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In chapter 4 Śāntideva addresses the topic of conscientiousness (apramādha, bag yod), sometimes also translated as carefulness, a mental factor whose function is to protect the mind from negative forms of action. It is a tool that allows us to meticulously examine our actions of body, speech, and mind, particularly within the perspective of what is to be taken up and what is to be avoided on the path.
The first chapter of the Bodhicaryāvatāra deals with the qualities of bodhicitta, the mind intent on enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings, and aims to inspire us to wish to develop such a mind. The second chapter then deals with the practices of confession and purification, and the third chapter deals with taking hold of this awakening mind of bodhicitta. These earlier chapters address the first of three major topics through which the complete text is explained. That first topic is the cultivation of bodhicitta where it has not previously arisen. The next three chapters, 4 through 6, introduce the process of how to prevent that bodhicitta from weakening once it has been cultivated. These chapters also have a flow which follows the main practices of a Mahāyāna practitioner, that of the six pāramitās, or perfections. Khenpo Kunpal sets this scene for the next series of chapters in terms of these six pāramitās:
The whole of the Mahayana path may be summarized under two headings: motivation (the generation of the attitude of supreme bodhichitta) and application (the practice of the six paramitas or transcendent perfections). The development of bodhichitta and the practice of the perfection of generosity have already been explained in the foregoing chapters. Shantideva was himself a yogi of extremely simple practice. He therefore did not speak extensively about the practice of giving but did so only from the point of view of a monk staying in retreat. His teaching on the perfection of ethical discipline is to be found in the two chapters that deal with carefulness and vigilant introspection, whereas the four remaining paramitas are explained in the chapters that follow.[1]
Khenpo Kunpal clearly indicates to us how the Mahāyāna path proceeds. Motivation and active engagement in the practices of the six pāramitās are the two central elements.
Before engaging in the actual practices, cultivating the correct motivation is key. Motivation lays out the perspective within which all the individual practices take place. Since this is a text about the Mahāyāna, then the central motivation is bodhicitta and the goal is the highest welfare for all sentient beings. The basic form of bodhicitta is known as aspirational bodhicitta. That vast and encompassing motivation alone is unbelievably virtuous, but it also needs grounding in practical application. When conjoined with the actual implementation of the fundamental practices of the bodhisattva, it then becomes what is termed engaged bodhicitta.
As Khenpo Kunpal mentions above, the first three chapters cover motivation as well as the first of the pāramitās, generosity. Generosity is covered in a more simplified way, probably because Śāntideva was a very simple monk practicing the Mahāyāna path. Śāntideva would mentally give away all his happiness to others but would have very few possessions with which to manifestly make such offerings to others.
Ethical Discipline
The text then moves on to the next pāramitā, that of ethical discipline. In regard to discipline, the great master Nāgārjuna says the following:
Just as the earth's the base for all that's still or moves,
On discipline, it's said, is founded all that's good.[2]
We may be inspired by the idea of orienting our lives more toward others and cultivating altruistic thoughts, but this process needs to be sustained. Discipline is one of the key factors for maintaining bodhicitta and preventing it from declining. This chapter deals with discipline in a broad sense, but Śāntideva also reminds us here that discipline is particularly important for those who have taken up the spirit of bodhicitta.
With the holding of this ideal of an altruistic way of life there comes a commitment to the welfare of sentient beings. The root verses tell us that the worst of all downfalls is to allow our compassion for all beings to weaken and then to lose this mind of bodhicitta. How can we forsake helpless sentient beings when inspired by such noble intentions? We must make good on our promise to follow this altruistic path, otherwise we will fall into the terrible suffering of the lower states of existence.
Along with impure practices to avoid, Gyaltsap Je Darma Rinchen (1364–1432), commonly known as Gyaltsap Je, one of the chief disciples of Tsongkhapa and a prolific author of the Geluk tradition, explains how to practice once we have taken up this mind wishing to attain enlightenment.
After the children of the conquerors, the bodhisattvas, took very firmly the two minds of enlightenment as explained earlier, they should unwaveringly protect them with conscientiousness, so as not to wander from them for even a second. They should also unwaveringly protect the trainings of the six perfections and the four ways of attracting disciples, so as not to waver from them and that they never decrease.[3]
Conscientiousness
The next two chapters, chapters 4 and 5, offer us techniques to sustain our discipline and maintain the mind of enlightenment. They discuss conscientiousness and vigilant introspection, with some mention made also of mindfulness. These tools are direct causes for discipline, and they allow us to accomplish the virtuous intentions that we are motivated by.
