The Way of the Bodhisattva Shantideva 1.

Recognizing Bodhichitta

I bow with reverence to the Blissful Ones, to their awakened bodies of reality, to their children, and to all worthy beings. Now may I describe the Bodhisattvas way as taught by Buddhas without trying to be novel or clever, focused on properly training my mind. May these words build my faith in this virtuous path and accustom me to it. May all who find these words gain just as much from them or more. Freedom and endowments that are good for all are so hard to find! When will I find them again if I dont make the most of them now? Like the sudden flash of lightning in the clouded night, so rarely and briefly a virtuous thought arises, charged by the Buddhas might. What can dispel this immense darkness but for bodhichitta? The great Sages pondered deeply for ages, and saw that bodhichitta easily brings countless beings to supreme joy. If you want to crush the endless sufferings of compulsive living, end the sorrow of limited beings, and know the many joys of liberation never turn away from bodhichitta! As soon as bodhichitta is born in the minds of samsaras prisoners, they become children of the Blissful Ones, revered by gods and humans. This unclean body transforms through supreme alchemy into the priceless gem of a Buddhas body. So firmly gain hold of bodhichitta! The immeasurable mind of the sole Navigator for wandering beings perfectly examined it with boundless vision and saw its priceless worth. If you want to leave this plight, truly embrace precious bodhichitta! Like a plantain tree, all other virtues spend their force in fruiting. Only the marvelous tree of bodhichitta always bears fruit and always grows. Even those weighed down by unbearably negative deeds are instantly freed through bodhichitta, as if protected from great dangers by a hero. Why do the ignorant not devote themselves to this? The wise Buddha Maitreya compared its unbounded benefits to the cleansing fires at an ages end, utterly consuming all foolishness and error. (1)

Those who fear the consequences of their acts should surely seek it! Bodhichitta has two stages distinguished by the wise: aspiring (like the aim to go) and engaged (like setting out). Aspiring bodhichitta brings great results for those still spinning in samsara, but engaged bodhichitta constantly gains positive force for once the mind steadily embraces bodhichitta, willing to liberate infinite realms of endless beings, an unceasing river of merit flows continually throughout space, even during sleep and inattention. The One Thus Gone explained these benefits to Subahu for the sake of those with lesser aspirations. The wish to help by soothing the headaches of others has boundless merit. How much greater is the wish to ease the endless manifold pain of beings, bringing lasting excellence to all! Could our father or mother ever have had such a generous wish? Do even great saints or gods have this altruistic mind? If limited beings have never even dreamed this for themselves, how could they want it for another? This aim to work for the good of all is wonderful and unique, a noble, jewel-like state of mind. This pain-dispelling medicine, this cause of joy for helpless wanderers, this precious attitude, this jewel of mind who can calculate its worth? If simply thinking to help others is more noble than offerings to the Buddhas, its far more noble to seek happiness for all without exception. Beings long to extricate themselves from pain, but chase after it; they long for joy, but foolishly destroy it like a foe. Those who fill destitute and joyless beings with bliss, who cut all suffering and pain away from those weighed down by sorrow and drive away their dark ignorance what virtue can match theirs? What friend can compare? If someone who returns a favor deserves praise, Bodhisattvas deserve much more since they do good without considering praise. People praise donors who toss some ordinary food to a few, a small gift, a single meal. What of those who give to countless beings the peerless, lasting joy of blissful Buddhahood, the fulfillment of all hopes? Its taught that those who hate these lords of generosity stay in joyless realms for ages while they exhaust such thoughts. But those with joyous and clear-minded faith gain stronger, more abundant fruit. Even in adversity, Bodhisattvas never bring wrong forth their positive actions naturally grow.

(2)

I go for refuge to these springs of happiness who bring their very enemies to perfect bliss. I bow to those in whom this precious jewel of mind is born!

2.

Confessing Negativity and Gaining Bodhichitta

To the Buddhas thus gone, and to the sacred Dharma, spotless and supremely rare, and to the Buddhas offspring, oceans of good qualities, I make a perfect offering to gain the precious mind of bodhichitta. I offer every fruit and flower, every healing medicine, every precious gem and all pure refreshing waters, every mountain made of precious minerals, sweet secluded forest groves, trees adorned with blossoms and trees laden with perfect fruit. I offer divine and worldly fragrances, all incense, wishing trees and trees of gems, all wild-growing crops and ornamental plants, lakes and ponds adorned with lotuses and sweet birdsong, everything free and unclaimed throughout infinite space. I hold this all before my mind and make a perfect offering to the greatest beings, the mighty Sages and their heirs. Sublime recipients, compassionate lords, lovingly accept my gifts! I am poor and meritless, with no other wealth. Protectors, with your wise intentions for the good of others, please take it for my sake in your great power. Enlightened ones and all your Bodhisattva heirs, I give you my body throughout all my lives. Supreme courageous ones, I offer you my full devotion totally accept me! With your support, Ill be undaunted by samsara and will act for beings sake. Ill leave behind the evils of my past, and ever after turn my face from them. Let me bathe the blissful Buddhas and their heirs in a scented bathing chamber with clear, radiant, smooth crystal floors and graceful pillars shimmering with gems, hung with canopies of gleaming pearls. There Ill bathe them with fragrant water from precious vases, while they listen to excellent melodies and songs. Ill dry them with spotless, perfumed towels and offer them scented, colorful and fine clothes. With various light and supple garments, and a hundred beautiful adornments, I will grace sublime Samantabhadra, Manjushri, Lokeshvara, and their Bodhisattva kin. With a full rich fragrance that pervades a thousand million worlds, I will anoint bright bodies of the Buddhas like burnished pure gold. I place before the Buddhas, perfect objects of my worship, glorious flowers and fragrant blossoms entwined in lovely scented garlands. I offer swelling clouds of frankincense, ravishing perfume, (3)

and various delicious foods and drinks. I offer precious lamps arranged in rows on gold lotuses, and a carpet of sweet flowers scattered on level, incense-sprinkled ground. To those whose very nature is compassion, I give vast palaces ringing with songs of praise draped with precious pearls and gems, jewels gleaming throughout space, and stunning jeweled parasols with golden shafts, upright, well-proportioned and pleasing to the eye. I give all this to the Buddhas, and may a host of other offerings and clouds of ravishing sweet melody to solace living beings arise and constantly abide. May rains of flowers and every precious gem fall unceasingly upon the Jewels of realized and taught Dharma, images and all supports for offering. Just as Manjushri and others have offered to all the Conquerors, I too make offerings to you, my Thus Gone protectors, and to your spiritual children. I praise these vast oceans of good qualities with a sea of songs and harmonies. May tuneful tributes billow up unceasingly around them! To Buddhas of the past, the present, and all future time, and to the Dharma and Sublime Assembly, with bodies as countless as dust upon the earth I prostrate and bow. To shrines and all supports of bodhichitta I bow down. I bow to teachers who transmit vows, to every learned master and sublime practitioner of tamed behavior. Until I reach the essence of enlightenment, I go for refuge to the Buddhas; I go for refuge to the Dharma and to the many Bodhisattvas. To perfect Buddhas and all Bodhisattvas, sovereigns of great mercy living in all directions, I press my palms together, praying: O great protectors, in this and all my lives, wandering without beginning, I have blindly acted wrongly and caused others to do wrong. Ruled and deceived by ignorance, Ive rejoiced in such harmful deeds, but seeing them now as mistakes, I openly admit them. Whatever harmful acts of body, speech and mind I have done through the force of disturbing emotion against the Triple Gem, my parents, teachers, and all beings all my wrongdoing, all the poisonous acts that stain me, the frightful things I have contrived all this I declare to you, the teachers of the world. Death may well strike before my faults have been corrected. How then can I be freed from them? Please quickly give me your protection! (4)

We cannot trust Deaths wild ways it doesnt wait while we finish our work. Healthy or sick, young or old, we cant trust our fleeting lives for a moment. We must die, forsaking all. But, not understanding, for the sake of friend and foe, Ive provoked and done so many wrongs. All my foes, my friends, and I will cease to be, and everything will likewise cease. All I own and use is like the fleeting experience of a dream, fading into memory, lost to sight. Even in the short course of this present life, so many friends and enemies have died; yet the evils Ive done because of them still lie unbearably before me. I never stopped to think that I too am a brief and passing thing; and so in hatred, lust, and ignorance I have done such wrong! Never halting day or night, my life constantly drains away with no balancing influx. How can I not die? Ill lay there dying, surrounded by family and friends, but only I will feel lifes thread being cut. And when death has seized me, what help are these dear people? Then my lifes virtue is my one defense but sadly this is what I shrugged away. O protectors! I was so heedless, and hardly guessed the horror of how Ive done so much wrong for this transient life. The day they take him to the scaffold where theyll tear off his limbs, a condemned man is transfigured by fear - mouth dry, eyes bulging out. Ill be overcome and sick with terror too, when seized by the horrible servants of Death. Who can protect me from this dread? Ill panic, looking everywhere for help. Ill sink into despair, nowhere finding a safe direction. Without any refuge, what else can I do? So, from this day forward, I take refuge in the Buddhas, the guardians of beings, the mighty ones who scatter every fear, and who work to give safe direction to all wanderers. I take refuge in the Dharma they have realized in their hearts, which drives away the terrors of samsara. I take perfect refuge in all the Bodhisattvas. Gripped by dread, beside myself with anguish, I give myself to Samantabhadra; my body I give to gentle and melodious Manjushri. To Guardian Avalokiteshvara, whose merciful deeds never fail, I cry out from the depths of misery: Please give me safe direction despite my negative actions! I call from my heart to the noble ones Akashagarbha and Kshitigarbha. To all great and compassionate protectors, I cry out in search of refuge. Powerful Vajrapani, who makes evil-hearted beings flee, I fly to you! In the past I have failed to practice your teachings. But now seeing these terrors all around, I come to you for refuge. I pray that you swiftly drive my fears away!

(5)

If I follow doctors orders when alarmed by common ailments, what about when Im chronically ill with diseases like lust that cause endless harm? Dwellers in the world are thrown down by just one such injury. Since no other healing remedy exists than that of the all-knowing Doctor, its abjectly nave to disregard him. I pick my way with special care along a small and ordinary ledge will I ignore that endless chasm plunging down a thousand miles? Today, at least, I wont die. So rash to lull myself with such words! My dissolution and my hour of death will doubtless come. Who can give me courage? Where is there a sure escape? Im certainly going to die, so how can I relax? Of all my experience in all past seasons, whats left to me now? While clinging to whats already gone, Ive disobeyed the highest teachings. When this life is left behind, and all the people I have known are gone, I must set out alone on strange new paths so why have I fussed so much over friend and foe? How can I instead completely rid myself of evil, the sole cause of sorrow? This should be my one concern, my only thought both night and day. Fearing all the coming pains, I join my palms and prostrate without ceasing, and admit everything right in the sight of my protectors. I admit all the wrongs Ive ignorantly done act naturally harmful and those that broke my vows. I pray to you, guides and guardians, take me as I am. Since all these actions were harmful and unwholesome, I promise I will never do them again. 3. Embracing Bodhichitta

Joyfully I celebrate the positive actions that lift all beings from the heavy sorrows of the lower realms, and bring them the happiness of higher rebirths. I rejoice in the stores of virtue causing the enlightened state and celebrate the freedom won by beings from the round of pain. I rejoice in the purified state of the Buddhas and the grounds of realization reached by the Buddhas heirs. I rejoice in their enlightened attitude, their oceanic power to bring all beings to bliss, and all their beneficial actions. I join my hands and pray to the Buddhas living in every direction: shine Dharmas light for limited beings, suffering and groping in darkness. I join my hands and beseech enlightened ones who think to rest in total peace: do not leave us blindly wandering, but stay with us for countless ages! (6)

By the positive force of taking these actions, may all the pain of every being be wholly scattered and destroyed! For all those ill in the world, may I be their doctor and nurse, and the medicine that cures them. Pouring out drink and food, may I dispel all thirst and famine. In ages of scarcity, may I be sustenance. May I become treasure close at hand for the poor and destitute, a varied and limitless source to meet all needs. With no sense of loss, to benefit all beings, I give my body, all my goods, and all my merits gained and yet to gain. Nirvana is attained by giving all, and is what I aim to realize. Since I must give all anyway, it is best to give it all to others. This body I have now committed to the pleasure of all beings let them use it as they wish. Let them kill, despise and beat it, treat it like a toy or joke. My body has been given up to them why should I make so much of it? Let beings do to me whatever doesnt bring harm to them. But may any focus on me bring unfailing benefit. Whether anger or respect arises in others, may these states always be the cause that fulfills their good and wishes. All those who slight me to my face, blame or slander or do some other harm to me, may they attain the fortune of enlightenment! May I be a guard for the unprotected, a guide for those who journey. For those who wish to cross may I be a boat, a raft, a bridge. May I be an isle for those who yearn for land, a lamp for those who long for light, a bed for all who need a resting-place, a willing servant for those needing aid. For all embodied beings, may I be a wish-fulfilling jewel, a horn of plenty, a mantra of awareness, supreme medicine, a tree of miracles, an abundant cow. May I be the ground of life, the source of varied support for boundless multitudes, just like the earth and space and all the elements. May I constantly offer livelihood to those living throughout space until they reach nirvana. Just as all the past Buddhas brought forth the awakened mind, and, step by step, abode and trained in the Bodhisattva precepts, so I will give birth to the awakened mind for the good of beings, and myself abide and train in them. Having thus purely embraced bodhichitta with bright and lucid joy, Ill lift my heart with praises such as these to enhance my great gain: (7)

