Part II: The First Stage: Extreme Joy (703i–713)

Overall Teaching

Relying on bodhicitta beings enter the first stage and are imbued with joy due to detachment from self and thus fears. Gradually they develop their roots and purify, making vows to practice the path to buddhahood on boundless terms, believing the entire path to buddhahood. Due to compassion, relinquishment, and purification, they come to be able to see trillions of buddhas and serve them, while developing the means to save beings. Bodhisattvas on this stage are typically great leaders (e.g. monarchs) and can enter a hundred samādhis and manifest in ways according to beings’ needs.

Summary

1.     Prerequisites for Entry onto the First Stage: Bodhicitta [703i–iii]

a.     Bodhicitta (“aspiration for enlightenment”) is aroused due to:

i.     Attending Buddhas in the world

ii.     Consolidating pure practices

iii.     Being in the care of spiritual friends

iv.     Purifying intentions

v.     Great determination

vi.     Supreme zeal

vii.     Pity and compassion

b.     It is aspiring for the quest, but also for the qualities of a Buddha.

c.     The intention is guided by compassion, and also by the buddhas, and endures and abides forever.

d.     The arousing of these states of mind moves the bodhisattva beyond the stage of mundane beings and enters the transmundane path, equanimous, and in the buddha lineage, certain to become awakened.

e.     Being imperturbable, they are established in Extreme Joy (pramuditā: joy).

2.     Becoming Imbued with Extreme Joy [703iv–v]

a.     One becomes extremely joyful, calm, etc., and harmless.

b.     One becomes joyful though thinking of the Buddhas and their ability to benefit beings and entry into the knowledge of all buddhas.

3.     Detaching from All Fears [703iv–704i]

a.     Extreme joy also arises from detaching from fears, because of view of no-self e.g.:

i.     Not-surviving, because there is no self-love or love for material things.

ii.     Ill-repute, because there is no desire for honour, but desire to help others.

iii.     States of misery, because of certainty of seeing the buddhas after death.

iv.     Intimidation by groups, because there’s no aspiration greater than theirs.

4.     The Fulfilment of Roots of Goodness and Ways of Purifying [704ii–iii]

a.     Due to the priority of compassion they have great desire to fulfil roots of goodness.

i.     They do this by purifying the stages through seeking awakened ways, maintaining pure practice, serving spiritual friends, and so forth.

5.     The Ten Great Vows of the First Stage [704iii–706ii]

a.     Established on the first stage, bodhisattvas make the following great vows, to:

i.     Make offerings to all buddhas in all time and space

ii.     Preserve all teachings of the buddhas

iii.     To go to all places where buddhas appear, at all stages of their lives

iv.     Disseminate instruction in the path through skill in means

v.     Develop all beings to lead them into the buddha’s teaching

vi.     Know the distinctions of all worlds, their sizes, orientations, etc.

vii.     Show all beings the purifications of all lands

viii.     Engage in bodhisattva practice in concord with bodhisattvas, adapting to all situations that may ever arise, manifesting as required

ix.     Engage in bodhisattva practice to attain buddhahood so others may do so also, to free all from their afflictions

x.     Fully awaken all worlds and teach at every point, i.e. all the stages of the buddha-life as a skilful means

6.    The Ten Great Terms on which bodhisattvas undertake their vows [706ii–707i]

a.     Bodhisattvas undertake these vows in ten ultimate terms:

i.     To the ultimate extent of living beings

ii.     To the ultimate extent of worlds

iii.     To the ultimate extent of space

iv.     To the ultimate extent of the cosmos

v.     To the ultimate extent of the realm of nirvāṇa

vi.     To the ultimate extent of the emergence of buddhas

vii.     To the ultimate extent of enlightened knowledge

viii.     To the ultimate extent of realms of mental objects

ix.     To the ultimate extent of entries of knowledge into the sphere of buddhas

x.     To the ultimate extent of the course of worlds, teachings, knowledge

7.     The Beliefs of Bodhisattvas on this Stage [707ii]

a.     Their incorruptibly pure minds are imbued with faith in the practice of bodhisattvas, up to the stage of buddhas:

i.     The buddhas’ attainments of past practices

ii.     Their realization of the transcendent ways (6 pāramitās)

iii.     Their consummate attainment of the stages (10 bhūmis)

iv.     Their consummate attainment of the powers

v.     Their complete fulfilment of expertise

vi.     The indestructability of unique qualities of buddhahood

vii.     The inconceivability of buddhahood

viii.     The attainment of the sphere of buddhas, which is infinitely various

ix.     The attainment of immeasurable knowledge,

x.     The complete entry into the realm of those who arrive at Thusness

8.     The Bodhisattvas’ Reflections Give Rise to Compassion [707iii–708i]

a.     The bodhisattva reflects upon the supreme and profound qualities of buddhahood.

