Arhats and Bodhisattvas

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Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by ThreeVows »

It's sometimes said that an arhat corresponds to an 8th Bhumi Bodhisattva, or that an arhat can enter the Mahayana and basically they start at the 8th Bhumi or will very quickly get there, or similar things.

What scriptural or commentarial sources discuss these equivalences exactly?

Also, there is the common idea that a sravaka arhat will abide in a sort of inert nirvana for a while until the light rays of a Buddha inspire them to pursue the full omniscience of a Buddha, etc.

Same question - what sources discuss this exactly?

I'm looking mostly for root sources. That is, sutras or texts like the Maitreya texts, but commentary will do also.
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Re: Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by Malcolm »

Seeker12 wrote: Fri Mar 19, 2021 9:47 pm It's sometimes said that an arhat corresponds to an 8th Bhumi Bodhisattva, or that an arhat can enter the Mahayana and basically they start at the 8th Bhumi or will very quickly get there, or similar things.
No, this is a mistaken view. If this were the case, the three incalculable eons necessary for buddhahood in sūtrayāna could bypassed by attaining arhatship.

But it does not work like that. First, the emptiness realized by arhats is only the emptiness of the person, not of phenomena, and not of the emptiness of the four extremes.

Gorampa Sonam Senge addresses all these issues in his Differentiation of Views. You can look there.
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Re: Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by Lucas Oliveira »

What is the difference between an Arhat and Bodhisattva?
https://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=77&t=10426

The attainment of the Arhats
https://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=24980
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http://www.acessoaoinsight.net/
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Re: Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by ThreeVows »

Malcolm wrote: Fri Mar 19, 2021 9:53 pm
Seeker12 wrote: Fri Mar 19, 2021 9:47 pm It's sometimes said that an arhat corresponds to an 8th Bhumi Bodhisattva, or that an arhat can enter the Mahayana and basically they start at the 8th Bhumi or will very quickly get there, or similar things.
No, this is a mistaken view. If this were the case, the three incalculable eons necessary for buddhahood in sūtrayāna could bypassed by attaining arhatship.

But it does not work like that. First, the emptiness realized by arhats is only the emptiness of the person, not of phenomena, and not of the emptiness of the four extremes.

Gorampa Sonam Senge addresses all these issues in his Differentiation of Views. You can look there.
In the Sutra “Introduction to the Domain of the Inconceivable Qualities and Wisdom of the Tathāgatas” the following is a description of the arhat retinue present for the Sutra:

“ They all were established in the true, quintessential nature of all phenomena. They abided without support or foundation in the sphere of space. They had cast aside the deeply ingrained obscuration of the afflictive emotions. They possessed the knowledge of how to enter into the spheres of conduct and wisdom of the omniscient ones. They engaged in the conduct of the bodhisattvas. They were established in a method that revealed the dharmadhātu of all the tathāgatas. They were immersed in the single Dharma method. They had approached omniscience. They were unswerving on the path of omniscience; their minds never turned away from omniscience. Their minds were established in understanding and wisdom. They had perfected the wisdom and insight of omniscience. Their methods and conduct had become steadfast.
The Buddha was also accompanied by sixty-two thousand nuns, including Mahāprajāpatī and Yaśodharā. They, too, had amassed virtuous qualities and were approaching the wisdom of omniscience. They were established in a method that revealed omniscience. They had realized the nonsubstantiality of all phenomena. They were established in the signlessness of all phenomena. They understood the true nature of all phenomena. They were convinced that all phenomena are unproduced, unceasing, and beyond oppositional factors. They were established in inconceivable liberation and meditative absorption. They manifested, spontaneously and nonconceptually, in shapes, bodies, colors, and modes of conduct that were perfectly suited to all the sentient beings to be trained.”

That certainly seems like insight into the twofold emptiness to me, given phrases like “They had realized the nonsubstantiality of all phenomena.”

