Quote:
|
Originally Posted by catsquotl
I am struggling to reconcile the bodhisattva vows with life to be honest.
On the one had the intentions is something to strife for.
That said strife has it's downsides.
When Buddha talks about his time as a boddhisattva he usually talks about events in his life before he was the tathagata.
I get the sense that the fairytales from the jakhartha tales may tell what the lives before the Buddha experienced on their path to Buddhahood. However they (i.m.h.o) aren't about his previous lives.
So the many many mahakulpa's it takes from taking the vows to become a self-liberated Buddha talk about something outside space and time?
When it's found you are liberated from samsara. I don't see how after reaching Nibanna there could be anything left to either save them all or wait/pospone the dissolution of self until every sentient being is likewise liberated.
So until then I feel it will most likely give rise to some unwholesome states..
WIth Love
Eelco
|
Depends on the conception of Nibbana, I guess. Not saying it depends on peoples' interpretations
of which there are many, I am saying it is probably related though to how one imagines it.
That said, I think that emphasis on Bodhisattva-hood and vows is more particular to Mahayana Buddhism and if it doesn't resonate, it can be laid aside for now.
In my opinion, each tradition/school teaches a full, but very particular, context. It is often effective and makes sense within that tradition, but to mix and match is probably not so useful or necessary.
My 2c
BT