type of discriminating awareness we are achieving, we become either an arya shravaka (nyan-thos ’phags-pa), an arya pratyekabuddha (rang-rgyal ’phags-pa) or an arya bodhisattva (byang-sems ’phags-pa). On the Mahayana path, this is the first moment of the first of the ten bhumi minds (sa-bcu, Skt. daśa-bhūmi, ten bodhisattva bhumis). These ten stages of the path of an arya bodhisattva are discussed in the Bodhisattva Stages of Mind (Byang-chub sems-dpa’i sa, Skt. Bodhisattvabhūmi) by Asanga.

Our bare cognition of voidness during the uninterrupted pathway mind (bar-chad med-lam, Skt. ānantarya-mārga) of our total absorption (mnyam-bzhag, Skt. samāhita) acts as a direct opponent for our doctrinally based grasping for truly established existence (bden-’dzin kun-btags, Skt. parikalpita-satya-grāha). When these have been abandoned, we have reached the liberated pathway mind (rnam-grol lam, Skt. vimukti-mārga) of our total absorption.

[4] With the fourth accustoming pathway mind, the aryas of these three levels, in general, practice the eight branches of an arya pathway mind (’phags-lam yan-lag brgyad, Skt. ārya-aṣṭāṅga-mārga, eightfold noble path) and habituate themselves to the bare cognition they have gained. Specifically, as an arya bodhisattva, we progress from the second moment of the first to the tenth bodhisattva stage, with each stage having uninterrupted and liberated paths during its total absorption. In the process, we completely overcome, in stages, our automatically arising grasping for “me” (ngar-’dzin lhan-skyes, Skt. sahaja-ahaṃkāra) and for truly established existence of all phenomena (bden-’dzin lhan-skyes, Skt. sahaja-satya-grāha), as well as eliminating the constant habits for both of these.

Thus, according to the Svatantrika-Madhyamaka theories, arya bodhisattvas work simultaneously on abandoning both the emotional and the cognitive obscurations. According to the Yogachara division of these theories, we finish eliminating both with the attainment of Buddhahood. According to the Sautrantika-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka division (mDo-sde spyod-pa’i rang-rgyud-pa), however, the emotional obscurations are completely abandoned on the seventh bodhisattva stage. Thus, with the last three purified bhumi minds (dag-pa sa-gsum, three pure bhumis), we finish eliminating the cognitive obscurations. This is slightly similar to the Prasangika-Madhyamaka explanation, except that because of its reclassification of what constitutes each set of obscurations, we work exclusively on eliminating the emotional obscurations on the first seven bhumi minds, and only then with the last three purified bhumi minds do we begin on the cognitive obscurations.

[5] On the fifth and last pathway mind needing no further training, the aryas reach their goals of either liberation or enlightenment, both of which are referred to as purified states (byang-chub, Skt. bodhi). As an arya shravaka, we become a shravaka arhat (nyan-thos dgra-bcom-pa, liberated hearer), as an arya pratyekabuddha a pratyekabuddha arhat (rang-rgyal dgra-bcom-pa, liberated solitary realizer), and as an arya bodhisattva a fully enlightened Buddha also known as a bodhisattva arhat (byang-chub sems-dpa’i dgra-bcom-pa) and sometimes as an arya Buddha (sangs-rgyas ’phags-pa).

According to the Hinayana tenets and one of the Chittamatra, once we have achieved a purified state and then pass away, the stream of continuity of our aggregate factors is cut, and we extinguish like a candle. Thus, they accept that we can follow only one path to a state of peace (zhi-ba bgrod-pa gcig-pu-pa). Once we have achieved a Hinayana arhatship, that is final and there can be no further progress. In general, the more advanced Mahayana theories state that after we pass away as such an arhat, we achieve a mental body (yid-lus) and then reside in pure-land Buddha-fields. Therefore, they accept the possibility of further changing our purified state (byang-chub yang-’gyur-ba), namely that Hinayana arhats can be aroused from the extreme of remaining in the tranquil peace of nirvana (zhi-mtha’) to follow the Mahayana path.

The division of stream-enterers (rgyun-zhugs, Skt. śrotāpanna), once-returners (phyir-’ong, Skt. sakṛdāgāmin), non-returners (phyir mi-’ong, Skt. anāgāmin) and arhats is a scheme applied only to the Hinayana paths and is drawn in terms of the number and degrees of disturbing emotions abandoned pertaining to specific sets of five each in relation to the plane of sensory desires (tha-ma’i cha-mthun lnga) and the two higher planes of samsaric existence (gong-ma’i cha-mthun lnga), the plane of ethereal forms and the plane of formless beings. It is not used with reference to the Mahayana paths, although the Mahayana discriminating awarenesses are broader than the Hinayana, and they automatically come to abandon what the more narrowly focused ones do.

Thus, as the Mahayana path encompasses and extends beyond the scope of the two Hinayana ones, we should not complete a full Hinayana course of training before entering the Mahayana. Rather, we should go through those parts of both these paths that are common to the Mahayana and then proceed directly to the Mahayana itself. The teachings of impermanence, taking refuge, cause and effect, the noble truths of suffering and its causes, renunciation, the twelve links of dependent arising and so forth are common to both the Hinayana and the Mahayana paths. They form a single line of progression for the development of our minds through the stages of first a person of initial and then intermediate level motivation.