If we take this Sutra to be authentic, then is it that these initial disciples were basically just Bodhisattvas masquerading as arhats? If so, then which arhats are arhats that are not Bodhisattvas masquerading as arhats? Who are these sravaka arhats that only have the 1/2 insight into emptiness if it was not the initial sravaka disciples?
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Re: Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by Malcolm »

Seeker12 wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 12:29 pm
Malcolm wrote: Fri Mar 19, 2021 9:53 pm
Seeker12 wrote: Fri Mar 19, 2021 9:47 pm It's sometimes said that an arhat corresponds to an 8th Bhumi Bodhisattva, or that an arhat can enter the Mahayana and basically they start at the 8th Bhumi or will very quickly get there, or similar things.
No, this is a mistaken view. If this were the case, the three incalculable eons necessary for buddhahood in sūtrayāna could bypassed by attaining arhatship.

But it does not work like that. First, the emptiness realized by arhats is only the emptiness of the person, not of phenomena, and not of the emptiness of the four extremes.

Gorampa Sonam Senge addresses all these issues in his Differentiation of Views. You can look there.
In the Sutra “Introduction to the Domain of the Inconceivable Qualities and Wisdom of the Tathāgatas” the following is a description of the arhat retinue present for the Sutra:

“ They all were established in the true, quintessential nature of all phenomena. They abided without support or foundation in the sphere of space. They had cast aside the deeply ingrained obscuration of the afflictive emotions. They possessed the knowledge of how to enter into the spheres of conduct and wisdom of the omniscient ones. They engaged in the conduct of the bodhisattvas. They were established in a method that revealed the dharmadhātu of all the tathāgatas. They were immersed in the single Dharma method. They had approached omniscience. They were unswerving on the path of omniscience; their minds never turned away from omniscience. Their minds were established in understanding and wisdom. They had perfected the wisdom and insight of omniscience. Their methods and conduct had become steadfast.
The Buddha was also accompanied by sixty-two thousand nuns, including Mahāprajāpatī and Yaśodharā. They, too, had amassed virtuous qualities and were approaching the wisdom of omniscience. They were established in a method that revealed omniscience. They had realized the nonsubstantiality of all phenomena. They were established in the signlessness of all phenomena. They understood the true nature of all phenomena. They were convinced that all phenomena are unproduced, unceasing, and beyond oppositional factors. They were established in inconceivable liberation and meditative absorption. They manifested, spontaneously and nonconceptually, in shapes, bodies, colors, and modes of conduct that were perfectly suited to all the sentient beings to be trained.”

That certainly seems like insight into the twofold emptiness to me, given phrases like “They had realized the nonsubstantiality of all phenomena.”

If we take this Sutra to be authentic, then is it that these initial disciples were basically just Bodhisattvas masquerading as arhats? If so, then which arhats are arhats that are not Bodhisattvas masquerading as arhats? Who are these sravaka arhats that only have the 1/2 insight into emptiness if it was not the initial sravaka disciples?
They engaged in the conduct of the bodhisattvas.

These arhats were all bodhisattva arhats, not shravaka arhats.
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Re: Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by ThreeVows »

Malcolm wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:29 pm These arhats were all bodhisattva arhats, not shravaka arhats.
So were all of the initial disciples of the Buddha Bodhisattvas? What about the second generation, or third? Where/who are the non-Bodhisattva arhats?
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Re: Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by ThreeVows »

Seeker12 wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:32 pm
Malcolm wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:29 pm These arhats were all bodhisattva arhats, not shravaka arhats.
So were all of the initial disciples of the Buddha Bodhisattvas? What about the second generation, or third? Where/who are the non-Bodhisattva arhats?
If it’s relevant this is what it says for the retinue:

“ These included the Venerable Śāriputra, as well as Mahā­maudgalyāyana, Mahā-Kāśyapa, Niruddha, Subhūti, Kātyāyana, Mahākapphiṇa, Citra,16 Nanda, Nadī-Kāśyapa, Gayā-Kāśyapa, Uruvilvā­Kāśyapa, Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇī­putra, Gavāṃpati, Cūḍāpanthaka, Vasumallaputra, Khadiravanika, Cunda, Mahākauṣṭhila, Rāhula, Ānanda, and so on. Altogether there were six million two hundred thousand monks, all of whom were absorbed in a single teaching and established in the sphere of conduct of the noble ones.”
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Re: Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by Malcolm »

