Having discussed the Five Aggregates and the problems they solve in science and philosophy in the previous posts, we explore why they are so immensely important in Buddhism by examining how a well-known Bodhisattva, Avalokiteśvara, overcame his Cognitive Obstructions by “perfecting his understanding of emptiness,” “cognizing all objects of knowledge,” and, thus, understanding “things as they are” through a proper understanding of the Five Aggregates, thereby fulfilling his Buddha soteriological mission of becoming a Tathāgata, like him.
1) Bodhisattva (Chinese: 菩薩), according to The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen, is “Skt., lit., ‘enlightenment being;’ in Mahāyāna Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a being who seeks Buddhahood through the systematic practice of perfect virtues (paramita) but renounces complete entry into Nirvana until all beings are saved. The determining factor for his action is compassion (karuna), supported by highest insight and wisdom (prajna).”
2) Mahabodhisattva (Chinese: 摩訶菩薩), according to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, is “in Sanskrit, ‘great bodhisattva.'”
These “great bodhisattvas” are the bodhisattvas close to achieving the highest level of enlightenment, such as Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.
3) Avalokiteśvara “is a tenth-level bodhisattva associated with great compassion (mahakaruṇā). He is often associated with Amitabha Buddha.” A tenth-level bodhisattva is the highest level of the Bodhisattva Path. After finishing the tenth level, a bodhisattva is ready to “attain full Buddhahood,” known as a Tathāgata. Avalokiteśvara is also known as Guanyin (Chinese: 觀音菩薩) in East Asia.
As an enlightened being, Mahasattva Avalokiteśvara has overcome his afflictive obstructions, one of the Two Obstructions that the Buddha teaches, as discussed in the Why Buddhism Exists category.
What the Bodhisattva still has to overcome is his Cognitive Obstacles (Romanized Sanskrit: jneyavarana; Chinese: 所知障), which, according to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, is “The second of the two categories of obstructions, together with the afflictive obstructions, that must be overcome in order to perfect the Bodhisattva path and achieve Buddhahood. In the Yogacara and Madhyamaka systems, cognitive obstructions are treated as subtle hindrances that serve as the origin of the afflictive obstructions and result from fundamental misapprehensions about the nature of reality. According to Yogacara, because of the attachment deriving ultimately from the reification of what are actually imaginary external phenomena, conceptualization and discrimination arise in the mind, which lead in turn to pride, ignorance, and wrong views. Based on these mistakes in cognition, the individual engages in defiled actions, such as anger, envy, etc., which constitute the afflictive obstructions. The afflictive obstructions may be removed by followers of the Sravaka (Chinese: 聲聞), Pratyekabuddha (Chinese: 緣覺/獨覺), and beginning Bodhisattva paths by applying various antidotes or counteragents (Pratipajksa) to the afflictions (Klesa); overcoming these types of obstructions will lead to freedom from further rebirth. The cognitive obstructions, however, are more deeply ingrained and can only be overcome by advanced bodhisattvas who seek instead to achieve Buddhahood by perfecting their understanding of emptiness. Buddhas, therefore, are the only class of beings who have overcome both types of obstructions and thus are able simultaneously to cognize all objects of knowledge in the universe; this is one of the sources of their unparalleled skills as teachers of sentient beings. The jneyavarana are therefore sometimes translated as “obstructions to omniscience.”
Simply put, for Mahasattva Avalokiteśvara to overcome cognitive obstructions and “achieve Buddhahood,” he must “perfect his understanding of emptiness” and understand that the “fundamental misapprehensions about the nature of reality come from the reification of what are actually imaginary external phenomena.”
The story of how Mahasattva Avalokiteśvara achieved his goal is recorded in the Heart Sūtra.
Heart Sūtra (Chinese: 心經) “is a popular sūtra in Mahāyāna Buddhism. It has been called ‘the most frequently used and recited text in the entire Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition.” “In Sanskrit, the title Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya translates as ‘The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom (Chinese: 般若波羅蜜多心經).'”
