On the Buddha day, we celebrate the three important events in the life of the

Buddha: His birth, His enlightenment, and His passing away. His birth as
prince Siddhattha took place 2625 years ago on the Full Moon Day of May.
And then 35 years later, again on the Full Moon Day of May, he attained
Buddhahood, and 45 years later on the Full Moon Day of May again, He
passed away. So we celebrate these three important events in the life of the
Buddha today. Before reaching Buddhahood or before becoming the Buddha,
He was known as Bodhisatta. From the time He made the aspiration for
Buddhahood in the presence of Dipankara Buddha until He attained
Buddhahood, He was called Bodhisatta. What is Bodhisatta, how or what
qualifications or qualities a Bodhisatta has to develop in order to become the
Buddha and some other things to know about Bodhisatta?

First, the meaning of the word Bodhisatta. The word Bodhisatta is spelled
with two t’s. It is a Pali word. And in Sanskrit, it is spelled with 'tv' (t and v).
So in Sanskrit is called Bodhisattva. The meaning is the same. And this word
is defined in our commentaries in three different ways.

The first definition is that Bodhisatta is a person who has wisdom or who
possesses wisdom, ‘Bodhi’ meaning wisdom and ‘satta’ meaning a being, so
Bodhisatta literally translated is a ‘wisdom being’. That means a Bodhisatta is
always wise in whatever existence he was born. Sometimes Bodhisatta was
born as an animal and many times as a human being. So wherever a
Bodhisatta is born, he is always wise, he always possesses wisdom. So
according to this definition, He is called the Bodhisatta.

According to the second definition, Bodhisatta means a person who is sure to

become a Buddha, who is destined to become a Buddha. In this sense, ‘Bodhi’
means knowing or understanding or enlightenment – here enlightenment as a
Buddha, and ‘satta’ means a being. So Bodhisatta means a being who is sure
to become a Buddha or to reach enlightenment as a Buddha.

According to the third definition, Bodhisatta means a being who is attached to

the penetration of the Four Noble Truths or who is attached to attainment of
the Four Paths. That means just who is attached to enlightenment as a
Buddha. In this definition, the word 'satta' means one who is attached to. So
the one who is attached to Buddhahood is called a Bodhisatta. When a
Bodhisatta makes an aspiration for Buddhahood, He is really attached to
Buddhahood, He really wants to become a Buddha. So according to this
definition also He is called a Bodhisatta, a being who is at-tached to
enlightenment as a Buddha.

And in Theravada Buddhism, Bodhisatta is taken seriously. According to

Theravada Teaching, it is not easy, it is really very difficult, to become a
Bodhisatta. Career of a Bodhisatta begins with making an aspiration for
Buddhahood. So a Bodhisatta is one who has made an aspiration for
Buddhahood in the presence of a living Buddha and who has got the
prediction that he will become a Buddha in the future and who is developing
or accumulating the Paramitas, or the necessary qualities to become the
Buddha.

To make the aspiration for Buddhahood and to get the prediction from a
Buddha, a person has to possess eight qualities. The first is that he must be a
human being, only as a human being can one make an aspiration for
Buddhahood. If one is not a human, but a Deva or celestial being or Naga or
celestial serpent and so on, then the aspiration does not succeed. So in order
to make an aspiration for Buddhahood, one must be a human being. That is
the first requirement.

The second requirement is that he must be a man, he must be of male sex.

(Here I am sorry for the ladies. But I can't help.) He must be a human being
and he must be a male to make an aspiration for Buddhahood and for the
aspiration to succeed. But ladies, do not lose heart. First you try to reborn as
a male and then when you are reborn as a male, you can make the
aspiration.

Now the third requirement is that that person must have the potential to
reach Arahantship in that life. So, a person who wants to aspire for
Buddhahood must have the potential to become an Arahant in that life. But
he will not become an Arahant because he aspires for Buddha hood and
makes up his mind to go along the ‘samsara’ for many many aeons, many
many world cycles. But he must have that potential to become an Arahant in
that life.

The forth requirement is that he must see a living Buddha and make the
aspiration in the presence of that living Buddha. Only then will his aspiration
be successful. If he makes an aspiration in front of a pagoda, in front of a
Buddha statue or in front of the Paccekabuddha (the separate, individual
Buddha, pratyekabuddha), or in front of the disciple, then his aspiration will
not be successful. So a person who wants to make an aspiration for
Buddhahood must make it in the presence of a living
Buddha.

The fifth requirement is that at the time when he makes an aspiration, he

must be a recluse, he must be a monk, he must be a hermit or he must be
some religious person who believes in the law of Kamma, and who believes in
the moral efficacy of Kamma. So if you do not believe in the law of Kamma,
your aspiration will not succeed.
The sixth requirement is that that person must have obtained the eight
attainments, eight Jhanas and five supernormal knowledges called Abhijna.
That person must have eight attainments, eight JhИnas and five Abhinnas to
aspire for Buddhahood. When a person is possessed of abhijnas, then that
person can fly through the air, he can remember his past lives and he can
read the minds of the others and so on. So a person who aspires for
Buddhahood must have these qualities.

