The Bodhisattva Paradox Author(s): Roy W. Perrett Source: Philosophy East and West, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Jan.

, 1986), pp. 55-59 Published by: University of Hawai'i Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1398508 . Accessed: 26/10/2013 16:13
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Comment and Discussion

Roy W. Perrett The bodhisattvaparadox thathe calls the a conundrum In two of his books Arthur Danto has presented "Bodhisattva Paradox." The purpose of this article is to argue that the to thisparadox. Let us beginwith need not be committed Mahayana Buddhist of his puzzle. Firstly,then,fromhis Analytical Danto's own formulations ofAction: Philosophy into Nirvana. Considerthe negativeattribution thatI did not pass yesterday Idid. For I did itat leastdoes notascribeto mesomething Trueas an attribution, to the nirvanic does not lie not forbeartransferring state,since such transfer within assignedto, indeedthey powers.Such powersare commonly mypresent the Bodhisattva.But the case of the Bodhisattvaraises some curious define, that forbearancy presupposes questions regardingthe logical presumption teachesthatin concan. Mahayana doctrine power:thatdoes notpresupposes trast withtheselfish conductoftheElders,who soughtsalvationforthemselves alone, passingone at a timeintoNirvana,the Bodhisattva postponeshis own oftheGreater as itis called, blissuntil all maybe saved.Thisis thetheory Vehicle, is of creaturedom. The ordinary a mass and totaltransfer entailing assumption of karma, himself thatthe Bodhisattvacan nirvanize himself; havingpurified in factthe Bodhisattva he is fullyenlightened. The questionnow is whether he must could pass intoNirvana after all. Suppose he decidedto. Then surely How can such a be selfish, seekinghis own blisswhilecountlessotherssuffer. howhas he the And ifnotfully enlightened, beingbe said to be fully enlightened? enlightened, powerto pass intoNirvana?He can onlydo thisifhe is sufficiently he cannot.We might call thistheBodhisattva and ifhe is sufficiently enlightened en passant thatit logicallyguarantees thatnoneshall be Paradox, remarking idea Paradox is echoedin thewestern saved until all are saved. The Bodhisattva ofevil. defined as so good as to be incapable ofa morally thelatter perfect being, inconsistent withhisnature to do evil,he does notforbear and Sinceitis logically from indeedhe is logically to forbear evil.1 impotent In Danto's Mysticism is spelledout in thisway: and Morality, theargument is that of one who has attained The generalconceptionof the bodhisattva and can pass overintoNirvana,butwho postponeshis own bliss enlightenment untilall mankind has reachedthesame pointas he-and thenall willpass over In fact, thisdescription is somewhat together. vulgar.For bythesamelogicthat thearhat, theposition ofthebodhisattva is also impossible. negates justdescribed There is an interesting moral paradox. The bodhisattva cannotpass over into Nirvana.He cannotbecause,werehe to do so hewouldexhibit a selfishness thata bodhisattva cannothave. If he has theselfishness, he is nota bodhisattva, and so cannotenter Nirvana.If he lackstheselfishness, Nirvana, again,he cannotenter forthatwouldbe a selfish act. So either is impotent to enter way,thebodhisattva Nirvana.Like God who,in theChristian cannotdo evil because it is teaching, with hisnature, inconsistent thebodhisattva cannotperform theultimately selfish act. So no one can reachNirvana:wecannotbecausewe arenotbodhisattvas and thebodhisattva cannotbecause he is a bodhisattva.2 The connection of thispuzzle withone of thefamiliar of Christian problems
is a SeniorTutorinPhilosophy at theUniversity New Zealand. Roy W. Perrett ofOtago,Dunedin,
of Hawaii Press.All rights reserved. East and West36, no. 1 (January, 1986). C by theUniversity Philosophy

