Explore/Chapter 1 - The Excellence and Benefits of Bodhicitta

Chapter 1 - The Excellence and Benefits of Bodhicitta

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The understanding and practice of bodhicitta depends on the knowledge of the stories, key concepts, texts, and people associated with it. Explore these various aspects to gain a better understanding of bodhicitta, the desire to seek the ultimate happiness for all sentient beings.

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Concise Summary of Essential Points

The first chapter of The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicaryāvatāra) sets the scene for the whole text. The main theme throughout this work is the conduct and activities of the bodhisattva. The central pillar of all those activities is bodhicitta (byang chub sems), and this first chapter begins with an explanation of the benefits of this incredible mind of bodhicitta.

There are several definitions for what exactly bodhicitta is. The literal meaning of bodhicitta is "awakening mind." The Eighth Dungkar Rinpoche Lobsang Trinley (1927–1997) offers a simple explanation of what this means. In his Introduction to the Way of the Bodhisattva, he explains that bodhicitta requires a combination of two mental factors—one that wishes to attain buddhahood and one that pursues the welfare of others. From this comes the wish to attain the state of buddhahood, not for one's own purpose but for the purpose of all others.

Right at the beginning of the text, Śāntideva pays homage and bows down to the buddhas and bodhisattvas, who have fully cultivated this mind of enlightenment.

To develop an interest in anything, we have to be able to see the qualities and advantages of it, and to inspire us to take an interest in this path, Śāntideva offers us an explanation of the qualities and benefits of bodhicitta. He is speaking here to those who have not yet developed this awakening thought in their mindstreams. He encourages us to see the greatness of this special mental state and to develop the wish to personally give rise to it. He wants us to yearn for this mind as hungry people crave food and the thirsty crave water.

In this opening chapter, Śāntideva draws our attention to how precious and rare virtuous thoughts are in this world:

Just as on a dark night black with clouds, The sudden lightning glares and all is clearly shown, Likewise rarely, through the Buddhas’ power, Virtuous thoughts rise, brief and transient, in the world.

Verse 1.5

[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006)
Page(s) 32
Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

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ཇི་ལྟར་མཚན་མོ་མུན་ནག་སྤྲིན་རུམ་ན* ནས། in the source text. ། །

གློག་འགྱུ་སྐད་ཅིག་རབ་སྣང་སྟོན་པ་ལྟར། ། དེ་བཞིན་སངས་རྒྱས་མཐུ་ཡིས་བརྒྱ་ལམ་ན། །

འཇིག་རྟེན་བསོད་ནམས་བློ་གྲོས་ཐང་འགའ་འབྱུང་། །

With this beautiful analogy, Śāntideva points to how difficult it is for samsaric beings to find a positive way forward. Ensnared in the net of our karma and negative emotions, we are constantly distracted and unaware of our true nature. At best, this leads us to waste away our lives in idle pleasure, but at worst it is a breeding ground for negative states of mind. Surrounded by these dark clouds, it is already difficult for us to make constructive choices for the long-term happiness of ourselves and others. Rarely does that brilliant flash of lightning, the thought of virtue, break through the dark. With this rarity comes the responsibility to expend all our effort to engage in every kind of virtue, and especially to develop this bodhicitta.

To encourage us to cultivate bodhicitta, one of the main goals of the chapter is to remind us of the virtue and merit that we accrue from developing the awakening mind:

If with kindly generosity One merely has the wish to soothe The aching heads of other beings, Such merit knows no bounds.

Verse 1.21

[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006)
Page(s) 34
Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

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སེམས་ཅན་རྣམས་ཀྱི་ཀླད་ནད་ཙམ། །

བསལ་ལོ་སྙམ་དུ་བསམས་ན་ཡང་། ། ཕན་འདོགས་བསམ་པ་དང་ལྡན་ཏེ། །

བསོད་ནམས་དཔག་མེད་ལྡན་གྱུར་ན། །

No need to speak, then, of the wish To drive away the endless pain Of each and every living being, Bringing them unbounded excellence.