Patrul Rinpoche explains how to use these three mental factors to maintain discipline.
Firstly, through mindfulness, we do not lose sight of what should be adopted or abandoned. Then secondly, because we are checking the status of our body, speech and mind with vigilance, we recognize any occasions when we are tempted to avoid something virtuous or to do something negative. At that time, because of our conscientiousness, we recall the benefits of virtuous actions and undertake them, or remember the faults of negative conduct and unwholesome actions and avoid them. [4]
Chapter 4 deals mainly with conscientiousness (apramādha), sometimes also translated as carefulness. Conscientiousness is a mental factor whose function is to protect the mind from negative forms of action. It is a tool that allows us to meticulously examine our actions of body, speech, and mind, particularly within the perspective of what is to be taken up and what is to be avoided on the path. Conscientiousness helps us to be aware of when we are about to engage in negative actions, those actions that are faulty and unconstructive, both for ourselves and others.
Asaṅga, in his Compendium of Abhidharma (Abhidharmasamuccaya), also says the following of conscientiousness:
What is conscientiousness? It is the cultivation of the state which abides in non-attachment, non-aversion, and non-delusion, and which combined with joyous effort protects the mind from contaminated factors.[5]
Dungkar Rinpoche has two very interesting takes on conscientiousness. He says that it is a form of self-education or way of reproving oneself or subduing one's own mind. Furthermore, he says it is the adjusting of our thinking in order to bring our minds under control. It is educating ourselves in terms of the results of negative actions, understanding that the action, such as killing, is bad in itself, and that there will certainly be unpleasant results if done.[6]
This education helps us to understand that connected to all our actions there are ripening and dominant results and also results concordant with the cause. The ripening result is one that will act as a primary cause to lead us to rebirth in one of the six realms of samsaric existence. The result concordant with the cause is of two kinds—the experiential result concordant with the cause and the active result concordant with the cause.
An example of the experiential result concordant with the cause would be experiencing shorter lifespans in future lives, and one example of the active result concordant with the cause would be, in future lives, having the propensity from a young age to be drawn toward negative actions, such as killing, that we engaged with before. It is often said that this last result of continuing to have the karmic propensity to engage again in that karmic action is the worst result of all.
In essence, conscientiousness is a tool of awareness regarding what we are doing and how we are doing it. It is a tool to help us reflect on how to engage in positive acts and how to avoid harmful and negative ones. It is the opposite of negligence, intoxication, or lack of awareness.[7]
Gyalse Tokme Zangpo divides chapter 4 into three points of focus for conscientiousness: (1) that which is in regard to training in what is to be accomplished, which is bodhicitta, (2) that which is in regard to thinking about the support, which is precious human rebirth, and (3) that which is in regard to what is to be abandoned, which are the afflictions.[8]
Padma Karpo explains these same divisions in a slightly different way: (1) advice for undertaking perseverance in the practices to be accomplished, (2) advice on exerting oneself in the conducive side of virtue, now that one is endowed with the support, and (3) advice on overcoming the nonconducive side, the enemy of the afflictions. [9]
Conscientiousness in Regard to What Is to Be Accomplished
The discipline mentioned above has two main types—general discipline and the discipline associated with the taking of vows or commitments. With discipline related to vows, we are either committed to engaging in certain paths of positive practice, or we make vows to restrain from ethically unsound actions.
This chapter speaks mostly of training our minds in mental factors such as conscientiousness, which helps us maintain more general forms of discipline. However, in the very first verse of this chapter, Śāntideva indicates that these practices are also to be used in relation to specific forms of discipline related to the taking of vows. Here, that specifically means the vows which are associated with the ceremony of taking bodhicitta.
In his commentary The Brightly Shining Sun, Patrul Rinpoche mentions three principle things to avoid that run contrary to aspirational bodhicitta: mentally forsaking sentient beings; developing the attitude of a śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha; and the four impure practices. Patrul relates the four impure practices in the following verse:
Deceiving those who merit veneration, regret that is misplaced,
Criticizing great beings, and cheating ordinary folk—
Renounce these four impure practices and adopt their opposites,
Which are the four pure dharmas.[10]
In the first verse of the chapter, we see a reference to maintaining the bodhisattva vows, which one takes during the ceremony of taking hold of bodhicitta outlined in the previous chapter. This includes both types of bodhicitta, the aspirational and engaged forms of that mind of enlightenment.