b.     The bodhisattva reflects upon how delusional actions give rise to the suffering of beings through the twelve links of dependent origination, and understanding their problem to be ignorance, they desire great compassion to free them from their misery and lead them to nirvāṇa.

9.     The Great Relinquishments of the Bodhisattvas [708ii]

a.     Thus, out of compassion and with equanimity, bodhisattvas relinquish all materialistic concerns to focus on the urgent quest for awakening.

10.  The Progress of a Bodhisattva & Elements of Purification of the Stages [708iii]

a.     Out of compassion, bodhisattvas seek benefits for beings, and gradually this gives rise to their attainment of the elements that purify the stages:

i.     Faith, compassion, kindness, relinquishment, indefatigability, knowledge of the teachings, knowledge of the world and humanity, modesty and conscience, stable power, and attendance on buddhas.

11.  Their Seeing of Many Buddhas [708iv–709i]

a.     Due to their vision and vows they get to see trillions of buddhas.

b.     They then honour, serve, and honour those buddhas, and dedicate the merits to awakening.

12.  Purification through the Development of Beings [709ii]

a.     Then they give rise to the means of developing beings.

i.     Primarily through giving and kind words plus faith, but not complete knowledge yet.

ii.     The foremost pāramitā at this point is giving (dāna).

b.     Their abilities thus become more and more purified through serving the buddhas and helping beings, just as gold can be more and more purified by a smith.

13.  Inquiry into the Qualities of this Stage [709iii]

a.     Bodhisattvas on this stage should continue to inquire buddhas and bodhisattvas about the qualities and attainments of this stage, and continue to fulfil them, and so on with the other nine stages.

b.     They should be versed in:

i.     The problems and solutions of each stage

ii.     Formation and dissolution of each stage

iii.     Forms and actions of the stages

iv.     Attainments and cultivation of the stages

v.     Progression from stage to stage

vi.     The attainment of each stage without regression

vii.     The purification of all stages of enlightening

viii.     The accession to the stage of enlightened knowledge

14.  The Attainment of the Light of Buddha-Knowledge [709iv–710i]

a.     Not ceasing to foster the forms of practice up to the tenth stage, they attain the light of buddha-knowledge:

i.     This is like how a caravan leader knows the path beforehand

ii.     Thus bodhisattvas know the path beforehand and tirelessly cultivate stages

15.  Bodhisattvas as Great Leaders [710ii]

a.     Bodhisattvas on this stage are great leaders, like monarchs of a continent (Jambūdvīpa)

b.     Their actions are never apart from the triple gem, pāramitās, skilful means, i.e. omniscience in order to become the best of beings.

16.  Meditative Powers of Bodhisattvas on this Stage [710iii–711i]

a.     After going forth on the path the bodhisattvas attain a hundred samādhis, wherein they see buddhas, can go in all directions and times, and manifest hundreds of bodies.

b.     They can then transform their appearances and deeds in countless ways.

17.  Verse Summary [711ii–713]

a.     Vajragarbha summarises the above in verse form, the contents are the same as the prose.

Nāgārjuna’s Comments on the First Stage from Ratnāvalī

440. Just as eight grounds of śrāvakas

Are described in the Śrāvakayāna, 

So ten stages of bodhisattvas 

Are described in the Mahāyāna. 

441. The first of these is the Very Joyful 

Because those bodhisattvas are rejoicing 

From having forsaken the three entwinements 

And being born into the lineage of tathāgatas. 

442. Through the maturation of those good qualities

The pāramitā of giving becomes supreme. 

They vibrate a hundred worlds 

And become Great Lords of Jambudvīpa.