菩薩=bodhisattva; 菩薩地=bodhisattva stages; 波羅蜜=Parami; 修行次第=stages of spiritual practice; 瑜伽師地論=Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra(Treatise on the Stages of Yogic Practice)
The Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra (瑜伽師地論, Treatise on the Stages of Yogic Practice) is one of the seminal texts of the Yogācāraschool of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The first division, “Main Stages,” consists of 17 sections providing a general description of the three vehicles (auditors, solitary buddhas, and bodhisattvas) and detailed discussions ofthe “indeterminate nature” and the “nature lacking capacity for enlightenment.” This division also covers the stages of the practice in terms of absolute and relative, as well as the four levels of practice (learning, reasoning, implementing, and fruition). Moreover, the text explains how those who practice in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha-dharma gain wisdom and skillful means, cut off the two types of obstructive seeds, integrate understanding and action, and simultaneously cultivate wisdom and compassion,culminating in ultimate liberationfor the benefit of all sentient beings. In this thesis I make a detailed examination of the stages of practice described in the“Bodhisattva-bhūmi” (菩薩地, Bodhisattva Stages) section of the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra. My analysis is divided into three sections. In the first section I briefly discuss the traditional division of the path of liberation into the three stages of faith, understanding, and practice; the Yogācāra description of concentration and insight meditation as a means for observing both the crude and detailed distinguishing characteristics of objects of the mind, thought, and cognition; contemplating the determinate and indeterminate in progressive stages; and the basic practices and skillful means of the three vehicles. In the second section I make a detailed examination of several core doctrines found in the Bodhisattva-bhūmi: the four levels of practice (learning, reasoning, implementing, and fruition); the removal of confusion and the attainment of gnosis through the cultivation of the ten pāramitā (perfections) in terms of that which should be learned, that which has been learned, that which can be practiced, and that which has been practiced; the relationship between the five paths, ten stages,the thirteen abidings, and the seven stages of the Yogācāra; the graded development on the bodhisattva path of faith, vows, practice, and realization; and whether or not each of the five distinctive natures is capable of attaining buddhahood. In the third section I discuss the application of the bodhisattva path described in the Bodhisattva-bhūmi: proper study and practice of the Mahāyāna in terms of the graded path and the five paths; how the progressive nature of the four levels of practice (learning, reasoning, implementing, and fruition) brings about deep insight into the nature of reality; and how the “wisdom of true emptiness and marvelous existence”forms the basis for the cultivation of wisdom and compassion in daily life for the benefit of all sentient beings, culminating in the attainment of supreme enlightenment.