Today my life bears fruit now this human life shows its worth! Today Im born in Buddhas lineage as child and heir. I undertake to act in every way befitting such a high and faultless place, and never to act in ways that mar or compromise it for like a blind man finding a precious gem inside a heap of dust, by some strange chance the awakened mind has been born in me. This is the supreme nectar of immortality that slays death, the slayer of all beings. It is the unfailing treasure-mine that enriches poor wanderers, the sovereign remedy that perfectly heals all disease, the tree that shades weary travelers on worldly paths, the bridge that carries all away from states of loss. It is the rising moon of the enlightened mind, soothing all the sorrows of afflictions. It is the mighty sun that utterly dispels the misty ignorance of lost beings, the creamy butter churned from the milk of holy teaching. Living beings, wayfarers upon lifes paths who wish to taste the richness of contentment here is the supreme bliss! Here is your fulfillment, ceaseless searchers! And so I summon beings now, watched by all protectors, calling them to Buddhahood, and until then to every earthly joy. May all beings, from the greatest to least fortunate, rejoice! 4. Taking Care of Bodhichitta

The Conquerors children, having firmly grasped bodhichitta, should always strive to hold fast and never turn away. When I start out on a confused and heedless course I may reconsider despite my promises. But Ive studied and scrutinized what the Buddhas and their heirs discerned in their vast and profound wisdom why should I withdraw now? Failing to act on promises like this betrays every being. What consequences will that bring me? Its taught that those who think to give a paltry thing, but then draw back, will be reborn as hungry spirits. So how can I expect a happy fate, if from my heart I call beings to the highest bliss but then deceive and fail them? How karma works for those who lose bodhichitta but still liberate others, is understood only by the Omniscient. But for a Bodhisattva, this loss of bodhichitta is the gravest of all downfalls because it impairs the good of every being. Anyone who momentarily blocks a Bodhisattvas work wanders long in worse realms, having reduced the welfare of all. (8)

Destroy a single beings joy and you bring ruin to yourself. How much worse to undermine the joy of beings infinite as space! Those who circle in samsara, wavering back and forth between such powerful downfalls and bodhichittas power, will long be hindered from reaching the Bodhisattva grounds. And so I will heedfully act to fulfill my promise. If I fail to strive from now on, Ill fall from low to lower states. Working for the benefit of all, countless Buddhas have come and gone but I, obstructed, have failed to see and enter the compass of their healing works. This will always be my lot if I continue my distracted conduct, and I will be bound and lacerated in the lower realms. All these are rare: Buddhas appearing in the world, true faith, attaining a human form, an aptitude for good. When will they come to me again? Today, indeed, Im healthy, safe and well-nourished. But this life is fleeting and unreliable, and my body is like something briefly lent. Yet I act in such a way that I wont regain a human life! Losing my precious human form, Ill fall even further into suffering, and my virtues will be vanishingly few. Here is my chance for wholesome deeds if I fail to practice virtue now, what will I do then, bewildered by the sorrows of the lower realms? Ill only pile up wrongdoing. For a hundred million ages I wont even hear of better rebirth. This is why Lord Buddha taught: like the chance that a turtle may poke its head through a yoke adrift on an endless sea, so rare and elusive is this human birth! If a heinous act in a single instant can bring an age of hellish pain, the negative force Ive built up through infinite time will clearly keep me far from blissful states. And simply receiving their painful consequences wont exhaust them for amid such suffering states, many further evils will occur. Having found this moment of reprieve, how could I be more foolish and self-deceptive than by failing to train myself now in constructive ways? If I stay stupidly despondent despite understanding this, then how black my sorrows will be at my death cry! And when my body burns with bad consequences, how tormented my mind will be by unendurable scorching fires of regret! For I have somehow gained this rare and precious state in which I can help myself. If I ignore this fact and again collapse in pain, I am dazzled by magic tricks and reduced to mindlessness. I dont know what dulls my wits. What grips me? My enemies, anger and lust, are limbless and have no faculties. (9)

They are not brave or clever. How have they so enslaved me? They live within my mind, harming me as they please, while I meekly suffer, not resenting them how misplaced and abject my patience remains! If all the gods and demigods joined in attacked me, they could not throw me into fires of hellish unrelenting pain. And yet the mighty fiend of my afflictions quickly flings me down to where the very ashes of mighty mountains are consumed. My enemy, afflictive passion, my endless and beginningless companion! No other enemy can endure so long! Any other foes that I appease and serve will show me favors and help me; but catering to my darkly defiled emotions only causes them to harm me more, burying me in grief. If my ancient and unceasing foes, wellspring of pain, can lodge and grow so safely in my heart, how can I travel so blithe and fearless in this wheel of life? And if samsaras prison-guards, the infernal butchers and tormentors, all lurk within me in this web of craving, what joy can ever come to me? I wont leave the fight until I see these enemies destroyed. Infuriated by some trivial slight, proud but wretched rivals vie to win sleepless until their scores are settled, careless of the pains of battle, standing their ground despite certain suffering and death. So surely I must not lose heart, whatever hardship comes! From this day on Ill strive to crush these foes who only bring me pain. The soldier flaunts his wounds from futile wars like theyre a prize. In this high endeavor for so great a thing, why should injury faze me? Fishers, butchers, farmers and the like endure miseries of heat and cold to make a living. Why, for the sake of beings happiness, should I not be prepared to bear the same? When I promised to free all beings throughout space from their many afflictions, I held such disturbing emotions in myself. Saying this, not knowing my capacity werent those crazy words? All the more reason not to retreat from overcoming my insanity, never drawing back from the fight against my own afflictions. This will be my all-consuming passion. Filled with rancor I will fight! Defilement will halt defilement, and Ill welcome it for this end. Better to perish in a fire, or have my head severed, than to ever serve or worship my defiled emotions, my mortal enemies. Common foes, when driven off, retreat and base themselves in other lands, mustering strength and plotting their return. Disturbing emotions lack such strategies. Miserable defilements, scattered before the gaze of wisdom! Where will you run when driven from my mind? From where could you return to do me harm? (10)

Even with the prospect of such victory, my mind stays so weak and indolent! Defilements are not in the object, nor within the senses, nor somewhere in between. So where do they live? From where do they inflict their havoc on the world? They are like illusions, so take heart. Banish all your fear and strive to know their nature. Do not suffer needlessly in hellish pain. Having decisively thought like this, I should strive to train in this way. What patient in fact needing medicine ever ignored the treatment and recovered? 5. Taming the Mind

If I wish to train myself, I must guard my mind with perfect self-possession. Otherwise the trainings cant be preserved. The elephant of mind runs loose, dragging us through torment and unrelenting pain. No worldly beast however crazed could cause such calamities but firmly tethering this elephant with the rope of mindfulness will dissipate our fears and drop all virtues into our hands. Simply bind and tame just this mind, and all hostile things are bound and tamed tigers, lions, elephants and bears, snakes and every foe, those who hold prisoners in hell, ghosts and ghouls and every evil thing. All fear and boundless pain are born only in the mind, as He who spoke the truth declared. Who invented instruments to torture beings? Who forged grounds of burning irons and gave birth to demonic fiends? As the mighty Sage has said, all ills are merely offspring of the afflicted mind. No greater bane than mind is found throughout samsaras realms. If the transcendent giving of Buddhas ends the poverty of beings, how have former Buddhas practiced it, since the poor are still with us? It is taught to consist of the intent to give all one owns to all beings, as well as the fruits of such a gift it is indeed a matter of the mind itself. Where could all beings, fish and so on, be placed to keep them safe from killing? Deciding to refrain from every harmful act is said to be transcendent discipline itself. Harmful beings pervade all space its impossible to suppress them all. But overthrow this angry mind alone and its like subduing all foes. Where could enough hide be found to cover the earth with leather? But its like Ive done so with just the soles of my shoes! I cant restrain the outer course of things all by myself. But if I just restrain my mind whats left to discipline? (11)

A clear intent can bear fruit as rebirth in the highest realms of bliss, while verbal and physical acts bring far lesser results. The Knower of Reality taught: reciting sacred texts and practicing austerities, no matter for how long, are futile deeds if done with a distracted mind. All those who desire joy will wander uselessly in endless sorrow if they dont grasp the secret of the mind, this greatest of all things. So Ill closely protect my mind, knowing the many disciplines are useless if I cant guard and tame it. Caught in wild and unruly crowds, Im careful and attentive to my wounds. Likewise, in bad company Ill always protect my mind. If I carefully shield my wounds in fear of minor pains, why not protect the wound that is my afflicted mind, afraid of the crushing anguish of falling to hellish worlds of sorrow? Acting and living with such vigilance, all will be well, even among the ill-minded, such as those who arouse harmful lust. Ill maintain unwavering allegiance to my positive commitments. My property, my honor, my livelihood and body I can freely give all these up, and even let social virtues decline, but I will never let my mind regress. All you who would protect your minds, maintain mindfulness and introspection guard them at the cost of life and limb, I beseech you with joined hands! Those disabled by ill health cant act so the ignorant mind is impotent and broken. Though they hear the teachings, study them, and meditate on them, those who arent alertly introspective soon lose what they have learned, like water drains from a leaking jar. Many are joyfully diligent, learned and imbued with faith, but through lack of alert introspection they fall down into error. Lack of introspection is a thief, slinking in when mindfulness abates. It steals all our gathered merit and leaves us bereft and fallen. Defilements are a band of robbers, ready to injure us when they can stealing our virtue and destroying our happy future. So Ill never let mindfulness stray from the gateways of my mind. If it wanders, Ill recall it with thoughts of the plunder and anguish I risk. Through such fear, and the counsel and company of their teachers, fortunate and devoted ones easily cultivate mindfulness. They gain devotion and a sense of shame, and often recall the Buddha, thinking: Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, too, have unclouded sight all is open to their gaze. As they see everything, I am always in their presence. When mindfulness is a sentinel stationed on the minds threshold, introspection is there too, returning attention when forgotten or dispersed. (12)

Ill check my mind at the outset of each act. If I find it tainted with some fault Ill be self-possessed and still, unmoving like a log. I wont let my gaze wander vacantly around. Instead, with a focused mind, Ill walk with eyes cast down, and when I choose to relax my gaze, Ill raise my eyes and look, clearly seeing whoever is there, and greeting them with friendly words. To spy dangers on the road, Ill scrutinize all directions. Stopping to rest while traveling, Ill look back along my way, surveying the land, and choosing to carry on or retrace my steps. So, in every time and place, Ill know my needs and act accordingly. Choosing how to use my body, and embarking on a given course, from time to time Ill ask myself if I should continue so. Once tied to the great post of Dharma, this rampant elephant, my mind, must now be watched with all my strength so it never slips away. To master concentration, I should never be distracted for an instant. I will watch each moment, asking: where is my mind engaged? Its taught that rules of discipline can be eased during generous acts. So, when single-pointed focus is impossible due to danger or festivities Ill behave as seems best. When Ive planned and started something my attention wont drift away. My thoughts fixed on my chosen target, I will pursue just that. All such acts are well-performed, and nothing is gained otherwise. In this way Ill quash the polluting influx of introspections loss. If I find myself engaged in random pointless conversations, or curious sights the like of which abound, I will release my childish delight and taste for them. If Im grubbing in the dirt, or pulling up grass, or doodling in dust, remembering the Blissful Ones precepts, Ill gulp in shock and cease at once. When I want to move about, or even speak, first Ill see whats in my mind thus steadfast beings act correctly. When I feel an urge toward lust or anger, Ill stay still and silent like a log. When my mind is wild, or filled with mockery, pride or arrogance, or when I would reveal anothers secret guilt, or bring up old dissensions, or act deceitfully, or fish for praise, or spoil someones reputation, or use harsh language sparring for a fight, Ill stay like a log. When I yearn for wealth, attention, fame, a circle of obsequious servants, honors and recognition, Ill stay like a log. When I want to disregard anothers need and get the best thing for myself, and crave to speak and act accordingly, (13)