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56 Perrett

is interesting. The problem aboutwhether God can do evilgiven natural theology is of of traditional thatHe is bothperfectly and one a good omnipotent family from of of that arise the the logical consideration "paradoxes omnipotence" ofthedivineattributes.3 Now at first there consistency sight might appearto be no difficulty here.The question"Can God do evil?"might seemanalogous to mantella lie?"Ofcoursean honest mancantella lie;butthen he "Can an honest God can do evil;itis within His ceases to be an honest man anymore.Similarly He would no longerbe as an omnipotent ability being.If He did so, however, mancan cease to be honest, God. But heretheanalogybreaksdown.An honest Here we have to recallanother of the butcan God cease to be morally perfect? If be God ceased to traditional divineattributes: immutability. morally perfect, God cease to be God? He would cease to be God. But how can an immutable thefactthatthetraditional Christian Considerin thisconnection conceptof the office whoever divine at leasttworequirements. God includes First, occupies willalwaysoccupyit;thatis,God is a (factually) necessary being.Secondly, any willhave to be morally perfect (God is all-good). occupantof thedivineoffice Thus God cannotdo evilwithout ceasingto be God. But He cannotcease to be do evil,His moralperfection He cannotdo evil.AndifHe cannot God. Therefore from acts of evil. does notinvolveHisforbearance in Buddhism? theconcept ofa bodhisattva Is there a similar attending problem man:the once again on an analogywiththecase ofthehonest Supposewe reply butifhe did so he wouldcease to be a bodhisattva. can enter bodhisattva nirvan.a, Now bodhisattvas (unlikeGod, but like honestmen) are not requiredto be is becomeBuddhas.(All that willall presumably Indeedone daythey immutable. all sentient is whether could do thisbefore beingswerecapable of they disputed that dogs this sort of replyfor the becomingBuddhas.) Thus the difficulty theBuddhist. neednot trouble Christian But the Buddhistpositionis not quite as simpleas that.In the first place, reachthestageoftheseventh oncethey arenotimmutable, bodhisattvas although That is, at statusis said to be "irreversible" bhimitheir or eighth (avaivartika).4 ofsalvation overto themethods is incapableofswitching thatstagea bodhisattva from to stray He is no longerfree or pratyekabuddhas. by thearhants practiced of his avowed from to deviate thepathto complete goal releasing enlightenment, is a lowerstage(thesixth there all sentient Nevertheless, suffering. beingsfrom to thatof is said to be equivalent position pointthebodhisattva's bhimi)at which to be "done," so thatifhe chose to he could remains in thatnothing thearhant is said to thebodhisattva theeighth bhumi Thus itis truethatafter nirvana. enter that at that it seem hence and to another be unableto shift stagehe might ydna, hisbodhisattva vows.Butat the cannotoptforBuddhahoodwithout renouncing butforbears. he can opt forthegoal of thearhant, sixth bhumi distinct arethree I havebeenassuming thatthere So far, salvationary however, of of the the to Buddhism within arhant, enlightenments respective leading goals view: This is the and of thebodhisattva. thepratyekabuddha, earlyMahayana

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57

threeseparatepaths leading to threedistinct pratyekabuddha, goals (arhant, is an later there tradition whichdenies But Mahayana important bodhisattva). Thus theOne Vehicle and thepratyekabuddha. of thearhant theenlightenment denounces of the Lotus Sutra (Saddharmapundarlka-suitra) (ekaydna)doctrine theviewthatthere are three really pathsto salvation.Onlythebodhisattvayana in one who becomes an arhant or a salvation; pratyekabuddha actuality provides As theLotus Sutra just attainsto a corresponding stageof thebodhisattvayana. putsit (V, 74): so are all theauditorspossessedof thenotion Just thatthey have attained extinction, One tellssuchpersonsthat And thentheVictorious thisis mererepose,not BlessedRest.s in theSrTmala-sutra and in theRatnagotravibSimilar claimsare also to be found is onlyone sortof there this of to line then, Mahayana thought, haga.6According and thereis only enlightenment (Buddhahood whichis equivalentto nirvana), one path to it (thebodhisattva it is not truethat path). Hence, strictly speaking, thebodhisattva for ifbythatwe at thesixth can the of the arhant, stage opt goal in mean he can abandon the bodhisattva does he But that case neither path. from forbear choosingto abandon thepath. It seems, to avoid thanitmight thatthe"Bodhisattva Paradox" is harder then, at first appear. However,let us go back and look at Danto's puzzle again. The ofhisargument central is thatthebodhisattva's intonirvana assumption entering would be incompatible withtheunselfish such a compassionthatcharacterizes mustbe a selfish act (unless words,theact ofpassingintonirvana being.In other all beings thisassumpButto warrant simultaneously pass intonirvana together). tionwe have to be working withan essentially ofnirvana, Hinayanist conception that is, the kind of conceptionone presently in encounters the Theravadin wheretheofficial doctrinal claimis thattheBuddha by virtue of his countries, attainment ofnirvana is no longer availableto us. Ritualworship directed to him, understoodas mere commemoration of a dead then,is said to be properly monk.7 But this,of course, is not the Mahayana conceptionof nirvanaor Buddhahood. The Mahayana viewis thatnirvana is equivalent to Buddhahood.When one attains Buddhahoodafter the following bodhisattvayana (and,as we saw,accordto the tradition is there the bodhisattva ing ekayana only pathto enlightenment), one also attainsall three of the Withtheattainment of nirvana, kdyas trikdya. a bodhisattva becomesnotjusta Buddha,butBuddha.It is notthecase that then, on thisaccountone whohas attained Buddhahoodis no longer availableto us (as in theHinayana conception). This is thepointof thetrikdya doctrine: thethree one attainsthe nirvana aspectsor "bodies" of Buddhahood.True,in attaining thekdyaof pure consciousness whichis the absolute impersonal dharmakdya, transcendental However,thosewho followthebodhisattva reality. path achieve not onlythedharmakdya, but also thesambhogakdya and upon enlightenment

