A Way Toward Mind Deliverance, or Higher: The Brahmavihāras as Depicted in the Northern Āgamas and Their Implications for the Emergence of the Bodhisattva Path
Author Affiliations: Professor at the Department of Communication, the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and Contributing Scholar of Faith Diplomacy for the USC Center on Public Diplomacy.
關鍵詞
Brahmavihāras; three samādhis; bodhisattva path; ground theory; Mahāyāna; six pāramitās
摘要
Using the Grounded Theory and the northern Āgamas, this research demonstrates that the doctrines of early Mahāyāna, when defined as the six pāramitās, is rooted in the Brahmavihāras’ benefits, their culminations, and their combinations with meditations for wisdom deliverance. The research first develops a taxonomy of the Brahmavihāras’ benefits and their combinations with other mediations. This then leads to a conceptualization that consists of three theses: (1) The Brahmavihāras—as a way toward mind deliverance and their culminations that are commensurate with meditations for wisdom deliverance—led to the emergence of the Five and Six Gateway Spheres. (2) The Five and Six Gateway Spheres further led to the combination of the Brahmavihāras and the three samandhīs, through which the Buddha became enlightened. (3) The synthesis of the Brahmavihāras and the three samandhīs constitutes the origin of the three among the six pāramitās. The study concludes by demonstrating that early Mahāyāna’s religious mission was also based on the Buddha’s teaching on the Brahmavihāras.
目次
Abstract 130 Introduction 131 The Brahmavihāras as the Buddha-to-be’s Practice, the Buddha’s Main Teachings, and Their Benefits 135 Potential for Higher Attainment: Culminations of the Brahmavihāras and Their Combination with other Samādhis 141 The Path through Which the Buddha Became Enlightened: The Synthesis of the Brahmavihāras and the Three Samādhis 146 Origin of the Six Pāramitās: The Doctrinal Foundation of Early Mahāyāna 149 Compassion to Ferry Beings: The Brahmavihāras and the Rise of the Bodhisattva Path 152 Notes 155 Abbreviations 166 References 166
