The Bodhisattva Ideal Quotes

“Tara is the spiritual daughter of Avalokitesvara. She is usually either white or green in colour, and according to another beautiful legend she was born from the tears of Avalokitesvara as he wept over the sorrows of existence. In the midst of a great pool of his tears there appeared a white lotus. The lotus opened, and there was Tara , the very essence, indeed the quintessence, of compassion.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“We believe in ourselves in this narrow, limited, egoistic sense, as identified with the body and the lower mind. We are blind to any higher vision, any more ultimate selfhood, any more universal mind
or consciousness. This belief in self in this sense is a fetter that has to be broken before we can enter the Stream and break through into a higher, wider dimension of being and consciousness.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“The Enlightened mind sees truly – without distinction – anything that comes before it; it understands the true nature of everything, just as a mirror faithfully reflects all objects. If one looks into the depths of the Enlightened mind one sees everything. It is like the experience of Sudhana as described in the Gandavyuha-Sutra. Sudhana is a pilgrim wandering in search of truth, and at the crucial point of the sutra he reaches a magnificent tower in south India. Entering the tower he sees the whole cosmos mirrored, stretching out to infinity – but all contained within this magical tower. In fact, the tower is a symbol of the bodhicitta, or of the
Enlightened mind itself.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“Many people become aware of the effect of positive conditions when they go on retreat for the first time. The degree to which one can change in the course of just a few days is remarkable. Just leaving the city and staying in the country, being undisturbed by the pull of trivial distractions, and doing a bit more meditation and Dharma study than you usually have time for, can transform you into quite a different person – much happier, much more positive. So it isn’t enough to try to change one’s mental state through meditation; one needs the co-operation of one’s environment. Without this it is very difficult, even impossible, to develop spiritually up to the point of irreversibility.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“Once you have entered the Stream, yon are irreversibly bound for Enlightenment, one could say; you have sufficient spiritual momentum to take you all the way. You may still have a long way to go, but you are now safe from any danger of losing what you have gained. It is therefore said of the Buddha’s ‘victory’, his attainment of Enlightenment, that it is irreversible. It cannot be undone. There is no outside power that can make a Buddha no longer a Buddha. This applies not only to the Buddha, but also to the Arhant, the Once-Returner, and the Stream Entrant – and of course the irreversible Bodhisattva. But until we have passed through that gate of irreversibility we are in a precarious position. This is why we need to make a constant effort in our spiritual life and also make sure that we are living and working in conditions that support our spiritual efforts. Until we have reached that point of no return, we need the most positive situation, the most helpful environment, we can possibly get.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“It is of the utmost importance for us to be in contact with people who are at least a little more spiritually advanced than we are ourselves, through whom the light of reality shines a little more clearly than it shines through us. Such people are known traditionally in Buddhism as our spiritual friends, our kalyana mitras, and they are more important to us than even a Buddha would be. If we happened to have the opportunity to meet a Buddha, we probably wouldn’t be able to make much of the encounter, or even realize the nature of the person in front of us. We are likely to benefit much more from contact with those who are just a little more spiritually developed than we are.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“Still, the word hierarchy is very unpopular these days, and the dictionary definition – ‘a body of ecclesiastical rulers’ – does nothing to make the term more appealing. But in its original sense, hierarchy meant something like an embodiment, in a number of different people, of different degrees of manifestation of reality. So one can speak, for instance, of a hierarchy of living forms – some lower, expressing or manifesting less reality, others higher, expressing or manifesting more reality. There is a continuous hierarchy of living forms from amoebas right up to human beings – the higher the level, the greater the degree of reality. And there is another hierarchy of living forms: the hierarchy from the unenlightened human being right up to the Enlightened Buddha. This corresponds to what in other contexts I have described as the Higher Evolution. Just as the unenlightened human being embodies or manifests more reality, more truth, than the amoeba, in the same way the Enlightened human being embodies or manifests more reality in his or her life and work, and even speech, than does the unenlightened person. The Enlightened person is like a clear window through which the light of reality shines, through which that light can be seen almost as it is. Or one can say that he or she is like a crystal or diamond concentrating and reflecting that light. Between the unenlightened human being and the Enlightened one, the Buddha, there are a number of intermediate degrees, embodied in different people at different stages of spiritual development.