And the seventh requirement is that he must have a strong dedication. That
means he must be ready to give up his own life for the sake of the Buddha, or
he must be ready to give up his life and everything for the attainment of
Buddhahood. So only when he has such strong devotion to Buddhahood can
his aspiration succeed.

Eight requirement is he must have a very strong desire to become a Buddha.

His desire must be so strong that he is ready to walk from end of the world to
the other end filled with hot glowing charcoals or embers. Suppose, the world
is covered with hot glowing charcoals, and then somebody who is trustworthy
says to him, ‘If you can walk form this end to the other end, you will become
a Buddha,’ he will do so. His desire is so strong that he will not flinch from
walking through the glowing coals from one end of the world to the other.

Suppose a person who is endowed with these eight qualities makes an

aspiration in the presence of a living Buddha; then the Buddha will look into
the future and find out whether the person making the aspiration is fit to
become a Buddha. And if He sees that that person is fit to become a Buddha,
then He would make the proclamation: “This person who is making the
aspiration here will become a Buddha like me in the far distant future. It is
important for a person who makes the aspiration of Buddhahood to get the
declaration or prediction form a living Buddha that he will become a Buddha
in the distance future.

From the time he gets the declaration by a living Buddha, a person becomes
a Bodhisatta. Or we can say that he becomes an ‘official Bodhisatta’ form that
moment.

Then what must a Bodhisatta do? What qualities or perfections must he

develop so that he is qualified to become a Buddha?

Now it is said that all Bodhisattas, after getting the prediction form a Buddha,
tried to find out what he must fulfill. And it is said that to his mind the ten
perfections or ten Paramitas come to him one by one. So without being told
by anybody, he knows what he must fulfill. I think you are familiar with the
Paramitas. There are ten of them taught in Theravada Buddhism and these
ten Paramis or these ten perfections or these ten practices must be fulfilled to
the utmost by a Bodhisatta. In order to bring to perfection the accumulation
of the Paramita, a Bodhisatta needs a long long time, not just one life, not
just a hundred, not just a thousand, but four ‘incalculables’ (asamkheya) and
one hundred world cycles. One world cycle lasts for immeasurable years. So
you can imagine how long it will take a Bodhisatta to fulfill to perfection these
Paramitas. (One ‘incalculable’ is said to be as great as the number 1 followed
by 140 zeros.)

There are three kinds of Bodhisattas. The first one is one whose wisdom is
predominant and the second is one whose faith or Saddhu is predominant and
the third is one whose effort or energy is predominant. For the third one
whose effort or energy is predominant, it would take 16
incalculables and one hundred thousand world cycles. And for second one
whose faith is predominant, it will take 8 incalculables and one hundred
thousand world cycles. Only for the one whose wisdom is predominant, it will
take 4 incalculables and one hundred thousand world cycles.

So if you want to aspire for Buddhahood, which Bodhisatta would you choose?
The third or the first or the second?

For us, even the time required for the first type of Bodhisatta is far too long.
But there was at least one person that I have heard of who aspired for
Buddhahood as a third type. It is said that that person – he was a Sayadaw,
he was a monk. It was said that he was dull in his memory; he could not
memorize quickly. So in order to memorize just one verse, he had to repeat it
for more than a hundred times. So he used a rosary and then he recited that
verse once, and he push down the bead one and so on. So he had to use the
whole one hundred and eight beads in order to get just one verse memorized.
But he was very energetic, so he became a very learned Sayadaw. And he
wrote many books and at the end of one book, he said: “As a result of writing
this book for the benefit of other people, may I be-come a Buddha whose
energy is predominant.” So he was prepared to go this long long way to
become the Buddha. He is very admirable.

When a Bodhisattva fulfills the Paramis, he fulfils them to the utmost. There
are ten Paramitas and each one is divided into three levels, let's say ordinary
level, intermediate level, and ultimate level. So all three levels he must fulfill.
For example, the first of these Paramitas is Dana, giving. When a person
gives what he possesses, his riches and his possessions and so on, this is the
giving on ordinary level. But if he gives away his own limbs like a finger, like
the eye, like ear, then it is called the intermediate level. And if he gives his
own life for the benefit of others, then that level is called the ultimate level.
So a Bodhisatta must be able and willing to give up his life for the benefit of
others. That is why to fulfill the Paramitas of a Bodhisatta is very very
difficult. We cannot even fulfill the first level; we cannot give up everything
we possess to other people. When we give, we may give some but not all we
possess because we have to look at our own survival.

But Bodhisattas are not like this; it is said that when Bodhisattas give, they
give away like turning the water pot upside down so no water remains in the
pot. So Bodhisattvas fulfill their Paramitas like that. That is why they become
Buddhas.