Verse 1.22

[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006)
Page(s) 34
Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

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སེམས་ཅན་རེ་རེའི་མི་བདེ་བ། །

དཔག་ཏུ་མེད་པ་བསལ་འདོད་ཅིང་། ། རེ་རེའང་ཡོན་ཏན་དཔག་མེད་དུ། །

བསྒྲུབ་པར་འདོད་པ་སྨོས་ཅི་དགོས། །

The mere wish of ordinary beings to help just a single person with a simple medical ailment or simple difficulty in their life will bring boundless merit. If that is the case for a common kind of beneficial wish, then what need is there to speak of the merit that accrues from the cultivation of bodhicitta? This mind aims to clear away every single suffering of countless sentient beings and wishes to accomplish for them both temporary and ultimate welfare and happiness. It is said that this mind has merit equal to the number of sentient beings in relation to which it is developed. Since beings are limitless, the merit accumulated by cultivating bodhicitta on the basis of them would be completely immeasurable. Śāntideva concludes the chapter by paying homage to those who have developed this precious mind, a wish-fulfilling jewel, which is a wellspring of peace and joy.

To them in whom this precious jewel of mind Is born—to them I bow! I go for refuge to those springs of happiness Who bring their very enemies to perfect bliss.[p.37]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006)
Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

Verse 1.36

[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006)
Page(s) 36
Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

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[ tib / wyl ]

གང་ལ་སེམས་ཀྱི་དམ་པ་རིན་ཆེན་དེ། །

སྐྱེས་པ་དེ་ཡི་སྐུ་ལ་ཕྱག་འཚལ་ཞིང་། ། གང་ལ་གནོད་པ་བྱས་ཀྱང་བདེ་འབྲེལ་བ། །

བདེ་བའི་འབྱུང་གནས་དེ་ལ་སྐྱབས་སུ་མཆི། །

He instructs us to take refuge in the bodhisattvas because they are the ones who can benefit even those who harm them. Such bodhisattvas remain utterly compassionate, even when they are assailed by enemies. Not only do they not return the harm, but through the power of their aspirational prayers and their mind of awakening, they seize this occasion to forge a connection with those attacking or hurting them. Through this karmic link, they will contribute to those beings' immediate and long-term happiness.

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Bodhicaryāvatāra
The Way of the Bodhisattva

An "Introduction to Bodhisattva Practice," the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra is a poem about the path of a bodhisattva, in ten chapters, written by the Indian Buddhist Śāntideva (fl. c. 685–763). One of the masterpieces of world literature, it is a core text of Mahāyāna Buddhism and continues to be taught, studied, and commented upon in many languages and by many traditions around the world. The main subject of the text is bodhicitta, the altruistic aspiration for enlightenment, and the path and practices of the bodhisattva, the six perfections (pāramitās). The text forms the basis of many contemporary discussions of Buddhist ethics and philosophy.

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Śikṣāsamuccaya
The Compendium of Training

The Compendium of Training is an anthology of excerpts from the Mahāyāna sūtras that discusses the bodhisattva path and principles in much greater length and detail., Śikṣāsamuccaya (T. Bslab pa kun las btus pa; C. Dasheng ji pusa xue lun; J. Daijōjū bosatsugakuron; K. Taesǔng chip posal hak non 大乘集菩薩學論). In Sanskrit, "Compendium of Training," a work by the eighth-century Indian Mahāyāna master Śāntideva. It consists of twenty-seven stanzas on the motivation and practice of the bodhisattva, including bodhicitta, the six perfections (pāramitā), the worship of buddhas and bodhisattvas, the benefits of renunciation, and the peace derived from the knowledge of emptiness (śūnyatā). The topic of each of the stanzas receives elaboration in the form of a prose commentary by the author as well as in illustrative passages, often quite extensive, drawn from a wide variety of Mahāyāna sūtras. Some ninety-seven texts are cited in all, many of which have been lost in their original Sanskrit, making the Śikṣāsamuccaya an especially important source for the textual history of Indian Buddhism. These citations also offer a window into which sūtras were known to a Mahāyāna author in eighth-century India. The digest of passages that Śāntideva provides was repeatedly drawn upon by Tibetan authors in their citations of sūtras. Although Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra and Śikṣāsamuccaya both deal with similar topics, the precise relation between the two texts is unclear. Several of the author's verses appear in both texts and some of the sūtra passages from the Śikṣāsamuccaya also appear in the Bodhicaryāvatāra. One passage in the Bodhicaryāvatāra also refers readers to the Śikṣāsamuccaya, but this line does not occur in the Dunhuang manuscript of the text and may be a later interpolation. (Source: "Śikṣāsamuccaya." In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 821. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)

