The Bodhisattva Nature of a Mahayana Practitioner

 

“Good son, anyone seeking great wisdom is called a bodhisattva. Because he wishes to know the truth of all dharmas and is greatly adorned, because his mind is fortified and he saves many sentient beings, and because he does not spare his own life, he is called a bodhisattva who practices Mahayana.” Sutra on upāsaka Precepts, Chapter 1

【善男子！求大智慧故名菩薩；欲知一切法真實故，大莊嚴故，心堅固故，多度眾生故，不惜身命故，是名菩薩修行大乘。】優婆塞戒經 〈集會品〉第一

Remarks:

Only when the conditions presented in the above quote are met can one be considered to have the bodhisattva nature, which means that one is truly a “bodhisattva practicing Mahayana.” The seeds and virtues of becoming a Buddha were embedded in the tathagatagarbha mind of all sentient beings. However, these seeds and virtues can be successfully cultivated only after the aspiration of one’s bodhisattva nature is initiated by perfuming the Buddha dharma. In turn, the bodhisattva, śrāvaka, and pratyekabuddha natures are not inherent in all sentient beings; they are developed through initial contact with the dharma in the past lifetime, are enhanced with the successive fostering of the dharma and with cultivation to fully attain the bodhisattva nature lives after lives.

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