Ill stay like a log. Impatience, indolence, cowardice, arrogance and careless speech, attachment to my side in all such cases stay like a log. Thus look at yourself from every side. Examine what pollutes you, and scrutinize your pointless efforts. This is how heroes on the Bodhisattva path firmly grasp their faults and apply suitable remedies. With perfect and unyielding faith, steadfastness, courtesy, respect and awe, work for others happiness, calmly and conscientiously. Dont be dragged down by the warring wants of childish, quarreling people. Their cravings are born from conflict and overdramatic emotions. Understand, and treat them lovingly. Act irreproachably, for your good or that of others, always thinking that you are self-less like an apparition. This long-awaited supreme freedom of a human life is now attained! Always recall this to steady your mind as if it were the king of mountains. If you wont be hurt when teeming vultures tug hungrily at this corpse, why is your mind so besotted now? Why do you protect this body as if it were your own? You and it are separate entities how can it ever be of use to you? Foolish mind, why not take instead a clean form carved in wood? Why choose to guard this unclean engine churning out pollution? First imagine shedding your skin; and then with wisdoms blade slice the flesh from your skeleton. After dividing up all those bones, and searching through their marrow, Ask yourself where is the essential core? If you find no underlying essence despite persistent searching, why do you protect so fiercely this body you so briefly own? You cant eat its filth, drink its blood or suck its guts, and yet its good food for the vulture and the fox. The value of this human form lies only in how you use it. Whatever you do to guard and keep it, what will you do when Death throws it to the scavengers? If servants who ignore their tasks arent given supplies and clothes, why do you take such great pains to sustain this body, nourishing what will abandon you? Pay this body its due wages, and be sure to make it work for you; but dont lavish all you have on what wont bring you perfect benefit. Regard your body as a vessel, a simple boat for going here and there. Make it something that answers every wish to bring about good for beings. (14)

Master yourself, getting rid of angry scowls always smile, and be a true and honest friend toward all. Dont be inconsiderate, such as by throwing down chairs, or violently banging on doors. Take pleasure in acting humbly. Herons, cats and burglars get what they want by going silently and unobserved: such is the constant practice of a sage. When those with skill in counseling give you unsought advice, welcome it with humble gratitude; and always strive to learn from everyone. Praise the excellent words of all whose speech is worthy. When you notice the good acts of others, warmly approve and encourage them. Discreetly extol their qualities, and when others praise them, join in praise; but when they praise you, reflect on their skill in knowing good qualities. The goal of every act is happiness, though even with great wealth its rarely found. So take pleasure in the excellence of others let them give you heartfelt joy. By acting so youll lose nothing now, and great bliss will come in future lives. Otherwise youll welcome pain, and store up dreadful torment to come. Speak coherently and clearly, in appropriate and pleasant ways, with gentle moderation, free of craving and aversion. When you look at others, think that they will help you awaken, and approach them with a frank and loving heart. Always fueled by highest aspiration, applying antidotes to mental ills, youll reap great virtues in every field the excellent field of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the fields of the fortunate realms, and those of the lower, suffering realms. Always undertake good works, acting with faith and understanding. Whatever your actions, dont depend on others to do them for you. The perfections, the great practices of giving and so on, progress in sequence, growing more important. Never abandon the greater for the less, and see the good of others as supreme. Understand this well, and work ceaselessly for the benefit of beings to this end, the Compassionate One wisely approved acts and speech that would otherwise be thought to violate rules of virtue. Eat only what you need, and share with those who are on the path, or are defenseless, or have fallen into suffering states. As a monk, give everything but your robes. (15)

Do not harm your body, the means to practice sacred teachings, in meaningless pursuits. Acting so, the wishes of all beings will be quickly and totally attained. Those whose compassionate thoughts are not yet pure should not give up their bodies but let them be surrendered, both now and in future lives, when great benefits result. Dont teach the Dharma to those who lack respect or interest, or to zealous followers of other religions who may be harmed or seek to harm, or when doing so could seem flirtatious. Teach every Dharma, high or low, with equal reverence. For those upon the lower paths, dont try to explain the vast and deep. For those suited to teachings of great scope, dont point them to lesser ways. Follow the courteous customs where you are dont spit or piss in gardens or clean water, or eat loudly, stuffing your gaping maw, or sprawl and rudely scratch your rump. Dont act immodestly, but avoid what may cause scandal. Gracefully gesture to offer direction, and dont express yourself obtrusively. Thoughtfully lie down to sleep, in the direction and posture of Buddha entering nirvana, and vigilantly decide to quickly rise again. The Teachings say the Bodhisattvas actions are unbounded of these, until you win the goal, embrace the practices that best purify your mind. Recite sutras and prayers of confession, praise and dedication three times a day and three times at night. Relying on the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, purify your transgressions. Whatever youre doing, wherever and whenever, for others or yourself, diligently act according to the teachings as they apply in that case. There is no field of knowledge that the Buddhas children shouldnt learn. For those well-versed in this way, no action is devoid of merit. So do nothing that is not for others sake, whether directly or indirectly, by taming your own mind. Dedicate every action to gaining enlightenment solely for their welfare. Never, at the cost of life or limb, forsake your teacher, your virtuous friend learned in the Mahayana teachings, supreme in Bodhisattva training. Learn how to attend to your guru as the Buddha taught. Understand the teachings of the Buddha by reading and studying sutras, for all the practices are found in them. Repeatedly study works that clearly and extensively explain what must be practiced. From time to time, for the sake of brevity, consult shorter overviews, and study with diligence the works of noble Nagarjuna. (16)

Whatever such teachings dont proscribe, be sure to undertake and carry out, and perfectly fulfill what they enjoin, to protect the minds of beings. Examining over and over again the state and actions of my body and mind: in short, this alone is watchful introspection. But all this must be truly acted out nothings gained by mouthing syllables. What invalid was ever helped just by reading a doctors books? 6. Patience

All the good achieved in a thousand years, through generous deeds and so on, and offerings to the Blissful Ones, is shattered by a single flash of anger. No evil is like anger, and no austerity equals patience. So avidly persist in various means to steep yourself in patience. Those tormented by the pain of anger are never tranquil. They are strangers to every pleasure, and dont sleep well or feel secure. A wealthy, powerful master who is filled with wrath and hate faces violent rebellion even from those hes given wealth and honor. All in all, angry people grieve their friends and family. They have no joy or ease, and are shunned by those who otherwise would come near. All these ills are caused by wrath, our sorrow-bearing enemy but those who seize and crush their anger find joy in this and future lives. Anger is fueled by my discontent: all that hinders my desire, and getting what I do not want. So I will utterly starve this enemy, who has no purpose but to injure me. Come what may, I wont upset my happiness of mind. Dejection never brings me what I want, but only warps and mars my virtue. If theres a remedy when trouble strikes, why should I be dejected? And if there is no help for it, whats the point of being glum? For ourselves and those we love, we dont want pain, insults, rebukes, humiliation but its the reverse for those we dislike! Causes of happiness are rare, and seeds of suffering are many. But without pain, Id never yearn for freedom so be steadfast, mind! Some religious devotees endure austerities like being cut and burned, so why am I so timid on the path of freedom? Everything grows light when made familiar through practice, so putting up with little cares, Ill train to bear immense adversity. Dont I cope now with common irritations, like snakebites and fly stings, hunger and thirst, and painful rashes? So I wont fret about heat and cold, wind and rain, sickness, prison, beatings (17)

to do so only aggravates my trouble. Some get braver when they see their own blood, while others lose strength and faint when they see anothers. This comes from how the mind is set, in steadfastness or cowardice, and so Ill disregard hardships and scorn all injury. When the wise encounter sorrows, they stay serene and undisturbed. As in any battle, there are many hardships in the war against defiled emotion. True conquering heroes fear no pain, and vanquish foes such as hatred all other war is slaying whats already dead. Suffering has its worth sorrow drives out pride and raises pity for those wandering in samsara, so goodness seems delightful and evil is avoided. I dont get angry with the parts of my body, fertile sources of suffering and pain when theyre diseased. So why am I offended by beings, who likewise are impelled to harm me due to circumstance? Despite being unsought and undesired, physical ills afflict us; and likewise mental defilements insistently arise. People never think Now Ill be angry theyre impulsively caught up in rage. Likewise, irritation comes unsought by any plan to feel it. All defilements of any kind, the whole range of evil deeds, come about due to circumstances none are autonomous. Once assembled, conditions do not think that now they will give rise to a result, nor does the engendered outcome think that it has been produced. So-called Primal Substance and Self do not think I will become, planning to arise. What is not born does not exist, so what could want to be born? And if it is essentially drawn to an objective, it could never stop being so drawn. If permanent, this Self must be inert like space itself and since it is unchanging, how could any factor affect it? If it stays just as it was when conditions act on it, what influence have they had? Some call conditions agents of the Self, but what connection could there be between them? All things lean on other things, and these things too depend on things. Knowing this, I wont be annoyed by things like magical apparitions. Then resisting anger is absurd; for what will be opposed by whom? Patience cuts through the stream of sorrow nothing is pointless in wanting that! So when I see enemies or friends acting wrongly, Ill stay serene and recall that everything comes from conditions. If embodied beings could have what they wished no suffering would ever come, for none of them want pain of any kind. Still they tear themselves on thorns, careless and unaware. (18)

Ardently chasing mates and goods, they starve themselves. Some hang themselves or leap from cliffs, take poison or eat unhealthy food, or self-destruct through evil conduct. Seized by affliction, they even slay the selves they dearly love so its no surprise they cause bodily harm to others. Though I rarely feel compassion for those who so cause their own suffering, what purpose does my anger serve? If such beings are like wanton children, by nature prone to injure, my rage is senseless, like hating fire for being hot. And if their faults are fleeting and contingent, and in fact they have kind natures, its equally senseless to resent them, like hating the sky when its full of smoke! I get angry with someone who hits me with a stick, though its the stick that hurts me. But that one in turn is driven by his hatred, so its the hatred I should hate. In just the same way, in the past I was the one who injured living beings. Its a natural consequence that harm should come to me, their former torturer. Both their weapons and my body cause my torment I brandish my body as they their weapons, so whos more worthy of my rage? This body is an open wound in human form merely touched, it cant stand the pain! Im the one who grasped it in my blind attachment, so who should I resent when pain occurs? Like children, we shrink from pain but love its causes. We hurt ourselves through our misdeeds! Why focus our rage on others? Who is there to be angry with? This pain is all contrived by me, as are demonic tormentors and groves of razor-leaved trees. My intentions and deeds have summoned those who rise to harm me and if these beings then suffer, didnt I cause their harm? Because of them, if I am patient, my many faults are purified; but they will then feel long and hellish agonies. So I am their tormentor, and they bring me immense benefit. Why then, pernicious mind, do you perversely rage at them? If I sustain a patient mind, Ill avoid profound pain. But though I save myself, what fate awaits my foes? If I repay them harm for harm, this wont save them, and will mar my conduct, wasting all my austerity of patience. Because the mind is bodiless, nobody can destroy it. Because mind attaches to the body, this body is oppressed by pain. My body is unharmed by hostile words, scorn or harsh comments. Mind, why do you resent them so? The enmity that others show me wont devour me, now or in future lives, so why am I so averse to it? (19)

Maybe it hinders me from what I want but Ill leave all my property behind, while my wrongdoing keeps me steady company. Far better for me to die today than live a long and evil life however long my days, the pain of dying will be the same. One man dreams a hundred years of happiness, then wakes. Another dreams an instants joy, then wakes. For both, when they wake their happiness is gone forever. Likewise when death arrives, our lives are over whether brief or long. Despite plenty of worldly goods to please us for many years, we die naked with empty hands, stripped and plundered as if by thieves. Maybe we claim that we need wealth to live, and in living we do good and heal wrong-doing. But if we are aggressive for the sake of gain, wont our profits bring more wrong, and all our merits be lost? And if this undoes our noble aim for living, what use is there in living, with such harmful consequences? Maybe we claim that our anger at being slandered is because this slander lies to others, harming them. In that case, why dont we resent it when others are slandered too? And if we claim to bear that harm because it depends on other factors, arent there also causes of the slander aimed at us? Even those who vilify and undermine the Dharma and sacred symbols are not proper objects of our anger. Buddhas are untouched by such attacks. Even if our teachers, relatives and friends are objects of aggression, all derives from factors, as explained before we should see this and curb our wrath. Beings suffer injury from lifeless things and other beings, so why be angry only with the latter? Rather, simply bear with harm. Some do evil out of ignorance. Others ignorantly respond with anger. Who is faultless in such acts? Who should be said to be in error? Why should I be angry at such things, since all harm is a consequence? Why not ask instead what past intentional acts brought about such harm? This I see so come what may, Ill hold fast to a virtuous path and foster mutual love in the hearts of all. When a building is on fire, and flames leap out from house to house, its wise to take and fling away anything that spreads the blaze. And so, in fear of all my merit being consumed, Ill cast away my minds attachments, tinder for the roaring flames of hate. (20)

