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Here, according to traditional Buddhist cosmology, the northern continent (Skt. Uttarakuru) refers to the continent to the north of Mount Sumeru, the sacred five-peaked mountain considered to be the center of all the physical, metaphysical, and spiritual universes. (Our world, Jambudvīpa, is the southern continent.) The northern continent is said to be a place of great harmony and prosperity. There, life is one of perfect pleasure and the people of gentle and virtuous mind, and therefore no one indulges in the ten negative actions. | |||
<h4>Dedication for Human Beings</h4> | |||
Śāntideva now shifts the focus of his dedicatory vows to the beings who inhabit the more fortunate migrations (Skt. ''sugati''). But, of course, though a being may have had the good fortune to avoid the lower realms, and even to have the fortune of a human birth, there are still many kinds of sufferings that they face throughout their lives. | |||
The next sequence of poetic verses, backed up as they are with Śāntideva's deep compassion, are among some of the most stirring in religious literature. | |||
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The verses themselves are self-explanatory, but one can feel the deep compassion and emotions, the empathy and understanding that Śāntideva has for the whole gamut of human beings' sufferings. | |||
The verses are reminiscent of lines from a poem by the famous Japanese Buddhist master and hermit-poet Ryōkan, who said the following: | |||
{{QuoteCite | |||
|quote-text=O, that my priest's robe were wide enough | |||
to gather up all the suffering people | |||
in this floating world.<ref>John Stevens, trans. ''One Robe, One Bowl: The Zen Poetry of Ryōkan'' (Boston: Weatherhill, 2014), 75.</ref> | |||
}} | |||
It is important, however, that dedications are not just made for freedom from the manifest sufferings. Eventually, to avoid all these sufferings mentioned above, sentient beings will have to align themselves with the spiritual path and strive to overcome their afflictions and ignorance. That is the only hope of avoiding suffering in the long term. Therefore, Śāntideva also dedicates his merit so that sentient beings will immediately leave aside their nonvirtue and engage in the path that leads to perfect peace. | |||
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There are also dedications for the monastic communities. The monastic communities form an extremely important role in the transmission of the Dharma. Śāntideva therefore makes fervent prayers that monastic institutions of all kinds will flourish and that they always have harmony. | |||
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And for those monks who choose a life away from large monastic centers and seek the solitude recommended in chapter 8, he prays that they find perfect places in which their meditation can proceed without interference. | |||
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<h4>Dedication of the Virtue for the Perfecting the Supreme Intention</h4> | |||
In verses 49 and 50, Śāntideva encourages us to dedicate our merit so that the great bodhisattvas will be able to fulfill their highest intentions, to bring beings to liberation and enlightenment, in exactly the way that they make their prayers and wishes. | |||
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