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Recommended Texts Related to Chapter 1

Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra

In this lengthy final chapter of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, while the Buddha Śākyamuni is in meditation in Śrāvastī, Mañjuśrī leaves for South India, where he meets the young layman Sudhana and instructs him to go to a certain kalyāṇamitra or "good friend," who then directs Sudhana to another such friend. In this way, Sudhana successively meets and receives teachings from fifty male and female, child and adult, human and divine, and monastic and lay kalyāṇamitras, including night goddesses surrounding the Buddha and the Buddha’s wife and mother. The final three in the succession of kalyāṇamitras are the three bodhisattvas Maitreya, Mañjuśrī, and Samantabhadra. Samantabhadra’s recitation of the Samantabhadracaryāpraṇidhāna ("The Prayer for Completely Good Conduct") concludes the sūtra. (Source: 84000)

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Ratnolkādhāraṇīsūtra

The Dhāraṇī of the Jewel Torch starts with a profound conversation between the Buddha and the bodhisattvas Samantabhadra and Mañjuśrī on the nature of the dharmadhātu, buddhahood, and emptiness. The bodhisattva Dharmamati then enters the meditative absorption called the infinite application of the bodhisattva's jewel torch and, at the behest of the millions of buddhas who have blessed him, emerges from it to teach how bodhisattvas arise from the presence of a tathāgata and progress to the state of omniscience. Following Dharmamati's detailed exposition of the "ten categories" or progressive stages of a bodhisattva, the Buddha briefly teaches the mantra of the dhāraṇī and then, for most of the remainder of the text, encourages bodhisattvas in a long versified passage in which he recounts teachings by a bodhisattva called Bhadraśrī on the qualities of bodhisattvas and buddhas. Some verses from this passage on the virtues of faith have been widely quoted in both India and Tibet. (Source: 84000)

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Niyatāniyatagatimudrāvatārasūtra

In this sūtra, Mañjuśrī asks the Buddha about the factors that make it either certain or not certain that a bodhisattva will attain unsurpassable, perfect awakening. In response, the Buddha describes five ways in which bodhisattvas may or may not make progress on the path. As an analogy for different ways of making progress, he compares five different ways of traveling a very great distance: using a cattle cart, using an elephant chariot, using the moon and sun, using the magical power of the śrāvakas, and using the magical power of the Tathāgata. (Source: 84000)

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Sāgaramatiparipṛcchāsūtra

Heralded by a miraculous flood, the celestial bodhisattva Sāgaramati arrives in Rājagṛha to engage in a Dharma discussion with Buddha Śākyamuni. He discusses an absorption called "The Pristine and Immaculate Seal" and many other subjects relevant to bodhisattvas who are in the process of developing the mind of awakening and practicing the bodhisattva path. The sūtra strongly advises that bodhisattvas not shy away from the afflictive emotions of beings—no matter how unpleasant they may be—and that insight into these emotions is critical for a bodhisattva's compassionate activity. The sūtra deals with the preeminence of wisdom and non-grasping on the path. In the end, as a teaching on how to deal with māras, the sūtra illuminates the many pitfalls possible on the path of the Great Vehicle. (Source: 84000)

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Recommended Books Related to Chapter 1

Vast as the Heavens Deep as the Sea

Revered by many—especially His Holiness the Dalai Lama—as the very embodiment of altruism, the late Khunu Rinpoche Tenzin Gyaltsen devoted his life to the development of bodhicitta—the aspiration to achieve enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. Presented in both English and the original Tibetan, this modern classic is a collection of Khunu Rinpoche's inspirational verse. (Source: Wisdom Publications)

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Bodhicitta: Cultivating the Compassionate Mind of Enlightenment

One is unlikely ever to receive a Tibetan Buddhist teaching on either sutra or tantra in which Bodhicitta does not have a central role. Bodhicitta, the compassionate mind which aspires to attain full enlightenment in order to benefit beings, is the very quintessence of the Mahayana path of Buddhist practice.
In this practical handbook, Ven. Lobsang Gyatso describes the classical methods for developing the mind of enlightenment and, based on his experience as a meditator and a teacher, examines a wide range of obstacles to its development. His concern is to clarify the goal and the means to its achievement. Anyone who wishes to understand the heart of Buddhist practice will benefit from reading this book. (Source: Shambhala Publications) This text originally appeared in Tibetan under the title Sems kyi zla shun, published by the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics toward the end of 1991. Unlike Gen-la's other English works, this book was not based on an oral teaching delivered to a foreign audience. Instead it was written for Tibetans with some knowledge of Buddhadharma. (Source: Preface of book)

