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बोधिसत्व, सोच, स्मृति,चेतना... || आचार्य प्रशांत (2015)
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5 years ago
Bodhisattva
Truth
Consciousness
Thought
Memory
Change
Present Moment
Buddha
Description

Acharya Prashant explains that a Bodhisattva is one who says, 'I have to help everyone.' This help is not provided through the mind or body, but from the soul, at the center of which lies 'Bodhi' or understanding. Therefore, a Bodhisattva is one whose very core is understanding. He clarifies that the distinction made between a Buddha and a Bodhisattva, where the latter is considered a step below, is a meaningless division. In response to a question about knowing the true identity of ever-changing things, the speaker explains that thought can only grasp limited fragments. Truth, however, is the complete whole, which is limitless. Since thought requires limits to function—just as one can think of a wall because it has defined borders—it cannot contain the limitless truth. The truth is that which is, and that which is cannot have a boundary, because what would lie beyond it? Therefore, truth cannot be conceived by thought. One can only have glimpses of it through the mind, but never think of the whole. Addressing the constant change in everything, he states that understanding must be fresh and in the present moment. Applying a past understanding to the present is incorrect because the object of understanding has already changed. This is why wise people do not rely heavily on memory. In the examination of life, questions are not repeated. He notes that with modern technology, the mundane task of memorization can be offloaded, freeing the human mind. The important things in life are not a matter of memory but of consciousness. What is truly essential is a process of consciousness, which is always fresh and present, unlike memory which is always of the past. The things that are truly necessary are not part of memory; they are a process of consciousness.