Most people are still short of Enlightenment, to a greater or lesser extent, but at the same time they are not wholly unenlightened. They stand somewhere between the unenlightened state and the state of full Enlightenment, and thus make up the spiritual hierarchy, the higher reaches of which can be referred to as the Bodhisattva hierarchy. By now we know enough about Bodhisattvas to have an appreciation of the intensity of their aspiration and commitment to the spiritual life. But even among Bodhisattvas there are degrees of spiritual attainment. The principle of spiritual hierarchy is very important.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“Between the unenlightened human being and the Enlightened one, the Buddha, there are a number of intermediate degrees, embodied in different
people at different stages of spiritual development. Most people are still short of Enlightenment, to a greater or lesser extent, but at the same time they are not wholly unenlightened. They stand somewhere between the unenlightened state and the state of full Enlightenment, and thus make up the spiritual hierarchy, the higher reaches of which can be referred to as the Bodhisattva hierarchy. By now we know enough about Bodhisattvas to have an appreciation of the intensity of their aspiration and commitment to the spiritual life. But even among Bodhisattvas there are degrees of spiritual attainment. The principle of spiritual hierarchy is very important.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“The Enlightened person is like a clear window through which the light of reality shines, through which that light can be seen almost as it is. Or one can say that he or she is like a crystal or diamond concentrating and reflecting that light.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“There is a real correspondence between biological and psychological masculinity and femininity on the one hand, and spiritual masculinity and femininity on the other. What one must bear in mind is that the Bodhisattva combines both. This may seem strange, but the Bodhisattva can be described as being psychologically and spiritually bisexual, integrating the masculine and the feminine at every level of his or her psychological and spiritual experience. This is reflected in Buddhist iconography. With some representations of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas it is hard to discern whether the figure is masculine or feminine. This iconographical convention reflects the psychological and spiritual bisexuality of the Bodhisattva, and indeed of any spiritually developed person. The idea, or even ideal, of psychological and spiritual bisexuality is unfamiliar to us in the West today, but it was known to the ancient Gnostics, one of the heretical sects of early Christianity. The teaching was quickly stamped out by the Church, but an interesting passage has been preserved in a work known as the Gospel of Thomas, which was discovered in Egypt as recently as 1945. It isn’t an orthodox Christian work, but it consists of 112 sayings attributed to Jesus after his resurrection. In the twenty-third of these sayings, Jesus is represented as saying:


'When you make the two one, and make the inside like the outside, and the outside like the inside, and the upperside like the underside, and (in such a way) that you make the man (with) the woman a single one, in order that the man is not the man and the woman is not the woman; when you make eyes in place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image; then you will go into the Kingdom.'