The Heart Sūtra is a highly influential Buddhist text in Mahāyāna Buddhism because this extremely short Sūtra summarizes the core teachings of the entire collection of Prajñāpāramitā sūtras by using Mahabodhisattva Avalokiteśvara as an example to show how an advanced Bodhisattva can overcome his cognitive obstructions and fulfill the Buddha’s soteriological goal by perfecting his understanding of emptiness through the Five Aggregates, which, as discussed in Post 13, shows that all the Five Aggregates are mental, including the Aggragate of Rupa.
In the Heart Sūtra, “Vista” is used to refer to the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.
Vasita (Chinese: 自在), according to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, is “in Sanskrit, ‘mastery,’ or ‘autonomy;’ a list of ten types of master or autonomy developed by a Bodhisattva, viz., of one’s life span (命自在), action (Karman) (業自在), necessities of life (財自在), determination (如意自在), aspiration (願自在), magical powers (信解自在), birth (生自在), dharma (法自在), mind (心自在) and wisdom (智自在).”
In Mahāyāna Buddhism, complete attainment of the ten masteries is reserved for all tenth-level Bodhisattvas. Therefore, vasita applies not only to Avalokiteśvara but also to all ten-level Bodhisattvas, who, like Avalokiteśvara, are close to overcoming their Cognitive Obstructions and fulfilling the Buddha’s soteriological goal.
The Heart Sūtra starts as follows:
“The Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara Vasita, as he practices the Perfection of Wisdom profoundly, gained an illuminating insight into the Emptiness of all the Five Aggregates, thus realizing that this is the way to relieve all beings from suffering.” (Chinese: 觀自在菩薩, 行深般若波羅蜜多時. 照見五蘊皆空, 度一切苦厄.”
- Perfection of Wisdom, known in Romanized Sanskrit as Prajñāpāramitā (Chinese: 般若波羅蜜多/智度), is a combination of wisdom (Romanized Sanskrit: prajna; Chinese: 般若) and perfection (Romanized Sanskrit: Paramita; Chinese: 波羅蜜多).
- According to the Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, prajñāpāramitā “refers to a level of understanding beyond that of ordinary wisdom, especially referring to the wisdom associated with, or required to achieve, Buddhahood.“
- Emptiness (Romanized Sanskrit: shunyata/sunyata; Chinese: 空), according to The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen, also known as “void,” is a “central notion of Buddhism….Shunyata is often equated with the absolute in the Mahāyāna since it is without duality and empirical forms.”
- “Absolute” in the definition of Emptiness carries the same meaning as “Ultimate” in Ultimate Reality. The two terms are often used interchangeably and are considered synonymous. Both refer to Citta, the quiescent mentality that permeates the cosmos.
- “Without empirical form” refers to the fact that mentality, like natural gas, is a phenomenon that cannot be seen, heard, smelled, tasted, or touched.
- “Without duality” means that, in a world of mentality, dualistic concepts such as Observer vs. the Observed do not exist.
Immediately after proclaiming that all the Five Aggregates are Empty, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara said the following four lines, which some consider comparable to Einstein’s famous formula, E=mc2, and make the Heart Sūtra “the single most commonly recited, copied, and studied scripture in East Asian Buddhism.”
- “Rupa is no different than emptiness (Chinese: 色不異空).
- Emptiness is no different than rupa. (Chinese: 空不異色).
- Rupa is just emptiness (Chinese: 色即是空).
- Emptiness is just rupa. (Chinese: 空即是色)
- By repeating that Rupa is the same as mentality, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara not only acknowledges his understanding of their equality, but also shows that he was surprised.
- As an enlightened individual, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara has witnessed the vanishing of the universe upon his initial enlightenment. However, he does not know why the universe vanished.
- By understanding that Rupa is also empty, he understood why: the universe vanished because it is but a “mere projection of consciousness,” as discussed in Post 13.
- So when he says, “so are the four other Aggregates. (Chinese: 受想行識亦復如是),” Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara shows that he understands the Aggregate of Rupa is like the other Aggregates, which are obviously empty.
