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Kuan Yin... Bodhisattva of Bodhichitta
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The bodhisattva ideal is for those who, in Mahayana Buddhism, delay nirvana, choosing to remain among others, until all beings are liberated from dukkha - suffering - and samsara - the cycle of rebirth. While one may disagree with this idea in a literal sense, one can adopt the spirit in which it arose - compassion for all beings - not just humans, but beings in all realms, seen and unseen.
Having had a Christian background, I see Jesus as a bodhisattva-like being. You may know a bodhisattva-like being, one who places the well-being of others before their self-interests. Yet, as in the story below, self-interest finds its fulfillment in transcending the opposites of self and other.
The progression on the Way is:
1) Self... or I, me, mine
2) Other... or they, them, theirs
3) Self-other... or we, our, ours
A Buddhist spoke to the Sage, saying, "I wish to take the bodhisattva vow to liberate all beings. However, how can I do that? I can't even liberate myself. After years of practice, I'm still a suffering, deluded being." Said the Sage, "The vow isn't to liberate yourself and, then, liberate other beings. In liberating other beings, you liberate yourself. Their and your liberation aren't two but one, for beings are two or more and one. If you try, first, to liberate yourself, you will only entrap yourself in yourself more." "Still," asked the man, "what if I fail?" The Sage said, "The wish to fulfill the vow fulfills it. Of course, you can't keep the vow except through practicing it incompletely. Yet, to aspire is, also, fulfillment." "But," said the man, "to fulfill fully and not to is a contradiction." "In the mind, yes... not the heart," replied the Sage.
*Brian K. Wilcox. "Meetings with an Anonymous Sage."
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*©Brian K. Wilcox, 2022.
*Brian's book, An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love, can be ordered through major online booksellers or the publisher AuthorHouse.
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