Bodhicitta is often mentioned in Mahayana scriptures. It refers mainly to a strong and steadfast personal vow to attain Buddhahood in the future. And to do that, one would have to purify his/her mind and at the same time help all who approaches him/her for help or is observed to be in need of help.
So for the modern man, for beginner Buddhists, and some who may have Theravada beliefs and goals of attaining Arahanthood as the final spiritual goal, how do we explain Bodhicitta in such a way that these groups of people and maybe one day any person in the street could easily understand and come to respect, accept and practise?
Many people during the Buddha's times have attained some form of spiritual progress. Some attained the first stage of sainthood (reborn 7 times at most and thereafter no more rebirths) More can be read from this link:
http://www.lakehouse.lk/mihintalava/vesak-07.htmHowever, I noticed that not many attained the first stage of Bodhisattvahood. There are altogether 52 stages to attain in Bodhisattvahood before one finally becomes a fully-enlightened Buddha. And for the first stage of Bodhisattvahood, how many times does the person need to reborn before he can end all rebirths? Which stage of Bodhisattvahood can be compared to that of Arahanthood where all rebirths have ended from that present lifetime upon attaining that level of awakening?
What is Bodhicitta? Why is it constantly mentioned in the path to becoming a Buddha? What does one need to do in order to make sure that he has the right Bodhicitta mind?
The Pureland school mentions that without making the vow to become a Buddha to deliver all beings, which is what Bodhicitta is mainly about, one would find it difficult to be successfully reborn into Amitabha Buddha's Pureland.
If Bodhicitta can be easily cultivated by all, then there wouldn't be Arahants in the first place. That's because, any person who has made a serious vow to attain Buddhahood and does not give up in his cultivation till he reaches full awakening, he would not be known as just a Buddhist practitioner or a saint, but a bodhisattva. This is not merely about a change in titles, which are at most created for the convenience of easy references and understanding. Any person who seriously undertakes to become a Bodhisattva and ultimately a Buddha is not an ordinary person anymore.
The amount of understanding required to first be able to cultivate Bodhicitta, maintain it and finally make a formal undertaking to practise it till the final achievement of Buddhahood, is not something anybody can easily explain to others and for others who have heard to gain a basic but firm understanding. This applies to most except for Bodhisattvas belonging to last ten stages of Bodhisattvahood and Buddhas of course.
I have no answers to what I am asking here. I have heard and read, but I have only ended up with more questions. I wonder very deeply about whether everyone who starts getting in touch with Buddhism, or even after decades of listening and practising Buddhist teachings, can truly understand what it really means to want to attain Buddhahood, and what it really means to attain perfect wisdom and universal compassion for the sole benefit of all living beings; especially for our modern age, where everything is about money, career and social status. Where everything is about being efficient, creative and world-savvy.
I like this verse in the Bible: "Ask and you shall receive. But do so in faith."