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It is said that coveting the wealth and possessions of others and being miserly with | It is said that coveting the wealth and possessions of others and being miserly with one's own is what produces rebirth as a ''preta''. | ||
Here, the northern continent (Skt. Uttarakuru) refers to the continent to the north of Mount Sumeru, according to traditional Buddhist cosmology. (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. | |||
Dedication of virtue to free beings from the sufferings of the three higher realms | Here, the northern continent (Skt. ''Uttarakuru'') refers to the continent to the north of Mount Sumeru, according to traditional Buddhist cosmology. (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. | ||
Śāntideva now shifts the focus of his dedicatory vows to the beings which 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. | <h4>Dedication of virtue to free beings from the sufferings of the three higher realms</h4> | ||
Śāntideva now shifts the focus of his dedicatory vows to the beings which 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 amongst some of the most stirring in religious literature: | The next sequence of poetic verses, backed up as they are with Śāntideva's deep compassion, are amongst some of the most stirring in religious literature: | ||