Property:SanskritTranslation
From Bodhicitta
This is a property of type Text.
T
Even in the most desperate situation the eye cannot perceive taste; in the same way, the bodhisattva will not submit to the afflictions no matter how desperate his position. +
Like a player desirous to win in his game, one should be completely dedicated to whatever task one has betaken oneself—rejoicing in it, ever insatiate. +
Works are carried out for the sake of happiness, whether happiness is finally obtained or not. How could he be happy without acting, he whose happiness is acting itself? +
In the cycle of transmigration, we are not sated with sense pleasures, though they are like honey on the edge of a razor. Why should anyone ever be sated with the ambrosia of merit, which brings sweet fruits and peace? +
Therefore, no sooner has one finished a task than he should proceed to the next, as an elephant tortured by the midday sun rushes in as soon as he finds a water hole. +
If one is not suited to the task, the moment one realizes this, one should abandon it. And once a task has been completed, one should give it up for the one that will follow. +
Like someone engaged in a duel with a fierce enemy, one must guard oneself before the sword of the afflictions, with a mind to vanquish that enemy. +
As one would pick up his sword with great fear, if it was dropped in the midst of battle, so, if one loses the sword of mindfulness, one will pick it up at once fearing the hells. +
Once death has everything prepared for you, it will come swiftly. If you should then abandon your sloth, it would be too late. What will you do then? +
One who has adopted the vows should be like the man who was forced to carry a bowl filled to the rim with oil under threat of death if he spilled any. As he was watched by sword-bearing guards, he could think of nothing but that bowl, for fear of stumbling and dying. +
Therefore, if one feels stupor and sloth approaching, one should react swiftly against them, as anyone would jump up if a snake fell on his lap. +
Every time one stumbles, one should repent, reflecting; "How can I prevent a repetition of this?” +
One should seek the company of friends in the path, and one should seek the opportunity to act with them, motivated by this reason; “How can I exercise mindfulness under these circumstances?" +
In this way one should prepare for action, keeping in mind the Discourse on Watchfulness, so that everywhere one will be ready even before the moment for action arises. +
Like cotton, which in its movements is at the mercy of the wind, the bodhisattva speedily develops psychic powers if his thoughts and actions are subject to his will.<span class="smw-highlighter pagebreaks" data-type="8" data-state="inline" data-title="Page number from:" title="424" tabindex="0"><span class="smwtticon pagebreak note text-80">[p.424]</span><span class="smwttcontent"><big>[[How to Be a Bodhisattva: Introduction to the Practice of the Bodhisattva Path (The Bodhicaryāvatāra)]]</big> <br> <span class="muted">Gómez, Luis O., trans. "How to Be a Bodhisattva: Introduction to the Practice of the Bodhisattva Path (''The Bodhicaryāvatāra'')." In ''Norton Anthology of World Religions: Buddhism'', edited by Donald S. Lopez Jr., 395–441. New York: Norton, 2017.</span></span></span> +
“This I have not accomplished; that I have just begun; this is half done. Now death has come without warning. Alas, I am lost”—these will be your thoughts, +
as you see, appearing before you at the same time, on your deathbed, the faces of the messengers of death and your helpless relatives. With the pain of grief their faces have become swollen, the eyes tearful and red. +
Having developed fortitude in this way, the bodhisattva should establish his mind in concentration, for a person whose mind is distracted is trapped in the jaws of the afflictions. +
In an instant they become your friends; in an instant they become your enemies. They become angry when they should be pleased. It is difficult to win over common people of the world. +
You may claim that your position, though inconsistent, is maintained because of our innate sense of an ego; but this inconsistency should be rejected as much as possible, in oneself as in others. +
