The topic of chapter 16 is the fourth action of enhancing the body, possessions, and merits. However, the existing Sanskrit text and Charles Goodman's translation in English gives the chapter title as "The Ritual of Noble Conduct." Śāntideva states the reason for enhancement both here in this text and its summarized version.
The beneficiaries are numerous.
What use is this, which is little?
It cannot bring fulfillment.
Thus, it has to be enhanced. (22 or chap 16 verse 1)[1]
True fulfillment, he claims, occurs only when one reaches full buddhahood. For this, one must first cultivate the enhancement of the body, which is to lack laziness and show strength. Lack of laziness refers to showing vīrya, or right effort and enthusiasm. One who puts forth the right effort can reach enlightenment, not otherwise. One who is lacking right effort and languishing in laziness cannot partake in practices such as giving and cultivation of wisdom and has no chance to serve others or attain enlightenment.
Strength refers to the indefatigable power of spirit, which no sentient beings can destroy. When Ajātaśatru asked the Buddha how to attain strength like the kind which Vajrapāṇi possesses, the Buddha lists ten causes for such strength in The Sūtra on the Buddha's Secrets (Tathāgataguhyasūtra):[2]
- Not forsaking Dharma, although one may have to forsake one's body and life.
- Respecting sentient beings without arrogance.
- Tolerating even the powerless beings and not showing anger.
- Giving the best food to those who are hungry.
- Giving protection to those who are in fear.
- Having joy in healing sentient beings who are sick.
- Satisfying impoverished beings with enjoyable gifts.
- Painting the stūpas of the Buddha.
- Speaking pleasant words to sentient beings.
- Bearing the burden of the poor beings in misery.
The enhancement of the possession, Śāntideva points out, can be achieved by giving charity with the awareness of emptiness endowed with compassion. A bodhisattva must take up the practice of giving, even when giving a very insignificant gift, with wisdom, which sees all things as empty and illusory, and skill-in-means—that is, in this case, the noble dedication of merit to the attainment of perfect enlightenment for all sentient beings. A bodhisattva should never engage in anything without compassion and wisdom.
Compared to the enhancement of body and possessions, Śāntideva deals with the enhancement of merit at much greater length, claiming that enhancement of merit is the foundation of advancement. One must be diligent in enhancing merit, having in place three things: vīrya, or effort, firm resolve, and compassion, just as a warrior would ready the weapons as a battle approaches. To have effort in place, a bodhisattva must think of how innumerable human bodies have been wasted without using them for the right purpose in the past, reprimand oneself for wasting one's body and mind toiling in worldly pursuits, reflect on the wrong views in the past and develop the strength of right views, think of the selfish engagements in the past and resolve to work for all sentient beings, think of seeking sensual pleasures in the past and seek the qualities of buddhas, think of unwholesome thoughts and behaviors in the past and develop wholesome ones in the present, and so forth, like Sudhana did when he approached Maitreya.
Śāntideva quotes The Teachings of Akṣayamati (Akṣayamatinirdeśasūtra) on how a bodhisattva should put on the armor of resolve to attain perfect enlightenment, have the resolve to not be swayed from it, attain whatever sentient beings must attain, achieve what beginner bodhisattvas cannot achieve, not consider giving and other perfections and practices as one's support but rather see oneself as a support for them, remain firmly alone in the maṇḍala of earth, subdue the evil forces, and reach perfect buddhahood through instantaneous wisdom. The Sūtra of Vajradhvaja (Vajradhvajasūtra), which is also mentioned in The Way of the Bodhisattva, is cited to illustrate how a bodhisattva must work for sentient beings with equanimity. The sun shines uninhibited regardless of blind people who cannot benefit from it, regardless of dust, smoke, eclipses, and other obstructions which may block its light, and regardless of the big or small mountains which may or may not receive equal light. Similarly, a great bodhisattva who works for sentient beings with mindfulness and awareness is not affected by unruly and jealous people or by those with wrong views. He does not differentiate between sentient beings and does not distance himself from those who are mentally disturbed or who get upset by childish beings. He sees all beings as parts of an unobscured maṇḍala who are to be perfectly tamed and takes upon himself the burden of their negativities and sufferings. He strives to bring sentient beings to maturity, be their guardian, and liberate them from suffering, but he does not indulge in personal pleasures and enjoyments, as they are ridden with terrible flaws and are not genuine forms of happiness.
Furthermore, the sūtra adds that a bodhisattva must work to enhance his merit and dedicate them, because if he does not have merit to protect himself, how could he wish to protect other sentient beings. He must therefore liberate, enlighten, educate, rescue, cherish, cultivate, and satisfy sentient beings, and regardless of what others think, work in dedicating virtues and not being content with little merit. The Teachings of Akśayamati does not exhort the bodhisattvas to have the armor of altruistic resolve for a few years or eons but to have the inconceivable and indefatigable armor of altruistic resolve to last until the end of the world. The Jewel Cloud Sūtra (Ratnameghasūtra) also affirms that a bodhisattva might get discouraged by unruly beings and even wish to be born in a realm where there are no such intractable beings. However, such a bodhisattva turning away from working for sentient beings cannot be born in a pure realm. A wise bodhisattva aspires to benefit and enlighten particularly those beings who are lazy, stupid, dumb, degenerate, and those who are by nature not inclined to liberation and are left behind by other buddhas and bodhisattvas. Such a bodhisattva shall shake the realm of evil forces, and all buddhas will shower praises on him.
Having discussed how to cultivate a strong sense of enthusiasm and effort, Śāntideva then discusses the cultivation of superior intention or resolve, dealing first with the importance of intention. He quotes The Compendium of Dharma Sūtra (Dharmasaṃgītisūtra), which states that a wholesome intention is the foundation of Dharma and that with wholesome intention Dharma would arise from even the sky, trees, and walls without a buddha. Like feet for walking, like a head for living, like firewood for fire, like clouds for rain, and like roots for the tree, a noble intention is critical for a bodhisattva seeking buddhahood.