By understanding that Rupa is Empty, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara realized that considering any phenomenon as “body” or “materiality” is a “fundamental misapprehension about the nature of reality” because it is a “reification of what are actually imaginary external phenomena.”
By understanding that all the Five Aggregates are Empty, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara realized that all the constituents of all phenomena are Empty. In other words, there is Nothing but Mentality in the world.
Indeed, that is what Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara said next,
“Emptiness is the mark of all phenomena (Chinese: 是諸法空相).)
Mark (Romanized Sanskrit: laksana, Chinese: 相), according to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, is “In Sanskrit, a polysemous term for a ‘mark.’ ‘characteristic,’ ‘attribute,’ or ‘sign;’ used in a variety of contexts to indicate either the principal characteristics or defining quality of something.”
By acknowledging that Emptiness marks all phenomena, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara showed that he had “perfected his understanding of emptiness,” thus overcoming his Cognitive Obstructions, on his way to becoming a Tathāgata and fulfilling Buddha’s soteriological goal, as he stated in the Lotus Sūtra.
“I vowed from the beginning. (Chinese: 我本立誓愿）
To make all living beings (Romanized Sanskrit: sattva; Chinese: 有情/眾生) my equal without a difference. （欲令一切眾, 如我等無異)
What I have vowed in the past, I have now fulfilled. (如我昔所愿，今者已滿足)
Transformed them so they all enter the path of Buddhahood.” (化一切眾生，皆令入佛道).”
To be “equal without a difference” with Buddha means becoming a Tathāgata, because our historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, is a Tathāgata.
Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara continued, “There is no birth nor death. No impurity nor purity. No addition or subtraction. No aging and death, nor the end of aging or death. No prajna and nothing to grab. (Chinese: 不生不滅, 不垢不淨. 不增不減. 乃至無老死, 亦老死盡, 無智亦無得”).”
The above statements: “No birth or death, no defilement or purity, no addition or subtraction, etc.,” indicate that Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara has understood a critical concept in Buddhism known in Romanized Sanskrit as grahyagrahakavikalpa.
Grahyagrahakavikalpa (Chinese: 所取能取分別), according to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, is “in Sanskrit, ‘discrimination between the grasped and the grasper,’ or ‘false conception of apprehended and the apprehender,’ a special kind of discrimination (Vikalpa) used in the Yogacara school to refer to the misconception that there is an inherent bifurcation between a perceiving subject (grahaka) and its perceived object (grahya).”
To understand the significance of Grahyagrahakavikalpa, we turn to Suchness, another Buddhist term for Ultimate Reality.
Suchness (Romanized Sanskrit: Tathāgata (Chinese: 真如), like Emptiness, is “a term for ultimate reality,” but from a different perspective. The definition of Suchess contains the following: “In Yogacara/Vijnanavada, the term refers to the ultimate wisdom that is free from the subject-object distinction (grahyagrahakavikalpa). “In the Madhyamaka school, any attempt to substantiate the nature of reality is rejected, and tathata is instead identified with Emptiness and the cessation of all dichotomizing tendencies of thought.”
In other words, “the cessation of all dichotomizing tendencies of thought” and “free from the subject-object distinction” are identified with the ultimate wisdom in Buddhism.
By stating that there was “No birth or death, no defilement or purity, no addition or subtraction, etc.,” Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara showed he had ceased his “dichotomizing tendencies of thought,” thus proving he had achieved ultimate wisdom. With ultimate wisdom achieved, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara could “cognize all objects of knowledge,” thereby overcoming his “obstructions to omniscience” and, therefore, his cognitive obstructions. With his cognitive obstructions removed, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara could permanently turn away from his delusion, the cause of his “obstructions to omniscience.”
However, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara went on to say that there is “no prajna and nothing to possess (Chinese: 無智亦無得)”.
i) But what does “no prajna” mean? Having practiced the Perfection of Wisdom to understand the “Emptiness of the Five Aggregates,” why did Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara suddenly say there is no wisdom?
