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He agrees that there are genuine texts among those within the modern tradition, but it is very hard to discern which ones those are, and so it is easy to be beset with doubt. And with doubt we find it hard to get any concrete result, however sincerely we strive to engage in our Dharma practice. | He agrees that there are genuine texts among those within the modern tradition, but it is very hard to discern which ones those are, and so it is easy to be beset with doubt. And with doubt we find it hard to get any concrete result, however sincerely we strive to engage in our Dharma practice. | ||
'''4. It Is Difficult to Rely on the Supports''' | |||
We also find it hard to gain liberation because the personal support of our precious human rebirth and the external support of the enlightened beings are so hard to find. | |||
In the first two lines of verse 162, Śāntideva reminds us of how hard it is to find again such a state of freedom where we can practice, a state which is characterized by the eight freedoms and ten endowments [Link to MAIN TERMS OF CHAPTER 1]. Even if we are blessed with this precious opportunity, he also explains the difficulty of finding one crucial external support that is necessary for us to be able to wholeheartedly follow the path—that is, genuinely enlightened teachers. | |||
{{QuoteCite | |||
|quote-text=Hard it is to find again this state of freedom, | |||
Harder yet to come upon enlightened teachers, (9.162ab)<ref>Fletcher and Blankleder, ''Way of the Bodhisattva'', 160.</ref> | |||
}} | |||
'''5. It Is Difficult to Abandon Its Causes''' | |||
The last two lines of verse 162 explain how difficult it is to escape from the raging torrent of our afflictions. The causes of our continued rebirth in samsara are the whole range of our negative emotions—craving and clinging, attachment, anger, lack of awareness, and underpinning them all, wrong views and ignorance. We are swept away by these states of mind, and Śāntideva remarks on how difficult it is to turn back this tide. | |||
{{QuoteCite | |||
|quote-text=Hard, indeed, to turn aside the torrent of defilement! | |||
Alas, our sorrows fall in endless streams! (9.162.cd)<ref>Fletcher and Blankleder, ''Way of the Bodhisattva'', 160.</ref> | |||
}} | |||
In verses 163 and 164, Śāntideva explains how beings do not even realize what kind of sufferings they are going through. Afloat in the sea of cyclic existence, passing from one suffering state to another, beings are completely unaware of the reality of their situation. Indeed, they often feel the opposite way, looking on things which are contaminated by the afflictions and ignorance as though they are pleasant and a source of happiness. They have no understanding of what conduct to adopt and what to cast aside. "Alas," cries Śāntideva, "How terrible it is that beings do not understand the terrible condition they are in." | |||
{{PullBcaVerses|9.163}} | |||
Here, Śāntideva also critiques the followers of some religious traditions and their practices, those who believe that extreme ascetic practices such as prolonged exposure to excessive heat or cold or bathing in the sacred rivers are the path to liberation. Although these practices do not lead to the desired result, because of their attachment to them they are happy to endure them, and they even consider them pleasant. | |||
{{PullBcaVerses|9.164}} | |||
Most of us carry on our lives as though old age and death will never come to us. But it won't be long before we have to pass away and we have to face our future. If we have been too lazy to engage in virtue and counteract our negative emotions, we will easily be led after death to a rebirth in terrible states. | |||
{{PullBcaVerses|9.165}} | |||
<h4>Great Compassion in Relation to Benefiting Others</h4> | |||
Having revealed to us the path of bodhicitta and wisdom, and having highlighted the terrible state that ordinary beings find themselves in, to conclude the ninth chapter on cultivating this priceless realization of suchness, verses 166 and 167 speak of the two main wings of the bodhisattva path, compassion and wisdom. Here, it references the two great accumulations—the accumulation of merit and the accumulation of wisdom [Link to GLOSSARY]. | |||
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