Isnt it a lucky break if a man sentenced to death is freed with just his hand cut off? Arent I lucky to suffer the misfortunes of human life, if this saves me from rebirths filled with far greater suffering? If even my present pains overwhelm me, shouldnt I cast off my anger, cause of far greater pains to come? A thousand times Ive sunk in grief for the sake of getting what I craved, achieving nothing for myself and others. My present aches are nothing to compare with those, and yet will bring great benefits I should rejoice in troubles that dispel the pain of wanderers. When others delightedly praise those endowed with talents, why doesnt your mind also find joy in praising them? The pleasure of doing so brings blameless happiness. Its urged by all the holy ones, and is the perfect way of winning others. But theyre the ones who get the happiness, you say. If you resent their joy, stop returning favors and paying debts. Youll be the loser, in this life and the next! When praise is heaped on your qualities, youre keen for others to be pleased by this, but arent inclined to rejoice over the compliments they get. You want happiness for beings, and have wished to be enlightened for their sake. Why be irked when others find some pleasure for themselves? If you claim to wish that beings be enlightened, honored by all, why feel discomfort when they gain petty marks of favor? When the dependents you support find a livelihood on their own, wont you be happy, or will that anger you too? If you dont want even this for beings, how can you want Buddhahood for them? How can anyone have bodhichitta, who is angry when another prospers? If someone else gets a gift, or the giver keeps it for himself, its yours in neither case, so why make either your concern? Why throw away all your merit and the faith of others in your qualities? Why arent you angry at yourself, for not holding onto such a source of wealth? Not only dont you regret the evils you have done, you match yourself against those whove earned rewards through merit! If your enemies are harmed, why should this bring you joy? Your wishes alone wont injure them; and if they did, wheres the joy in that? Is anything more ruinous than to find satisfaction in anothers ruin? Caught on a sharp, barbed hook by the fisher of my own defilements, Ill be flung into a cauldron and boiled by them. Veneration, praise and fame dont increase my merit or my lifespan; they bring no health or strength, no bodily ease. If I care about whats good for me, Ill ask what benefit they offer. Do they entertain me? Then I might as well drink and gamble! All for reputations sake, I waste my life and squander wealth. (21)

What use are words, and who will they please, when Im dead and buried? Children cant help crying when their sand castles collapse. My mind is so like theirs, when praise and reputation fail! Short-lived sounds, devoid of mind, cant intend themselves to praise me. I may say the source of my delight is the joy that others take in me. But why do I care if others delight in me or anyone else? Their pleasure is theirs alone; I feel no part of it. If Im happy at the joy of those who take delight, then everyone should give me joy. When people take delight in others, why am I not pleased by their pleasure? The satisfaction I get from thinking: I am being praised is nonsensical, like the antics of a silly child. Praise and compliments distract me, sapping my revulsion with samsara. I start to envy the qualities of others, and all my excellence is ruined. So those who stay close by to damage my good name, and cut me down to size, surely protect me from falling into realms of grief. If I strive for freedom, I must not be snared by wealth and honors. How can I get angry at those who help to free me from my fetters? Like Buddhas blessing, they bar my path plunging headlong into sorrow. I shouldnt be irritated, calling them obstacles to my good deeds. Isnt patience the supreme austerity, by which I should live? And if Im hindered by my shortcomings and fail to practice patience, I myself impede merits causes, so close at hand. If something occurs when a factor is present, and doesnt when its gone, that factor is indeed its cause so how can it be called a hindrance? Beggars who arrive at proper times dont block generosity, and those who give the vows dont hinder ordination. There are many beggars in this world, and comparatively few assailants, for if I dont harm others they dont harm me. So my enemies are like a treasure found at home, gained without fatigue. They help me in my Bodhisattva work, and so should be a joy to me. Since I grow in patience thanks to them, they are its cause, and should receive the first fruits from it. Why should I honor them so? They didnt mean to help me. Well, why should I revere the words of Dharma, which certainly cause my attainments? In fact, they conspire to harm me doesnt this disqualify them from honor? How could I have brought forth patience if they worked to help me, like a doctor? Thanks to those with malicious minds, I engender patience in myself, so they are causes of my patience, worthy of honor like the Dharma. So the mighty Sage spoke of the field of beings as well as the field of Buddhas. (22)

Many who brought happiness to beings have passed beyond, attaining perfection. What kind of practice is it, then, that honors only Buddhas? Buddhahood depends on beings and Buddhas equally. In their fruits they are alike, though not in the quality of their minds. Such excellence resides in beings too, so beings and Buddhas are the same. We make offerings to saints who serve beings with loving minds their sainthood shows the eminence of beings. Merit accrued from faith in Buddha shows in turn the Buddhas eminence. No being is equal to the Buddhas, oceans of perfection. But they have their share in causing enlightenment, and thus can be compared to Buddhas. If a scrap of the supreme excellence of Buddhas appeared in some beings, it would be right to offer all the universe to them. Since all beings have a share in bringing forth the supreme enlightened state, I should show them reverence based on this parity alone. The Buddhas are my true unfailing friends, bringing me boundless benefits. How else can I repay their goodness except by making living beings happy? By helping beings we repay the ones who sacrifice their lives for us and follow us into the worst situations. So, if beings harm me Ill still strive to only benefit them. For those Buddhas I take as the object of my faith and reverence cared for others, sometimes even at the cost of their own bodies. Why do I foolishly act with such conceit? Why shouldnt I serve others? Buddhas are pleased by the joy of beings, and lament when beings suffer. By bringing joy to beings, I please the Buddhas too; but by wounding beings, I also wound the Buddhas. Just as no sensual delight can please the mind of one whose body burns, I cant please the great compassionate ones while causing pain. The damage Ive done to beings saddens the Buddhas in their great compassion.

Therefore, I confess these evils now, and vow to cease such offensive acts. That I might rejoice the Buddhas hearts, I will be master of myself and servant of the world. I wont seek revenge though crowds attack me. Let the Guardians of the world rejoice! The great compassionate ones certainly consider all beings as themselves. Those who I see as beings are Buddhas in themselves. How can I fail to respect them? This very thing pleases the Buddhas hearts and perfectly secures my welfare. This will drive the worlds sorrows away, (23)

so it must become my constant work. Imagine a kings steward harms multitudes of people those with clear foresight restrain themselves from violent reaction, knowing that stewards are supported by the kings power. So I wont despise the feeble beings who torment me. Their allies are the guardians of hell, and the compassionate Buddhas as well. Instead Ill gratify them, as subjects might placate a wrathful king. Yet, could the ire of such a king cause me the hellish pains Ill endure through making living beings suffer? Even if I pleased that king, he couldnt give me enlightenment, for this will only come from bringing happiness to beings. If making beings happy brings future Buddhahood, how can I fail to see that it brings glory, fame and pleasure even in this life? Patience amid samsara brings such goods as beauty, health, and renown. Its fruit is great longevity, and the vast contentment of a universal king. 7. Diligence

So Ill patiently strive with diligence this is how enlightenment is found. If no wind blows, then nothing stirs. Without diligence, there is no merit. Diligence means joy in virtuous ways. It is the opposite of laziness unwholesome inclinations, despondency and self-contempt. Laziness is born from a taste for idle pleasure, craving for repose and sleep, and indifference to samsaras sorrows. Youve strayed again into Deaths maw, snared by the trapper of defiled emotion, enmeshed in the toils of birth. What? Do you still not understand? Dont you see how Death comes for every human, one by one? Still you doze, like a cow near its butcher. All the paths of flight are blocked. Death now has you in his sights. How can you take such pleasure from food, and delight in rest and sleep? Death will swoop on you so swiftly. Gather merit until that moment comes! If you wait to throw off your indolence, what will you do when times running out? Youll think: This I havent done, and this Im starting, and this is halfway through. When Death suddenly arrives, youll think: Alas, Im finished! Youll look at your hopeless friends, their tearstained cheeks, (24)

the deep distress in their red and swollen eyes, and then youll see the heralds of Death approach. The memory of your past wrongs will torture you. The screams and din of suffering will rush into your ears. Youll foul yourself in terror. What will you do in such delirium? Like a living fish that twists and writhes, youll be terrified. How much more unbearable will you find the pain in future lives as you reap the fruit of your harmful deeds? How can you stay at ease like this, when youve done acts that lead to pain like boiling liquids on a babys flesh? Testy and thin-skinned, you want results without endeavor and now many troubles are in store for you! Though gripped by death, you act like a god oblivious to mortality. Sadly, suffering will crush you anyway. So take advantage of this human boat. Free yourself from sorrows mighty river! This vessel will be hard to find again fool, dont waste your time in sleep! You turn your back upon the Dharma, boundless source of bliss and supreme joy. Why delight in mere excitement, distractions that will cause you misery? Dont be downcast. Marshal your powers. Strive, and be your own master! Practice the equality of self and other. Practice the exchange of self and other. Dont excuse yourself with despondency, asking: But how could I become enlightened? The truth-speaking Buddha declared that even bees, flies, gnats and grubs will gain supreme enlightenment so hard to find. If, with human birth and lineage, I can tell good from ill and dont neglect the Bodhisattva deeds, why shouldnt I attain Buddhahood? The hardships suffered on this path are limited in extent, like the pain of an incision made to cure internal ills. All doctors treat disease using bitter remedies. Likewise, I should be patient with slight harms to heal a vast amount of pain. The Supreme Healer does not use common cures, but soothes intense and boundless suffering in extremely tender ways. (25)

He tells us to begin by donating little things, like greens, so that well gradually gain the habit of giving our flesh. For when we truly feel that our bodies are no different from those herbs, what hardship is there left in giving them? Sin has been abandoned, so there is no pain, and having wisdom frees us from sorrow. Mental and physical injuries come only from false views and bad conduct. Merit is the true cause of the bodys ease, and understanding brings minds happiness. What can sadden those with great compassion, who stay in samsara for the sake of beings? Through their powerful bodhichitta past misdeeds are utterly consumed and oceanic merit is gathered in. So they excel compared to those who retreat from samsara into nirvanas peace. Mounted on the steed of bodhichitta, which puts all mournful weariness to flight what lucid person could despair, riding thus from joy to joy? The forces that secure the good of beings are aspiration, steadfastness, relinquishment and joy. Aspiration grows through fear of suffering, and by contemplating the benefits to be attained. So Ill leave aside all that hinders it, and work to become more diligent, by exerting control with earnest application through aspiration, steadfast self-confidence, relinquishment and joy. I must extinguish all the boundless evils of myself and others, even though just one such ill may take countless ages to exhaust! If I find no sign in myself that faults are starting to be cleansed, why doesnt my heart burst thinking of my future of boundless pain? I must now accomplish good qualities for my and others sake, even though each of them takes ages of endeavor. Having never come to know a fraction of such qualities, its amazing that I squander this precious life. Ive never made offerings to the Buddhas, or donated to hold feasts, or accomplished works for Dharma, or satisfied the wishes of the poor, or saved the fearful from what scares them, or consoled the wretched. All I have to show is my mothers pain and her wombs discomfort. My failure to aspire to Dharma, now and in the past, has brought me to this derelict state. So why would I still spurn such aspiration? Aspiration, as the Sage asserted, is the root of every kind of virtue. (26)

