Rational Nation USA

  The Mindfulness Sutra delineates four foundations, or four practices, to develop mindfulness: mindfulness of the body, mindfulness of sensations/feelings, mindfulness of mind/consciousness, and mindfulness of what are called “mind objects.” If we assume these four practices are cumulative, each one leading to the next, then mindfulness of mind objects brings us close to the goal—awakening. The sutra provides several lists of mind objects—traditional lists like the five hindrances (five typical disadvantageous states of mind, like doubt or obsession), and various other common lists of problematic mental and emotional states. It also provides lists of positive objects, including the mental and emotional states that lead to awakening (called the seven factors of awakening ), and the four noble truths, the basic Buddhist map of existence. All this tells us that to be mindful of mind objects is to know how to distinguish between states of mind that tend toward suffering and trouble, ...

  In  Mahayana Buddhism , the ideal of practice is to become a  bodhisattva  who strives to liberate all beings from the cycle of birth and death. The Bodhisattva Vows are vows taken formally by a Buddhist to do exactly that. The vows are also an expression of  bodhicitta , the desire to realize enlightenment for the sake of others. Often known as The Greater Vehicle, Mahayana is quite different than the Lesser Vehicle, Hinayana/Theravada, in which the emphasis is on the individual liberation and the path of the  arhat.   The exact wording of the Bodhisattva vows varies from school to school. The most basic form is: May I attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. A passionate variation of the vow is associated with the iconic figure  Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva : "Not until the hells are emptied will I become a Buddha; not until all beings are saved will I certify to ​Bodhi." The Four Great Vows In  Zen ,  Nichiren , Tendai, ...