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In Maitreya Bodhisattva's Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, "Local Division: Bodhisattva Stage, Part 15 – First Endowed Yoga Place: Chapter Two on Generating the Resolve," it explains the four conditions for a Bodhisattva generating the resolve, stating:
"It should be known that a Bodhisattva's initial generation of the resolve (Bodhicitta) arises from four kinds of conditions, four causes, and four powers.
What are the four conditions?
A good man or a good woman might see Buddhas and Bodhisattvas exhibiting inconceivable, wondrous, and rare spiritual transformations and majestic power, or they might hear of such things from a trustworthy source. Having seen or heard this, they think: 'Unsurpassed Bodhi possesses great majestic virtue, enabling those who abide in it and practice it to achieve the inconceivable spiritual transformations and majestic power that I have just seen and heard.' Due to the predominant power of this seeing and hearing, they develop deep faith and understanding in Great Bodhi, and because of this, they generate the great Bodhi mind.
This is called the first condition for initially generating the resolve.
Or, there is a class of people who, although they have not seen or heard of the spiritual transformations and majestic power mentioned above, hear the profound and wondrous true Dharma—the teachings of the Bodhisattva Piṭaka—based on unsurpassed, perfect, and complete Bodhi being expounded. Having heard it, they believe it deeply. Due to the predominant power of hearing the true Dharma and believing it deeply, they develop deep faith and understanding in the wisdom of the Tathāgata. For the sake of attaining the wondrous wisdom of the Tathāgata, they generate the Bodhi mind.
This is called the second condition for initially generating the resolve.
Or, there is a class of people who, although they have not heard the aforementioned true Dharma, see that all the teachings of the Bodhisattva Piṭaka are about to perish. Having seen this, they think: 'If the teachings of the Bodhisattva Piṭaka remain long in the world, they can extinguish the great suffering of limitless sentient beings. I should uphold the teachings of the Bodhisattva Piṭaka, generate the Bodhi mind, to extinguish the great suffering of limitless sentient beings.' Due to the predominant power of wishing to protect and uphold the teachings of the Bodhisattva Piṭaka, they develop deep faith and understanding in the wisdom of the Tathāgata. For the sake of attaining the wondrous wisdom of the Tathāgata, they generate the Bodhi mind.
This is called the third condition for initially generating the resolve.
Or, there is a class of people who, although they do not observe the true Dharma about to perish, live in the final eon, the final age, the final time. They see the bodies and minds of turbid and evil sentient beings being tormented and confused by the ten secondary afflictions—namely, being exceedingly foolish, shameless, stingy and jealous, full of sorrow and suffering, heavy and coarse, full of afflictions, full of evil deeds, given to laxity, given to laziness, and full of disbelief. Having seen this, they think: 'In this great turbid and evil age, precisely when sentient beings are tormented and confused by the secondary afflictions, even those who can generate the inferior Bodhi mind of a Śrāvaka (Voice-Hearer) or a Pratyekabuddha (Solitary Realizer) are difficult to find, much less those who can generate the resolve for unsurpassed, perfect, and complete Bodhi. I must generate the great Bodhi mind, so that the limitless sentient beings in this evil age will follow my example and arouse the vow of Bodhi.' Due to the predominant power of seeing how difficult it is to generate the resolve in the final eon, they develop deep faith and understanding in Great Bodhi, and because of this, they generate the great Bodhi mind.
This is called the fourth condition for initially generating the resolve."
