Bodhicittotpāda

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bodhicittotpāda (T. byang chub kyi sems bskyed pa; C. fa puti xin 發菩提心). Translated as, “generating bodhicitta,” “arousing bodhicitta,” “conceiving bodhicitta,” "generating the mind of enlightenment," etc.[1]

The Princeton Dictionary states:

... [bodhicittotpāda is] a term used to describe both the process of developing bodhicitta, the aspiration to achieve buddhahood, as well as the state achieved through such development. The Mahayana tradition treats this aspiration as having great significance in one’s spiritual career, since it marks the entry into the Mahāyāna and the beginning of the bodhisattva path.[2]

According to Karl Brunnholzl, the generation of bodhicitta is the foundational motivation for the entire Mahayana path.[3]

Various types of techniques or conditional environments conducive to bodhicittotpāda are described in numerous Mahayana texts and treatises.[2]

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