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Is not consumed till buddhahood is gained.<ref>Pelden, 394.</ref> | Is not consumed till buddhahood is gained.<ref>Pelden, 394.</ref> | ||
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Dedicating in the context of emptiness | <h4>Dedicating in the context of emptiness</h4> | ||
It is often stated that the dedication of our merit should be sealed with the wisdom of emptiness. But how does that process of sealing virtue with emptiness take place? It means that it should be associated with a wisdom unstained by the concepts of the three spheres | |||
This concept of making dedication unstained by impurities is also mentioned in many chapters of | It is often stated that the dedication of our merit should be sealed with the wisdom of emptiness. But how does that process of sealing virtue with emptiness take place? It means that it should be associated with a wisdom unstained by the concepts of the three spheres. This form of dedication is said to be uncontaminated/unpoisoned/unstained. | ||
Longchenpa makes a subtle point that the capping off of positive activities, after they are complete, with the understanding of emptiness is tantamount to nihilism. This may sound a little strange to us, but his point is that | |||
This concept of making dedication unstained by impurities is also mentioned in many chapters of Candrakīrti's ''Entering the Middle Way'' (Skt. ''Madhyamakāvatāra ''). For instance, in chapter two, Longchenpa makes a subtle point that the capping off of positive activities, after they are complete, with the understanding of emptiness is tantamount to nihilism. This may sound a little strange to us, but his point is that . . . | |||
<h4>Dedication for Other's Merit</h4> | |||
Many masters have also reminded us that we can rejoice in and then dedicate the merit of others. | Many masters have also reminded us that we can rejoice in and then dedicate the merit of others. | ||
With the understanding of the vital role that dedication plays, we can now look at the flow of this last chapter. | |||
One commentator (?) explains that these verses are written in the form of a series of dedicatory vows (Skt. ''praṇidhāna''). These are empathic prayers wishing that the positive karmic energy we have built up go to the fulfillment of the happiness of beings. This kind of dedicatory vow is first seen in chapter three: | |||
{{PullBcaVerses|3.7}} | |||
In that chapter Śāntideva makes vast but much more general dedications, that any virtue accrued may completely dispel every single suffering of every living being. | In that chapter Śāntideva makes vast but much more general dedications, that any virtue accrued may completely dispel every single suffering of every living being. | ||
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