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Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life: An Oral Explanation of Chapter 1

This book contains a lightly edited transcript of Kyabje Gelek Rinpoche's oral explanations of Chapter One of Shantideva's Bodhisattvacharyavatara, A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life. Rinpoche gave these teachings as a series on Tuesday nights in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from May to October 1996. . . .

The English translation Rinpoche uses throughout is that by Stephen Batchelor, published by the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. Since Rinpoche frequently makes reference to Tibetan words and phrasing, the Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit original is included in Wylie transliteration in Appendix I.

Appendices II to IV consist of material presented during the period of these teachings that was not strictly a part of the oral explanation of the Bodhisattvacharyavatara, yet may be of interest to the reader. They include a discussion by Rinpoche of the Seven-Limb Practice, and a Dharma talk by Kyabje Rilbur Rinpoche, one of Gelek Rinpoche's own teachers.

Rinpoche did not introduce a traditional outline in giving this teaching. For those interested, an outline of this sort may be found in Geshe Kelsang Gyatso's Meaningful to Behold. The headings and subheadings in this present volume have been added by the editor for ease of reference, and to help delineate changes of topic. Footnotes and a glossary provide some background information; the first use of each term mentioned in the glossary is printed in bold.

The transcription of these teachings from tapes was done by Hartmut Sagolla, who has spent countless hours transcribing a great number of Rinpoche's teachings. Much editorial advice and support was given by Marianne Soeters, to whom all Jewel Heart owes a debt of gratitude for the efforts she has put in as editor to make transcripts of Rinpoche's teachings available in useful form. Marianne also provided the glossaries from which most of the entries in the glossary in this volume were drawn. (Anne Warren, acknowledgements, i-iii)

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The Nectar of Bodhicitta

This book presents Lama Zopa Rinpoche's teachings on bodhicitta, the mind of enlightenment, based on verses from two inspiring bodhicitta texts, The Jewel Lamp: A Praise of Bodhicitta, by Khunu Lama Rinpoche, and A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life, by Shantideva. It has been compiled and edited by Gordon McDougall.

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Chapter 1 Topics Page

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Topic

Key Terms for Chapter 1

Bodhicitta

The altruistic thought to seek enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. It is said to have two aspects: compassion aimed at sentient beings and their problems and the wisdom of enlightenment as the solution.

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Saṃvṛtibodhicitta

Relative bodhicitta (Skt. saṃvṛtibodhicitta; T. kun rdzob byang chub kyi sems) is the altruistic wish to become a fully enlightened Buddha in order to help all other beings who are suffering. It has two aspects: the strong wish and aspiration to become enlightened, and then actually engaging in the practices of the bodhisattva that lead to Buddhahood, like generosity and patience.

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Paramārthabodhicitta

The direct realization of the true nature of reality, specifically emptiness, as an essential part of the path to enlightenment for the sake of all beings.

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Bodhipraṇidhicitta

The mind or mental attitude that aspires towards enlightenment.

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Bodhiprasthānacitta

The mind or mental attitude that actually works towards enlightenment by continuously engaging in the trainings that lead to its accomplishment.

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Bibliography: Works on Chapter 1 - The Excellence and Benefits of Bodhicitta

Explore/Chapter 1 - The Excellence and Benefits of Bodhicitta

Contents

Concise Summary of Essential Points

Notes

Additional resources

Learn About Śāntideva's Texts

Recommended Texts Related to Chapter 1

Recommended Books Related to Chapter 1

Recommended Articles Related to Chapter 1

Recommended Videos Related to Chapter 1

Explore All Resources Related to Chapter 1

Key Terms for Chapter 1

Bodhicitta

Saṃvṛtibodhicitta

Paramārthabodhicitta

Bodhipraṇidhicitta

Bodhiprasthānacitta

Bibliography: Works on Chapter 1 - The Excellence and Benefits of Bodhicitta