This is not the sort of teaching one normally encounters in church, but it is obviously of profound significance. In the context of Buddhism the idea or concept, and even the practice, of spiritual bisexuality features most graphically in the Tantra, where it is represented not just by the androgynous appearance of the Bodhisattva, but by the symbol of sexual union. Here, ksanti, the feminine aspect of the spiritual life, becomes transcendental wisdom, while energy, the masculine aspect, becomes fully realized as compassion. Thus in Tantric Buddhist art one encounters representations of a mythical form of the Buddha in sexual union with a figure who is sometimes described as the female counterpart to his own masculine form. These images are called yab-yum, yab meaning ‘father’ and yum meaning ‘mother’. They are sometimes regarded in the West as being obscene or even blasphemous, but in Tibet such symbolism is regarded as extremely sacred. It has nothing to do with sexuality in the ordinary sense; it is a representation of the highest consummation, the perfect balance, of ‘femininity’ and ‘masculinity’, wisdom and compassion. Although there are two figures, there are not two persons. There is only one person, one Enlightened person, within whom are united reason and emotion, wisdom and compassion.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“The Indian mystic Sri Ramakrishna likened this to going out in a rowing boat. At first one has to make a lot of effort; it’s quite a strain, especially if one is
rowing against the stream. But when one finally manages to reach the middle of the river, one can hoist one’s sail and the breeze will carry the boat along. In the same way, a great deal of effort is necessary in the early stages of the spiritual
life, but a time comes when one makes contact with forces that in a sense are beyond oneself – though in another sense they are part of one’s greater self – and these begin to carry one along.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“Spiritual receptivity is of the utmost importance; without it, spiritual progress simply cannot be maintained. We need to hold ourselves open to the truth as the flower holds itself open to the sun. This is what spiritual receptivity means: holding ourselves open to the higher spiritual influences that are streaming through the universe, but with which we are not usually in contact, because we usually shut ourselves off from them. We should be ready if necessary to give up whatever we’ve learned so far, which isn’t easy by any means, and to give up whatever we have become so far, which is still more difficult.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“The Buddha never worked for his living, as far as we know. He was born into a wealthy, aristocratic family. He had lots of servants. According to all the accounts he spent most of his time in palaces with singing girls, dancing girls, and musicians. Then, after he left home as a mendicant, other people gave him food and clothing. He never did anything to earn his keep. Of course he taught the Dharma, but he would have done that anyway; it was his nature, just as the nature of the sun is to shine. He never worked for money; he never did a day’s work in his life. I have so far been referring to work in the sense of employment; but there is such a thing as creative work. Indeed, creative work is a psychological necessity. It may be in the form of bringing up and educating children. It may be in the form of writing or painting or cooking, or engaging in some constructive social venture. To produce, to create, is a human need. But it need not be linked with employment. In an ideal society, no one would have to work for wages. One would give to the community whatever one could, and the community would give to each person whatever they needed.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“The Bodhisattva has a harmonious, creative effect. Here is this mass of human beings, all fighting and quarrelling, trying to subdue one another, trying to amass wealth. The Bodhisattva comes among them and gradually transforms the chaos into a cosmos, the confusion into a beautiful mandala, society into the spiritual community. It’s as though as soon as one decides that one is aiming to gain Enlightenment for the benefit of others, a sort of vibration is set up, and the people in one’s immediate environment form a kind of mandala around one.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“The Bodhisattva, being joyful, spreads confidence and happiness wherever he or she goes. In a sense it is one’s duty to be happy and joyful. One can’t gladden others unless one is glad oneself.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“We can help people a great deal by thinking about them positively and developing metta towards them. And sometimes we can help people just by keeping out of their way – or rather by not getting in their way. Sometimes people need space, and we help them most by giving it to them, or at least not taking it from them.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“Through recollecting the Buddhas we become convinced that Enlightenment is possible. They have gained Enlightenment; why shouldn’t we gain it too? Through this kind of reflection, energy and vigour is stirred up. Then, through seeing the faults of conditioned existence – seeing that it is impermanent, basically unsatisfactory, and not ultimately real – we become detached from the world. The trend, the stream, of our existence begins to flow in the direction of the Unconditioned. Next, through observing the sufferings of sentient beings – whether in imagination or in actual fact – compassion arises. We don’t think only of our own liberation; we want to help others too. Then, by contemplating the virtues of the Tathagatas – their purity, their peacefulness, their wisdom, their love – we gradually become assimilated to them and approach the goal of Enlightenment. As these four – energy, detachment, compassion, and ‘becoming one’, as it were, with the Buddhas – start to coalesce within our hearts, the bodhicitta arises; the awakening of the heart is achieved; a Bodhisattva is born.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“Through recollecting the Buddhas we become convinced that Enlightenment is possible. They have gained Enlightenment; why shouldn’t we gain it too?
Through this kind of reflection, energy and vigour is stirred up. Then, through seeing the faults of conditioned existence – seeing that it is impermanent, basically unsatisfactory, and not ultimately real – we become detached from the world. The trend, the stream, of our existence begins to flow in the direction of the Unconditioned. Next, through observing the sufferings of sentient beings – whether in imagination or in actual fact – compassion arises. We don’t think only of our own liberation; we want to help others too. Then, by contemplating the virtues of the Tathagatas – their purity, their peacefulness, their wisdom, their love – we gradually become assimilated to them and approach the goal of Enlightenment. As these four – energy, detachment, compassion, and ‘becoming one’, as it were, with the Buddhas – start to coalesce within our hearts, the bodhicitta arises; the awakening of the heart is achieved; a Bodhisattva is born.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“Another way of contemplating the virtues of Enlightened beings is to read accounts of their lives, whether the life of the Buddha himself or, say, that of Milarepa, the Enlightened yogi from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. One can also contemplate the spiritual qualities of the Buddhas by means of visualization exercises, as developed particularly in Tibetan Buddhism, by conjuring up a vivid mental picture, a sort of archetypal vision, of a Buddha or a Bodhisattva. What one does in these practices – to summarize very briefly – is to see this visualized form more and more brightly, more and more vividly, more and more gloriously, and then gradually feel oneself merging with it, one’s heart merging with the heart of the Buddha or Bodhisattva, the heart of Enlightenment. In this way one contemplates, one assimilates, one becomes one with, the virtues of the Tathagatas.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism

“The bodhicitta (spirit of enlightenment) starts arising when one sees what a mess we are all in. One can’t begin to see that until one is a little way out of the mess oneself.”
― Sangharakshita, The Bodhisattva Ideal : Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhism