The Tigress

Jataka tales are stories of the previous lives of Buddha. Bodhisattvas, the Buddha-to-be, are the protagonists in these Jataka stories. “The Tigress” narrates a story of one Bodhisattva, who comes across a tigress that has just given birth to cubs. She was starving and ready to eat her cubs. The Bodhisattva alleviated her pain and hunger by offering his own body of good merits to replace the bad karmas accumulated within her (6, Śūra). In this paper, I’ll feature on three parts of the story: the teaching of the bodhisattva, the bodhisattva’s own act of altruism and the power gained as his died to attain enlightenment. I’ll show you how these three aspects respectively relate to Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. By drawing support from one of the major features presented in “The Tigress”: to see through the world’s empty nature and the practice of patient, an attitude of compassion rather than anger can be explained, I will argue that it best fits into the category of a Mahayana text.

THERAVADA FEATURE

In Bodhisattva’s renunciation, his teaching can be best seen as a Theravada feature which relates to the path of the cessation of pain (marga), the fourth of Four Noble Truth (52, Chapter3, Harvey). “Marga” refers to the eight-fold-path and it has a threefold version: prajna (wisdom), containing right view and right resolve; ‘morality’ (sila), containing right speech, right action and right livelihood; ‘meditation’ (Samadhi), containing right effort, right mindfulness and right meditation. (83, Harvey)

In “The Tigress”, bodhisattva told his disciple that “this round of birth and rebirth (samsara)” is futile. According to Harvey, the true realities for spiritually ennobled is an elevated one, only given as step-by-step discourse. (48, Chapter2, Harvey) It is also showed in the passage the “Starvation breaks the law of affection (cause of dukkha).” (7, Śūra) This teaching reflects the first path of the right view, holding the correct view of the way things are, for here the view refers to the knowledge of craving is the cause of pain and samsara is painful. (63, Harvey) As depicted at the beginning of the story, bodhisattva could derive no pleasure from worldly matters and his strong will of renunciation leads him to reclusions. The bodhisattva is followed by crowds of disciples who have chosen Buddhist training over worldly possessions. (6, Śūra) This shows that the plot exquisitely resonates with the second path, the right resolve, which by definition referring to establishing the correct intention, namely renunciation of worldly life. In terms of sila, we can see that he impressed upon his disciples the teaching of “Behave with integrity”, “Cultivate moral sense” which are supposed to correspond with right speech, action and livelihood. On the other hand, he also emphasizes that “Attention should not be detached”, “Concentrate on friendliness and other cardinal virtues.” (6)Which reflect the Samadhi, the mindfulness and meditation. So it is clear to see the teaching of the bodhisattva fits into the eight fold path of Mahayana marga.

MAHAYANA FEATURE

In the discourse of the bodhisattva’s act of altruism, his compassion made him offer his corpse to her. Before making the decision, the bodhisattva began to reflect: “my body is only so much matter. It is frail, without substance, a miserable ungrateful thing, always impure.”(6, Śūra). While Vajrayana, as a branch of Mahayana, retained a strong emphasis on compassion too, this view of impure body explains why this altruism is more appropriate to be Mahayana. In Vajrayana Buddhism, all things and experience are intrinsically pure (21 Shaw) and body are re-evaluated as the “arena for sacred action” (189-190, Chapter6, Harvey)

As explained in the definition of Mahayana bodhisattva: “[the one] whose task is to compassionately help beings while maturing his or her own wisdom” (151, Harvey), we see that the sympathetic spirit this story conveys coincides with the Mahayana doctrine. However, in the quote “Buddhism up to the earlier form of the Mahayana had often talked of the unlovely aspects of the body” (191), we can best relate this altruistic action of the Bodhisattva with the Mahayana marga: the first one and second one of the six perfections.

In terms of generosity, the bodhisattva not only shares dharma but also his body. It is stated by Dalai Lama in “The Bodhisattva Deeds” that “a person who realizes the futility of bring possessive and gives away his or her belongings, out of a pure wish to help others, is called a bodhisattva.” and “giving your body to others. The physical body in itself is full of faults and defects, but with this body you can fulfill great aims by using it to help others instead of being possessive about it” (157, Dalai Lama) Bodhisattvas reflects about his corpse might “serve to prevent killing and save the whelps from the advances of their mother” relate to ethics of avoiding killing.

VAJRAYANA FEATURE

Tantric training applies the self-teaching path of immersion to reach enlightenment. The tantric feature in “The Tigress” is the power gained by bodhisattva’s death and the obtained enlightenment. As his thoughts shows: “I might also thereby fulfill my dream of someday being of help of to others even if it meant sacrificing my life, and so come closer to perfect enlightenment.” and “By offering my body to the tigress, may I gain the power always to bring happiness to mankind and at the same time to remove its sorrow, just as the sun has the power to bring light and banish darkness” (Śūra 8). Different from parinivarna in Theravada which is the final distinction, the emphasis of immersion in passion.

