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BUDDHISM
".. The later Mahayana sutras, however, describe practices that people can carry out within
the realities of this present world, though the process is still a very long one. They teach
that, by following the six kind of practices, a bodhisattva can gradually elevate his
condition of life over a period of many kalpas and become that much closer to the state
of enlightenment. This process is divided into fifty-two stages: ten stages of faith, ten
stages of security, ten stages of practice, ten stages of devotion, ten stages of development,
togaku (a stage almost equal to enlightenment) and myokaku (enlightenment).
The six practices are called the six paramitas and are required of bodhisattvas
in order to attain Buddhahood. it takes great many kalpas for a bodhisattva to complete
each of these fifty-two stages.
The question, then is how long one must carry out these six paramitas. In the Mahayana
scriptures, there is a story of Shariputra, who was known as the foremost in wisdom among
Shakyamuni's disciples. According to this story, Shariputra engaged in the offering of alms,
one of the six paramitas, in the distant past, and he had to continue this practice
for one hundred kalpas. A kalpa is an unimaginably large unit of time, which equals
approximately 16 million years. (There are differing views as to the length of a kalpa.)
Therefore, one hundred kalpas is about 1.6 billion years. Sharipura could not continue his
practice of alms giving for all these kalpas. When he had practiced for sixty kalpas, a
Brahman begged Shariputra to give him one of his eyes. Shariputra complied, but the Brahman
threw the eye down on the ground and trampled on it. Seeing this, Shariputra harbored
doubts about the significance of alms giving and abandoned his pracrtice. This story has
many lessons concerning our buddhist practice. However, it is astounding to learn how long
it takes to complete the six paramitas. If these six practices each require one
hundred kalpas, then it takes 9.6 billion years to complete them all."
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Courtesy: Fundamentals of Budhhism, Yasuji Kirimura; 1977, 1984, Nichiren Shoshu
International, pages 18-19.