The Tree of Enlightenment

Mahayana both in its starting point and in its goal. e fundamental
idea in the Mahayana tradition is the enlightenment
thought or mind (bodhichitta, the resolve to achieve enlightenment
for the sake of all sentient beings), and the fruit of this
resolve is the attainment of Buddhahood, with its transcendental
dimension and its phenomenal dimension. e phenomenal
dimension is an expression of the Buddha’s great compassion,
which manifests itself in skillful means – the third idea prevalent
in the Mahayana and crucial to the Vajrayana as well.
Skillful means is the ability to reach all sentient beings at
their own levels. In many Mahayana sutras, this is explained
with the help of analogies, such as the parable of the three carts
and that of rainfall and the light of the sun and moon in the
Lotus Sutra (see Chapter 15) e phenomenal dimension of the
Buddha appears to all sentient beings according to their particular
needs and abilities. It manifests itself in a variety of forms,
such as that of the beautiful maiden whom the Buddha caused
to appear for the sake of Kshema (see Chapter 22). In many
Mahayana discourses and treatises, the Buddha manifests himself
in the form of ordinary people or gods in order to assist sentient
beings along the path to liberation.
It is in this way, too, that the Buddha manifests himself in
the special forms of the deities of the Vajrayana pantheon according
to the needs and propensities of sentient beings. For example,
in the case of the five celestial Buddhas, the Buddha manifests
himself in five special forms that correspond to the particular
karmic propensities of sentient beings. us he manifests as
the Buddha Vairochana especially for sentient beings whose primary
affliction is ignorance, while it is Akshobhya who appears
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