The children of the Conqueror who thus
Have firmly grasped this bodhichitta,
Should never turn aside from it,
Strive never to transgress its disciplines.
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 53 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
byang chub sems rab brtan bzung nas/_/
g.yel ba med par rtag tu yang /_/
bslab las mi 'da' 'bad par bya/_/
Khenpo Kunpal explains the use of the expression "firmly grasped" in the root text as follows:
The expression "firmly grasped" in the root text means that the Children of the Conqueror have assimilated the attitude of bodhichitta perfectly and irreversibly. Similarly, from the moment that we have generated the mind of enlightenment, we too must uphold it firmly, with the zealous wish that, come what may, we will never abandon it. If we have such a concentrated intention, telling ourselves that bodhichitta must be omnipresent even in our dreams, this will come about. It is therefore taught that the focusing of our earnest intention is of great importance.[11]
Śāntideva reminds us that we have taken vows to attain the highest state of enlightenment for the sake of all living beings and to deliver all beings from the sufferings of samsara as well as the drawbacks of the peace of nirvana and to place them in the state of buddhahood.
This is a huge commitment to live by. Having promised to live our lives in a framework dedicated to the welfare of others, how can we turn our backs on helpless sentient beings?
Śāntideva warns us that the worst of all downfalls is to lose the mind of bodhicitta. We must make good on our promise to follow this altruistic path, or we will be derided by gods and men, and in the future we will fall into the terrible suffering of the lower states of existence.
In The Questions of Sāgaramati (Sāgaramatiparipṛcchāsūtra), Buddha Śākyamuni, addressing the celestial bodhisattva Sāgaramati, illustrates how grave this downfall is.
Sāgaramati, to draw an analogy, if a king or a royal minister were to announce to all the people of a city that he will distribute supplies to them the following day, and then abandons them, giving them no food or drink, then he has let that group of people down. Because they did not receive any food or drink, they will in turn deride him. Analogously, Sāgaramati, if a bodhisattva teaches extensively about finding relief in order to emancipate all beings who have not yet gone beyond, liberate those who have not yet been liberated, offer relief to those who have not found relief, and bring to parinirvāṇa those who have not yet reached parinirvāṇa, [F.95.a] yet himself fails to strive toward the virtues of the factors of awakening, then that bodhisattva has not practiced what he preached. He has let the world and its gods down. If the gods who have previously beheld buddhas see him, they will deride, disparage, and belittle him. Those who pledge to perform offerings and actually go on to perform such offerings are rare. Still, compared to them, those who begin with the great offerings and remain undiscouraged by the unsurpassed Great Vehicle are even more rare. Sāgaramati, a bodhisattva must not make any claims that will let the world and its gods, humans, and asuras down. [12]
Śāntideva reminds us of the grave negative consequences of making even small worldly promises, perhaps to give just a little help or a small amount of food, and then reneging on our promise.
If in the teachings it is said
That those who in their thoughts intend
To give a small and paltry thing but then draw back
Will take rebirth as hungry spirits,
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 54 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 54 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
bsam pa thag pas mgron gnyer nas/_/
'gro ba thams cad bslus byas na/_/
bde 'gror ji ga 'gro 'gyur ram/_/
How much more so the fault of allowing our bodhicitta to decline. By taking hold of bodhicitta, we have made a pledge from the depth of our hearts to bring all sentient beings, without exception, to at least the temporary state of definite goodness and in the long-term to the fully enlightened state of buddhahood. Śāntideva urges us to imagine what kind of fate must be in store for us if we are to shy away from that vast motivation and fail to act. There would be no chance of finding rebirth in any of the happy states, and only the worst states of hell could be our possible destination.
Several of the commentaries on the Bodhicaryāvatāra draw here on scriptural quotations from both The Sūtra of Close Application of Mindfulness (Saddharmasmṛityupasthānasūtra) and also The Compendium of Teachings Sūtra (Dharmasaṃgītisūtra). In these sūtras it is said that if we do not give away something that we intended to offer, even something as small as a tiny morsel of food, then we will suffer rebirth in the realm of the hungry ghosts. Furthermore, if we do not give away something we actually made a promise to give, then we will suffer the worst of fates in the realm of the hell beings.
