V. Stabilizing in the Bodhimind
In the spirtual energy that relieves
The anguish of beings in misery and
Places depressed beings in eternal joy,
I lift up my heart and rejoice.
In the goodness producing illumination
I lift up my heart and rejoice.
I rejoice in the beings who have gained
Eternal liberation from suffering,
And I rejoice in those attained to Buddhahood
As well as in their offspring, the noble Bodhisattvas.
In the ocean-like virtue of the bodhimind
That brings joy to all beings
And in accomplishing the well-being of others,
I lift up my heart and rejoice.
To the Buddhas of the ten directions
I join my hands in respect.
Let blaze the light of Dharma's truth
For the beings lost in darkness.
To the Buddhas considering parinirvana
I join my hands in prayer.
Do not abandon the beings in sorrow
But remain and teach for countless ages.
May any spiritual energy thus generated
By my devotion to the enlightened ones
Be dedicated to dispelling the misery
Of living beings without exception.
As long as diseases afflict livings beings
May I be the doctor, the medicine
And also the nurse
Who restores them to health.
May I fall as a rain to increase
The harvests that must feed the living beings
And in ages of dire famine
May I myself serve as food and drink.
May I be an unending treasury
For those desperate and forlorn.
May I manifest as what they require
And wish to have near to them.
My body, every possession
And all goodness past, present and future
Without remorse I dedicate
To the well-being of the world.
Suffering is transcended by total surrender
And the mind attains to nirvana.
As one day all must be given up,
Why not dedicate it now to universal happiness?
My bodily powers I dedicate
To the well-being of all that lives.
Should anyone wish to kill, abuse or beat me,
The responsibility is purely their own.
Should anyone wish to ridicule me
And make me an object of jest and scorn,
Why should I possibly care
If I have dedicated myself to others?
Let them do as they wish with me,
So long as it does not harm them.
May no one who encounters me
Ever have an as insignificant contact.
Regardless of whether those whom I meet
Respond toward me with anger or faith,
May the mere fact of our meeting
Contribute to the fulfillment of their wishes.
May the slander, harm
And all forms of abuse
That anyone should direct toward me
Act as a cause of their enlightenment.
May I be a protector of the helpless,
A guide to those travelling the path,
A boat to those wishing to cross over;
Or a bridge or a raft.
May I be land for those requiring it,
A lamp for those in darkness,
May I be a home for the homeless,
And a servant to the world.
In order to fulfill the needs of beings
May I be as a magic gem,
An inexhaustible vase, a mystic spell,
A cure-all medicine and a wish-granting tree.
May I act as the mighty earth
Or like the free and open skies
To support and provide the space
Whereby I and all others may grow.
Until every being afflicted by pain
Has reached to nirvana's shores,
May I serve only as a condition
That encourages progress and joy.
Just as all previous Buddhas
First gave rise to the precious bodhimind
And just as they then carefully followed
The stages of the Bodhisattva disciplines,
Likewise for the sake of living beings
Do I now myself generate the bodhimind,
And likewise will I myself train
In the disciplines of a Bodhisattva. (Do these two verses three times.)
They who out of wisdom
Have seized the supreme bodhimind
Praise, glorify and rejoice in it,
That it may grow to fulfilment.
From today I will reap the fruit of life;
Having well won the state of man,
Today I am born in the Buddha-Family
And am now a child of the Buddhas.
Thus in future I should make every effort
To live in accord with the Bodhisattva Ways,
And never should I act as would bring shame
To this noble, faultless family.
Like a blind man fumbling in garbage
Happens to find a rare and precious gem,
Likewise have I discovered
The jewel of the precious bodhimind.
Thus was found this supreme ambrosia to dispell
The Lord of Death, destroyer of life;
An inexhaustible treasure able to cure
The poverty of all sentient beings.
It is the highest of medicines
To quell the ills of the living,
And it is a tree giving shade
To those wandering on the paths of life.
It is a strong and mighty bridge
By which beings can cross from misery,
And it is a moon to shine in the mind
To clear away the pains of delusion.
The bodhimind is a great radiant sun
To disperse the darkness of unknowing,
And it is the very essence of butters
Gained from churning the milks of Dharma.
For all guests on the roads of life
Who would taste the very substance of joy,
Here is the actual seat of true happiness,
A veritable feast to satiate the world.
Thus today in the presence of all Awakened Ones
I invite every living being to this festival
Giving both immediate and lasting joy.
May the gods and all others rejoice.