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58 Perrett

thenirmdnakdya. In theselattertwo riupakiyas, the Buddhas are available to inthesambhogakdya assistbodhisattvas, other to assistthem: sentient beings they and in thenirmdniakdya theyhelphumansand othersentient beingsto achieve enlightenment. Thus theattainment ofnirvana does not,on theMahayana account, involve a selfish of othersentient it can fit abandonment one better to be beings.Rather, able to assistother for sentient beingson morelevels.And ifthisis one's motive thiscan hardlyrepresent a selfishness with the nirvana, entering incompatible in the natureof a bodhisattva. This pointis implicitly forexample, recognized, ofTibetanMahayana Buddhism, which tradition into incorporates dGe-lugs-pa a prayer forthedevelopment ofbodhicitta thatends: itsdailypractice From thevirtuous thatI collect merit and other By practising giving perfections, May I attainthestateof a Buddha all sentient To be able to benefit beings.8 ofall sentient forthebenefit Buddhahoodornirvana one attains beings, If,then, nature ofa bodhisattwith thecompassionate is notincompatible thisattainment with sensenecessarily is notinthis va.And sincesuchan attainment incompatible within of theability thenit could be an attainment thenatureof a bodhisattva, rankand motivation can of theappropriate sucha being.That is, a bodhisattva butforbears. enter nirvana, is notionof thebodhisattva Now I do not wishto claimthatthetraditional However,it does seem thatthe Mahayana Buddhist entirely unproblematic.9 to Danto's "BodhisattvaParadox." What Danto's need not be committed cannotbe properly is does conception pointup thatthebodhisattva argument one ofthe this is But ofnirvana. a Hinayanaconception presumably squaredwith of feltobligedto developtheconception reasonswhythe Mahayana thinkers of thethree as Buddhahoodthatincludesattainment nirvana buddhakdyas.10

NOTES Press, C. Danto, Analytical 1. Arthur University Cambridge (Cambridge: ofAction Philosophy 1973),p. 166. and Moral Philosophy and Morality:OrientalThought C. Danto, Mysticism 2. Arthur (Harwhat precisely mondsworth, England:PenguinBooks, 1976),p. 82. In otherwords,Danto affirms & Allen Buddhism Unwin, T. R. V. Murtideniesin his The Central George (London: of Philosophy the without cannot achievehis freedom achieving 1955),p. 263: "It is not thatthe Bodhisattva first of all. This would involvea viciouscircle:he cannotfreeotherswithout freedom beingfree others." without himself and he cannotfree freeing himself, bothof about God's attributes, studiesof thesetraditional recent 3. Two interesting problems are Anthony to theliterature, whichrefer (Oxford: Kenny,The God of thePhilosophers extensively The Coherence ClarendonPress, 1979), and Richard Swinburne, of Theism(Oxford:Clarendon to Sin," American and God's Ability Philosophical Press,1977).See also NelsonPike,"Omnipotence 6 (1969): 208-216. Quarterly

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4. Cf. EdwardConze, Buddhist inIndia(London: GeorgeAllen& Unwin,1962),p. 235. Thought On the bhamischema see Nalinaksha Dutt, Aspectsof Mahadyna Buddhism and its Relationto in Buddhist Doctrine HTnaydna (London: Luzac & Co., 1930),chap. 4; Har Dayal, The Bodhisattva Literature Tibetanmanual & Kegan Paul, 1932),chap. 6. An excellent Sanskrit (London: Routledge of the bodhisattva path is The JewelOrnament of Liberation by s.Gam.po.pa,trans.HerbertV. Guenther California: in chap. 19 ofthiswork. are discussed Shambala, 1971);thebhamis (Berkeley, 5. Scripture oftheLotusBlossomoftheFineDharma,trans.Leon Hurvitz (New York: Columbia Press,1976),p. 118. University 6. Cf. TheLion's RoarofQueenSrTmala, trans. Alexand HidekoWayman(New York: Columbia Press, 1974), pp. 40, 81-84, 92; JikidoTakasaki, A Studyon the Ratnagotravibhdga University (Rome: Is.M.E.O., 1966),pp. 261-263. 7. However,Gombrichsuggests thatin Sri Lanka there is something of a tensionbetween this official doctrineand actual practice.See Richard F. Gombrich,Preceptand Practice (Oxford: ClarendonPress,1971),especially chap. 3. 8. TheBodhicitta Vowsand Lam-RimPuja, trans.Geshe NgawangDhargyey and others(Dharamsala:Library of TibetanWorksand Archives, 1974),p. 19 (myemphasis). 9. Consider, forinstance, thisconundrum from thedebating tradition ofthedGe-lugs-pa school ofTibetanBuddhism: "If one oftheperpetual ofa Buddha's BodyofEnjoyment attributes is thathe is alwayssurrounded how can it be said thatall sentient attain by Bodhisattvas, beingseventually Buddhahood?"And thisprofferred "All sentient solution: beingswillattainBuddhahood,butthere is no timewhenall sentient of sentient beingswillhave attainedBuddhahoodbecause thenumber beings is infinite." (Quoted fromPaul Jeffrey Hopkins, Meditationon Emptiness (Ann Arbor, Microfilms, Michigan:University 1973),pp. 350-351). 10. My thanksto mywife Valerieforassisting withscriptural references.

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