Śāntideva continues to explain how grave this downfall of losing our bodhicitta is and how it will throw down the welfare of all beings.
This failure, for the Bodhisattva,
Is the gravest of all downfalls.
For should it ever come to pass,
The good of every being is thrown down.
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 54 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
ltung ba'i nang du lci ba ste/_/
'di ltar de ni byung gyur na/_/
sems can kun gyi don la dman/_/
From out of the eighteen root downfalls of the bodhisattva vows, losing bodhicitta is the most serious of all. This is because when this wish to benefit all beings deteriorates, then the basis of our Mahāyāna practice declines, which is very harmful to sentient beings. As it is said in The Verses that Summarize the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajñāpāramitāsañcayagāthā):
If, when coursing for kotis of aeons in the ten paths of wholesome action,
He engenders a longing for Arhatship or Pratyekabuddhahood,
Then he becomes one whose morality is broken, and faulty in his morality.
Weightier than an offence deserving expulsion is such a production of thought.[13]
In verse 9, Śāntideva explains the further negative consequences not only of allowing our own bodhicitta to decline but also those consequences of obstructing the positive deeds of a bodhisattva.
And anyone who, for a single instant,
Halts the merit of a Bodhisattva
Wanders endlessly in evil states,
Because the welfare of all beings is reduced.
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 54 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
bsod nams bar chad gegs byed pa/_/
sems can don la dman gyur pas/_/
de yi ngan 'gro mu mtha' med/_/
We should not for even a moment hinder the merit and activities of the bodhisattvas, as we will then be harming the ability of that bodhisattva to accomplish the welfare of beings.
In his commentary, Sonam Tsemo (1142–1182), the second of the five founding patriarchs of the Sakya tradition, explains this verse by saying that our own ability to work for the welfare of others is also harmed by our creating an obstacle to the intention and activities of a bodhisattva.
Those who interrupt another's merit create a karmic obscuration for themselves, and it is impossible to benefit others through such an obscuration. Therefore, nothing will prevent them going to the lower realms.[14]
The source of this statement seems to have its roots in The Absorption of the Miraculous Ascertainment of Peace Sūtra (Praśāntaviniścayaprātihāryasamādhisūtra), where it states:
Mañjuśrī, suppose some noble son or daughter was to kill all the beings in Jambudvīpa and rob them of all their possessions. Mañjuśrī, if you compare that act to the act of another noble son or daughter who created obstacles for a bodhisattva's single virtuous intention, be it no more than blocking the roots of virtue of giving a single morsel of food to an animal, then this latter act would create immeasurably more negativity than the former. And why? Because it would create obstacles for the roots of virtue that cause a buddha to appear.[15]
Gyaltsap Je then raises a very important question in relation to this sūtra quotation.
Because there are quotes like that, one should be careful regarding this point. One does not know who is a bodhisattvas and so it is very easy to make this mistake. If one is able to protect oneself from this, then one is able to abandon the door of creating faults with regard to people.[16]
Since it is impossible to know who is a bodhisattva and who is not a bodhisattva, we literally have no idea who other people are and if they are spiritually developed or not, however they may appear to us. Therefore, we must refrain as much as possible from creating faults in regard to others.
The text goes on to explain how if destroying the happiness of just a single living being will bring our own ruin in the lower realms, what need is there to mention acting as an obstacle to a bodhisattva who is intent on the highest welfare for limitless beings.
Destroy a single being’s joy
And you will work the ruin of yourself.
No need to speak of bringing low
The joy of beings infinite as space itself!
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 54 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
bshig na bdag nyid nyams 'gyur na/_/
nam mkha' ma lus mtha' klas pa'i/_/
lus can bde bshig smos ci dgos/_/
Khenpo Kunpal clarifies the meaning of this verse.
The reason for saying this is that the sutras declare that if one destroys the happiness of the higher realms for even one living being (let alone many), one will certainly accomplish the ruin of oneself in the lower realms. What need is there to add that if, by creating an obstacle to the virtue of a Bodhisattva, one destroys the cause of the great happiness of all beings who are numberless as the infinitude of space, one will sink from the states of bliss and will be born countless times in the lower realms? For if the generation of bodhichitta is not hindered, buddhahood will be achieved. And once this is done, rays of light will emanate from the Buddha's body and, entering the lower realms, will instantly establish all beings in a state of well-being and gradually bring them to great enlightenment, the bliss of buddhahood.[17]
This concludes the section on conscientiousness in regard to what is to be accomplished.