Seeker12 wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:32 pm
Malcolm wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:29 pm These arhats were all bodhisattva arhats, not shravaka arhats.
So were all of the initial disciples of the Buddha Bodhisattvas? What about the second generation, or third? Where/who are the non-Bodhisattva arhats?
A number of them were.
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Re: Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by ThreeVows »

Malcolm wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 4:10 pm
Seeker12 wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:32 pm
So were all of the initial disciples of the Buddha Bodhisattvas? What about the second generation, or third? Where/who are the non-Bodhisattva arhats?
A number of them were.
According to the BDK lotus sutra, it seems all of the initial ones were, see below.

So then, the initial arhats were all Bodhisattvas so the rhetoric of them being only in possession of 1/2 insight into emptiness would not apply.

It would then, perhaps, only apply to some of those after the time of the Buddha who do not properly understand, but even they are destined for full awakening as a Buddha and will immediately understand properly when they meet a Buddha. Is that about right? If so, that would make me personally curious to understand such individuals.

___

“”The Buddha Bhagavat appear in this world to cause sentient beings to aspire toward purity and the wisdom and insight of the buddhas.

“They appear in this world to manifest the wisdom and insight of the buddhas to sentient beings. They appear in this world to cause sentient beings to attain the wisdom and insight of a buddha’s enlightenment. They appear in this world in order to cause sentient beings to enter the path of the wisdom and insight of a buddha.

“O Śāriputra! For this one great reason alone the buddhas have appeared in this world.”

The Buddha addressed Śāriputra, saying: “The Buddha Tathāgatas lead and inspire only bodhisattvas. All the acts of a buddha are always for one purpose. The buddhas manifest their wisdom and insight solely to inspire sentient beings to enlightenment.

“O Śāriputra! A Tathāgata teaches sentient beings the Dharma only through the single buddha vehicle. There is no other, neither a second nor a third”

“ O Śāriputra! The true nature of all the buddhas of the ten directions is exactly like this.

“O Śāriputra! All the buddhas of the past expounded the teachings for the sake of sentient beings, using incalculable and innumerable skillful means and various explanations and illustrations. These teachings were all for the sake of the single buddha vehicle. All these sentient beings, hearing the Dharma from the buddhas, finally attained omniscience.

“O Śāriputra! All the future buddhas who will appear in the world will expound the teachings for the sake of sentient beings, using incalculable and innumerable skillful means and various explanations and illustrations. These teachings will all be for the single buddha vehicle. All sentient beings who hear this Dharma from these buddhas will ultimately attain omniscience.

“O Śāriputra! All the Buddha Bhagavats of the present, in immeasurable hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of buddha worlds of the ten direc- tions, teach the Dharma to sentient beings using incalculable and innumerable skillful means with various explanations and illustrations to benefit many of them and cause them to feel at peace. These Dharmas are all of the single buddha vehicle. All the sentient beings who hear the Dharma from these buddhas will ultimately attain omniscience.

“O Śāriputra! These buddhas lead and inspire only bodhisattvas, because they want to teach sentient beings with the wisdom and insight of the Buddha, to enlighten sentient beings with the wisdom and insight of the Buddha, and to cause sentient beings to enter the path of the wisdom and insight of the Buddha.

“O Śāriputra! I too am now like this. Having understood the various desires and deep-rooted inclinations of sentient beings, I teach the Dharma according to their capacities through the power of skillful means, using various explanations and illustrations.

“O Śāriputra! I do this in order to cause them to attain the omniscience of the single buddha vehicle.

“O Śāriputra! Since there is no second vehicle in the worlds of the ten directions, how could there be a third!

“O Śāriputra! The buddhas appear in the troubled world of the five defile- ments, which are the defilement of the kalpa, the defilement through desire’s confusion, the defilement of sentient beings, the defilement of views, and the defilement of lifespan. Therefore, O Śāriputra, in the period of the decadent kalpa, because sentient beings are filthy, greedy, jealous, and develop roots of error, all the buddhas illuminate the three [vehicles] with the power of skillful means in order to teach the single buddha vehicle.

