There are two traditions on the bodhisattva: one is empowering and the other is not. The Theravada tradition mythologizes the Bodhisattva as a transcendent being which out of compassion returns to the world of suffering which they have transcended. This is hero worship. It is not a possibility that the average person can ever attain.
In the Mahayana tradition the bodhisattva merely indicates someone who is seeking wisdom and enlightenment. It is simply someone who is on the path. This is a much more relatable and attainable thing. Buddha describes himself as having been a bodhisattva in previous lives.
We are living in an age of tremendous enlightenment and high levels of access to information and knowledge. It is reasonable to conclude that now more than any other time in history great numbers of people can aspire to follow the path of the bodhisattva.
The path is the path. It is not owned by Buddhism or any particular institution or tradition. Science can provide us with a tremendous amount of inspiration for following the path. We find the path, we follow the path, we fall off the path and get back on again. We find others that cross our path and meet obstacles and disappointments.
The path is not located in a temple or a library. It is a structural phenomenon that every living being possesses and which, for vertebrates, resides in the core of our neurophysiology, a deep axial structure that Charles Sherrington described as proprioceptive.
It is very important to understand the universality of the truth and how that makes it accessible. The path is accessible, knowable, not only to hearts and minds but beyond that to the rigors of science and by extension to our own mundane, daily efforts as conscientious people seeking to create a better world.
I love the universality and accessibility of the path. The Bodhisattva, as you point out, is not a distant ideal but a structural possibility within each of us - a commitment we can return to, again and again.
And yes science doesn’t/need not diminish the sacred ... it illuminates it. The path, like a neural bridge or a trust loop, is not confined to temples or texts. It lives in proprioception, attention, and choice.
It’s encouraging to see this understanding ripple through both ancient insight and modern systems thinking.
We are all, perhaps, causal bridges .... fallible and luminous.
/// I’ve been exploring how Commitment Pooling offers a kind of social proprioception... a protocol for accounting and honoring our intentions across time and relationship. It's a way to remember the path collectively: seeding, exchanging, and redeeming commitments as loops of care and trust.
A metabolic grammar of the Bodhisattva path, perhaps, rendered in systems language.
There are two traditions on the bodhisattva: one is empowering and the other is not. The Theravada tradition mythologizes the Bodhisattva as a transcendent being which out of compassion returns to the world of suffering which they have transcended. This is hero worship. It is not a possibility that the average person can ever attain.
In the Mahayana tradition the bodhisattva merely indicates someone who is seeking wisdom and enlightenment. It is simply someone who is on the path. This is a much more relatable and attainable thing. Buddha describes himself as having been a bodhisattva in previous lives.
We are living in an age of tremendous enlightenment and high levels of access to information and knowledge. It is reasonable to conclude that now more than any other time in history great numbers of people can aspire to follow the path of the bodhisattva.
The path is the path. It is not owned by Buddhism or any particular institution or tradition. Science can provide us with a tremendous amount of inspiration for following the path. We find the path, we follow the path, we fall off the path and get back on again. We find others that cross our path and meet obstacles and disappointments.
The path is not located in a temple or a library. It is a structural phenomenon that every living being possesses and which, for vertebrates, resides in the core of our neurophysiology, a deep axial structure that Charles Sherrington described as proprioceptive.
It is very important to understand the universality of the truth and how that makes it accessible. The path is accessible, knowable, not only to hearts and minds but beyond that to the rigors of science and by extension to our own mundane, daily efforts as conscientious people seeking to create a better world.
I love the universality and accessibility of the path. The Bodhisattva, as you point out, is not a distant ideal but a structural possibility within each of us - a commitment we can return to, again and again.
I turn toward the 4 abodes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmavihara) often as a reminder.
And yes science doesn’t/need not diminish the sacred ... it illuminates it. The path, like a neural bridge or a trust loop, is not confined to temples or texts. It lives in proprioception, attention, and choice.
It’s encouraging to see this understanding ripple through both ancient insight and modern systems thinking.
We are all, perhaps, causal bridges .... fallible and luminous.
/// I’ve been exploring how Commitment Pooling offers a kind of social proprioception... a protocol for accounting and honoring our intentions across time and relationship. It's a way to remember the path collectively: seeding, exchanging, and redeeming commitments as loops of care and trust.
A metabolic grammar of the Bodhisattva path, perhaps, rendered in systems language.
Your best yet, Will. Some of my favourite themes!
a fun mix! Thinking of you and Cara and everyone that was here recently. Catchup soon!
i really liked the language in this conversation, it feels and fits with mine - thank you
Living Systems ... the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! Seeing us hanging out on neighboring branches. <3