Conscientiousness with Regard to Precious Human Rebirth through Reflection on How Hard It Is to Obtain
We may often look at our lives with the perspective that there is something missing, that we have bad luck, or that things don't go well for us. Although we have met the Buddhist path, we may fall prey to procrastination and be plagued by thoughts such as "If I get a chance in the future, I will try to do some practice at that time." According to Śāntideva, these thoughts are dangerous and cause us to ignore the tremendous opportunity that we currently hold in our hands.
The next section of this chapter, from verses 15 to 20, explains how rare and fortunate life in the human realm is, and even more so a human life that is endowed with the freedoms and endowments of a precious human rebirth.
Śāntideva impresses upon us how fortunate our current situation is and how very hard it is to obtain. If we wish to obtain this precious state again in the future, we must be aware of all our actions of body, speech, and mind, and for this we need conscientiousness.
Gyalse Tokme Zangpo mentions three important points in relation to obtaining this precious human rebirth: (1) that it is hard to obtain, (2) that there are the faults if we do not obtain it, and (3) that we must break the habit of not exerting ourselves when we have obtained it.[18]
The opportunity provided by a precious human rebirth is extremely rare. The qualities of it are very rare, which is because gathering together the causes for it are rare. As Śāntideva explains in the following verse:
The appearance of the Buddhas in the world,
True faith and the attainment of a human form,
An aptitude for good: all these are rare.
When will they come to me again?
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 55 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
dad dang mi lus thob pa dang /_/
dge goms rung ba de lta bu/_/
dkon na nam zhig thob par 'gyur/_/
Sonam Tsemo elaborates on this point in his commentary to the Bodhicaryāvatāra in the following way:
The arising of a Tathāgata is the attainment of endowment based upon other. Faith in the remaining teachings and obtaining a human birth are explained as endowments of oneself, as well as freedoms. The conditions for cultivating virtue are the mental basis. They are rare, i.e. they are acquired infrequently.[19]
The root text highlights three particular factors which make our current situation such a rare opportunity: (1) the fact that a Buddha has entered into this world system, (2) the fact that the teachings still remain and we have faith in them, and (3) the fact that we have obtained a precious human body with freedoms and advantages. Because of these three fortunate circumstances, we have the great fortune to be able to engage in virtue.
Khenpo Kunpal explains this as follows:
These factors refer respectively to the circumstantial advantages, the individual advantages, and the freedom to practice the Dharma (consisting in the absence of eight conditions in which there is no leisure to implement the teachings). It is indeed extremely rare to find oneself in a situation in which all favorable circumstances are gathered and from which all adverse conditions are absent—a situation, in other words, in which it is possible to practice virtue.[20]
It is said to be supremely rare to be born in a world system where the Buddha has manifested and where the teachings still remain. Such statements can be found, for example, in The White Lotus of the Holy Dharma Sūtra (Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra).
'Bhikṣus, it is very difficult to find the appearance of the tathāgatas.' Why is that? For those beings, it is possible that they may see a tathāgata after many hundred thousands of quintillions of eons, and it is possible that they will not.[21]
In Padma Karpo's commentary there is a long section in the first chapter where he discusses the qualities of a precious human rebirth and the tremendous value that it carries.
This perfect human physical support possesses eighteen qualities of freedom and endowment. Freedom refers to being free of the unconducive side of the eight unfree states, and endowment means to be endowed with the complete set of ten conducive conditions. With this human body, which is extremely difficult to obtain, a person can achieve what is meaningful for beings, which is to attain buddhahood. So if we do not accomplish the benefit that this support offers us, which is to arouse mind of enlightenment, how could we come upon such a perfect support again in the future, since we have been wandering in samsara from beginning less time until now?[22]
We have obtained this incredible support for practice. We may feel that there are no obstructing conditions, such as an immediate physical threat, and that we are endowed only with supportive conditions, such as food, water, and some wealth. We may be lured into a false sense of security and hence think to leave our practice to later. However, Śāntideva, while referring to himself, cautions us about the impermanence of our present circumstances.
Today, indeed, I’m hale and well,
I have enough to eat and I am not in danger.
But this life is fleeting, unreliable,
My body is like something briefly lent.