Its root, in turn, is constant meditation on the fruits of action. The bodys pains and minds anxieties, and all our various fears and deprivations such is the harvest of our harmful, foolish deeds. If my acts are good and well-intended, then no matter where I walk the merit gained will honor me with benefits. But if I act wrongly though seeking happiness, wherever I go the knives of misery will cut me down in retribution for a life of error. Through virtue I will rest within the cool heart of a fragrant lotus bud, nurtured in splendor by the sweet words of the Conqueror. Then in supreme form Ill arise from the lotus opened in the Sages light, to dwell among Victorious Ones as the blissful Buddhas heir. Otherwise, as wages of many wrongful acts, Ill be brought low by violent creatures, my skin flayed, my body melted in a raging blaze, pierced by burning swords, dismembered flesh falling on the white-hot iron ground. So Ill aspire and tend to virtue, and steep myself in it with great devotion. With shining methods from the sutras, Ill train in confident assurance. First, considering my reserves, Ill decide whether to start or not. It might be better not to start, but I wont withdraw once Ive begun, or this pattern will return in later lives to increase my pain, and other actions will be left undone or bear meager fruit. My pride should be directed to three things: action, the afflictions, and ability. In pride of action, I declare: Ill do this, I myself alone! Worldly beings are helpless to secure their happiness, overpowered by their minds afflictions. Compared to them, Im able! How should I see others who give themselves to low behavior? In any case, I wont be arrogant. My best way is to give up such conceit. Even crows act like soaring eagles when they find a dying snake. If Im weak and feeble-hearted, even little faults will strike and harm me. If I give up trying and sink into depression, how can I be freed from my abject state? But if I stand my ground with proud resolve, it will be hard for even great faults to attack. So with a steadfast heart Ill get the better of my weaknesses if my failings control me, my wish to overcome the world is laughable indeed. The offspring of the Lion, the Conqueror, should constantly have self-confidence, declaring: I will be victor over all! Nothing will prevail and bring me down! Arrogance destroys those who are polluted by a lack of self-confidence, falling into the power of a harmful pride. Those who have true self-confidence escape the foe. When arrogance inflates the mind, it draws it down to future miserable states, or ruins the happiness of a human birth, causing enslavement and dependence, or feeblemindedness, weakness, ugliness, ridicule. These puffed-up ascetics! If they are proud, then who are wretched? Those who use pride to conquer afflictive pride (27)

my

are truly proud, victorious and brave. Those who stem the increase of afflictive pride gain the perfect fruit of victory for beings, as they have wished and vowed. When Im beleaguered by defilements, Ill stand and face them in a thousand ways. I wont surrender to the host of afflictions, but stand like a lion amid a crowd of foxes. People reflexively guard their eyes however great their peril. Likewise, whatever dangers come, I wont collapse under defilements. Better for me to have my head cut off, or be burned to death! I will never bow and scrape before defiled emotion, my foe. In every time and place I will stay on the wholesome path. Like those who take great pleasure in their games, Bodhisattvas devote themselves without reserve to whatever task they do, full of joy that never dims. People work hard to gain contentment, though success is far from certain. But how can they be happy, not doing deeds that bring true joy? And since they never have enough of pleasure like honey on a razors edge, how could they get enough merit, which brings happiness and peace? Tormented by noonday sun, an elephant dives into the lakes cool waters. Likewise I must plunge into my work and finish it. If impaired by weakness or fatigue, Ill lay it aside, the better to resume. And Ill leave a task when its complete, avid for the next to come. As seasoned warriors face the swords of enemies in battle, Ill lightly dodge defilements weapons and strike my enemy. If a soldier drops his weapon in the fray, in fright he swiftly takes it up again. So, if my arm of mindfulness is lost, fearing hell Ill quickly get it back! Just as poison fills the body on the bloods current, evil spreads and permeates the mind when it finds a channel. Ill act like a frightened man, holding a brimming bowl of oil, and menaced by a sword, told: Spill one drop and you will die! This is how practitioners should hold themselves. Just as a man swiftly stands if a snake glides into his lap, if sleep and lethargy beset me, I will speedily shake them off. Every time I fail, Ill reprove and chide myself, thinking long that, by whatever means, such faults wont happen again. At all times and in all situations, Ill ask myself: How can I make mindfulness my constant habit? (28)

Thinking so, Ill want to meet with teachers and fulfill the proper tasks. Before I start some work, to ensure I have sufficient strength and means, Ill recall the teachings about carefulness, and lightly rise to what must be done. Just as wafting flaxen threads are impelled by every breath of wind, so all I do will be achieved, driven by the flowing movements of a joyful heart. 8. Meditative Concentration

Cultivating diligence in this way, Ill place my mind in concentration those with slack and wandering minds are caught in the fangs of afflictions. In solitude, mind and body are untroubled by distraction. So leave aside the world, and abandon mental wandering. Attached to people and craving gain, we fail to turn away from worldly things. So its prudent to renounce these objects first. Penetrative insight joined with calm abiding utterly eradicates afflicted states. So first search for calm abiding, found when you are happy to be free from worldly ties. Brief, ephemeral beings who strongly cling to what is transient like them will catch no glimpse of those they love for thousands of their future lives; so they will have no joy, and will not rest in equanimity. But even if they see them, they are not content and remain engulfed in longing. If I crave other beings, perfect truth is veiled, wholesome disillusion melts away, and finally Im painfully stung. My thoughts are all for them, and so I fritter away my life. I cast out changeless Dharma for the sake of quickly passing friends and relatives. Acting like a childish being in this way, surely Ill fall into suffering realms. So why do I keep company with such infants, who lead me so far away from virtue? Ordinary people are friends one moment, bitter enemies the next so hard to please, so discontent with even pleasant things! Resenting beneficial words, they instead turn me from what is good, and when I close my ears to them their anger makes them suffer. Jealous of superiors, vying with their equals, arrogant to those below, they strut when praised and seethe with rage when criticized. What good was ever gained from childish folk? Keep company with them, and what will follow? Every kind of vice will surely come (29)

self-aggrandizement, scorn, addiction to samsaras good stuff. Only ruin can result from such relationships they wont benefit me, and I cant help them either. So flee the company of childish people. Greet them with smiles when you meet, showing common courtesy, but dont invite intimacy. Like bees sip nectar from the flowers, take only what will serve Dharma practice. Treat harmful beings like new acquaintances, and keep yourself from close familiarity. Dont nourish complacent thoughts that leave you fearful at death, like: Oh, Im rich and well-respected. Lots of people think Im great. Foolish and afflicted mind, you want and crave everything. This will all rise up as proliferating pain fear and anguish spring from such craving. Since this is so, the wise have no attachments. Fix this firmly in your mind: everything craved naturally fades to nothing. People may have gained great wealth, sweet renown and reputation, but who can say where theyve gone, with their baggage of gold and fame? So why should I be pleased when praised? Others will scorn and criticize me. And why be despondent when Im blamed? Others will think well of me. Beings have so many wants and leanings that even Buddha couldnt please them all no chance that I can do so! Ill give up such concerns with worldly things. People scorn the poor and criticize the rich. What pleasure can come from keeping company with such difficult folks? Childish beings take no delight in kindness, unless their own desires are served the Tathagatas have declared that such are no true friends. In woodlands, home to deer and birds, among the trees free of dissension, thats where Id find pleasant company! When can I go to make my dwelling there? When will I leave, never looking back, to make my home in a cave or empty shrine, or under a spreading tree, with an unfettered heart? When might I live in a place unclaimed and ownerless, wide and unconfined, where I can stay freely, unattached, fearless, with no need to hide from anyone, (30)

with just a few belongings, dressed in clothes nobody wants? When will I go to the graveyard to compare my body with the dry bones there so alike, so soon to disintegrate? This flesh of mine will soon give out such a stench that even jackals wont come close, and in fact thats all it will become. This whole body, this flesh and bone that life has knit together, will drift apart and dissolve. And how much more will friend leave friend? Were born alone into the world, and we die alone. No one shares our fate or suffering. Why do I need so-called friends who hinder me? Like those journeying on the road, who pause and lodge along the way, beings on the pathways of existence seize the lodging of their birth. Before Im carried out in a box amid the grief of worldly friends, let me go away into the forest. There Ill stay in solitude, without begrudging or befriending, considered as already dead, causing nobody pain when I die. Then there will be no one standing by, troubling me with tears and moaning; and no one will distract me from thinking of Buddha and the practice. So in these lovely gleaming woods, with joy marred by few concerns, where mental wandering will cease, Ill stay in blissful solitude. Ill strive to still my mind, focused on this intent alone, relinquishing all other goals. Calming my mind, Ill aim to bring it to subjection. All woe is born from desire, in this and all the worlds to come: in this world, killing, bonds, and wounds; and in the next more hellish pains. You romance and court, avoiding no wrongdoing in your quest, no disreputable deed, or risky act, or ruin of possessions all for the pleasure and bliss of that thrilling, penetrating kiss of what is truly nothing but a heap of bones devoid of self, without autonomy! Is this the object of your lust? Better to go beyond all suffering and grief! What pains you went through just to lift her veiled face to meet your gaze! That face you languished for is naked now, exposed by vultures. Whats this? You run away so soon? What you once so jealously shielded from the eyes of other men now that its the food of graveyard birds, why dont you protect it? (31)

Look, this mass of human flesh is carrion now. Will you decorate it with garlands, perfume and jewels? Look again at this heap of inert bones. Why be so scared? Why didnt you fear it when it walked, a corpse propelled by some hidden influence? You loved it once, when it was clothed; now that its naked, why dont you want it? You say your need is gone; but why did you embrace it before? From the single source of food come both the bodys filth and nectar of the mouth. So why are you delighted by saliva, yet repulsed by excrement? You claim the human form is soft to touch, and emits no stench. Befooled by lust, you fail to recognize its filth. You angrily find fault with cotton pillows, soft though they may be, just because you cant copulate with them. And if you dont love filth, how can you coddle on your lap a cage of bones tied fast with sinews, plastered with the mud of flesh? In fact youre full of filth yourself, wallowing in it constantly. It is indeed just filth you crave, longing for other sacks of it! But its the skin and flesh I love to touch and look at. Then why not wish for just the flesh, in its natural inanimate state? The mind that you perhaps desire you cannot see or hold. Whatever you can see or hold is not the mind why copulate with something it is not? Maybe its not so strange to fail to grasp the unclean nature of anothers flesh. But how can you not see the filthy nature of your own? Why does the mind intently rejoice in a sack of dirt; neglecting the fresh young lotus blossom opened in the sunlight of a cloudless sky? Since youre loathe to touch anything grimed with feces, why do you crave to touch the body from which they come? If you dont lust for impurity, why will you embrace and kiss what comes from an unclean place, engendered by an unclean seed? You dont love the fetid maggots that roil about in rotting meat, and yet you lust for a human form, arisen from filth and replete with it. Feeling no disgust toward your own impurity, you yearn and thirst for other sacks of it. You foul the earth when you chew pleasant substances and spit them out. If still you doubt such filthiness, though its plain to see, go to charnel grounds and look at the rotting bodies. When their skins are peeled away, you feel great horror and revulsion. Now that you understand, how can you still take joy in such a thing? The scent that now perfumes the skin comes from sandalwood. So how does one things fragrance makes you long for something else? (32)

Isnt it best to have no lust for something that naturally stinks? Why do the worldly anoint their flesh with pleasant scents? This naked and untended body is horrible to behold, with lanky hair, long nails, dirty teeth all reeking with a slimy stink. Why work so hard to clean and polish whats just a weapon that will injure you? The cares that people ignorantly squander on themselves convulse the universe in madness. When you saw the heaps of human bones in charnel grounds, you were revolted. So will you take delight in cities of the dead, frequented by such skeletons that live and move? Whats more, possessing anothers filth comes at a price: exhaustion in this life, and suffering in the next! Youth cant gather riches, and what can they enjoy once theyve grown? This whole life is spent in gaining wealth, but then were too old to satisfy our lust. Some are wretched in their great desire, but worn out by the full days work they go home broken by fatigue to sleep like corpses. Some, wearied by travels far from home, must suffer years of separation from their wives and children whom they love and long to see. Others, ambitious for prosperity, sell themselves to get it. Happiness eludes them, and pointlessly they work for their masters while their destitute wives give birth sheltered only by trees. Deceived fools craving a livelihood decide to make their fortune in the wars. Seeking gain, they get only fear of death and slavery. Some have their bodies slashed, impaled, wounded, burnt in return for craving. See what endless hardships property brings us: the pain of gaining, keeping, and losing all! For those distracted by their love of wealth, there is no chance for freedom from the sorrows of existence. Seething with wants, theyll suffer many troubles all for very little, like an ox that pulls the cart and snatches bites of grass along the way. For the sake of paltry common things that even beasts can find, tormented by their habits, they destroy this rare and precious human life. All we desire will surely perish, though for its sake we fall into hellish pain. For what amounts to very little, we suffer constant weariness. With a millionth part of such vexation, we could gain enlightenment itself! Those who crave are plagued far more than those engaged on the path, yet Buddhahood is not what they attain! (33)