“O Śāriputra! If any of my disciples declare that they are arhats or pratyekabuddhas, and do not listen or comprehend that all the Buddha Tathāgatas teach only the bodhisattvas, they are not disciples of the buddhas, nor are they arhats or pratyekabuddhas.

“Again, O Śāriputra! If there are any monks or nuns who would declare that they have attained arhatship, that they are bearing their last bodies and are destined for complete nirvana, and yet who have not sought highest, complete enlightenment, they should be considered arrogant people.

“Why is this? Because there is no case in which a monk who has actually achieved arhatship does not believe in this Dharma, except after the Buddha has entered parinirvāṇa and there is no buddha present.

“What is the reason for this? Because after the parinirvāṇa of the Buddha it is hard to find people who preserve, recite, and understand the meaning of the sutras like this. But if they should meet other buddhas they will imme- diately understand this teaching.

“O Śāriputra! You should wholeheartedly accept and preserve the words of the Buddha. The words of the Buddha Tathāgatas are never false. There are no other vehicles, only the single buddha vehicle.””
“Whoever wants to find the wisdom beyond intellect without praying to his guru is like someone waiting for the sun to shine in a cave facing the north. He will never realize appearances and his mind to be one.”
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Re: Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by Malcolm »

Seeker12 wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 6:09 pm
Malcolm wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 4:10 pm
Seeker12 wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:32 pm
So were all of the initial disciples of the Buddha Bodhisattvas? What about the second generation, or third? Where/who are the non-Bodhisattva arhats?
A number of them were.
According to the BDK lotus sutra, it seems all of the initial ones were, see below.

So then, the initial arhats were all Bodhisattvas so the rhetoric of them being only in possession of 1/2 insight into emptiness would not apply.

It would then, perhaps, only apply to some of those after the time of the Buddha who do not properly understand, but even they are destined for full awakening as a Buddha and will immediately understand properly when they meet a Buddha. Is that about right? If so, that would make me personally curious to understand such individuals.
I am not sure we can all the initial arhats were Mahāyāna bodhisattvas, but certainly Śariputra, Ananda, etc. were, according to Mahāyāna tradition. On the other hand, Śariputra is often set up to look like a dummy in many Mahāyāna sūtras.
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Re: Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by ThreeVows »

Malcolm wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 9:35 pm
Seeker12 wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 6:09 pm
Malcolm wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 4:10 pm

A number of them were.
According to the BDK lotus sutra, it seems all of the initial ones were, see below.

So then, the initial arhats were all Bodhisattvas so the rhetoric of them being only in possession of 1/2 insight into emptiness would not apply.

It would then, perhaps, only apply to some of those after the time of the Buddha who do not properly understand, but even they are destined for full awakening as a Buddha and will immediately understand properly when they meet a Buddha. Is that about right? If so, that would make me personally curious to understand such individuals.
I am not sure we can all the initial arhats were Mahāyāna bodhisattvas, but certainly Śariputra, Ananda, etc. were, according to Mahāyāna tradition. On the other hand, Śariputra is often set up to look like a dummy in many Mahāyāna sūtras.
Yeah I’ve noticed that but sometimes I’ve wondered if it’s him sort of playing the fool as a sort of theater, with a little hidden laugh in his eyes.
“Whoever wants to find the wisdom beyond intellect without praying to his guru is like someone waiting for the sun to shine in a cave facing the north. He will never realize appearances and his mind to be one.”
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Re: Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by avatamsaka3 »

What is a bodhisattva arhat?
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Re: Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by Budai »

There is this Scriptural Quote, from "The Teaching of Buddha" book.
ANGUTTARA NIKĀYA
(The Book of the Gradual Sayings)

Monks, there is one person whose birth into the world is for the wel-
fare of many, for the happiness of many: who is born out of compassion
for the world, for the profit, welfare and happiness of heavenly beings and
mankind. Who is that person? It is a Tathagata who is an Arahat, a fully
Enlightened One. This, monks, is that one person.

Monks, the manifestation of one person is hard to find in the world. Of
what person? Of a Tathagata who is an Arahat, a fully Enlightened One.
He is the one person.

