The Five Qualities of a Maha Bodhisattva
“… The Buddha recommended developing five qualities for all beings who are on the Bodhisattva path (at the core of all Vajrayana sadhanas (means of accomplishment)). By practicing we enact activities of a great (maha) bodhisattva, so we need to know what we’re doing — basic ingredients of sadhana practice.
From the Vajrayana view, one practices to bring out the view that is the essence of our mind’s nature — pervasive Buddha nature… complete awakeness — the foundation of all experience…
“In the sutta Nectar of Speech, (1.7, pg 10), Maitreya asks Buddha, ‘What does a Bodhisattva need to do?’ The Buddha responds by saying there are ‘five qualities that bodhisattva mahāsattvas should have so that none of Māra’s hordes will cause them obstacles…’
“The first three points the Buddha speaks to are:
The unceasing giving of Dharma (teachings from awakened beings & freedom);
The unceasing giving of freedom from fear (fear and anxiety is paralysis that stops us in our awakening and unfolding of Dharma);
The four relative and transcendental Brahma Viharas:
a) Great loving-kindness: maha-metta: unceasing proactive great love, boundless love supporting all beings both relative and beyond all concepts.
b) Great compassion: maha-karuna: finding the sources of suffering, removing them from beings and bringing an end to confusion regarding all phenomena.
c) Great joy: maha-mudita. Transcendent joy, bringing joy and also being able to share in that joy, understanding that joy and pervading beings with the joy of freedom.
d) Great equanimity. Maha-upeksha: an evenness of balance around phenomena to an eventual natural equilibrium of all phenomena. The exquisite naturalness of non-clinging awareness.”
And the fourth point:
“4. The Unceasing repair of dilapidated stupas. These are not only the symbols of awakeness and great saints, but they hold their relics. Stupas, pagodas and dagobas all hold the relics of awake or fully awake beings. They give great blessings and bring about a radiance of peace. I’m here at Namgyal Gompa on Galiano Island, 35 metres from a Pagoda that we repair and clean on a frequent basis. This becomes another excellent opportunity, not just for great merit, but for great meditation and extraordinary contemplation. It’s a valuable support for all beings. It’s also the symbol of the 37 factors of enlightenment. So we always want to be repairing our stupas.
Another way to be close to and repair stupas and dagobas is right here. (Lama Mark points to his heart centre). The crystal stupa, the golden stupa is right here. Rely on the practice of Vajrasattva. A practice of the 7 factors of bodhicitta is repairing stupas, so if you don’t know where to go, go here (heart centre), which is also going up here (skull), and right here and here and there (points to throat, navel and genitals).
“The Buddha then speaks to the fifth quality, unceasing inspiring of all beings to set their minds on a definitive path of awakening…”
[Ed. note: An impetus for this year’s DCC monument restoration project was the inspiration that came from Lama Mark’s April 10th zoom session. Lama Mark talked about The Five Qualities of a Maha Bodhisattva. We’ve chosen these excerpts from that talk to share because his words speak so eloquently to the DC’s monuments project.]
Lama Chokyi Gyaltsen (Lama Mark Webber)