Property:SanskritTranslation
From Bodhicitta
This is a property of type Text.
T
Now that I am the other person, my eyes belong to another; they cannot see after my own interests; my hands are his; they cannot possibly work for my own interest. +
Therefore, being concerned only with other beings, whatever you might see in this your body that may be of value to them, you should take away from yourself and use it to benefit others. +
One fool gets the same from the other. Accordingly, association with fools is association with misfortune. I will therefore live alone, in the open, my mind unaffected by the values of the world. +
If you place yourself in the position of others, even the lowliest, and place them in your self, you may cultivate envy without regret. +
“They give him great honors, but I do not receive such honor. He is rich and I am not. He is praised, they despise me. I suffer, he is happy.<span class="smw-highlighter pagebreaks" data-type="8" data-state="inline" data-title="Page number from:" title="431" tabindex="0"><span class="smwtticon pagebreak note text-80">[p.431]</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> +
I work, but he rests in perfect ease. He is exalted among the people. I am a poor wretch, for I have no virtue of my own. +
But, is there really someone without virtue? All have some degree of virtue. I am inferior to some, but there are some who are my inferiors. +
If my moral character and understanding are limited, it is not my fault. It is due to the afflictions. I wish to put an end to this disease. I will accept whatever pains this will require. +
But if he considers me incurable, why does he still despise me? Why should I then envy his virtue, since his virtue is only selfishness in disguise? +
He feels no compassion for a human being in the jaws of the wild animals of hell; yet, because of his self-righteousness, he believes he can surpass the wise. +
If he finds someone he regards as a match for him, he tries to gain some advantage over him, trying to increase fame and fortune through argumentation. +
Let my own virtues be known in the world. May no one ever hear of his good qualities. +
Let my defects be hidden from the world, that I may receive all the honor, and he none. Then I will gain wealth easily. I, and not he, will be admired by all. +
One should avoid from afar the fool; but if one does meet a person of the world, one should try to please this person with gentle treatment, not in order to establish intimacy but with the neutrality of the sage. +
I will enjoy seeing him mistreated, for a change. I will enjoy seeing him despised and insulted. +
How dare he, this poor wretch, try to compare himself with me. Does he have my erudition, my wisdom, my noble birth, my beauty and wealth? +
When I hear people praising my virtues everywhere, I will be ecstatic with joy. It will give me the sweetest pleasure. +
If he has any wealth, I will take it by force, and give him only what he needs to survive, if he agrees to work for me. +
He should be driven out of his complacency, and forever be placed in charge of my worries. For I have suffered because of him the pains of transmigration hundreds of times.” +
You have wasted innumerable cosmic cycles in search of your own happiness. Yet, despite this enormous effort, you have achieved nothing but suffering. +
