Human beings are remarkably adept at deceiving themselves, because self-deception temporarily shields us from much suffering. Before we recognize the pettiness and selfishness within ourselves, we may comfortably remain satisfied with our own imagined nobility. Yet in the end, self-deception inevitably brings the deepest and most fundamental suffering. Realization means truly understanding what we are. If we do not even understand our own minds, yet claim to have attained spiritual realization, then such realization is far from genuine.
Therefore, Mipham Rinpoche taught that once one has realized the great emptiness of the selflessness of phenomena (dharmanairātmya), one will neither enter nor need to enter the absorption of cessation (nirodha-samāpatti) of the Theravada. Since all phenomena are dependently arisen and empty by nature, this truth is present everywhere: appearances themselves are nirvāṇa. This accords with the insight that "form is emptiness," and also embodies the Mahāyāna principle that "through wisdom, one does not abide in saṃsāra; through compassion, one does not abide in nirvāṇa."
Conversely, without genuine and qualified bodhicitta, it is almost impossible to realize absolute great emptiness. This is because, once realization is attained, it is called ultimate bodhicitta, which must be founded upon fabricated, relative bodhicitta. Therefore, if we truly aspire to liberation, arousing bodhicitta is absolutely indispensable. This is true even from the standpoint of our own liberation, let alone the far greater aspiration of attaining Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.
If, because of this, you decide to give up and think, "I'll just become a Theravada Arhat and seek liberation for myself," then such a thought ensures that you will not even attain the realization of an Arhat. Before that, you would first have to undergo the ripening of your unwholesome karma in the hell realms.
Why? Because the vast majority of those here are practitioners of Vajrayāna, have received empowerment, and have already generated at least an approximate form of bodhicitta. Now, out of selfishness, if you wish to abandon those vows—I'm afraid there is no turning back. It is not that I am trying to frighten anyone. Khenpo Sodargye explains the very same point in his Extensive Commentary on The Way of the Bodhisattva.
Since you are already riding the tiger, why not continue forward until you attain Buddhahood? What could possibly be wrong with that? Why insist on jumping off only to be devoured by it? In truth, there is no way back for us—we can only keep moving forward. Once you genuinely experience the immeasurable benefits of bodhicitta, you will discover that it is not a tiger at all, but a soaring dragon, carrying you toward inexhaustible blessings and boundless benefit.
——Excerpted and complied from "Genuine Bodhicitta and Conceptual Bodhicitta."
This article is a preliminary translation draft and has not yet been reviewed or proofread by the speaker.
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