Monks, hard to be found in the world is that one extraordinary person.
What person? A Tathagata who is an Arahat, a fully Enlightened One. He
is the one person.

Monks, the death of one person is to be regretted by all. Of what
person? Of a Tathagata who is an Arahat, a fully Enlightened One. He is
the one person.

Monks, there is one person born into the world who is incomparable
and unequalled. Who is that person? It is a Tathagata who is an Arahat, a
fully Enlightened One. He is the one person.

Monks, the manifestation of one person is the manifestation of a
mighty eye, a mighty light, a mighty radiance. Of what person? Of a
Tathagata who is an Arahat, a fully Enlightened One. He is the one
person. (Anguttara Nikāya I-13)
Could this be referring to the Buddha Himself as a type of Arhat? :reading:
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Re: Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by Aemilius »

In several places of the Lankavatara sutra the careers of Sravakas, Pratyekabuddhas and Bodhisattvas are discussed, (D. T. Suzuki translation):

XVI
Sravakas will attain the blissful abode of exalted self-realisation in which there is the emancipation belonging to a Dhyana, the path and fruit of a Samadhi, and the deliverance of a Samapatti, but in which there is as yet no discarding of habit-energy and no escape from the imperceivable transformation of death. This, Mahamati, is the Sravaka's exalted state of self-realisation. Having attained this exalted and blissful condition of self-realisation as realised by the Sravakas, Mahamati, the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva may not enjoy by himself the bliss of cessation, the bliss of Samapatti, but should think compassionately of other beings and keep ever fresh his original vows. Mahamati, in whatever exalted and blissful state of self-realisation the Bodhisattva may find himself, he should never exert himself in the exalted and blissful state of self-realisation as attained by the Sravakas.
Mahamati, what is meant by the attachment to the notion of self-nature arising from discrimination? This attachment takes place when a man, seeing that the elements and the qualities such as blue, yellow, warmth, humidity, motility, and rigidity, have never been created by a creator, yet clings to the notions of individuality and generality in accordance with the measures laid down in books of logic. Mahamati, the Bodhisattva, knowing what this is, must abandon it. Conforming himself to the egolessness of things and holding back the wrong views regarding the egolessness of a person, the Bodhisattva should keep himself on the continuously-ascending journey along the stages. This is the Sravaka's attachment to the notion of self-nature arising from the discrimination of existence.

XXXVIII
Again, Mahamati, the great Parinirvana is neither destruction nor death. Mahamati, if the great Parinirvana is death, then it will be a birth and continuation. If it is destruction, then it will assume the character of an effect-producing deed. For this reason, Mahamati, the great Parinirvana is neither destruction nor death. Neither has it anything to do with vanishing;l it is the goal of the Yogins. Again, Mahamati the great Parinirvana is neither abandonment nor attainment, neither is it of one meaning nor of no-meaning; this is said to be Nirvana.

Further, Mahamati, Nirvana conceived by the Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas consists in recognising individuality and generality, in escaping social intercourse, in not having a perverted view of the world, and not raising discrimination. This is their notion of Nirvana.

LXXX
...Further, Mahamati, the Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas at the eighth stage of Bodhisattvahood are so intoxicated with the happiness that comes from the attainment of perfect tranquillisation, and, failing to understand fully that there is nothing in the world but what is seen of the Mind itself, they are thus unable to overcome the hindrances and habit-energy growing out of their notions of generality and individuality; and adhering to the egolessness of persons and things and (214) cherishing views arising therefrom, they have the discriminating idea and knowledge of Nirvana, which is not that of the truth of absolute solitude. Mahamati, when the Bodhisattvas face and perceive the happiness of the Samadhi of perfect tranquillisation, they are moved with the feeling of love and sympathy owing to their original vows, and they become aware of the part they are to perform as regards the [ten] inexhaustible vows. Thus, they do not enter Nirvana. But the fact is that they are already in Nirvana because in them there is no rising of discrimination. With them the discrimination of grasped and grasping no more takes place; as they [now] recognise that there is nothing in the world but what is seen of the Mind itself, they have done away with the thought of discrimination concerning all things. They have abandoned adhering to and discriminating about such notions as the Citta, Manas, and Manovijnana, and external objects, and self-nature; however, they have not given up the things promoting the cause of Buddhism; because of their attainment of the inner insight which belongs to the stage of Tathagatahood; whatever they do all issues from their transcendental knowledge.

