buddha and bodhisattva cults in indian mahayana

8/12/2019 Buddha and Bodhisattva Cults in Indian Mahayana

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Buddha and bodhisattva cults in Indian Mahayana

We know from the work of Paul Harrison (1987) that the earliest Mahayana appears notto have thought of the bohisattvas as people to prostrate an pray to (the !"elestial!

bohisattvas) but rather as a group to #oin$ %he bohisattva is a moel for one!s own

spiritual "areer$ &ne shoul oneself out of "ompassion be"ome' or aspire to be"ome' a

bohisattva an eventually a uha$ ut as we have also seen' early Mahayana may wellhave embra"e a number of separate "ults "entre on parti"ular sutras an their tea"hings$

ome sutras whi"h were relatively early were "on"erne almost entirely with a

es"ription of the nature an elights of the Pure *an (or uha +iel, huddhaksctra)of the parti"ular favoure uha an how to be reborn in that Pure *an$ -.amples

might be the Aksobhyavyiiha Sutra or the SukhavatTvyuha Sutra. With time parti"ular

avan"e bohisattvas also be"ame asso"iate with Pure *ans an the fo"us of "ultswhi"h seek to involve their benefi"ial a"tivities$

18/ Buddhist Thought

0nian Mahayana uha an bohisattva "ults appear to be "on"erne first an

foremost with te"hniues of a""ess$ %hat is' they "on"ern te"hniues for rea"hing a Pure*an an its attenant uha an bohisattvas' through meitation an rebirth' an

bringing into play in this very life the benefi"ial ualities of those uhas an

bohisattvas$ %he "on"ept of the uha +iel perhaps represents a result of a"onsieration of akyamuni!s range of influen"e an authority' his fiel of awareness'

an the a"tual geographi"al "onte.t of his a"tivities (2owell 1934)$ %his was "ombine

with the evelopment of the iea 5 foun also in non5Mahayana sour"es 5 of amultipli"ity of worl5systems throughout the infinity of spa"e' in some of whi"h at least

there must surely be other uhas$ %hus a uha!s range of awareness (an

"ompassion) is infinite' but the a"tual range of his ire"t spiritual influen"e is finitealthough vast' an in the "ase of

r

akyamuni he was a"tually born an ha immeiate influen"e in a very limite histori"al

an geographi"al "onte.t$ %hroughout infinite spa"e there are however infinite uhas'ea"h lo"ate in a parti"ular pla"e' ea"h with infinite awareness an "ompassion' an

ea"h with a vast but finite ire"t spiritual influen"e$ %heir lo"ation' an the range of their

ire"t influen"e' is their uha +iel$ %he uha +iel e.ists in orer to help sentient

beings that "an be helpe by that uha +iel$6 bohisattva on his or her path to uhahoo is sai to !purify! his or her uha

+iel' whi"h is the result of their great a"ts of "ompassion$ %hus the uha +iel of a

uha is thought in some sense to be brought into e.isten"e by his or her great eeson the bohisattva path$ ot all uha +iels are fully5flege Pure *ans however$

in"e akyamuni uha was born in an"ient 0nia his uha +iel woul appear to

have been e.tremely impure$ ome Mahayana te.ts refer to three types of uha+iels pure' impure' an mi.e$ &ne response to the apparent impurity of akyamuni!s

uha +iel was that of the KarunapundarTka Sutra (!the *otus of :ompassion

;is"ourse!)' whi"h "laime that akyamuni was a superior type of uha pre"isely

because his "ompassion was so great that he appeare in su"h an impure pla"e$ 6nother

response was to suggest' with

The Buddha in Mahay ana Buddhism 183

the Vimalakirtinirdesa Sutra (the !;is"ourse "on"erning the %ea"hing of <imalaklrti!)' that

purity an impurity are matters of the min$ +or a person who sees "orre"tly' the !impure!sphere of

r

akyamuni is inee itself a full Pure *an$



6 bohisattva "an be born in the uha +iel of a uha' or it may be possible tovisit a uha +iel in meitation$ 0t is uite possible that the very iea of the Pure *an