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 55 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
zas bcas 'tshe ba med kyang ni/_/
tshe ni skad cig bslu ba ste/_/
lus ni thang cig brnyan po bzhin/_/
Here, Śāntideva reminds us that although one may have obtained circumstances which are today free from contrary conditions, such as being without obstructions like sickness, and endowed with harmonious conditions, the situation is deceptive and unstable. Our lives are fleeting and our situation is fragile, and it can change very rapidly through meeting with a sudden karmic condition. Thus, he argues, we must think of our current bodies like something on loan that could be taken back at any moment.
Furthermore, we should not act as though we have leisure, and we need to ensure that we can maintain this precious opportunity from lifetime to lifetime. But what is it that brings about such a precious human rebirth and the conducive circumstances for practice? The answer, Śāntideva asserts, is discipline. As The Sūtra of Authentic Discipline (Śīlasaṃyuktasūtra) says, "By having moral discipline one will encounter the presence of buddhas."[23]
Perfect discipline is key to obtaining a precious human rebirth in the future, where there will be the chance to meet with a buddha and their teachings. Conscientiousness is essential to maintaining that discipline. We may wish to be reborn in the higher realms, but we must ask ourselves, "Are my actions realistic in relation to that wish? Are they in accord with my pledge to work for the welfare of others?" Conscientiousness is the tool that aids us in taking a closer look at all of our actions. And with this, Śāntideva stresses the continuous practice of virtue.
Here is now my chance for wholesome deeds,
But if I fail to practice virtue,
What will be my lot, what shall I do,
Bewildered by the sorrows of the lower realms?[p.56]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 55 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
dge ba bdag gis ma byas na/_/
ngan song sdug bsngal kun rmongs pa/_/
de tshe bdag gis ci byar yod/_/
We have this incredible opportunity right now to train ourselves in virtue. If we do not seize the chance, we will fail to obtain a precious human rebirth and be born in the lower realms. There will be no opportunity to practice virtue, and all we will accomplish is negativity. We can see this even in the animal realm, where most creatures fight for resources and consume other creatures just to stay alive. There is little room for even the smallest of virtues in their lives, and their negative actions drag them deeper into the lower realms. It is extremely hard for them to escape this cycle. And if we fall into these realms, we will wander in these evil states for vast periods of time. A precious human existence is very different. Its main advantageous quality is that it affords us some space and opportunity to think about and engage in doing positive things with our body, speech, and mind. In verse 20 Śāntideva stresses the rarity of a precious human rebirth using the following oft-repeated analogy:
This is why Lord Buddha has declared
That like a turtle that perchance can place
Its head within a yoke adrift upon the mighty sea
This human birth is difficult to find!
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 56 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
rgya mtsho cher g.yengs gnya' shing gi_/
bu gar rus sbal mgrin chud ltar/_/
mi nyid shin tu thob dkar gsungs/_/
This analogy comes from The Sūtra of Nanda's Going Forth (Nandapravrajyāsūtra), where it states:
"Suppose, Nanda, that this whole wide world comprised the waters of one great ocean in which there dwelled a single, blind turtle, and that there was also a single yoke with a hole, tossing about. Considering this, that blind turtle entertains the thought that it must put its neck through the hole of this yoke, but the yoke with its hole is buffeted by the wind and tossed about in all directions. In that case, Nanda, what are the chances that the blind turtle’s neck would ever accidentally enter the hole of that yoke, even in a hundred years? In the same way, Nanda, this human birth may not be found, nor the excellence of a favorable circumstance.
"Nanda, it is very difficult for you to find this human birth; and thus, if you have found perfect favorable conditions,
"Nanda, you have found the very difficult to find
Favorable conditions for going forth.
Nanda, the teacher has appeared before you;
So, do not disappoint me![24]
From the same sūtra, there is also another, similar analogy for how difficult this precious human rebirth is to obtain.
"Suppose, Nanda, someone tosses some white mustard seeds at the eye of an upright-standing needle. In that case, Nanda, what are the chances that any single white mustard seed would pass through the eye, even in a hundred years? In the same way, Nanda, this human birth may not be found, nor the excellence of a favorable circumstance."[25]
Khenpo Kunpal explains the former example clearly.