Reflect upon the many painful hazards of evil states weapons, fires, poisons, yawning chasms, hostile foes. None is on a level with our cravings. So, revolted by our craving lust, lets rejoice in solitude, in places free of conflict and defilement, the peace and stillness of the forest. Those intent on others good are happy, roaming in pleasant places, refreshed by moonlights scented beams, soothed by gentle woodland breezes. In caves, beneath the trees, in abandoned houses, may we stay as long as we wish. Giving up the pain of guarding our possessions, let us live in freedom, unconfined by cares. Even gods would be pressed to find such a life of pleasure and contentment, in liberty unmarred by craving, loosed from every bond! Reflecting in such ways upon the excellence of solitude, completely pacify all discursiveness and cultivate the mind of bodhichitta. Strive at first to meditate on the sameness of yourself and others. In joy and sorrow, all are equal so be a guardian of all, as of yourself. The hand and other limbs are many and distinct, but all are one: the body to be kept and guarded. So different beings in their joys and sorrows, like me, are all one in wanting happiness. My pain does not afflict anothers body, but is hard for me to bear because I cling and take it for my own. I dont feel others pain but, taking them as myself, I will take their suffering as mine, and so dispel their pain, for its simply pain just like my own. Ill aid and benefit others, since they have bodies just like mine. I and other beings are equal and alike in wanting happiness what difference is there between us, that I should strive to have my bliss alone? I and other beings are equal and alike in fleeing suffering what difference is there between us, that I should save myself and not the others? Since the pain of others doesnt harm me, I dont shield myself from it. So why do I guard against my future pain, which doesnt harm my present self? To think Ill have to bear it is in fact a false idea what dies is one thing, and what is born is something else. (34)

Its up to those who suffer to shield themselves from injury! But the pain felt in my foot is not my hands so why should one protect the other? True, why should they? Its just the ignorant force of clinging to self. But if its inadmissible ignorance, why dont you abandon it? Continua and gatherings, like garlands and armies, are composite and unreal, so there is no one to experience pain. Who is there to own it? Suffering has no possessor, so no distinctions of belonging can be made in it. Rather, since pain is pain, it is to be dispelled. What use is there in drawing boundaries? Why argue against dispelling others pain? If my pain is to be removed, so too should that of others; if theirs is not, then neither should be mine. Compassion makes me feel such pain why should I try so hard to engender it? Thinking of the suffering of beings, how does the sting of your compassion seem so unbearable? Since a multitude of sorrows can be cured through this single pain, all loving people foster it in themselves and others. So the Bodhisattva Supushpachandra, knowing the king would kill him for teaching, taught to end the pain of many and did nothing to escape. Those whose minds are practiced in this way, whose joy it is to soothe anothers ills, will venture into places of unrelenting pain as swans sweep down upon a lotus lake. The ocean-like immensity of joy when all beings are freed wont this be enough to satisfy me? Whats the wish for my private freedom worth compared to this? I wont be proud and self-congratulatory about my efforts to bring benefit. The happiness of others is itself my satisfaction, and I seek no further compensation. Just as I carefully defend myself from even slight disparagement, so toward others I should feel protective and compassionate. The sperm and egg from which my body sprung belonged to others, and is devoid of any permanence, yet through strong habit I think of it as I. So why not call anothers body I? And why is it so hard to think of my body as anothers? Now perceiving the faults possessed by I and the ocean of good qualities in other, (35)

I will lay aside all self-centered love, and gain the habit of adopting other beings. Just as the limbs are considered members of a body, cant we likewise think of others as members of a living whole? Just as my strong sense of I about this form devoid of self grew through habituation, why shouldnt the thought of I about another come through habit? Working for others sake, Ill have no sense of boasting self-congratulation I dont expect to be rewarded when I feed myself! Just as I defend myself from even slight disparagement, now toward others Ill grow used to feeling protective and compassionate. This is why the Bodhisattva Avalokita blessed his name: to free beings caught in multitudes of harms from every fear. And so I should be undeterred by hardships, for through practice and habit, people even come to grieve for those who used to terrify them! Those desiring to quickly become a refuge for themselves and others should embrace this sacred mystery, the interchange of I and other. Due to our attachment to our bodies, even little things alarm us. This body, source of so much terror why not detest it as the worst of foes? Wishing to relieve its ills our hungry mouths, our dry throats we take the lives of fishes, birds and deer, or lie in wait beside the road to thieve. For the sake of profit and position, some even kill their parents, or steal offerings intended for Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, bringing consequences of unrelenting pain. What prudent person would coddle and serve the body like this? Who would fail to see it as their contemptible foe? Thinking if I give this, what is left for me? leads to immense deprivation. Thinking if I keep this, what is left to give? leads to vast satisfaction. Serving myself by harming another will always lead me to later suffering. But if for others sake I come to harm, then Ill inherit every excellence. Wanting what is best for me: stupidity, inferiority, decline into suffering ensue! But change this to apply to others: here come honors and the realms of bliss! Enslaving others, forcing them to serve me, will throw me into servitude. But if I labor for the good of others, leadership will come to me. All the joy the world contains has come through wishing happiness for others. All the misery in the world has come through wanting pleasure for oneself. Do I really need this lengthy explanation? Childish beings look out for themselves, (36)

Buddhas labor for the good of others look at the difference between them! If I dont exchange my happiness for others pain, enlightenment will never arise, and even worldly joys will fly from me. Leaving future lives aside, even this lifes needs will not be met. If workers do not work, employers do not pay the unearned wages. Casting far away abundant joys that I could gain in this or future lives, ignorantly harming other beings, I bring myself intolerable pain. All the harm rife in this world, all fear and suffering, are caused by clinging to this I! What am I to do with this great demon? If I dont wholly relinquish this I, I cant avoid sorrow. If people dont keep away from fire, they cant escape being burned. To free myself from harm, and others from their suffering, let me give myself to others, loving them as I now love myself. Be certain, my mind, that you now serve others, and cease any thoughts that do not wish benefit for beings. My sight and other senses now belong to others. To use them for greedy, selfish purposes would be wrong, and likewise to use them against their owners! Sentient beings will be my chief concern. Ill offer everything my body has for the use and service of all beings. Now meditate on taking others higher, equal, lower as yourself. Identify yourself as other, then immerse yourself in envy, rivalry, and pride: Hes the center of attention. I am nothing. Unlike him, Im poor and lacking. Everyone despises me and admires him. All goes well for him. For me, theres just bitter failure! I sweat and work in drudgery while he sits there at ease. Hes great and respected in the world, while Im the despised underdog. What, a worthless nobody? Not true! I have good qualities. Compared with some, hes lower; compared with others, I excel! My discipline and understanding have declined, but I am helplessly ruled by my defilements. He should cure me as best he can: for this, Id gladly submit to his punishments. But in fact he does nothing to help! So by what right does he belittle me? What use to me are his qualities, about which hes so proud? Indifferent to the plight of living beings, who tread the brink of evil destinies, (37)

he vies with the sages, making an outward show of virtue. I wish I could excel, outstripping him regarded as my equal! In contests Ill certainly secure my fame and fortune, and public acclaim. By every means Ill advertise my gifts to all the world, and ensure his qualities remain unknown, ignored by all. Ill hide and lie about my faults, for I, not he, will be the object of devotion. I will gain possessions and renown, not he. I will be the center of attention. Ill take such satisfaction in his evil deeds and degradation. Ill make him look despicable, the laughingstock of everyone. People say this pitiful nonentity is trying to compete with me! But how can he match me in beauty, learning, wealth, or pedigree? The thrill of it sends shivers down my spine: just to hear them talk about my excellence, my reputation. I bask and revel in this pleasure! Even if he does have something, he got it by working for me! Ill let him keep enough to survive, but with my strength Ill steal the rest. Ill wear away his happiness, and hurt and injure him. Hes the one, after all, who did me countless mischiefs in samsara! O my mind, for countless ages youve desired to reach your aims. And what great weariness it was, while misery has been your sole reward! So now you must certainly apply yourself completely to the good of others. The Buddha spoke truly youll see the benefits that come. If you had embraced this work in former times, you could not still lack the perfect bliss of Buddhahood. So, just as you have taken anothers sperm and egg, seizing on it as yourself, now take other sentient beings as your self. For others, spy on everything your body seems to have. Steal it, take it all away to use for the benefit of others. I indeed am happy, and others are sad. I am high while others are low. I have been helped while others are abandoned so why am I not jealous of myself? I give away happiness and fulfillment. I embrace the pain of others. Inquiring of myself repeatedly, I will investigate my faults. When others are at fault, Ill take the blame and turn it on myself, and Ill declare my sins, however slight, to make them known. Ill magnify the fame of others so it outshines my own. Ill be a servant among them, laboring for their good. This I is faulty by nature, so I wont praise its incidental gifts. Whatever qualities it has Ill quietly contrive to keep unknown. All the harm this self does, always seeking advantage at anothers cost, may it all descend on itself, to its own hurt and others gain. (38)

I wont let my self strut about, so arrogant and overbearing, but force it to be demure and blushing, shy and modest. Ill order it to act or to desist, and bring it forcibly to heel, and if it oversteps the mark Ill pull it back! Mind, if you still refuse to obey despite such lengthy reprimand, since every evil has dug its roots into you, you are indeed now ripe for weeding! The time when you could harm me is gone. Now I see you! Where will you escape? Ill bring you down despite your insolence. I utterly reject and cast aside your every thought of working for yourself. Now that youve been bound to others, stop whining and be of service! If, through inattention, I dont deliver you to others, certainly youll hand me over to the custodians of hell, for this is how youve betrayed me countless times. How long Ive suffered! Now I remember, and Ill crush your selfish schemes! If I want contentment I should never seek to please myself alone. To guard myself I should always be the guard of others. As far as I cosset and shelter this human form, so far it dwindles to a weak and fretful state. The earth and all its riches cant satiate those so fallen. Who can give them all they crave? Their hopeless wants bring them misery, and evil schemes invade their minds, but those with untrammeled hearts know endless excellence. Ill give no space for the proliferation of my bodys wants, and give pride of place to possessions that serve without entrancing. This inert body, moved by other forces, ends up in ashes and dust. Why do I treat this dreadful and foul form as my self? Alive or dead, what difference does it make? What use is this machine to me? How does it differ from a lump of clay? So sad that I dont rid myself of pride! Lavishing attention on this body, Ive brought myself such senseless sorrow. What use is all my wanting and hating for this object like a log of wood? Whether I pamper and shield it, or leave it behind as carrion, this body feels no pleasure or aversion. Why do I cherish it so? It feels no resentment when its cursed, and no happiness when its praised, so why do I exhaust myself over reputation? If I say I do this since its loved by others I regard as friends, since all appreciate their bodies, why dont I take pleasure in them too? So, free from all attachment, Ill give this body for the benefit of beings. Though its afflicted by so many faults, Ill use it as my necessary tool. (39)

Enough of all my childish ways Ill follow in the footsteps of the wise. Recalling their advice on carefulness, Ill shun sleep and mental dullness. Like the compassionate Buddhas heirs, Ill bear all that should be borne. For if I fail to strive day and night, when will my sorrows end? Ill bend my mind away from mistaken paths, to banish all obscuring veils; and constantly, upon the perfect object, I shall rest my mind in even meditation.

9.

Wisdom

The Sage has taught all these branches of the Dharma for the sake of discriminating awareness, so generate this wisdom with the wish to pacify suffering. Two truths are accepted: conventional and ultimate. The dualistic mind works with convention, unable to take ultimate truth as an object of thought. So there are two worlds, those of common people and of yogis, and that of yogis undermines the world of common people. Yogis themselves are undermined by progressively more intelligent ones, by means of examples and inferences that both accept, and when not analyzing for the sake of the shared goal. The common world sees functional phenomena and takes them as absolutely real, not illusory. This is where yogis and the ordinary differ. Forms and so on, as perceived by all, are established as real by popular consensus, not by valid knowing, so they are false, like the common views that unclean things are clean and so on. To teach ordinary beings, our Protector spoke of things though they dont truly exist even momentarily. But the ultimate contradicts the common view. Theres no fault here, just different points of view: what yogis take as relative, common beings take as absolute, just as ordinary beings take as clean what yogis know as unclean. Cause and effect still operate. For example: from the Victors, who are like illusions, come positive force just as if they were truly existent phenomena. How can illusory beings be reborn, once having died? Well, so long as conditions are gathered, so long an illusion lasts and how could a limited being be made to truly exist simply by making its continuity last longer? (40)