5 an inee the !"ontinuing revelation! whi"h is represente by the Mahayana sutras 5 ha

some "onne"tion with the e.perien"es of visions seen in meitation$ :entral here is the pra"ti"e of !re"olle"tion of the uha! {buddhanusmrti). 0nee it may even be possible

to asso"iate geographi"ally some of the evelopments in buddhanusmrti pra"ti"e whi"h

"ontribute to the rise of Pure *an "ults with the region of =ashmir an asso"iate areasof :entral 6sia uring the first few "enturies :- (;emieville 194>)$// =ashmir at this time

was renowne for its meitation masters' an for meitation pra"ti"es in whi"h elementsoften thought of separately as Mahayana an non5Mahay ana were mi.e$ 0t was

renowne parti"ularly for buddhanusmrti pra"ti"es$ -spe"ially important to the =ashmirimeitators of the perio was the bohisattva Maitreya' the only "urrent bohisattva

"ompletely a""eptable in both Mahayana an non5Mahayana "onte.ts$

roaly speaking re"olle"tion of the uha involves re"olle"ting systemati"ally anwith a "on"entrate min the great ualities of the (or !a!) uha$ We know from uite

early Pali sour"es that among the results of su"h a pra"ti"e is that !it is possible $$$ to see

him with ?the@ min as "learly as with ?the@ eyes' in night as well as ay! Sutta !ipata"trans$ ahatissa v$ 11>/)$ %hrough re"olle"tion of the uha' the %heravaa s"holar

uhaghosa observes' one "an "onuer fear an "ome to feel as if one were a"tually

living in the Master!s presen"e' an !?one!s@ min tens towars the plane of the uhas!(Visuddhimagga" trans$ anamoli /3A)$ 0t seems very likely that one spur to the

"ultivation of su"h pra"ti"es was regret at living in an age after the life of the uha has

passe$/3 ut there is "learly a parao. in the popularity of pra"ti"es that lea to feeling

as if one is in the presen"e of a uha when the uha is hel to be ea18> Buddhist Thought

an gone' an uite ina""essible$ %his is parti"ularly the "ase when "ertain te.ts notspe"ifi"ally Mahayana speak of the possibility of nirvana through buddhanusmrti(Harrison 1978 38)$ +or their part relatively early Mahayana sutras like the

#ratyutpanna Sutra$% es"ribe austere an rigorous visualisation pra"ti"es whi"h lea to a

vision (or a ream) of a uha' in this "ase the uha 6mitayus in his Pure *an ofukhavat0 in the West$ 6mitayus is seen not with the (psy"hi") !ivine eye! but with one!s

present fleshly eyes$ %he meitator re"eives tea"hings ire"tly from uha 6mitayus'

an transmits those tea"hings to humankin$ %hus in this Mahayana "onte.t through pra"ti"e of re"olle"tion of the uha it is hel to be possible to rea"h a uha who is

still present albeit elsewhere' an to re"eive tea"hings 5 in"luing new tea"hings 5 from

that uha$ 0f "ompassionate uhas are present throughout spa"e !in the tenire"tions! (up' own' the four "arinal points' an the four intermeiate points) then it

must be possible to "ome into "onta"t with them an raw on their "ompassion$ 6ll that

nees to be ae is that it must be possible also' through use of the "orre"t te"hniues' to

bring about rebirth in their presen"e 5 not through any selfish reason but in orer' of

"ourse' to further one!s spiritual path uner the best possible "ir"umstan"es$ 0t ought to be possible to be"ome enlightene if taught ire"tly by a uha' as we know so many

be"ame enlightene at the time of akyamuni uha$ %hus while it may take a very longtime to be"ome enlightene uner present "ir"umstan"es' if one "an bring about rebirth in

the Pure *an of a uha then the path will be very mu"h shortene$

Buddhas

6s we have seen' Bregory "hopen suggeste (1974) that early Mahayana may have

involve a series of largely inepenent (though presumably in some as yet un"learsense linke) !book "ults! "entre on parti"ular sutras an their tea"hings$ 0f so' then



some of these book "ults involve sutras whi"h set out to tea"h how in meitation anrebirth the Pure *an of a "hosen uha "an be rea"he$/4 0t is possible that the earliest

