What is Buddhism? Applications 3 - Bodhisattva -The essential way of living to attain Buddhahood-

    As I mentioned earlier, like the Arhat, who focuses on their practice of entering Nirvana as quickly as possible, it can be said that this is fundamentally the most direct method to transcend the illusion of self.

   That's why I think Shakyamuni taught such methods to his disciples from the beginning.

   Also, if fundamentally the notion of self is a product of ignorance that doesn't know the true nature of things, then the existence of many others imagined in contrast to oneself is also only imagined and ultimately insubstantial.

   Therefore, being attached to these insubstantial existences obstructs the practice of eradicating all attachments.

   However, just as we cannot easily believe that our existence is merely an illusion without substance, many others also believe the same.

   Even though enlightened individuals might see everyone struggling within illusions, until one ultimately realizes this fact, our suffering and the suffering of many others are an undeniable reality.

   From the perspective of someone deeply immersed in such suffering, even if told by an enlightened person that your suffering is merely a product of illusion, you might only think, "That's none of your business!"

   The other day, there was a case in which a person continued to suffer from unexplained severe pain and went to see a doctor.

   The doctor said it was probably just her imagination since no physical cause was found, but the severe pain continued and she eventually committed suicide because she could not bear the pain any longer.

   Even if there is no physical cause at all, in cases of serious depression, severe pain may persist due to mental reasons or delusions.

   In other words, whether the reason is rational or merely delusional, the person is still suffering, and the fact that the suffering is merely delusional does not at all mean that it can be ignored.

   In this way, people's suffering and sadness, even if caused by illusions and attachments without any substance, continue to torment them as a stark reality until they realize this fact.

   Considering that most people are far from enlightenment, many wonder whether it's socially and ethically acceptable to ignore these suffering people and solely focus on one's own practice.

   Furthermore, ethically, if one truly doesn't cling to oneself, then there should be no difference in importance between oneself and others.

   Therefore, solely focusing on one's enlightenment while ignoring the suffering of others might be evidence of being trapped in the notion of self.

From this perspective, when we consider the example of Buddha himself, it has been said since the time of early Buddhism that Buddha became a Buddha as a result of his countless acts of altruism as a bodhisattva in his previous lives. This is the difference between Buddha, who became Buddha, and ordinary human beings, who can only become arhats.

A group of practitioners began to emerge who thought that if this was the case, why not live as bodhisattvas practicing altruism like the Buddha?

   Bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi (awakening) or Buddhahood.

   Unlike the Arhat, the Bodhisattva deliberately maintains a strong attachment to wishing for others' happiness without eradicating the cause of their existence, repeatedly being reborn into the cycle of existence to devote their lives to alleviating others' suffering through their enlightenment.

   In other words, for the Bodhisattva, there is no difference in the importance of oneself and others.

   Therefore, the practice for enlightenment must involve oneself and others simultaneously; otherwise, it would be meaningless.

   Moreover, by consistently wishing for others' happiness and sharing their suffering, sadness, and joy, without being confined to the perspective of oneself, gradually one attains the state of the Middle Way.

   Just as eradicating the perspective of self through meditation and self-awareness practice, like the Arhat, is one way to transcend oneself, approaching a state beyond the perspective of self by always considering things from others' standpoint, empathizing with them, and continuing to sympathize with them, thus naturally forgetting oneself, is another definite path to transcendence.

   In this way, there are multiple paths to transcending the illusion of self and progressing beyond it, as taught by Shakyamuni Buddha.

   Besides the above two paths, various other paths have been proposed and developed into different forms of Buddhism later on.

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