- To understand that, we quote again from what the Buddha teaches in the Avatamsaka Sūtra upon his awakening from his deep meditative state of enlightenment, “Surprise! Surprise! All the living beings of this land, while possessing the wisdom of a Tathāgata, are foolish and confused and have neither knowledge nor insight. I must teach them the proper path, turn them permanently away from their delusions and attachments, so they realize from within the immense wisdom of a Tathāgata, without any difference from a Buddha (Chinese: 奇哉奇哉,此處眾生,雲何具有如來智慧,愚癡迷惑,不知不覺,我當教以聖道, 令其永離妄想執著,自於身中,得見如來廣大智慧,與佛無異.).
- So, by practicing the Perfection of Wisdom, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara gained the “immense wisdom” of a Tathāgata.
- However, upon gaining the “immense wisdom” of a Tathāgata, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara realized that all he had done through the journey in Buddhism was to “turn away permanently” from his “delusions and attachment.”
- In other words, instead of gaining wisdom, he was removing delusions and attachments.
- Indeed, like dust covering a mirror prevents one from seeing oneself in it, attachments and delusions mask one’s essential original nature, which, as Buddha describes, is enlightened, luminous, and “possessing the wisdom of a Tathāgata.”
- Therefore, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara gained nothing, nor did he lose anything, because becoming a Tathāgata was a journey back home to his original, essential nature that the Buddha describes as enlightened, luminous, and possessing the immense wisdom of a Tathāgata.
ii) “Nothing to possess.” Indeed, in a world where there is Nothing but Mentality, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara exists as part of the “void” that surrounds him, as Adyashanti realized upon his enlightenment. In such a world, where everything taken as being “materiality” is but a “projection of consciousness,” what is there to hold onto? Consequently, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara acknowledged, “there is nothing to possess.”
However, having nothing to possess is not bad, as Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara continued, “Because there is nothing to possess, the Bodhisattvas, relying on the practice of the perfection of wisdom, become carefree. Being carefree and without fear (the Bodhisattvas) are far from topsy-turvy reveries and ultimately enter Nirvana. Buddhas of past, present, and future(Romanized Sanskrit: tirkala; Chinese: 三世), relying on practicing the perfection of wisdom, realize anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. (Chinese: 以無所得故，菩提薩埵, 依般若波羅蜜多故, 心無罣礙, 無罣礙故, 無有恐怖, 遠離顛倒夢想, 究竟涅槃. 三世諸佛, 依般若波羅蜜多故, 得阿搙多羅三藐三菩提).”
Indeed, with nothing to possess, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara realized he could now live a carefree life, without fear and far from topsy-turvy reveries. Being an “advanced bodhisattva associated with great compassion,” the first thing that comes to his mind is “that this is the way to relieve all living beings from suffering.”
With his delusion gone, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara could enter the path of Buddhahood, be ready to enter Nirvana, and lead a lifestyle that is “carefree, without fear and far from topsy-turvy reveries.”
Nirvana (Chinese: 涅槃), according to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, is “in Sanskrit, ‘extinction,’ the earliest and most common term describing the soteriological goal of Buddhism.”
As an enlightened being, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara had already entered the “nirvana with a vestige of conditions (Romanized Sanskrit: sopadhishesha-nirvana; (Chinese: 有餘涅槃),” as mentioned here.
The Nirvana that Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara entered now is known as the “Final Nirvana,” or “Nirvana without a vestige of conditions (Romanized Sanskrit: anupadhisesan-nirvana; (Chinese: 無餘涅槃),” to start living a life like a Tathāgata that is “carefree, without fear and far from topsy-turvy reveries”
So, how long can that lifestyle last? Let us learn it from the Buddha himself, specifically what he said in the Lotus Sūtra.
