Index
The Way of the Bodhisattva
The keynote is courage
Buddhism teaches that the object of compassion is simply suffering itself.
If suffering is the fruit of thought and action, it can be avoided.
however immense the goal may seem, it is possible—provided that we want it and make the necessary effort.
The slightest impulse to negativity should be greeted with a total paralysis of the system:
it is precisely the small, often subliminal impulses and behavior patterns that require the closest attention. And in any case, everything we do affects the world. Any action can be the cause, or the cause of the cause, of another’s suffering. Thus the way we eat, walk, move furniture around, even matters of personal hygiene—all are significant.
patience is celebrated as the supreme austerity. It is the antidote to anger, regarded in Buddhism as the most destructive and perilous of all mental factors.
anger has absolutely no place in the scheme of spiritual development. It is totally inimical to mental training and will ruin and annihilate in an instant all progress and merit gained.
the angry response must never be allowed to develop, but that situations of conflict, endured and resolved through patience, are invaluable, in fact indispensable, as occasions for spiritual growth. Patience, as Shāntideva describes it, implies an almost incredible degree of resilience and courage,
“Take advantage,” he says, “of this human boat. Free yourself from sorrow’s mighty stream” (7.14). The requisite qualities are courage and a steadfast refusal to give up.
the purpose of Madhyamaka is to reduce to total silence the restless, questing intellect, forever condemned to one-sidedness and a specific viewpoint.
May I myself become for them The doctor, nurse, the medicine itself.
Defilements are not in the object, Nor within the faculties, nor somewhere in between. And if not elsewhere, where is their abode, Whence they inflict their havoc on the world? They are simple mirages, and so take heart! Banish all your fear and strive to know their nature. Why suffer needlessly the pains of hell?
If, with mindfulness’ rope, The elephant of mind is tethered all around, Our fears will come to nothing, Every virtue drop into our hands.
Transcendent giving, so the teachings say, Consists in the intention to bestow on every being All one owns, together with the fruits of such a gift. It is indeed a matter of the mind itself.
And thus the outer course of things I myself cannot restrain. But let me just restrain my mind, And what is left to be restrained?
Introspection will be likewise there, Returning when forgotten or dispersed. 34. If at the outset, when I check my mind, I find that it is tainted with some fault, I shall be still and self-possessed, Unmoving like a piece of wood.
Those who strive to master concentration Should never for an instant be distracted. They should always watch their minds, inquiring, “Where is now my mind engaged?” 42. When this becomes impossible, In case of danger or festivity, I’ll act as it seems best. For it is taught that rules of discipline May be relaxed in times of generosity.
And when you feel the wish to move about, Or even to express yourself in speech, First examine what is in your mind. For steadfast ones should act correctly.
By going silently and unobserved. Such is the constant practice of a sage.
always strive to learn from everyone.
When you look at others think That it will be through them That you will come to Buddhahood. So look on them with frank and loving hearts.
In discontent my anger finds its fuel. From this it grows and beats me down.
So come what may, I’ll not upset My cheerful happiness of mind. Dejection never brings me what I want;
If there’s a remedy when trouble strikes, What reason is there for dejection? And if there is no help for it, What use is there in being glum?
Thus, when enemies or friends Are seen to act improperly, Remain serene and call to mind That everything arises from conditions.
Aspiration, so the Sage asserted, Is the root of every kind of virtue. Aspiration’s root in turn Is constant meditation on the fruits of action.
Whatever task the Bodhisattvas do, Let them devote themselves without reserve, With joyfulness that never knows satiety.
At all times and in any situation, How can I make mindfulness my constant habit? Thinking thus I will desire To meet with teachers and fulfill the proper tasks. 75. By all means, then, before I start some work, That I might have the strength sufficient to the task, I will recall the teachings upon carefulness And lightly rise to what is to be done. 76. Just as flaxen threads waft to and fro, Impelled by every breath of wind, So all I do will be achieved, Controlled by movements of a joyful heart.
Focusing myself on one intent alone, I’ll strive to still my mind And, calming it, to bring it to subjection.
seeking gain, it’s slavery they get.
Let us now rejoice in solitude, In places empty of all conflict and defilement: The peace and stillness of the forest.
Happy those intent on others’ good, Who roam in pleasant places formed of massive stone, Refreshed by moonlight’s sandal-scented beams, By gentle woodland breezes soothed!
In caves, beneath the trees, in houses left abandoned, May we linger long as we might wish. Relinquishing the pain of guarding our possessions, Let us live in freedom, unconfined by cares. 88. To have such liberty unmarred by craving, Loosed from every bond and tie— A life of such contentment and such pleasure, Even Indra would be pressed to find!
All the joy the world contains Has come through wishing happiness for others. All the misery the world contains Has come through wanting pleasure for oneself.
To free myself from harm And others from their sufferings, Let me give myself to others, Loving them as I now love myself.
Take others—lower, higher, equal—as yourself,103 Identify yourself as “other.”
Now take sentient beings—others—as your self.
Happiness, fulfillment: these I give away. The pain of others: this I will embrace. Inquiring of myself repeatedly I will thus investigate my faults.
if I wish to guard myself, Of others I should always be the guard.
constantly upon the perfect object I shall rest my mind in even meditation.
Relative and ultimate, These the two truths are declared to be. The ultimate is not within the reach of intellect, For intellect is said to be the relative.
something that’s by nature blue has never of itself imposed A blueness on its non-blue self.
Our aim is here to undermine the cause of sorrow: The thought that such phenomena have true existence.
The reason is they have not rid themselves Of habits of desiring objects of perception; And when they gaze upon such things, Their aptitude for emptiness is weak indeed.
When something and its nonexistence Both are absent from before the mind, No other option does the latter have: It comes to perfect rest, from concepts free.
The mind that has not realized voidness, May be halted, but will once again arise, Just as from a non-perceptual absorption. Therefore one must train in emptiness.
To linger and abide within saṃsāra, Freed from every craving and from every fear, In order to achieve the good of those who ignorantly suffer: Such is the fruit that emptiness will bear.
The source of sorrow is the pride of saying “I,” It’s fostered and increased by false belief in self. To this you may believe that there is no redress, But meditation on no-self will be the supreme way.
If between the sense power and a thing There is a space, how will the two terms meet? And if there is no space, they form a unity, And therefore what is it that meets with what?
If phenomena are truly analyzed, No basis for analysis remains. And when the object is removed, the subject too subsides.
if results exist within their cause, Those who eat their food consume their excrement.
With reverence but without conceptual target, When shall I reveal this truth of emptiness To those who go to ruin through belief in real existence?
May travelers upon the road Find happiness no matter where they go, And may they gain, without the need of toil, The goals on which they set their hearts.
These actions are homage, offering, confession, rejoicing in all good actions, the request for teaching, the request that the teachers remain in the world and not pass into nirvāṇa, and dedication.
Shāntideva is saying that the purification of one’s own defilements is the best way of helping others. It is the indispensable first step.