In assessing the Mahāyāna bodhisattva tradition, the author argues that the bodhisattva vow ought to be understood not typically as a singular heroic aim to serve all beings until all have attained Nirvana first. Rather it is universally necessary, and that there is no Nirvana without it. Further, the vow to become a buddha is necessary because the transcendental underlying structure of all reality is Buddha-nature, a quality or reality that is defined as compassionate service to all sentient beings. Addressing such central Mahāyāna themes as emptiness (śūnyatā), thusness (tāthata), Buddhahood, and Buddha-fields (Buddhakṣetra), the author describes the bodhisattva path and the development of Awakened Mind (bodhicitta) culminating in becoming a buddha for the purpose of limitless service to all beings. The author then compares both the path and the metaphysics underlying this Mahāyāna vision to the path and metaphysics in the writings of Meister Eckhart. Eckhart's ultimate project is one of the soul's returning to the divine ground (grunt) and a virtual if not absolute identity with God. The radical emptiness required for this divine union aligns with the radical emptiness demanded by Mahāyāna. This emptiness corresponds to God's "pure nothingness," for Eckhart, which paradoxically represents the divine fullness. Both paths require utter compassionate service. According to David Tracy, if Eckhart can be understood as truly orthodox in his theology, then he anticipates the emphasis on absolute divine mystery that can be found in modern Christian authors, such as Rahner, Metz, Schillebeeckx, Dupré, Gutiérrez, and Tracy himself. Drawing on John Hick's depiction of the Real as personal, impersonal, and beyond these categories, the author suggests that what we find in Mahāyāna is an impersonal expression of theism that, even here, suggests some kind of personal engagement. Why, the author asks, is Buddha-nature the Absolute compassionate? And to what or whom is it compassionate? He concludes with the provocative question: Do Mahāyāna Buddhists think that Buddha-nature caritas est?
目次
from arhat to bodhisattva 188 Suchness, Buddha-Fields, and Buddha-Nature 189becoming a bodhisattva 190 meister eckhart 192 God and Not God 193 Returning to the Source 195 mahāyāna and eckhart in dialogue 198 is mahāyāna theistic? 198 notes 200