Liberation and Enlightenment

Instead of dwelling on either of the lower levels of motivation until we attain a higher rebirth or personal liberation from suffering, we should progress to the highest stage and become a person of advanced level motivation. Thus, we should not strive for liberation and then, when we have attained it, think to work on for the full enlightenment of Buddhahood. This would be like fording a stream twice. Once we have achieved liberation, even a Buddha cannot easily arouse us from this blissful state to return to worldly existence for the sake of liberating others. Moreover, once we are in the habit of helping only ourselves, it is extremely difficult to break this habit and progress to helping others.

To forsake liberation for ourselves, thus, does not mean to attain it and then give it up. Instead, when we are at the stage of development in which we wish for liberation, we should follow merely those practices that are shared in common with the more advanced stage and then proceed directly to the latter. We should not become engrossed in the practices of the stage of intermediate level motivation. We must work simply for one goal, the attainment of full enlightenment of Buddhahood. We elevate our minds to take this as our ultimate goal by gradual stages of development, progressing through those practices of the initial and intermediate levels that are common and prerequisite for this more advanced one.

In this discussion, the terms “liberation” (thar-pa, Skt. mokṣa) and “full enlightenment” (yang-dag-par rdzogs-pa’i byang-chub, Skt. samyak-saṃbodhi) have been used to avoid confusion with the more general term “nirvana” (mya-ngan-’das, state beyond sorrow). In general, there are two types of nirvana: 

• Natural nirvana (rang-bzhin-gyi mya-ngan ’das, Skt. prakṛti-nirvāṇa)
• Acquired nirvana (thob-pa’i mya-ngan ’das). 

Natural nirvana is another term for voidness, the actual way in which all things exist. There are three types of acquired nirvana:

• Nirvana with residue (lhag-bcas-kyi mya-ngan ’das, Skt. sopadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa)
• Nirvana without residue (lhag-med mya-ngan ’das, Skt. nirupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa)
• Non-abiding nirvana (mi-gnas-pa’i mya-ngan ’das, Skt. apratiṣṭhita-nirvāṇa).

These three are used differently by the adherents of the Hinayana and Mahayana traditions. According to the former, as the 1,000 Buddhas for this eon have already been prophesied, the best we can do is aim for the achievements of either a shravaka, while the teachings of the current Buddha are present, or of a pratyekabuddha in preparation for dark ages ahead. We attain nirvana with residue when during our life we become an arhat of either the shravaka or pratyekabuddha class. This is so called because there is still a residue left of our tainted aggregates for unlike the Mahayana tenets, the Hinayana do not assert anything untainted except the noble truths of the path and static phenomena. Thus, they do not accept that even a Buddha can have untainted aggregates. Upon death, we attain nirvana without residue when the stream of continuity of our tainted aggregates is cut like the extinguishing of a butter lamp. Then there is only a static stopping. This is sometimes referred to as parinirvana. These two types of nirvana taken together are called liberation. 

Non-abiding nirvana is the static or unchanging state of full enlightenment (sangs-rgyas-kyi go-’phang, Skt. buddha-pada) achieved by a Buddha while he is alive. Because in this state we abide neither in the extreme of compulsive samsara (srid-mtha’, Skt. bhavānta) nor in the extreme of the tranquil peace of nirvana (zhi-mtha’), it is called “non-abiding.”

Although there is no total uniformity, from the Mahayana point of view these terms are used differently. What an arhat attains is still called liberation. Nirvana with residue, however, refers to what an arya bodhisattva attains when during his life he becomes a Buddha. Many more Buddhas are allowed for than merely the 1,000 prophesied to be universal teachers for this eon, and when one of them passes away he attains nirvana without residue. The stream of continuity of his previously tainted aggregates having been cut, instead of extinguishing like a spent candle as the Hinayana would say, he takes on a pure body with untainted aggregates and resides mostly in Buddha-fields. Non-abiding nirvana again is the unchanging state of full enlightenment and includes both nirvana with and without residue.

The Madhyamika-Prasangikas have their own special way of defining the various nirvanas that are attainments. What a shravaka or pratyekabuddha arhat attains is still called liberation and what a Buddha attains, non-abiding nirvana. However, both of these are divided into nirvanas with and without residue. With respect to a shravaka or pratyekabuddha arhat, nirvana without residue refers to his state during meditation sessions on voidness when there is no appearance of true independent existence. Nirvana with residue refers to his state either during periods of subsequent attainment or when he is meditating on something other than voidness. Because such an arhat has not overcome the cognitive obscurations, namely the constant habits of the unawareness of grasping for truly established existence, the appearance of such independent existence recurs during such times. Thus, the Madhyamika-Prasangikas are unique in asserting that in this sense nirvana without residue is attained before that with residue.

When referring to a Buddha, however, such a distinction between nirvana with and without residue in terms of whether or not there is the appearance of truly established existence does not pertain. A Buddha has overcome even the instincts of that unawareness which leads to such and appearance, and he is always in a state of meditation on voidness even while eating. Therefore, in reference to a Buddha, nirvana with and without residue are different aspects of his state of non-abiding nirvana. The former refers to his Rupakaya (gzugs-sku, Skt. rūpakāya, Form Body) resulting from his network of positive force, and the latter to his Dharmakaya (chos-sku, Skt. dharmakāya, Body Encompassing Everything) from his network of deep awareness (ye-shes-kyi tshogs, Skt. jñāna-sambhāra, collection of wisdom).

In the lam-rim tradition, the topic of training with the advanced scope of motivation is divided into three sections:

• Showing that the development of bodhichitta is the only gateway for entering the Mahayana path, as well as (showing) its benefits
• The way to develop bodhichitta
• Having developed bodhichitta, the way to train ourselves in (bodhisattva) behavior.