Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Religious Studies – Anthology
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“But”, said the Lord, “the bodhisattva [has this resolve]... A firefly ...
doesn’t imagine t hat it s glow will light up all India or shine all over it , and so
the disc iples had private Buddhas don’t think that they should lead all being to
Nirvana ... after they have gained full enlightenment. But the disc of the sun,
when it has risen, light s up all India and shines all over it. Similarly t he
bodhisattva... when he has gained full enlightenment, brings c ountless beings
to Nirvana.[ F ro m Panacavimsatisahasrika Prajnaparamita, pp.40-41]The Suffering Saviour
In many passages of the Mahāyāna sc riptures is to be found what purports to
be the solemn resolve made by a bodhisattva at the beginning of his career. The
following fine passage will appear part ic ularly st riking t o West ern readers, for in it
the bodhisattva not only resolves t o pit y and help all mort al beings, but also t o
share their interest sufferings. Christians and Jews c annot fail to note resemblanc es
to the c onc ept of the suffering saviour in Christianity and to the “Servant Passages”
of Isaiah (53:3-12). It is by no means impossible that there was some Christian
influenc e on Mahāyāna Buddhism, for Christ ian missionaries were ac t ive in Persia
very early, and it bec ame a c ent re from whic h Nest orian Christ ianit y was diffused
throughout Asia. From the middle of the third c entury A.D. Persian influenc e in
Afghanistan and Northwestern India, whic h had always been felt, was intensified
with the rise of Sasanian Empire; and it was in these regions that Mahāyāna
Buddhism developed and flourished. Thus Christian influenc e c annot be ruled out.
But it is equally possible t hat t he similarities between the concepts of the suffering
saviour in Buddhism and Christianity are due to the fac t that c ompassionate minds
everywhere tend to think alike.
The work from whic h the following passage is taken, Shantideva’s
Compendium of Doc trine, dates from the seventh c entury. It is ext remely valuable
bec ause it c onsist s of lengt hy quot at ions from earlier Buddhist lit erat ure wit h brief
c omments by the c ompiler, and many of the passages quoted are from works whic h
no longer survive in t heir original form. The following passages are quoted from two
suc h works, the Instruc tions of Akshayamati (Aksayamati Nirdesa) and the Sutra of
Vajradhvaja (Vajradhvaja Sutra).
The bodhisattva is lonely, with no...c ompanion, and he puts on the armor of
s u p re me w is d o m. He ac t s himself, and leaves not hing t o ot hers, working wit h a will
steeled with c ourage and strength. He is strong and in his own strength...and he
resolves thus:
“What ever all beings should obt ain, I will help t hem t o obt ain... t he virt ue
of generosit y is not my helper – I am the helper of generosity. Not do the
virt ues of moralit y, pat ienc e, c ourage, medit at ion and wisdom help me –
it is I who help t hem.^3 The perfec tions of the bodhisattva do not support(^3) These six, generosity (dāna), moral conduct (śīla), patience (ksānti) courage or energy
(vīrya), me ditation (dhyāna) and wisdom (prjañā) are the Pāramitās, or virtues of the
bodhisattva, which he has developed to perfection. Many sources add four further perfections
- “skill in know ing the right means” to take to lead individual beings to salvation according to
their several characters and circumstances (upāyakausalya), determination (pranidhana),
strength (bala) and know le dge (jñāna). Much attention was concentra ted o n the se