It is like a man crossing a stream in a dream. For instance, Mahamati, suppose that while sleeping a man dreams that he is in the midst of a great river which he earnestly endeavours with all his might to cross by himself; but before he succeeds in crossing the stream, he is awakened from the dream, and being awakened he thinks: "Is this real or unreal?" He thinks again: "No, it is neither real nor unreal. By reason of the habit-energy of discrimination which has been accumulated by experience ever since beginningless time, as multiplicities of forms and conditions are seen, heard, thought, and recognised, there is the perception and discrimination of all things as existent and nonexistent; and for this reason my Manovijnana experiences even in a dream all that has been seen by myself."
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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Re: Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by avatamsaka3 »

Could this be referring to the Buddha Himself as a type of Arhat?
He is described that way in the Pali sources. But, of course, he is not just an arhat.

Still don't know what a bodhisattva arhat is.
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Re: Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by Malcolm »

avatamsaka3 wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 9:35 pm
Could this be referring to the Buddha Himself as a type of Arhat?
He is described that way in the Pali sources. But, of course, he is not just an arhat.

Still don't know what a bodhisattva arhat is.
A Buddha.
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Re: Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by ThreeVows »

Malcolm wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 10:29 pm
avatamsaka3 wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 9:35 pm
Could this be referring to the Buddha Himself as a type of Arhat?
He is described that way in the Pali sources. But, of course, he is not just an arhat.

Still don't know what a bodhisattva arhat is.
A Buddha.
Do you mean to say that Ananda, Shariputra, Mahakassapa, Subhuti, Rahula, etc were all Buddhas? Because they are all listed in that list which then goes on to say that they were bodhisattvas, and they are all considered to be arhats (although Ananda, historically speaking, wouldn't have been at the time anyway).
“Whoever wants to find the wisdom beyond intellect without praying to his guru is like someone waiting for the sun to shine in a cave facing the north. He will never realize appearances and his mind to be one.”
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Re: Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by Aemilius »

Seeker12 wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 11:07 pm
Malcolm wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 10:29 pm
avatamsaka3 wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 9:35 pm

He is described that way in the Pali sources. But, of course, he is not just an arhat.

Still don't know what a bodhisattva arhat is.
A Buddha.
Do you mean to say that Ananda, Shariputra, Mahakassapa, Subhuti, Rahula, etc were all Buddhas? Because they are all listed in that list which then goes on to say that they were bodhisattvas, and they are all considered to be arhats (although Ananda, historically speaking, wouldn't have been at the time anyway).
In the Mahayana there are Samyak-sambuddhas that appear in a world where there is no Dharma. They start the teaching and community of four groups of followers in a particular epoch and world system. In the White Lotus sutra Buddha gives a prediction to his great disciples, Ananda, Shariputra, Maudgalyayana and so on and also to bhikshunis or nuns and to male and female lay disciples, that they will all become Fully and Perfectly Enlightened Ones in a particular epoch and a particular world, after millions upon millions of years and lifetimes of Dharma practice.
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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Budai
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Re: Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by Budai »

So we have to think, is "Buddha" merely a title of prestige given to someone who rules over the Dharma, or a stage of Spiritual Awakening? Can a sincere street sweeper be a Buddha too? What is the Lotus Sutra referring to exactly in those predictions, is there something hidden and not openly revealed in the meanings of such and such Disciples of the Buddha becoming Buddhas in future existances, when they can clearly become Enlightened sooner or already are?
avatamsaka3
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Re: Arhats and Bodhisattvas

Post by avatamsaka3 »

So we have to think, is "Buddha" merely a title of prestige given to someone who rules over the Dharma, or a stage of Spiritual Awakening?
The second one, which makes the first appropriate.

And what exactly is a Buddha?
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