Murder and other wrongdoing toward a person who is indeed a mirage carries no negative force, since such a person has no mind. But toward someone who is illusory in the way mind in fact is, positive and negative forces accrue. Magic spells and such cannot produce an actual illusory mind. Illusions spring from various causes, and are of different kinds. There never was a single cause for everything! If beings are ultimately in nirvana, but relatively circle in samsara, even Buddha still circles. So why pursue the Bodhisattva path? Unless the causal stream is cut, theres no end to illusory displays. But when its severed, they no longer delude even relatively. If even the deceived awareness does not in fact exist, what sees illusion? If these illusions have no being for you, what indeed is to be seen? In fact, though not existing as it appears, it exists as an aspect of mind. But when mind itself and the appearance are one, whats being seen by what? The Guardian of the World has said that mind cannot see mind, just as the edge of a sword cannot cut itself. Its like how a candle flame perfectly illuminates itself. But the flame isnt being illuminated; in fact it was never dark. Well, a blue object doesnt depend on something else to be blue, unlike a clear crystal placed in front of something blue. This shows that some things depend on another, while others do not. But something thats not blue cant be made blue by itself blueness is a dependent quality in any case. But the mind can formulate the thought that the flame illuminates itself. Well, what is there to know and say that mind illuminates itself? And when minds never been seen by anyone, then discussing whether its self-luminous or not is senseless, like talking about the beauty of a barren womans daughter. But, if awareness isnt reflexive, how is a moment of consciousness recalled? Recollection comes in connection with an object that was formerly experienced, like the delayed effects of a poisonous rat-bite. But mind can illuminate itself, because with special conditions it can see into others minds. By applying a magic balm to it, the eye may see a treasure, but not the balm itself. None of this nullifies how something is seen, heard or known. Instead, the conceptual cognition of it as truly existent is being refuted, for this is the cause of suffering. An illusory appearance is not other than the mind, but it cant be considered the same. If it were a truly existent phenomenon, how could it not be different? (41)

And if its not different, how could it truly exist? Just as an illusion can still be seen, what does the seeing doesnt itself truly exist. But samsara must have a truly existent functional phenomenon as its support otherwise it would be like space. Well, how could a non-phenomenon come to have a function through being supported on a truly existent functional one? The mind you assert as a foundation would in fact be reduced to something that exists alone, accompanied by nothing. This mind would be naturally free of cognized objects, and everyone would be a Buddha. In that case, whats the point of conceiving the view that only mind exists? Even knowing that all is like illusion, how will this dispel disturbing emotion? Magicians can lust for illusory women that they have conjured up. Thats because the conjurer still habitually craves perceived objects. Gazing on her, his aptitude for emptiness is weak, but by re-habituating himself hell strengthen it and give up perceiving things as real. Then, by training in the thought that there is nothing, hell abandon the concept of emptiness itself as a reified object of thought. For when its asserted that there is nothing, no thing is there to be examined. How can this wholly unsupported nothing rest before the mind as something present? If neither something nor its nonexistence remains before the mind, nothing else can be the case, so dualistic mind is fully pacified, and rests without aiming at objects. Then, like a wish-fulfilling gem or tree of miracles, through prayers and the training of disciples, the enlightening form of a Triumphant One appears. The healing shrine of a garudika healer can remedy all plagues and venom for ages after its builder is dead and gone. Likewise, when Bodhisattvas pass beyond all grief into nirvana, having actualized the body of a Buddha through their deeds, they remain to do all thats to be done. How can offerings to beings free from discursive mind bear fruit? Whether Buddhas live or pass beyond, its taught as being the same. Whether you call them ultimate or relative, Buddhas are truly real and bring vast merit. Liberation comes from seeing the Four Noble Truths. What use is this view of emptiness? The scriptures themselves proclaim that without this path theres no enlightenment. But those Mahayana scriptures arent established as valid. Well, how do you substantiate the writings of your own tradition? Because these are the texts accepted by both parties. But how did they come to be accepted? At the outset they had to be established. The reasons you trust in your tradition can also be applied to Mahayana. Moreover, if accord between two parties shows the truth, (42)

then you must accept as true even texts you know as false. Mahayana is not established as valid because it is contested. But non-Buddhists question Buddhist texts, and Buddhists disagree among themselves; so now you must abandon your own tradition. But the teachings of the Noble Truths are the means of a monk becoming an arhat. Such monkhood is on difficult grounds, for its hard for minds still aimed at thought to wholly pass beyond the bonds of suffering. But such monks have rid themselves of disturbing emotion, and thus are liberated. Yet those so freed from their defilements remain under the power of their karma. Only for a while for the cravings, cause of uncontrolled rebirth, are quenched. But they are still bewildered, and impelled by undefiled cravings. Craving is produced through feeling, which still exists in them. Impossible concepts still linger in their minds, and they cling to these. The mind that has not realized emptiness may be halted, but will arise again, just as it arises again from non-perceptual absorptions. Therefore one must train in emptiness. So, if you accept as Buddhas speech whats been recorded in your sutras, why not accept the Mahayana, which largely agrees with them? If the whole is held to be at fault due to a single jarring element, why should a single Mahayana text in harmony not vindicate the rest? Mahakashyapa himself, and other wise elder teachers, could not fathom the depths of Buddhas speech. Why should it be rejected just because you dont comprehend it? After all, the fruit of realizing emptiness is this: to stay and abide within samsara, freed from extremes of craving and fear, achieving good for those who are still bewildered and suffering. So its improper to deride the view of emptiness with every doubt abandoned, please meditate on it! Obscured emotions and obscured thought are both cured by the view of emptiness. How can someone wanting to quickly reach omniscience fail to meditate on it? Realizing emptiness pacifies all suffering. How can it cause you dread? Fear instead the view that phenomena truly exist, and the grief that brings. If such a thing as I exists, go ahead and be afraid. But as theres nothing that is me, whose fear will it be? Teeth, hair, or nails are not me, nor bones or blood, snot or phlegm, lymph or pus. I am not fat or sweat, or lungs, liver, or any inner organ, nor the bodys waste. Flesh or skin are not the I, and neither is the bodys warmth or breath. I am not within the bodys cavities or amid the six-fold consciousness. If the hearing consciousness permanently housed a cognizing person, it would absurdly follow that its hearing all the time. Without an object, what does it know? Without knowing, how can it be called consciousness? If it can be a knower without knowing something, then a stick is conscious too. Its clear that without a thing to know, knowing wont arise. (43)

But the same consciousness has moved to other objects, such as those of sight. At that time, why doesnt it hear? Because the sounds no longer there. Then neither is there consciousness of sound. How can something with the nature of knowing sound become a knower of sight? A single man can be both son and father. But not as his nature these are mere names. Pain, pleasure and neutrality the basic nature of experience are neither son nor father; and consciousness of form has never been seen perceiving sound. Like an actor, it takes a different role and sees. If so, consciousness is not a constant thing. Its still itself, but goes through different modes. Well then, its oneness is one thats never been seen before! Those various modes are not real in themselves. So what is the true and underlying nature? The mere fact of it knowing. Then all knowing beings are a single thing. What has mind and what does not are thus identical, and equally exist. If the different modes of mind are all unreal, what common basis can they share? Something destitute of mind cannot be a self, for mindlessness means mere matter, like a vessel. But the self has consciousness when joined to mind. Then this refutes its nature of unconsciousness, and if the self is immutable, how could it be changed by mingling it with mind? We might just as well affirm the selfhood of empty space, inert and destitute of mind. If self doesnt exist, nothing links actions with results. If the doer doesnt outlast the deed, who is there to reap the karmic fruit? The bases of the act and of the fruit are different, and self has no role in this. As we both agree on this point, what is there to debate? Nobody has ever seen a cause coterminous with its result, and only in the context of a single mental stream can it be said that one who acts will later reap the fruit. Thoughts past and yet to come are not the self, since right now they dont exist. So is the present thought the self? If so, the self dies when that thought fades! Just as when peeling back the trunk of a plantain tree no core is found, discerning analysis reveals no I, no underlying self. If a limited being doesnt exist, who is the object of compassion? We have pledged ourselves for the sake of those imputed by ignorance. If there are no beings, who will gain the fruit? Its true, they exist and strive only through ignorance but the goal conceived by ignorance, the total vanquishing of sorrow, should not be spurned. The source of sorrow is pride in saying I, fostered and increased by false belief in selfs true existence. (44)

Though it may seem theres no redress for this, meditation on the lack of an impossible self is the best way. A body is not the feet or shins, the thighs or loins, the belly or the back. It is not formed from chest and arms, ribs or hands, armpits, shoulders, bowels or entrails, head or throat. What then is the body in all of this? If the body is spread out and coincides with all its members, its parts indeed are present in those parts, but where does the body in itself abide? If the entire body is present in each part, however many parts there are youll find an equal number of bodies. If body is not outside or within its parts, how does it reside in them? And since its not other than its parts, how can you say it exists at all? Thus there is no body it is an illusory notion, conceived with regard to hands and other parts; just as, due to its shape, a scarecrow seems to be a man. As long as the conditions are assembled, it will appear as such. Likewise, as long as the parts are present, a body will appear. In turn, the hand itself doesnt exist as such, since its a group of fingers, and the fingers themselves are made of joints, and the joints of many parts. These parts themselves break down into particles, which can in turn be divided into fragments which also lack partless parts they are like space when closely seen. So even particles lack existence. All form is therefore like a dream. Investigating like this, who can be attached to form? This body is without true existence; so whats the point of separating man from woman? If suffering itself is truly real, why isnt joy completely quenched by it? If pleasures real, then why wont pleasant tastes comfort someone tormented by grief? It isnt felt because its outshone by something more intense. If a feeling isnt felt, how can it be named feeling? Maybe its still felt more subtly, but displaced from grosser consciousness. If its opposite is present, discomfort fails to manifest; so its no more than a mental imputation to still call it a feeling. Since this is so, the antidote is meditation and analysis. The stability of mind growing from the field of investigation is the food of yogis. If theres a gap between the power of sense and the things sensed, how will the factors meet? And if there is no space, they form a unity so what then meets with what? Particle cant penetrate particle; they have no empty space to share. But if they dont penetrate, they dont mingle, and without that theres no meeting. Moreover, how can what is partless ever be said to meet? Show me, if you ever saw, a contact between two partless things! Consciousness is immaterial, so one cant speak of contact with it. Further, as we have just seen, meetings of unreal composites are impossible. (45)

So if theres no touch or contact, from what does a feeling arise? Whats the point of all our toil, for what is it that torments whom? Since there is no subject to feel, and feeling itself lacks existence, clearly understanding this, how does craving still arise? What we see and touch is the stuff of mirages and dreams. If feeling arises at the same time as mind, it cannot be perceived; and a previous feeling can be recalled, but not directly known. Sensation doesnt perceive itself, and is not perceived by another. The agent of sensation has no true existence, as sensation has no being. How then can sensation damage this aggregate lacking a self? The mind doesnt dwell within the senses, or in outer things like form, or in between. Nowhere can the mind be found: not out, not in, not elsewhere. Something that isnt in the body or anywhere else, and that is neither commingled nor separate, doesnt exist at all. Beings by their nature are beyond the reach of suffering. If consciousness precedes the known object, with regard to what does it arise? If it arises at the same time as the object, whats it to be aimed at for its arising to occur? If it comes after its object, then from what did it arise? Similarly, the truly existent origin of any phenomenon cant be found. If this is so, there is no relative existence at all; and what becomes of the two truths? If the relative comes from beings minds, how can these minds go beyond sorrow? But thats a faulty conception of relative truth, not how the relative is known from its own point of view. If there are thoughts, the relatives still there; if not, the relative has ceased indeed. The analyzing mind and what it analyzes are mutually dependent. All investigation is expressed based on conventional consensus. But when the process of analysis is itself made the object of scrutiny, this investigation can be analyzed in turn, leading to an infinite regress. When phenomena are truly analyzed, no basis for further analysis remains. When the object is so removed, the subject subsides too. That, indeed, is what is called nirvana. Those who say that object and subject both truly exist are hard-pressed to maintain their case. If consciousness shows the truth of things, on what grounds, in turn, does consciousness exist? If objects of cognition show that consciousness exists, what shows their reality? If both subsist through mutual dependence, then neither exists as ultimately true. If a sonless man cannot be a father, from where would such a son arise? There is no father without a son. Just so, the mind and its object have no true existence beyond their mutual dependence. The plant arises from the seed, and through it the seeds existence is deduced. Just so with consciousness arising from its object, which shows the things existence. A consciousness thats different from the plant itself deduces the seeds existence. But what will show that consciousness exists, establishing the object of cognition? (46)