As Shaw stated in “tantric Buddhism in India”:

“The new breed of Buddhists also insisted that desire, passion, and ecstasy should be embraced on the religious path. Since they sought to master desires by immersion in them rather than fight from them, the Tantric styled themselves as heroes and heroines who bravely dive deep into the ocean of passions in order to harvest the peals of enlightenment.”

The aim of the Vajrayana adept was to become “conscious of the identity between Vajra-sattva and his ‘own’ empty ‘nature’, so as to ‘become’ such a ‘being’” (183, Chapter6, Harvey). As Vajrayana is “a kind of super-charged” Mahayana, it works to realize this empty nature by visualizing and evoking the result of the path so as to make the result part of the path to it (189). To say it in another way, enlightenment is achieved by visualizing and identifying with one awakened being as inner aids; the immersion of wisdom will therefore arise and cleanse the worldly desire that could potentially act as obstructions against nirvana. Vajrayana, the "path of the fruit" is taken by the bodhisattva, who bravely embraces something as intense as death itself. Therefore, he will be able to see through the empty nature of fear and abandon it so as to reach enlightenment. The power gained from this enlightenment is non-destructive: “as irresistible as a thunderbolt, suggesting the overwhelming power of the awakened mind to destroy spiritual obstacles; as hard as diamond, suggesting the indestructible nature of the awakened mind; and as clear as empty space, suggesting the empty, void-like nature of such mind ”(183).

“THE TIGRESS” AS MAHAYANA TEXT

The reason I insist that Mahayana most consistent with the story of tigress is that with Mahayana emptiness as well as with the Śāntideva’s teaching of utilizing tolerance, the bodhisattva’s compassion towards the Tigress can be understand. Tigress’s atrocity didn’t arouse bodhisattva’s anger. Interestingly, the bodhisattva declared that” I cannot be happy as long as there is someone who is unhappy.”(7, Śūra)

The statement made by bodhisattva can be explained by emptiness and its non-duality nature. Emptiness here is characterized as lack of inherent existence in anything, as “self-emptiness.” (126, Harvey) The impermanent character of all beings means no fixed self can be defined. Thus, no ultimate difference from nirvana. This non-conceptual emptiness also means the non-dual consciousness of a Buddha. The task of beings is to uncover and know their buddhaness rather than attain something. (127, Harvey) The Śāntideva’s teaching emphasize this non-duality of Buddha and a person: “first of all let me strive to contemplate, the equality of self and other, since we are equal in pleasure and pains, I should guard all others as I do myself” (152, Śāntideva)

Additionally, the reason why bodhisattva can tolerant the tigress and have compassion can be explained by Śāntideva‘s teaching, “This comes from mechanical conditions” as no one intended to suffer so what should be blame was not the person but the mechanism (145, Śāntideva) Bodhisattva was not angry about the atrocities of tigress and told his disciple how the “round of birth and rebirth”, “salvation” are responsible for this suffering. As is stated in the practice of patience, “The very simple point is that if individuals had control over their emotions, they would not do you harm at all, because what they seek is happiness. They would not work for their own downfall by accumulating the negative karma that comes from harming others.”(164, Dalai Lama) Therefore there’s no point to develop aversion, instead, our attitude should be developing mercy and compassion.

CONCLUSION

After analyses “The Tigress” from three perspectives, we view more overlaps than differences among Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. They are really complex historical product of discursive processes. Generally speaking, “The Tigress” is more appropriate to be read as a Mahayana text for the elements in this story can be best understand in Mahayana context. The teaching of the Bodhisattva fits six perfections, his attitude of compassion arises due to practice patience as well as non-dual consciousness within “self-emptiness”. In contrast, Theravada’s emphasis falls on the accomplishment of nirvana (extinction), and Vajrayana, on the one hand, receive transmission of doctrines from Mahayana, on the other hand, focus more on visual realization, ritual, and immersion of desire.

Works cited

Śūra, Ārya. “The Tigress” Once the Buddha was a Monkey. Trans. Peter Khoroche. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989. pp. 5-9.

Dalai Lama. “The Bodhisattva Deeds” The Way to Freedom. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1994.

Śāntideva. “Tolerance: Remedy for Anger” Essential Tibetan Buddhism. trans. Robert A. F. Thurman. New York: Castle Books, 1997. pp. 142-152.

Śāntideva. “Bodhisattva Vow” Essential Tibetan Buddhism. Trans. Robert A. F. Thurman. New York: Castle Books, 1997. pp. 160-163.

Shaw, Miranda. “Tantric Buddhism in India,” Passionate Enlightenment. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994. pp 20-34