Pure *an


uha "ult was "entre on the uha 6ksobhya an his uha +iel in the -ast$ %his

"ult is refle"te in the Aksobhyavyuha Sutra" a sutra whi"h was translate into :hinese as

early as the se"on "entury :- an whi"h may well have been written originally in

Banhan' the language of orthwest 0nia (in"luing =ashmir) at that time$ %he Pure*an of 6ksobhya is moelle rather on a heavenly realm$ 0t is the ieal realm' the worl

as it ought to be' a worl in whi"h Mara (the !;evil!) oes not interfere' a worl withoutmountains' a worl of flowers' gentle breeCes' an musi"$ %here is no ugliness' no

menstruation' no gross physi"al se.uality' an gestation an birth is gentle an pleasant$

6ll is "lean' an all are intereste in pra"tising the ;o"trine$ %his Pure *an is sowonerful as a ire"t result of the merit eriving from great vows of morality mae by

6ksobhya when engage in the bohisattva path$ 2ebirth in this wonerful Pure *an

"omes from following oneself the bohisattva path an vowing to be reborn in

6ksobhya!s Pure *an (6bhirati)$ &ne shoul also ei"ate all merit to being reborn therein orer to be"ome fully enlightene in the presen"e of 6ksobhya' an visualise the Pure

*an with 6ksobhya within it tea"hing the ;o"trine' while wishing to be like him (:hang1983 314 ff$)$/D

6 further uha +iel "ult seems to have been asso"iate with the uha

haisa#yaguru' the Mei"ine uha' an inee it is possible that this "ult originate

outsie the "ountry an was subseuently introu"e into 0nia (irnbaum 198A)$ ut byfar the most well known of the Pure *an "ults is that of uha 6mitabha 5 sometimes

known as 6mitayus an sometimes perhaps as 6mita 5 an his Pure *an of ukhavat0 in

the West$/7 %he signifi"an"e of the Pure *an "ult of 6mitabha is largely ue to its"onsierable importan"e in :hina an parti"ularly Eapan$ %here is surprisingly little

evien"e for its wiesprea importan"e in 0nian uhism$/8 %he spe"ifi" "ult of

6mitabha' assuming there was su"h an ientifiable "ult in 0nia an abstra"ting from the

key sutras in the -ast 6sian 6mitabha traition' is "entre on two' or possibly three'sutras$ Prin"ipal among them is the longer Sukhavativyuha Sutra" first translate into

:hinese uring the se"on "entury :- an like the Aksobhyavyuha

18D Buddhist Thought

perhaps written originally in Banhan$ 6gain' rather as with the Aksobhyavyilha" the

Sukhdvativyuha Sutra tells of a previous time many years ago when the bohisattva

;harmakara' having visualise the most perfe"t uha +iel possible' mae (in theanskrit version) forty5si. vows$ %hese vows are e.presse in a series of "onitions

through the formula %f this is not fulfille' may 0 not be"ome a fully enlightene

uha!$%his ;harmakara is now the uha 6mitabha$ 6ll therefore is as he vowe$ %hus in

a""oran"e with the vows all those who are born in this Pure *an of his will never

return to the lower realms' an they will be firmly establishe in a state set onenlightenment$ %hose who having hear his name meitate on 6mitabha will be taken by

him to ukhavatl at the time of eath$ %hose who have ire"te their !roots of merit! to be

reborn in ukhavatl will o so$ %his will o""ur even if they have generate the thought of

