..續本文上一頁 Dhamma, whether by training monks and nuns, by giving instructions to the laity, by teaching in Buddhist monastic schools, or by preaching in Buddhist temples.

　　From the Theravāda perspective, while social work is certainly praiseworthy, of all benefits that can be conferred on others, the most precious benefit is the gift of the Dharma. Thus the quest for liberation as an arahant is not a purely private, personal undertaking, but has a far-reaching influence and can have an impact upon a whole society. In the traditional Theravāda countries, before the corrupting influence of the West set in, the whole life of the community revolved around the Dhamma. The monks who meditated in the forests and mountains were the inspiration and model for the society; those who preached and taught in the villages helped to transmit the Dhamma to the people. The lay community, from the king down to the villagers, saw their principal duty to be the support of the Sangha. So the supreme goal of arahantship became the focal point for an entire social system inspired and sustained by devotion to the Dhamma.

　　Those who seek the goal of nirvāṇa do not wait until they become arahants before they start helping others. Within this system, giving is regarded as the foundation for all other virtues; it is the first basis of merit and the first of the ten pāramis. Thus the Pali scriptures, and monks in their preaching, encourage people to give to the best of their ability. Lay people support the Sangha with their simple material needs of food, robes, dwellings, and medicines. They also give generously to the poor and disadvantaged. In Sri Lanka, for example, blood donation campaigns are common on Buddhist holidays, and many people donate their eyes to eye banks and their bodily organs for medical research after their death. I learned recently that in Sri Lanka, more than 200 monks have donated kidneys, without any thought of remuneration or any other personal benefit, solely for the privilege of giving a bodily organ. Monks with knowledge of the Dhamma and skill in speaking become preachers and teachers. Those with managerial skills might become administrators of monasteries. The few who are strongly motivated to make the effort to win liberation in this very life dedicate their energy to meditation in forest hermitages. Accomplished meditation teachers will devote their time to teaching meditation and will also try to find time to develop their own practice. Sometimes they have to delay their own practice in order to fulfill their teaching duties.

　　So much for misunderstandings concerning the arahant ideal, and now for the bodhisattva ideal: I think it would be an oversimplification to equate the pursuit of the bodhisattva ideal with engagement in social service and to assume that a bodhisattva forgoes all training on the path to liberation. In my understanding, the foundation of the bodhisattva path is the arising of the bodhicitta (bodhicittotpāda), the aspiration to supreme enlightenment. This usually arises only through diligent training in meditation. According to the authoritative sources on Mahāyāna Buddhist meditation, to generate the bodhicitta, one must systematically train the mind to perceive all beings as one”s mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and arouse towards them boundless loving-kindness and great compassion, until such a perception becomes natural and spontaneous. This is not at all easy. I read that the D_Lama has said that he himself has experienced the real bodhicitta only a few times, for a few moments each time, so this gives us some idea of how difficult such an achievement must be. It can”t be won just by casually engaging in a little social service and then convincing oneself that one has aroused the bodhicitta.

　　It…

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