The fourth level of realization, the state of an Arhat, is the ultimate goal of the Theravada path. At this point, the individual will never again be reborn into samsara. One may wonder how an Arhat awakens to the Mahayana path. Bodhisattvas and Buddhas come back to work for the benefit of others. How does the Arhat, having awakened to the Mahayana, come back to benefit others in this world? The answer is that they manifest an illusory form, in this or any other world where, beings are to be taught and trained but they are not able to be reborn into this world.

You have these two different Sanghas, so to speak. There is the Sangha at large, the ordinary Sangha. This sutra refers to them as the monastic Sangha. These are people who have not attained any of these levels of realization. Then there is the great Sangha, which is made up of people who have attained these levels of realization. Those people were present when the Buddha gave the teachings on the Heart Sutra.

The same two divisions exist among the students of the Buddha who were following the path of the Bodhisattva. There were ordinary Bodhisattvas and those who have attained one of the ten stages of a Bodhisattva. There were men and women in both groups. When speaking of the community of ordinary Bodhisattvas, one is speaking of people who have generated a state of mind determined to attain Buddhahood in order to benefit others. A Bodhisattva is someone who has developed what is called Bodhicitta. (note 5) This includes the first two of the five stages that make up the entire Buddhist path. The first two stages are the path of accumulation and the path of unification, and individuals on either of these paths are members of the community made up of ordinary Bodhisattvas. Then, there are great Bodhisattvas. This term always refers to those who have attained the third of the five paths - the path of seeing - direct perception of the nature of reality. Here one has insight into the essencelessness of both the individual and all other phenomena. In fact, when speaking of great Bodhisattvas, one refers to those on the three last stages of the Bodhisattva path, the 8th, 9th, and 10th stages. One example would be the great Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (in Sanskrit) or Chenrezig (in Tibetan). Then you have Bodhisattvas on the first seven of the ten stages, starting with those who have attained direct perception of reality. Those on the first seven stages are referred to as ordinary. When Buddha gave the Heart Sutra teachings, some of those who were present were of the Theravada and some were of the Mahayana schools.

In terms of the Buddhist community at large, there were four divisions at the time of Buddha Shakyamuni. The same principles are applied to today's Buddhist community. There is the group of lay practitioners who would have a lifestyle that may include a range of commitments. Traditionally, there are five vows that a lay practitioner can take, but he does not have to commit himself to all five. He could also commit himself to just one thing, for example not to lie. Within this group there are two groups - male and female lay practitioners. Then there are those who have taken full monastic ordination, a group of males and a group of females. In that respect, the Buddhist community is made up of four groups.

The Sutra mentions those members of the Buddhist community who were present, and one would find members of all four groups. These were people who had already developed insight to a great extent, had developed a lot of compassion, and had very good karmic potentials for receiving and understanding the particular teachings that were given, the Heart Sutra. The Heart Sutra expounds on the Prajnaparamita - the perfection of wisdom.

In terms of how teachings were given, there were two different aspects. Some teachings were spoken by the Buddha himself. Others were given through the Buddha's inspiration to one of his students, such as a great Bodhisattva or an Arhat. The Buddha, while resting in samadhi, a stable meditation state, would influence this disciple to give a teaching. This particular sutra came about on the basis of that type of inspiration generated by the Buddha. The particular samadhi - the meditation state he was resting in at this time - is referred to as the "dawn of the profound." The "profound" refers to the deep and profound nature of reality being emptiness. Through the power of his meditative state, the Buddha was able to inspire and influence the student who was giving the teaching to the point where the "profound", the meaning of emptiness, dawned in the mind of that student. The Buddha was able to give the teaching about emptiness in this way. Two students of the Buddha, inspired in this way by the power of Buddha's meditation, were the great Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Chenrezig), and the great Arhat Shariputra. Through the inspiration of the Buddha, these two had a discussion about emptiness that would clarify the nature of emptiness to those present and listening.

Note 5
Bodhicitta - lit. the mind of enlightenment. On the relative level, it is the wish to attain Buddhahood for the sake of all beings. On the absolute level, it is the direct insight into the ultimate nature.