6mitabha only ten times' always proviing they have not "ommitte one of the five great"rimes of murering father or mother' or an arhat' harming a uha' or "ausing s"hism

in the angha$/9 %hus all those who wish to be reborn in the Pure *an of 6mitabha

shoul generate the 6wakening Min' hear the name of 6mitabha' think of him anmeitate on him$ %hey shoul make vows to be reborn in ukhavatl an turn over their

sto"k of merit in orer that this shoul "ome about$



6 further es"ription of ukhavatl is given in the shorter Sukhdvativyuha Sutra. %hereis some un"ertainty among s"holars as to the "hronologi"al priority between the two

Sukhdvativyuha Sutras. %he shorter sutra parti"ularly stresses that ukhavatl is a Pure

*an an not a heavenly realm or a sensual paraise$ -ven the birs of ukhavatl singthe ;o"trine$ %he proper way to be reborn there is unistra"te holing of the name of

6mitayus for up to seven ays$ %he #ratyutpanna Sutra is also another important

6mitayus te.t' es"ribing by way of "ontrast how it is possible to have a vision of6mitayus in this very life itself$ ut the -ast 6sian traition always "lasses along with

the two Sukhdvativyuha sutras not the #ratyutpanna Sutra but another sutra availableonly in :hinese an known by its :hinese title as the Kuan&'u&liang&shou&(o hing. 0t

has be"ome normal toThe Buddha in Mahay ana Buddhism 187

translate this title into anskrit as the Amitdyurdhydna Sutra" but if appropriate totranslate it into anskrit at all perhaps a better translation woul be the signifi"ant

Amitdyurbuddhanusmrti Sutra. %here has been some oubt however as to whether in fa"t

this sutra was originally written in 0nia$ ome s"holars "onsier it a :hinese !forgery!'

although it "oul have been "ompose in the 0nian "ultural areas of :entral 6sia$ EulianPas (1977) sees the sutra as one of a number of visualisation sutras "ompose in the area

aroun =ashmir or asso"iate areas of :entral 6sia' with a series of signifi"ant :hineseinterpolations$ 6lso in"lue among these visualisation sutras is one that involves rebirthin the %usita heaven if one "alls on the name of its most famous resient' Maitreya' an

pra"tises buddhanusmrti (op$ "it$ /A1)$ eeking rebirth in %usita in the presen"e of

Maitreya was an is a pra"ti"e perfe"tly a""eptable within the non5Mahayana traition$%he only signifi"antly ifferent fa"tor with 6mitabha' therefore' is that 6mitabha is a

Buddha who e.ists presently in a #ure *and. Here' perhaps' we see the results of

visionary en"ounter plus the possibility that if there are past an future uhas so there

surely must also be other "ontemporary uhas somewhere in the "osmos$6lthough it is not homogeneous' let us take the +Amitdyurbuddhanusmrti Sutra+ as an

0nie te.t$ %he sutra tea"hes a series of thirteen visualisations in whi"h one buils up an

elaborate s"ene of ukhavatl with 6mitayus seate on his lotus throne' flanke by his two bohisattvas 6valokitesvara an Mahasthamaprapta$3A %he meitator prays for rebirth in

ukhavatl an visualises him5 or herself inee reborn there within a lotus$ %here are

ifferent levels of rebirth in the Pure *an (refle"ting perhaps :hinese so"ial "ategories)$ evertheless' as it stans the sutra suggests that even someone who has "ommitte the

five worst "rimes may be reborn in ukhavatl as a result of "alling on the name of

6mitayus before eath even as few as ten times$ %hey are born insie a "lose lotus inukhavatl$ 6fter twelve aeons the lotus opens an they behol the two bohisattvas

prea"hing the ;o"trine$ %hus they generate the 6wakening Min an eventually they too

be"ome enlightene$31

188 Buddhist Thought

Bodhisattvas

Mahayana bohisattva "ults "an perhaps be "ontraste with those evote to uhas$%he "ontrast' su"h as there is' is that while uha "ults appear primarily (perhaps with

the e."eption of haisa#yaguru) to be "on"erne with visions' tea"hings' an rebirth'

bohisattva "ults have a "ertain tenen"y to want to bring into play the bohisattva!s

