No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 204: | Line 204: | ||
{{PullBcaVerses|10.43}} | {{PullBcaVerses|10.43}} | ||
<h4>Dedication of the Virtue for | <h4>Dedication of the Virtue for 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. | 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. | ||
{{PullBcaVerses|10.49}} | {{PullBcaVerses|10.49}} | ||
With respect to this verse, the contemporary Sakya master Khenpo Kunga Wangchuk explains that our merit is dedicated not toward a living being as such but toward the mindset that is the perfection of the highest of all intentions, the wish to attain the enlightened state for the welfare of all beings. | |||
{{QuoteCite | |||
|quote-text=May the bodhisattvas residing on the tenth ground achieve everything, both in the short- and long-term, exactly according to the ground of their intention, that is for the purpose of migrator beings. May beings also obtain resources, abilities, and results, and be endowed with them in accord with the intent of the guardians, the perfect buddha bhagavāns, and their heart disciples the bodhisattvas, the intent that is for the sake of the temporary and ultimate welfare of migrator beings.<ref>Khenpo Kunga Wangchuk, ''A Commentary on the Bodhicaryāvatāra, Theg pa chen po'i mdo'i dgongs don gyi bstan bcos byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa zhes bya ba'i 'grel pa'' (Taiwan: Chos kyi blo gros rtsom sgrig khang, 2016), 823.</ref> | |||
}} | |||
Although śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas [Link to GLOSSARY] gain their liberation from samsara through understanding the profound truth of dependent arising, and although they do not hold this precious intent of wishing to attain complete enlightenment for the welfare of all beings, Śāntideva makes a prayer that they will be endowed with the bliss that occurs when suffering is brought to an end and that they attain the great bliss of ultimate and perfect buddhahood. | |||
{{QuoteCite | |||
|quote-text=And may the Hearers and Pratyekabuddhas | |||
Gain their perfect happiness. (10.50) | |||
}} | |||
<h4>Dedication of Virtue for One's Own Sake</h4> | |||
With such focus on others on the bodhisattva path, we may forget to make positive and beneficial prayers and aspirations for ourselves. Here, in verses 51 to 56, Śāntideva encourages us to also dedicate for our own sake, but this is never for self-indulgent and worldly motives. It is for the positive purpose of being able to have conducive conditions for progress on our spiritual path. | |||
{{PullBcaVerses|10.51}} | |||
Guided by Mañjughoṣa, Śāntideva wishes that throughout all his lifetimes, until he reaches the first bodhisattva ground of perfect joy, he will always retain the memory of his previous existences. Thus, this will help him to maintain a strong conviction in the karmic law of cause and effect and encourage him to never forget bodhicitta. | |||
In relation to the last two lines of the verse, Khenpo Kunpal explains the virtues of monastic life compared to that of a lay person. | |||
{{QuoteCite | |||
|quote-text=He prays that he might "always embrace the perfect discipline of monastic ordination." For whereas to be a householder is the basis of all the faults that bring ruin in this and future lives, to go forth into homelessness is the ground and basis of all excellent qualities and benefits.<ref>Blankleder and Fletcher, ''Nectar of Manjushri's Speech'', 429.</ref> | |||
}} | |||
Furthermore, Khenpo Kunpal quotes from the ''The King of Samādhis Sūtra'' (Skt. ''Samādhirājasūtra'') to encourage us to realize how incredible it is in this degenerate era to have virtuous thoughts and the wish to follow the bodhisattva path, and especially to wish to take ordination. | |||
{{QuoteCite | |||
|quote-text=In the present age, if one takes and observes just one of the precepts of the Buddha’s teaching, one will acquire great merit and benefits. This has been described in the Samadhiraja-sutra: | |||
:Those who for as many aeons trillionfold<br>As grains upon the Ganga’s sandy shore,<br>Worship with devoted mind, with food and drink,<br>And lamps and flowers, parasols and banners,<br>A thousand million Buddhas—<br>All are in their merits utterly surpassed<br>By those who—at this time when sacred Dharma perishes<br>And when the teaching of the Tathagata wanes—<br>Will practice day and night a single precept. | |||
This being so, there is no need to speak of the result that will occur when one embraces monastic ordination and observes all the precepts without impairment. One will accomplish perfectly the goals of this and future existences both for oneself and others. The benefits that ensue are inconceivable.<ref>Blankleder and Fletcher, ''Nectar of Manjushri's Speech'', 429-30.</ref> | |||
}} | |||
}} | }} | ||
The purpose of this website is to provide a resource hub for trustworthy information for learning about and teaching Bodhicitta ("bodhichitta") and Śāntideva's ("Shantideva's") related texts. Unique content will be shared here and the site will act as a broker for other projects and authors that have already created quality materials, which we will curate for a wide range of audiences.
See General disclaimer for more information.