In the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, Maitreya Bodhisattva, a Bodhisattva in his final lifetime, speaks of correctly practicing the Four Reliances, stating: "How does a Bodhisattva correctly practice the Four Reliances? Bodhisattvas listen to the Dharma from others for the sake of seeking the meaning (truth), not for the sake of seeking worldly, embellished literary rhetoric. When a Bodhisattva seeks the meaning and listens to the Dharma without seeking mere rhetoric, even if they encounter Dharma spoken in ordinary, common language, they rely solely on the meaning and respectfully listen and accept it. Furthermore, Bodhisattvas truly understand obscure speech and profound speech. Having truly understood, they rely on the principle (truth). They do not simply believe and accept a teaching just because it is spoken by an elder, a widely known pudgala (person), a Buddha, or a Saṅgha; therefore, they do not rely on the pudgala. Because a Bodhisattva relies on the principle and does not rely on the pudgala, their mind does not waver regarding the realized true meaning, and within the true Dharma, they are not swayed by other conditions." A Bodhisattva relies on the principle, not on the pudgala, and their mind remains unwavering regarding the realized true meaning. Thus, the Yogācārabhūmi states: "If someone asks, 'What is the foundation of a Bodhisattva?' one should decisively answer: 'Great Compassion is the foundation.'" They are unwavering in the true meaning and take great compassion as their foundation. The Yogācārabhūmi originally stems from the Sarvāstivāda school and thus emphasizes the Abhidharma; however, within the Bodhisattva's Abhidharma treatises, it also advocates the true meaning of the Three Natures (Trisvabhāva) and Three Non-Natures (Tri-niḥsvabhāva). Because sentient beings do not know, do not understand, and do not realize this, the true ultimate truth (Paramārtha-satya) of the Three Turnings of the Dharma Wheel remains obscure to them.
Therefore, the Akṣayamati-nirdeśa Sūtra also states: "What does it mean to rely on the Dharma and not on the person? 'Person' refers to grasping the view of a creator or an experiencer; 'Dharma' refers to understanding that there is no view of a creator or an experiencer. A 'person' means an ordinary being, a good person, one who practices through faith, one who practices through Dharma, the Eighth Stage, a Srotāpanna, a Sakṛdāgāmin, an Anāgāmin, an Arhat, a Pratyekabuddha, a Bodhisattva, or one person who appears in the world to bring great benefit and happiness to many, generating great compassion out of pity for the world, and providing great nourishment among humans and devas—namely, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. The Buddha uses such names based on conventional truth to transform sentient beings; therefore, He speaks this way. If one grasps at such views, it is called relying on the person. To transform those who grasp at the view of a person, the Tathāgata taught relying on the Dharma and not on the person. This 'Dharmatā' (Dharma-nature) is unchanging and unalterable, non-acting and not non-acting, non-abiding and not not-abiding, completely equal, where the equal is equal and the unequal is also equal. Without thought and without object, one attains correct certainty. In all dharmas, there is no differentiation and no difference; its nature and characteristics are unobstructed, like empty space. This is called Dharmatā. If one relies on this Dharmatā, they will never depart from the Dharma of a single mark. Those who enter this gate contemplate all dharmas as sharing the same Dharmatā. Therefore, it is said: rely on all dharmas and do not rely on the person. Śāriputra, this is called the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva's inexhaustibility of the Four Reliances." This Dharmatā is unchanging and unalterable, non-acting and not non-acting, non-abiding and not not-abiding, completely equal, where the equal is equal and the unequal is also equal. Without thought and without object, one attains correct certainty. In all dharmas, there is no differentiation and no difference; its nature and characteristics are unobstructed, like empty space. This is called Dharmatā. If one relies on this Dharmatā, they will never depart from the Dharma of a single mark. Those who enter this gate contemplate all dharmas as sharing the same Dharmatā. This is the true meaning. Having believed and accepted the true meaning, how could one then rely on the pudgala (person)?
