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We have obtained this incredible support for practice. We may feel that there are no obstructing conditions, such as an immediate physical threat, and that we are endowed only with supportive conditions, such as food, water, and some wealth. We may be lured into a false sense of security and hence think to leave our practice to later. However, Śāntideva, while referring to himself, cautions us about the impermanence of our present circumstances. | We have obtained this incredible support for practice. We may feel that there are no obstructing conditions, such as an immediate physical threat, and that we are endowed only with supportive conditions, such as food, water, and some wealth. We may be lured into a false sense of security and hence think to leave our practice to later. However, Śāntideva, while referring to himself, cautions us about the impermanence of our present circumstances. | ||
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Here, Śāntideva reminds us that although one may have obtained circumstances which are today free from contrary conditions, such as being without obstructions like sickness, and endowed with harmonious conditions, the situation is deceptive and unstable. Our lives are fleeting and our situation is fragile, and it can change very rapidly through meeting with a sudden karmic condition. Thus, he argues, we must think of our current bodies like something on loan that could be taken back at any moment. | |||
Furthermore, we should not act as though we have leisure, and we need to ensure that we can maintain this precious opportunity from lifetime to lifetime. But what is it that brings about such a precious human rebirth and the conducive circumstances for practice? The answer, Śāntideva asserts, is discipline. As ''The Sūtra of Authentic Discipline'' (Skt. ''Śīlasaṃyuktasūtra'') says, "By having moral discipline one will encounter the presence of buddhas."<ref>Kirtimukha Translation Group, trans., ''The Sūtra on Having Moral Discipline'', ''Śīlasaṃyuktasūtra'', Toh 303 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024), 1.6, https://read.84000.co/translation/UT22084-072-003.html?#UT22084-072-003-25.</ref> | |||
Perfect discipline is key to obtaining a precious human rebirth in the future where there will be the chance to meet with a buddha and their teachings. Conscientiousness is essential to maintaining that discipline. We may wish to be reborn in the higher realms, but we must ask ourselves, "Are my actions realistic in relation to that wish? Are they in accord with my pledge to work for the welfare of others?" Conscientiousness is the tool that aids us in taking a closer look at all of our actions. And with this, Śāntideva stresses the continuous practice of virtue. | |||
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We have this incredible opportunity right now to train ourselves in virtue. If we do not seize the chance, we will fail to obtain a precious human rebirth and be born in the lower realms. There will be no opportunity to practice virtue, and all we will accomplish is negativity. We can see this even in the animal realm, where most creatures fight for resources and consume other creatures just to stay alive. There is little room for even the smallest of virtues in their lives, and their negative actions drag them deeper into the lower realms. It is extremely hard for them to escape this cycle, and if we fall into these realms we will wander in these evil states for vast periods of time. A precious human existence is very different. Its main advantageous quality is that it affords us some space and opportunity to think about and engage in doing positive things with our body, speech, and mind. In verse 20 Śāntideva stresses the rarity of a precious human rebirth using the following oft-repeated analogy: | |||
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This analogy comes from ''The Sūtra of Nanda's Going Forth'' (Skt. ''Nandapravrajyāsūtra''), where it states the following: | |||
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|quote-text="Suppose, Nanda, that this whole wide world comprised the waters of one great ocean in which there dwelled a single, blind turtle, and that there was also a single yoke with a hole, tossing about. Considering this, that blind turtle entertains the thought that it must put its neck through the hole of this yoke, but the yoke with its hole is buffeted by the wind and tossed about in all directions. In that case, Nanda, what are the chances that the blind turtle’s neck would ever accidentally enter the hole of that yoke, even in a hundred years? In the same way, Nanda, this human birth may not be found, nor the excellence of a favorable circumstance. 1.15 | |||
"Nanda, it is very difficult for you to find this human birth; and thus, if you have found perfect favorable conditions,1.16 | |||
"Nanda, you have found the very difficult to find | |||
Favorable conditions for going forth. | |||
Nanda, the teacher has appeared before you; | |||
So, do not disappoint me!<ref>Alexander Csoma de Kőrös Translation Group, trans., ''The Sūtra of Nanda's Going Forth'', ''Nandapravrajyāsūtra'', Toh 328 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023), 1.14–16, https://read.84000.co/translation/toh328.html?#UT22084-072-028-56.</ref> | |||
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