What is a wholesome intention or superior resolve then? Śāntideva cites The Teachings of Akṣayamati to point out that a wholesome intention is the sincere, undeceptive, candid, pure, straightforward, clear, incomparable, firm, and superior thought wishing to gain more virtuous qualities. It comes with loving-kindness for all beings, a wish to benefit enlightened beings, and compassion for those who are not enlightened. Using different analogies, the sūtra illustrates how a wholesome intention aspires to benefit others selflessly.
The third factor for enhancing merit in addition to putting forth effort and having a superior intention is compassion. He cites The Compendium of Dharma Sūtra in which the Buddha tells Avalokiteśvara that there is no need to train in many dharmas. That is, if a bodhisattva holds one dharma—great compassion—it is as good as holding all dharmas in the palm of one's hand. All other dharmas follow great compassion, just as all troops follow the universal monarch. Just as life forces precede inhalation and exhalation, great compassion must precede all bodhisattva activities. Such great compassion is cultivated by reflecting on how one did not like the numerous miseries and fears one had experienced in the past, by thinking of the sentient beings who are currently suffering in the sea of misery, and by expressing loving-kindness toward them as one would show love to a beloved person. A bodhisattva must earnestly wish to take sentient beings out of suffering, out of the afflictive emotions, out of negative actions and wrong paths, and out of the cycle of existence to the ultimate state of buddhahood, and wish to engage in the actions and ways to do so.
With effort, wholesome intention, and great compassion in place, Śāntideva advises that a bodhisattva must engage in enhancing merits following the procedures presented in The King Aspiration for Noble Conduct (Bhadracaryāpraṇidhānarāja). As recommended in The Questions of Ugraḥ Sūtra (Ugraparipṛcchāsūtra), one must recite The Sūtra of Three Heaps (Trīskandhakadharmaparyāya) three times during the day and three times in the night after washing oneself and wearing clean clothes. The three heaps in the sūtra, Śāntideva clarifies, refer to confession of sinful deeds, rejoicing in the good deeds, and requesting the buddhas to teach. Prostration, he argues, is subsumed under confession, and requesting the buddhas to live long is the same as requesting them to teach. Offering is not included, as there may not be things to offer every time this prayer is said.
Concerning offering, The Jewel Cloud Sūtra advises a bodhisattva to make offerings of flowers, fruits, fragrant plants, etc. without any sense of self and ownership three times in the day and three times in the night. Similarly, Śāntideva cites The King Array of Three Pledges (Trisamayarāja), the tantra from which he has also earlier quoted mantras for protection and for making offerings of jewel mountains, gems from water and earth, medicinal herbs and minerals, water bodies, creams of earth, nectars, uncultivated crops, prosperous lands, etc. without any sense of ownership. A bodhisattva should make offerings of all pleasant and beautiful things and dedicate the merit.
In order to enhance merit, a bodhisattva should accomplish the aspirations presented in The Sūtra on Ten Stages (Daśabhūmikasūtra): (1) the aspiration extending as far as the sphere of reality, extent of space, and end of time to make offerings, venerate, and worship the buddhas, (2) the aspiration extending as far as the sphere of reality, extent of space, and end of time to uphold and promote the teachings of the Buddha and enlightenment of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, (3) the aspiration to approach all buddhas in countless realms and receive teachings, (4) the aspiration to engage in the myriad practices of bodhisattvas, (5) the aspiration to bring to maturity all kinds of limitless sentient beings through connecting them to the teachings of the Buddha, (6) the aspiration to have all realms of sentient beings actualize wisdom, (7) the aspiration to train in attaining all kinds of excellent realms of buddhas, (8) the aspiration to introduce all beings to the path of bodhisattvas and keep them connected to bodhisattvas, (9) the aspiration to engage in the practices of bodhisattvas to meaningfully sustain and perfect them, and (10) the aspiration as far as the sphere of reality, extent of space, and end of time to realize buddhahood in order to take all sentient beings also to buddhahood.
Śāntideva adds that the merit gained from such aspiration and practice should be dedicated for the benefit of all sentient beings and to overcome all kinds of fear and suffering, as narrated in accounts of Avalokiteśvara. Śāntideva concludes the chapter by citing the two stanzas of dedication from The King Aspiration for Noble Conduct.
Just as the hero Mañjuśrī knows,
So does Samantabhadra.
I follow in their footsteps
To fully dedicate all these virtues.
Using the dedication which is highly praised
By all buddhas of the three times,
All these virtues I dedicate
To the supreme noble conduct.[3]
- ↑ citation
- ↑ citation
- ↑ Derge Tanjur, Khi, f. 162b: འཇམ་དཔལ་དཔའ་བོས་ཇི་ལྟར་མཁྱེན་པ་དང་། །ཀུན་དུ་བཟང་པོ་དེ་ཡང་དེ་བཞིན་ཏེ། །དེ་དག་གི་ནི་རྗེས་སུ་བདག་སློབ་ཅིང་། །དགེ་བ་འདི་དག་ཐམས་ཅད་ཡོངས་སུ་བསྔོ། །དུས་གསུམ་གཤེགས་པ་རྒྱལ་བ་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱིས། །བསྔོ་བ་གང་ལ་མཆོག་ཏུ་བསྔགས་པ་དེས། །བདག་གིས་དགེ་བ་འདི་དག་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱང་། །བཟང་པོ་སྤྱོད་པ་མཆོག་ཕྱིར་བསྔོ་བར་བགྱི། །