The Zongjing Lu (Record of the Source Mirror) states: "The realms of the three periods of time—past, future, and present—are originally the direct perceived aspects (Nimitta-bhāga) of the eighth Ālaya-vijñāna, manifested solely by the root consciousness." However, worldly people attach to the perceiving aspect (Darśana-bhāga) of consciousness as the beloved ego (self), and they attach to the perceived aspect (Nimitta-bhāga) of consciousness as illusory existence. Therefore, the holy Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna clearly indicated in his Mahāprajñāpāramitā Upadeśa that those who study the Abhidharma constantly attach to all dharmas as existing and objective. Those who misunderstand emptiness fall into the sect that erroneously grasps all dharmas as completely empty, and erroneously grasps cause and effect as also empty; this is the sect of "malignant attachment to emptiness" (apavāda-dṛṣṭi). Because of this, the Third Turning of the Dharma Wheel is the World-Honored One restating the wondrous path: everything is Consciousness-Only. First, the Agamas contemplated the five aggregates as impermanent, suffering, empty, and non-self. Next, the Vaipulya (Mahayana) teachings contemplated all dharmas as dependently originated, both empty and existent, neither empty nor existent—the meaning that every dharma lacks inherent nature. Finally, He expounded the most supreme and wondrous path, the correct principle of Consciousness-Only, pointing directly to true emptiness and wondrous existence. Although conventional truth acknowledges that myriad dharmas are Consciousness-Only and manifested by the mind alone, in the true ultimate truth, both mind and words are cut off. It simultaneously proclaims a Perfected Nature (Pariniṣpanna) that is both true and conventional, neither true nor conventional, falling into neither the conditioned nor the unconditioned. What is the Perfected Nature? It means that the nature of all dharmas is inherently pure. Therefore, terminology only reveals two categories: expressing the object and conveying the meaning. Because the Dharma does not fall into verbal explanation, it can be recorded and described using words. Nature, on the other hand, means that all dharmas lack inherent nature; therefore, it is not something attained through practice, but rather the ultimate of ultimate truths that is revealed—this is the One True Dharmadhātu.
The Ghanavyūha Sutra represents the profound tenets and core meanings of sutras like the Drumakinnararāja-paripṛcchā and the Avataṃsaka, which ordinary, foolish people cannot align with, realize, or comprehend. Today, although the true meaning of the Bodhisattva expounded in the Yogācārabhūmi does not explicitly state the great meaning of the Ghanavyūha, those who practice the Bodhisattva vehicle should still act in accordance with the teachings in this way, gradually realizing and practicing through hearing, contemplating, and cultivating. The Mahāratnakūṭa Sutra also expounds the wondrous meaning of actual realization. However, we ordinary beings are covered by the two hindrances (afflictive and cognitive) and have been perfumed by beginningless ignorance for a very long time. Therefore, since beginningless eons, those who transmigrate into the human state invariably take their physical body, lineage, wealth, status, and family as "I" and "mine," mistakenly clinging to them as the true self, the real self, the ultimate self, and my possessions. They are entirely unaware that the perceiving and perceived aspects of this enjoyed "I" and "mine" belong fundamentally to the manifestations of the dependent origination of various dharmas and the karmic retributions of differing maturation (Vipāka). This is illusory, impermanent, suffering, lacking a self, lacking inherent nature, and is purely the "Imagined Nature" (Parikalpita-svabhāva) clung to by foolish, ordinary beings.
Master Kuiji of the Ci'en School states in the Cheng Weishi Lun Shuji (Commentary on the Vijñāptimātratāsiddhi Śāstra): "This verse establishes the profound meaning of the Middle Way. 'Only' serves to distinguish and negate external objects; 'Consciousness' serves to comprehend and explain the existence of the internal mind. The substance of consciousness is simply a Karmadhāraya compound (attributive compound); both the nature and characteristics of consciousness are inseparable from the mind. Mental factors and the primary mind take consciousness as their master; returning to the mind and extinguishing characteristics, it is collectively called Consciousness-Only. By 'only' negating the existence of objects, those who grasp at existence lose its truth; by 'consciousness' distinguishing the emptiness of the mind, those who stagnate in emptiness violate its reality. Therefore, remaining ignorant of this emptiness and existence leads to long-term drowning in the two extremes; awakening to that existence and emptiness leads to walking highly upon the Middle Way." The five lineages in the Laṅkāvatāra Sutra and the four lineages in the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sutra aim to explain the innate lineage (Gotra) of a Bodhisattva, or the Arhat stage abandoning the hindrance of ordinary being nature.
The Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sutra explains how Sadāprarudita Bodhisattva, for the sake of seeking the Dharma and fulfilling the Prajñāpāramitā (Perfection of Wisdom), practiced giving his own body. As it states:
"Sadāprarudita replied: 'I will sell [my body] to a Brahmin, for the sake of the Prajñāpāramitā, to make offerings to Dharmodgata Bodhisattva.'
The elder's daughter said: 'Good man! By selling your body and wishing to give your own heart, marrow, and blood to make offerings to Dharmodgata Bodhisattva, what kind of meritorious benefit will you obtain?'
"Sadāprarudita replied: 'Good woman! That person skillfully learns the Prajñāpāramitā and the power of expedient means. That person will explain to me what a Bodhisattva should do and the path a Bodhisattva should travel. By learning this Dharma and learning this path, when I attain Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi (Unsurpassed, Perfect, and Complete Enlightenment), I will become a refuge for sentient beings. I will attain a golden-colored body, the thirty-two marks, the eighty minor characteristics, a halo of one zhang, limitless radiance, great loving-kindness, great compassion, great sympathetic joy, great equanimity, the four fearlessnesses, the ten powers of a Buddha, the four unhindered wisdoms, the eighteen unshared properties, the six spiritual penetrations, and inconceivable pure precepts, meditative absorption (dhyāna), and wisdom. I will attain Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi, and within all dharmas, I will attain unhindered omniscient vision, distributing the unsurpassed Dharma treasure to all sentient beings. Such meritorious benefits, I will obtain from him.'
"At that time, hearing this supreme and wondrous Buddhadharma, the elder's daughter rejoiced greatly. Her heart trembled and her hair stood on end. She said to Sadāprarudita Bodhisattva: 'Good man! This is extremely rare. What you speak of is wondrous and hard to encounter. For the sake of each and every one of these meritorious dharmas, one should be willing to sacrifice bodies as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Why? Because what you speak of is immensely wondrous. Good man! Whatever you need now, I will give it all to you. Gold, silver, pearls, lapis lazuli, crystal, amber, coral, and other precious gems, as well as flowers, incense, necklaces, anointing incense, burning incense, banners, canopies, clothing, music, and other offering items—use them to make offerings to the Prajñāpāramitā and Dharmodgata Bodhisattva. Good man! Do not afflict your own body. I also wish to go to Dharmodgata Bodhisattva with you to plant wholesome roots, for the sake of attaining such a wondrous Dharma as you have described.'"
If Sadāprarudita Bodhisattva was like this, how can we foolish, ordinary beings generate a mind of non-diligence? A mind without shame? This is to inspire future students to establish the foundational meaning of the Three Periods of Teachings. The meaning of the "Bodhisattva Piṭaka" is the Mātṛkā (matrix/foundation) of the Bodhisattva Abhidharma, the meaning of adorning Buddha deeds. However, the ultimate truth is only the Dharmatā of True Suchness that transcends words, discards characteristics, and reveals its nature. Today, using the Prajñā of texts to write across the Dharmadhātus and enter the profound depths of the Buddhas, a Bodhisattva's study of the Five Sciences (Inner knowledge, Logic, Medicine, Arts/Crafts, and Grammar/Linguistics) is for the purpose of benefiting oneself and others. It is to clearly contemplate the skillful dependent origination of all dharmas, to expediently save and guide ordinary beings who possess the Bodhisattva lineage, to open the Buddha's knowledge and vision, and to go against the great ocean of the flow of birth and death. Broadly citing the various deeds of a Bodhisattva's beneficial practices, there is in fact no substantial deed of adorning by saving all sentient beings, because all dharmas lack inherent nature, the dependent nature is pure and is also the perfected nature, and the perfected nature is solely the ultimate truth of True Suchness. Practitioners, by relying on this introductory treatise to guide the stages of practice of the Three Turnings of the Dharma Wheel and the exposition of Bodhi, will surely be covered by the compassionate vows of the Bodhisattva lineage, engaging in beneficial actions and cooperative efforts. We hope that through this true meaning of the Bodhisattva, we can practice together and realize the meanings of cause, effect, root, branch, and ultimate reality regarding the Three Natures and Three Non-Natures.
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