Bhumi: Difference between revisions

From Rigpa Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
mNo edit summary
No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
[[Image:Asanga.JPG|thumb|[[Asanga]], author of the ''[[Bodhisattva Bhumis]]'']]
[[Image:Asanga.JPG|thumb|[[Asanga]], author of the ''[[Bodhisattva Bhumis]]'']]


'''Bhumi''' (Skt. ''bhūmi''; Tib. [[ས་]], [[Wyl.]] ''sa''), stage or level — the word ''bhumi'' literally means ‘ground’. Just as the ground is the support for everything, both animate and inanimate, the bhumis are said to be ‘supports’ for [[enlightened qualities]]. So this term is used when referring to the stages a [[bodhisattva]] traverses on the path to [[enlightenment]]. There are [[ten bhumis]] in the [[Sutrayana]], with the eleventh being buddhahood, and thirteen in the [[Tantrayana]]. The [[Dzogchen]] teachings sometimes speak of [[sixteen bhumis]].
'''Bhumi''' (Skt. ''bhūmi''; Tib. [[ས་]], [[Wyl.]] ''sa''), stage or level — the word ''bhumi'' literally means ‘ground’. Just as the ground is the support for everything, both animate and inanimate, the bhumis are said to be ‘supports’ for [[enlightened qualities]]. So this term is used when referring to the stages practitioners traverse on the path to [[enlightenment]]. There are the [[eight grounds]] of the [[Hinayana]] path, the [[ten bhumis]] in the [[Sutra]] [[Mahayana]], with the eleventh being buddhahood, and thirteen in the [[Tantrayana]]. The [[Dzogchen]] teachings sometimes speak of [[sixteen bhumis]].


==Translation==
==Translation==
Luis Gomez has written:
[[Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche]] has said:


:...the translations "ground, earth," etc. for ''bhūmi'' may be examples of Buddhist Hybrid English (I am not sure "the first bodhisattva ground" makes much sense). The Skt. word means essentially the surface of the earth, any habitable surface, or one on which one can stand, hence it also means the floor of a house or building, hence, "story" (as in British "storey") or "level," and then, metaphorically as in English, "stage" or "ranking." I realize that saying that a bodhisattva progresses through ten levels or stages does not sound very poetical, but going through "ten grounds" is not poetical either.<ref>Luis O. Gómez, 'The Way of the Translators: Three Recent Translations of Sântideva's Bodhicaryâvatâra'. ''Buddhist Literature I'' (1999) p.310.</ref>
:What makes a bhumi? Simply, it is a combination of wisdom and method. In Sanskrit, bhumi literally means earth, land or country – it can refer to many things. For example, in Indonesia, the language has a lot of Sanskrit influence. In their official forms, they use words like ‘bhumiputra’ when they talk of citizenship. We use the name ‘bhumi’ for the combination of wisdom and method because the ground or earth acts like a container for all things to function. For example, you can hoist this tent because of the ground. Likewise, all the enlightened qualities can grow on the base of the combination of wisdom and method.<ref> Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, Introduction to the Middle Way, Khyentse Foundation, 2003, p.24</ref>


==Notes==
==Notes==

Revision as of 03:31, 19 January 2012

Asanga, author of the Bodhisattva Bhumis

Bhumi (Skt. bhūmi; Tib. ས་, Wyl. sa), stage or level — the word bhumi literally means ‘ground’. Just as the ground is the support for everything, both animate and inanimate, the bhumis are said to be ‘supports’ for enlightened qualities. So this term is used when referring to the stages practitioners traverse on the path to enlightenment. There are the eight grounds of the Hinayana path, the ten bhumis in the Sutra Mahayana, with the eleventh being buddhahood, and thirteen in the Tantrayana. The Dzogchen teachings sometimes speak of sixteen bhumis.

Translation

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche has said:

What makes a bhumi? Simply, it is a combination of wisdom and method. In Sanskrit, bhumi literally means earth, land or country – it can refer to many things. For example, in Indonesia, the language has a lot of Sanskrit influence. In their official forms, they use words like ‘bhumiputra’ when they talk of citizenship. We use the name ‘bhumi’ for the combination of wisdom and method because the ground or earth acts like a container for all things to function. For example, you can hoist this tent because of the ground. Likewise, all the enlightened qualities can grow on the base of the combination of wisdom and method.[1]

Notes

  1. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, Introduction to the Middle Way, Khyentse Foundation, 2003, p.24

Internal Links