"ompassion an power for ire"t tangible !this worlly! benefits$ We have note alreaythe importan"e of Maitreya' who is akyamuni!s su""essor' an is hel by both

Mahayana an non5Mahayana traitions to be the ne.t uha in this worl$ %he iea

that akyamuni uha was not the only uha but was the latest of a long line ofuhas 5 an therefore there will also be uhas in the future 5 evelope fairly early

in the history of uhism$ 0t was thought reasonable to assume' therefore' that the ne.t



uha "an be name an is alreay in the final stages of his bohisattva path$ %he Maitreyavydkarana (!Prei"tion of Maitreya!) is a te.t that es"ribes the tempting

woners of the !millennium!' the worl many years hen"e when Maitreya finally arrives

an in be"oming a uha "ompletes his bohisattva path$ Maitreya appears to have been almost a !patron saint! of the =ashmiri meitation s"hools an his "ult was "arrie

to :entral 6sia (also as the sub#e"t of a number of enormous statues) where it was

e.tremely important' an then"e to :hina$3/

&ne of the earliest sour"es for the "ult of 6valokitesvara is the *otus Sutra. 0n the

twenty5fourth "hapter of that sutra (anskrit version)' whi"h appears to have "ir"ulatesometimes as a separate te.t' the salvifi" a"tivity an benefits of 6valokitesvara are

es"ribe in tempting etail$ He is a truly useful bohisattva' saving from fire' rivers ano"eans' murer' e.e"ution' emons' ghosts' prison' banits' an moral negativities like

gree' hatre' an elusion$ He grants e."ellent offspring 5 sons or aughters 5to those

who wish for them$33 6valokitesvara is a bohisattva who appears in whatever form isne"essary to help others' be it as a follower of Mahayana' non5Mahayana' householer'

monk' animal' or go$ 6valokitesvara also a"ts as an assistant


to 6mitabha' an is thus asso"iate with 6mitabha an is sometimes portraye in art with

a small figure of 6mitabha in his turban or hair$3>

Parti"ularly important in terms of the6valokitesvara "ult is the Karandavyuha Sutra. %his sutra es"ribes 6valokitesvara!s

a"tivities for the benefit of others$ 0t in"lues his es"ent into the hells in orer to help the

hell5wellers' an his appearan"e in the form of a bee in orer to hum the ;o"trine tosave thousans of worms$ 6valokitesvara even apparently

r

pla"e the Hinu gos like iva in their appropriate ranks' ruling by 6valokitesvara!s

permission$ 0t seems to be the Karandavyuha Sutra that is the sour"e for the great mantraasso"iate with 6valokitesvara' om manipadme hum" perhaps moelle on the use of the

aivite mantra om namah sivaya (tuholme 1999)$ 0n 0nian art there is also some

marke i"onographi" asso"iation of 6valokitesvara with iva$34

6 female bohisattva that has be"ome important in %ibetan uhism' freuently

asso"iate with 6valokitesvara an taking over from him some of his salvifi" fun"tions'is %ara$ 0t is not "lear how important she was in 0nian uhism' although praises of herate from #ust possibly as early as the thir "entury :- an the great missionary to %ibet

6tisa is sai' at least by %ibetans' to have been a parti"ular evotee of %ara (Willson

198D)$ %he fa"t that %ara is hel to be perpetually 1D years ol' an yet the !Mother of allthe uhas! suggests some possible "onne"tion between her an the figure of

#ra,napdramita 5 a female personifi"ation for ritual an meitation purposes of Wisom

itself 5who is also es"ribe this way$

6nother figure who is regularly es"ribe as 1D years ol' an is often sai to be thevery in"arnation of the Perfe"tion of Wisom' is Man#usr0' !the birthpla"e of all the

uhas!$ He is es"ribe 5 as wisom shoul be 5 as both the progenitor of all the

uhas an also their most e."ellent son (Williams 1989 />A)$ 0nee' in %ibetan artMan#usr0 is "ommonly portraye holing aloft the swor of gnosis whi"h "uts asie the

bons of ignoran"e$3D 0n 0nian uhism Man#usr0 gains his signifi"an"e mainly as the

supremely wise interlo"utor in a number of Mahayana sutras' su"h as theVimalakTrtinirdesa Sutra. %he