The common world can see for itself that everything is caused. Diverse plants and their parts, lotus stalks and so on, grow through a diversity of causes. What gives rise to such variety? An even earlier variety of causes. And how do causes give their fruits? Through the power of preceding causes. God the Creator singly causes all. So now define his nature. If by God you mean the elements, then so be it; no need to tire ourselves disputing names! But earth and other elements are many, impermanent, inert, without divinity. They are impure and trampled underfoot, so they cant be an omnipotent God. The Deity cant be space, inert and unproductive; nor the self, which we have already refuted. Hes inconceivable. Then so is his creatorship; and whats the point to such a claim? What is it that he wishes to create? Has he made the self and all the elements? But arent the self and elements, as well as he, supposed to be eternal? Consciousness arises from its object without beginning, as pain and pleasure spring from karma. So what has this Divinity produced? And if theres no beginning to the cause, how can there be a first fruit? Why are creatures not created constantly, if God the Creator needs nothing but himself? If nothing exists that he hasnt made, what remains on which he might depend? If God depends, the cause of all is merely the meeting of conditions: when these obtain, he cannot help creating; when these are absent, he is powerless to make. If Almighty God creates without intending, another thing has forced him. If he wishes to create, hes swayed by his desire. So though he is Creator, where is his omnipotence? Those who hold that particles are permanent sources of the world have already been refuted here. What of those who take a static primal matter as sole cause of the evolving world? Some call this the Primal Substance, and say the universe arises when its equilibrium is disturbed, bringing forth three qualities pleasure, pain, neutrality. But its illogical for a partless unity to be threefold by nature, and so this Substance doesnt exist, nor the three qualities, nor sound or any other thing formed by these universal parts. And even given these three qualities, how can pleasure and so on exist in mindless objects such as cloth? But these things possess the natures of their cause. Weve investigated things already. You call pleasure and so on causes, and yet cloth has never sprung from pleasure! Rather, pleasure is produced from cloth, so if this does not exist neither does pleasure. As for permanent pleasure and the rest such a thing has never been observed! If they are manifestly present, why arent they perceived? (47)

They are in subtle form. How are they both gross and subtle? If coarseness is abandoned and subtlety assumed, they both still lack permanence. So why not accept that all things are transient? If the coarser aspect is none other than the pleasure, pleasure itself is clearly impermanent. What lacks essential being cannot manifest. Though you denied the birth of things that did not previously exist, now you say this! But if results exist within their cause, those who eat food consume their feces. Likewise, the money they spend on clothes should be spent on cotton grains to wear. The world is ignorant and blind, so creation is taught by those who know the truth. This knowledge must be present in the common world and if it is, why cant it be seen? If now you say that what the worldly see has no validity, then what they clearly see is false. But you, too, say theres valid knowledge unknown by the ordinary mind. If such knowing is false, why meditate on emptiness as ultimate reality? If theres no object for analysis, its nonexistence cant be grasped. So deceptive objects of any kind will have an equally deceptive nonexistence. When in ones dream a dreamed-of child has died, the state of mind that thinks its gone supplants the thought that it still lives. Yet both thoughts are equally deceptive. So, we see through such investigation that nothing exists without a cause; and nothing exists within its causes, taken one by one or in the aggregate. No thing comes from somewhere else; and neither does it stay or go. What confusion takes for truth: does this differ at all from a mirage? Things brought forth by magic spells, and those brought forth by causes: examine from where do they arise? where do they go? What is seen when circumstances are right, and is not seen without those conditions, is unreal like an image in a mirror. How can true existence be ascribed to it? What need for cause in something thats already real? But then, what need for cause in something that does not exist? Even through a hundred million causes, no change occurs in nonexistent things; for in that state of no-thing, how can things occur? And into what could nonexistent things transform? Since things cannot become when they dont exist, when could such existent things occur? Insofar as entities do not arise, nonentities themselves will not depart. And if nonentity is not dispersed, theres no chance for entity to manifest. And entity cannot change into nonentity, or else it has a double nature. So there are no entities, and no ceasing of them. Each and every being is without origin, and never ceases. Examine well and understand: wandering beings resemble dreams and coreless trees. In ultimate truth, theres no distinction between the states of sorrow and beyond all sorrow. With all things empty in this way, what is there to gain or lose? Who will court and honor me? Who will scorn and revile me? Whence do pleasure and sorrow arise? What will give me joy and pain? Searching for their very suchness, who is craving? what is craved? (48)

Now examine this world of living beings: who is there to pass away? what is there to come and what has been? who are relatives and friends? May beings like myself discern and grasp that all things have the character of space! Those who seek their happiness and ease through disputes or amusements are all deeply troubled, or else thrilled with joy. They suffer and strive contentiously, slashing and stabbing each other, living their lives engulfed in evil and hard labor. From time to time they surface in the realms of bliss, abandoning themselves in myriad pleasures. But dying, they fall down again into long, unbearable stays in realms of sorrow. Existence holds many chasms and abysses where the truth of suchness is not found. All is contradiction and denial, until suchness is reached. Here is a shoreless sea of unbearable pain exceeding all description. Here beings are weak, and their lives are flickering and brief. Life passes quickly in meaningless activities for the sake of life and health, relief of hunger and exhaustion, time spent in sleep, accident and injury, sterile friendships with the childish. True discernment is so hard to gain! So how will I ever find the means to curb the futile wanderings of the mind? Whats more, negative forces work to cast us down into the states of woe. False, deceptive paths are manifold, and doubts are hard to dissipate. It will be hard to find again this state of freedom, harder to come upon enlightened teachers, and hard indeed to turn aside the torrent of disturbing emotions! Alas, our sorrows flow in endless streams! How sad it is that living beings, carried on the flood of pain, do not know the depths of their suffering, despite their terrible plight! They are like those who bathe, and then proceed to scorch themselves with fire. They suffer greatly in this way, but stay and loudly proclaim their bliss. Likewise, many live and act as though old age and death will never come to them. Still, they die; and then there comes the dreadful fall into states of loss. When will I be able to allay and quench the dreadful heat of sufferings blazing fires with torrential rains of my own bliss pouring from my clouds of merit? With my wealth of merit gathered in, with reverence but without any conceptual target, when will I reveal this truth of emptiness to those ruined by belief in real existence? 10. Dedication

By all the merit I have now gained through study and practice of this work, which teaches entry to the Bodhisattva way, may every being tread the path to Buddhahood. May beings everywhere who suffer torment in their minds and bodies have boundless joy and happiness due to my merit. As long as they linger in samsara, may their joy be undiminished, and may they taste unbroken streams of unsurpassed beatitude. Throughout the spheres and reaches of the world, in every hellish place, (49)

may beings who live there taste the bliss and peace of Sukhavati. May those caught in the freezing ice be warmed, and may great clouds of Bodhisattvas pour down cooling torrents to quench those burning in infernal fires. May razor-leaved forests become sweet groves and pleasant woodland glades. May miracle trees appear, replacing lacerating plants. May the very pits of hell become sweet pools perfumed with lotuses, melodious with the songs of waterfowl. May fiery coals turn to heaps of jewels, burning ground become an even crystal floor, and crushing hills become the sublime dwellings of Buddhas. May the hail of weapons, lava and fiery stones become a rain of flowers, and all the projectiles of battle become flowers thrown in play. May those engulfed in conflagrations, their flesh destroyed and bones bleached, have godlike forms through all my merits strength, and play with other gods and goddesses in sacred peaceful streams. What fear, theyll ask, grips our captors, the frightful henchmen and vultures; what noble strength now brings us joy and drives our dreadful night away? Looking skyward, may they see the shining form of Vajrapani. May their wrongdoings be quenched in joy, and may they go to him. And when they see the seething lava floods extinguished by raining blossoms, drenched in fragrant streams, fulfilled in bliss, theyll ask: How can this be? May those who live in hellish pain see Kamalapani, the One Who Holds the Lotus. May grievously suffering beings see Manjushri, and cry out: Behold the hundred gods who lay their crowns before his lotus feet, the rain of flowers falling on his head, his eyes moist with compassion, surrounded by the singing of a thousand celestial maidens! Likewise, through my roots of virtue, may all who languish in sorrow come now to perfect joy seeing stainless Bodhisattvas like Samantabhadra arising in clouds of bliss scented by cooling rain. May animals be freed from fear of being preyed upon by one another. May famished spirits have joy like those who live on a prosperous continent, and may they be replete and satisfied by streams of nectar pouring from noble Lord Avalokitas hand, and bathing in it, may they be refreshed and cooled. May the blind start to see, and the deaf begin to hear, and women near their time bring forth their infants in painless, easy birth. May the naked now be clothed, and all the hungry eat their fill. May those parched with thirst receive pure waters and delicious drink. May the poor and destitute find wealth, and the haggard and careworn find joy. May those in despair feel whole, with shining constancy of purpose. May every sickly being be freed at once from every malady, and every disease that afflicts the living be wholly and forever gone. May those full of dread have no more fear. May captives be unchained and now set free. May the weak gain their strength. May living beings kindly help each other. May travelers on the road find happiness no matter where they go, (50)

and easily gain the goals for which they have set out. May seafarers reach their desired ports, and safely come to shore for sweet reunion with their kith and kin. May those who lose their way and wander in the wild find companions, and move lightly and tirelessly on their journey, safe from thieves and savage beasts. May the young and old, all those wandering unprotected in fearful, pathless wastes who fall asleep unconscious of their peril, have pure celestial beings as guardians. May all be freed from bondage and have wisdom, faith, and love. May all have perfect sustenance and conduct, and recall their former lives. May everyone have unrestricted wealth, enjoying it as they wish, without a trace of harm or enmity. May beings destitute of splendor grow magnificent and bright, and those who are deformed gain perfection and great beauty. May all women gain equality with men, and may all oppression of any kind come to an end. May the lowly come to excellence, and the proud and haughty lose their arrogance. By the merit I have gained, may all beings without exception abandon all their evil ways, embracing goodness from now on. May they never separate from bodhichitta, and constantly act as Bodhisattvas. May they be accepted as Buddhas disciples, drawing back from heinous work. May each and every one of these beings enjoy unsurpassed longevity. Always content, may the very word death be strange to them. In all directions, on every side, may groves of wish-fulfilling trees abound, resounding with sweet Teachings spoken by Buddhas and their Bodhisattva heirs. May the earth be wholesome everywhere, free of dangerous boulders, cliffs and chasms, flat and even like a level palm, smooth like lapis lazuli. For many circles of disciples, may multitudes of Bodhisattvas live in every land, adorning them with every excellence. From birdsong and the sighing of the trees, from shafts of light and the very sky, may all living beings hear the constant sound of Dharma; and may they always come into the presence of the Buddhas and encounter their Bodhisattva offspring. May the teachers of the world be honored with unbounded clouds of offerings. May kindly spirits bring timely rains, making harvests rich and plentiful. May politicians act according to the Dharma, blessing the world with all prosperity. May medicines be potent, and words of power be fruitfully recited. May ethereal spirits that feed on flesh be kind, their minds imbued with pity. May beings never suffer anguish, never becoming sick or ill-behaved, minds free from sorrow. May reading and study widely flourish in places of learning. May the Sangha always be harmonious, and its purposes all fulfilled. May ordained monks, intent upon the practice, find perfect places for retreat in solitude, (51)

abandon every vagrant thought, and meditate with trained and serviceable minds. May nuns have all their wants supplied, and be strangers to quarreling and spite. Let all who have embraced monastic life uphold its observances, pure and unimpaired. May those who break their discipline repent, and strive to cleanse away their faults; and thus gain a fortunate rebirth in which to resume stainless practice. May wise and learned beings be revered and sustained, pure in mind, and known far and wide. May beings never languish in the lower realms. May pain and hardship be unknown to them. With bodies greater than those of gods, may they reach enlightenment without delay. Time and time again, may beings make offerings to all the Buddhas, and enjoy undimmed, constant happiness with the Buddhas unimagined bliss. May all the Bodhisattvas now fulfill their high intention for the sake of wanderers. May sentient beings now obtain all that their Guardians wish for them. May the Hearers and Pratyekabuddhas gain their perfect happiness. Until I enter the grounds of the Bodhisattva realms, may I remember all my lives and hold fast to the disciplines. Thus may I abide, sustained by simple ordinary fare, and come to dwell in every life in perfect solitude. Whenever I wish to see him, or ask him any question, may I behold my protector Manjushri with unobstructed sight. To satisfy the needs of beings in every direction, to the margins of the sky, may I demonstrate in all my deeds the perfect exploits of Manjushri. Now, as long as space endures and as far as beings are found, may I remain to drive away the sorrows of the world. May the pains and sorrows of wandering beings ripen wholly on my self. May the virtuous company of Bodhisattvas always bring happiness to beings. May the Dharma, only cure for sorrow, source of every bliss and joy, be upheld with veneration, endowed with wealth, and endure through a vast expanse of time! And now to Manjushri I prostrate: your kindness is the wellspring of my good intent. And I also bow to my virtuous friends, whose inspiration gives me strength to grow. [Re-drafted and formatted for study and personal practice, relying especially on the Padmakara and Berzin
translations, and seeking words that preserve the intended meaning - glimpsed thanks to the immense kindness of Shantideva and authentic teachers and translators and to drive it deeper into my recalcitrant heart. May any errors not harm or mislead readers. May this help train our minds in all good qualities for the sake of all beings. May this second-hand copy, like a glimpse through a keyhole at the vast import and profound structure of the authentic text and its living lineage, be of service and lead to further study and practice. May all beings awake!]

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