In the Lotus Sūtra, Buddha said, “Listen carefully to the
Tathāgata’s secret and transcendent powers. The devas, humans, and asuras in all the worlds think that the present Buddha, Śākyamuni, left the palace of the Śākyas, sat on the terrace of enlightenment not far from the city of Gayā, and attained anuttara-samyaksambodhi. However, O sons of a virtuous family, immeasurable, limitless, hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of nayutas of kalpas have passed since I actually attained Buddhahood. (Chinese: 汝等諦聽, 如來秘密神通之力. 一切世間天, 人, 及阿修羅, 皆謂, 今釋迦牟尼佛, 出釋氏宮, 去伽耶城不遠, 坐於道場, 得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提. 然善男子, 我實成佛已來, 無量無邊, 百千萬億那由他劫.”
Rather than elucidating the various Buddhist terms contained in the message, I would like to summarize it: “While everyone thinks that I, as Shakyamuni Buddha, was enlightened in this lifespan, the fact is that I have been a Buddha for eons upon eons.”
In other words, the reason Buddha wants everyone to turn away from delusions and attachment permanently, and enter the path of Buddhahood to become a Tathāgata is that, by gaining the ultimate wisdom and understanding “things as they are,” not only can everyone enjoy a carefree life, without fear, and “far from topsy-turvy reveries,” but also so they can enjoy this lifestyle for eons upon eons, and maybe forever.
This is why Buddhism exists. As Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara says, when Emptiness marks all phenomena, “There is no birth nor death (of the physical body.” If the physical body is illusory, not only are its birth and death illusory, but the real existence is the mind. When one’s mind is in charge, one may also manipulate their mind-made bodies (Romanized Sanskrit: manomayakaya; Chinese: 意生身) to “change their appearances or to extend their life spans indefinitely,” as the Buddha teaches in parinamikajaramarana (Chinese: 變易生死).
Given that these kinds of teaching are impossible to verify for unenlightened individuals, it is therefore comforting to know that, in the Diamond Sūtra, Buddha promises that he, like all the Tathāgatas before him, is “a speaker of the truth, a speaker of veracity, a speaker of thusness, a non-deceptive speaker, and an un-contradictory speaker (Chinese: 如來是真語者，實語者，如語者, 不誑語者, 不異語者) The fact that the Ultimate Reality can be verified by third parties, as discussed earlier, is a significant step toward establishing confidence in the Buddha’s teachings.
However, we can verify the topic of discussion on this website: What Exists? by comparing what the Buddha teaches in the Mohe Zhiguan and what Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara says in the Heart Sūtra.
In the Mohe Zhiguan, the Buddha teaches that, in the highest meditative state, one realizes that only two phenomena exist in the cosmos: Citta and Rupa. In the Heart Sūtra, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara says that, by practicing the Perfection of Wisdom, he realizes that only Emptiness and Rupa exist. Although the meditation names differ, practicing the Perfection of Wisdom is equivalent to the highest meditative state. While Citta and Emptiness are two different names, they both refer to the quiescent mentality of the Ultimate Reality, what Adyashanti calls “awareness.” In other words, both the Buddha and Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara realized that, at the highest level of meditation, one realizes that in the cosmos, only two phenomena exist: Citta/Emptiness/Awareness and Rupa.
However, the path from attaining the ultimate wisdom to becoming a Tathāgata may still take some time.
Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara still had to eliminate latent tendencies (Romanized Sanskrit: vasana; Chinese: 習氣), habituations accumulated over innumerable previous cycles of samsara. However, removing habituation requires no effort (Chinese: 無功用道). As long as no new habituations are incurred, removing habituations is like removing the smell from an open wine barrel; it happens naturally with time.
Given that Nirvana is described as “the soteriological goal of Buddhism,” it is critical to understand it accurately. As Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara’s example shows, entering the final Nirvana represents an elevation in enlightenment and wisdom. It is certainly not to be confused with “achieved at death,” as those who do not believe in Mahāyāna Buddhism would like their followers to believe.
Given that Nothing but Mentality exists in the universe, the journey in Buddhism can only be mental, not physical. Buddha’s aspiration for all to enter Nirvana is, without a doubt, not an aspiration for anyone who has achieved the highest level of Buddhahood with extreme effort and time, only to be met by the death of an illusory physical body that is but a “mere projection of consciousness.”
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