The Bodhisattva as Compassion Warrior
THE HUFFINGTON POST
By Lewis Richmond
CALIFORNIA---In San Francisco's Asian Art Museum there is a stunning Chinese figure of a seated male Kuan-Yin (Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avalokitesvara in Sanskrit), with a powerful, implacable, yet sympathetic expression. Whenever I see this statue I think, "Don't mess with this guy"; and then I think, "In a real pickle, I'd go to him." In Mahayana Buddhism there are the 16 Bodhisattva precepts: the three refuges, the three pure precepts ("Do good, avoid evil, benefit beings") and the so-called ten prohibitory precepts ("Do not kill, do not lie, do not steal," and so on).
I have practiced with these 16 precepts for much of my life, and given them ceremonially to others in lay and priest ordinations. But in my own life I have developed a parallel set of moral principles that I try to live by: 1) Stand up for what you believe; 2) Do what you say you will do; 3) Stand by your friends; 4) Fix a mistake if you can; 5) Don't blow your own horn; and 6) Protect the weak and vulnerable. These six feel to me like expressions of Bodhisattva life, especially its "compassion warrior" aspect. The Bodhisattva is one of the great treasures of humanity, a great vision, one we are rediscovering for today. But it won't be easy to make the Bodhisattva real and effective for the here and now. How can we do it? [link]
By Lewis Richmond
I have practiced with these 16 precepts for much of my life, and given them ceremonially to others in lay and priest ordinations. But in my own life I have developed a parallel set of moral principles that I try to live by: 1) Stand up for what you believe; 2) Do what you say you will do; 3) Stand by your friends; 4) Fix a mistake if you can; 5) Don't blow your own horn; and 6) Protect the weak and vulnerable. These six feel to me like expressions of Bodhisattva life, especially its "compassion warrior" aspect. The Bodhisattva is one of the great treasures of humanity, a great vision, one we are rediscovering for today. But it won't be easy to make the Bodhisattva real and effective for the here and now. How can we do it? [link]
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