Encyclopedia of Buddhism

1. The “provisioning” stage (sam
   bharavastha), dur-
   ing which one gathers and stocks up on “provi-
   sions” for the journey. These provisions
   primarily consist of orienting oneself toward the
   pursuit of the PATHand developing the proper
   character, attitude, and resolve to accomplish it.
   This stage commences at the moment the aspi-
   ration for enlightenment (BODHICITTA) arises.
   One relies on the four excellent powers (the
   causal force of one’s seeds, good friends, focused
   attention, and provisions of merit and wisdom).


2. Next is the “experimental” stage (prayogavastha),
   where one begins to experiment with various
   Buddhist theories and practices, and doctrines
   are converted from theory to praxis. Prayogaalso
   means “intensifying effort,” or applying oneself
   with increasing vigilance. One trains in the four-
   stage samadhi (meditation): (1) meditation
   achieving initial illumination (into an issue),
   (2) meditation to increase that illumination,
   (3) meditation producing sudden insights, and
   (4) maintaining meditative awareness continu-
   ously and uninterruptedly. During this stage one
   begins to suppress the grasper-grasped relation
   and commences on a careful and detailed study
   of the relation between things, language, and
   cognition.


3. Continually honing one’s discipline, eventually
   one enters the third stage, “deepening under-
   standing” (prativedhavastha). Some texts refer
   to this as the path of corrective vision (dars ́ana-
   marga). Here one works on realizing the empti-
   ness of self and dharmas while reducing the
   obstructions (kles ́avaran
   aand jñeyavaran
   a). This
   stage ends once one has acquired some insight
   into nonconceptual cognition (nirvikalpajñana),
   that is, cognition devoid of interpretive or imag-
   inative overlay.


4. In this stage, the “path of cultivation” (bhavana-
   marga), nonconceptual cognition deepens. The
   grasper-grasped relation is utterly eliminated, as
   are all cognitive obstructions. This path culmi-
   nates in the full overturning of the basis, or en-
   lightenment.


5. In the “final stage” (nis
   t
   havastha), one abides in
   unexcelled, complete enlightenment and en-
   gages the world through the four immediate
   cognitions (mirror cognition, etc.). At this stage,
   all of one’s activities and cognitions are “post-
   enlightenment” (pr
   s
   t
   halabdha), and other be-

ings become one’s sole concern because Ma-

hayana adepts devote themselves not only to at-

taining enlightenment for themselves, but to

helping all sentient beings to attain enlighten-

ment as well. As Kuiji puts it in his Heart Sutra

Commentary: “This is the stage of liberation

which comprises the three buddha bodies, the

four kinds of perfect nirvan
a, and the perfect

fruition of buddhahood.”

See also:Consciousness, Theories of; Psychology

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YOGACARASCHOOL