19A Buddhist Thought

importan"e of this sutra in :hinese uhism may go some way towars e.plaining the

possibility that a parti"ular "on"ern with Man#usri "oul have originate in :hinese or perhaps :entral 6sian uhism$ 6nyway' in 0nia Man#usri appears in 0nian art fairly

late' an his asso"iation with the sa"re mountain Wu5t!ai han in :hina seems to have

been known in an"ient 0nia itself$ Man#usri is sometimes spoken of in the sutras as



a"tually alreay a fully enlightene uha' an in these sutras 5 su"h as the Man,usribuddhaksetragunavyuha an the Man,usriparinirvdna (in *amotte 19DA) 5 the

"ategories of tenth5stage bohisattva an uha begin to break own or merge$

Man#usri has in the past appeare as a uha' manifeste all the ees of a uha'an apparently entere final nirvana' although he remains a"ting tirelessly for the benefit

of sentient beings$ 0n fa"t he has one this many times' even leaving holy reli"s behin$

0n ther

A,atasatrukaukrtyavinodana Sutra akyamuni uha es"ribes how in the past he was

a is"iple of Man#usri an has inee be"ome a uha through Man#usri (uote in

*amotte 19DA 935>)$ u"h observations' whether for the believer true or not' may wellini"ate also the way in whi"h sutras establish the ientity an prestige of their tea"hings

in rivalry with traitions asso"iate with other uhas an bohisattvas' an perhaps

also any asso"iate "ults$0n the final analysis are all these uhas an bohisattvas "onsiere by Mahayana

uhists to be real or notF %his uestion often be"omes a uestion about whether

!sophisti"ate!' !eu"ate!' !brainy! Mahayana uhists believe there really are su"h

beings' or whether these are mere "on"essions to the masses' !popular uhism!' or perhaps ways of speaking symboli"ally of positive ualities like "ompassion an

wisom$ %he answer' at least from the point of view of traitional Mahayana as it has

e.iste own the "enturies' is that of "ourse uhas an bohisattvas 5 as a"tual beingswith arms an legs 5 o not really' really e.ist$ %his is be"ause from an ultimate point of

view all is either empty of inherent e.isten"e' or merely non5ual "ons"iousness' or the

uha5nature' or some other ultimate truth$ ut to think that this entails that theytherefore o not e.ist'

The Buddha in Mahayana Buddhism 191

e.ist that is in the non5inherent et"$ way that we all o 5 an are thus really symbols for'

say' positive ualities 5 woul be pre"isely to "onfuse ultimate negation with "onventionalnegation$ +rom a Mahyamaka point of view' for e.ample' Man#usr0 has as mu"h reality

as we o an is genuinely working for the benefit of all of us$ We "an inee see

Man#usr0' an enter into a re"ipro"al relationship with him$ %he fa"t that he is in other"onte.ts also spoken of as being a"tually wisom itself personifie is irrelevant$ %o say

that Man#usr0' or uha 6mitabha' are merely symboli" an o not really (in the

everyay sense of !really!) e.ist woul be to say that there are no avan"e bohisattvaswith the ualities spoken of in the sutras' or no uhas as unerstoo by Mahayana$

%hey o not e.ist' not in the ultimate sense in whi"h all things o not e.ist (i$e$ in

Mahyamaka in the sense of having inherent e.isten"e)' but they o not e.ist at all$ %his

is "ertainly not entaile by the tea"hings of emptiness an so on$ 6n it woul probably be to estroy Mahayana uhism' an the great Mahayana aim of striving through pure

altruism as a bohisattva throughout innumerable e.isten"es in orer to attain perfe"t

uhahoo for the benefit of all sentient beings$

6ll "onitione things are impermanent' Mahayana uhism as well$ ut to hastenits en woul seem to me to be a pity$

buddha and bodhisattva cults in indian mahayana

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