For this reason, the Lord Buddha gave the hypothetical example, found in a sutra setting forth perfect instruction, in which the entire earth is imagined to be covered by an immense ocean on the surface of which there floats a yoke blown here and there by the wind. Coming to the surface once in a hundred years, a blind turtle living in the ocean's depth could in theory find its head inside the yoke, adrift as it is upon the shoreless sea. But since the ocean is vast, the yoke mindless, and the turtle blind, the odds against such a thing happening would be immense. And yet to find a human birth is far more difficult than this![26]
Carefulness in Action Resulting from Reflecting on the Difficulty of Escaping from the Lower Realms
Verses 21 and 22 provide the reasoning to support these above quotations from The Sūtra of Nanda's Going Forth.
If through the evil action of a single instant
I must spend an aeon in the hell of Unrelenting Pain,
The evils in saṃsāra stored from time without beginning
—
No need to say that they will keep me from the states of bliss!
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 56 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
bskal par mnar med gnas 'gyur na/_/
thog med 'khor bar bsags sdig gis/_/
bde 'gror mi 'gro smos ci dgos/_/
Specifically, here, an "evil action of a single instant" refers to malevolence toward a bodhisattva or to the five negative actions with immediate effect. These are exceptionally heavy karmic actions that can cause someone to die swiftly and to fall directly into a very bad birth without the usual intervening period in the bardo (bar do).[27] This verse explains how, since we have been accumulating such extremely bad karmic actions since beginningless time, there must be so many nonvirtues imprinted on our mindstreams that have not yet ripened. And since we have not purified nearly all of them, how can we expect again to find a happy state of rebirth. The next verse explains that just by experiencing the negative karmic consequences of an action we will not be free from these unhappy states.
And mere experience of such pain
Does not result in being freed from it.
For in the very suffering of such states,
More evil will occur, and then in great abundance.
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 56 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
[ toggle Tib. ]
[ tib / wyl ]
དེ་ཙམ་ཁོ་ན་མྱོང་གྱུར་ནས། །
འདི་ནི་རྣམ་ཐར་མི་འགྱུར་ཏེ། །
འདི་ལྟར་དེ་ནི་[p.27]Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa rtsa ba dang 'grel pa (1990) Slob dpon zhi ba lha and Mkhan po kun dpal. Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa rtsa ba dang 'grel pa. Khreng tu'u: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1990. མྱོང་བཞིན་དུ། །
སྡིག་པ་གཞན་དག་རབ་ཏུ་སྐྱེ། །
de tsam kho na myongs gyur nas/_/
'di ni rnam thar mi 'gyur te/_/
'di ltar de ni [p.27]Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa rtsa ba dang 'grel pa (1990) Slob dpon zhi ba lha and Mkhan po kun dpal. Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa rtsa ba dang 'grel pa. Khreng tu'u: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1990. myong bzhin du/_/
sdig pa gzhan dag rab tu skye/_/
We may think it will not be difficult to escape the lower realms and that once the results of our earlier negative actions have been exhausted we will again take rebirth in one of the higher realms. But our experience of the karmic effects alone is not what liberates us from these unhappy states. In these lower realms virtue is very rare, and beings constantly accumulate further negative karma through committing terrible negative actions. Such beings are trapped in a vicious downward spiral of negativity. This is partly because karmic effects similar to the cause of previous negative actions will ripen in powerful tendencies toward states of mind such as aggression or extreme desire.
Having Obtained This Human Form, It Is Important to Strive in Virtue
With respect to what is to be done once one has gained the precious human rebirth, Śāntideva instructs us to perform virtuous actions and warns against not doing so.
Thus, having found this moment of reprieve,
If I now fail to train myself in virtue,
What greater folly could there ever be?
How more could I betray myself?
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 56 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
bdag gis dge goms ma byas na/_/
'di las bslus pa gzhan med de/_/
'di las myongs pa'ang gzhan med do/_/
Khenpo Kunpal elaborates on the meaning of this verse and the benefits of practicing virtue in this way:
With regard to the practice of the sublime Dharma, it is difficult to find oneself in a situation in which one has an aptitude for its accomplishment. And having found such a thing—the freedoms of this precious human existence and the facts of discovering the Dharma and meeting a perfect teacher—one may, in the best of cases, achieve the ultimate goal in this very lifetime. In the next best case, one will be able to secure the human condition in one’s next life and to awaken therein to the lineage of the Bodhisattvas. In the least of cases, one will have no regrets at the moment of death.[28]
Thus, according to Śāntideva, having found it difficult to find freedom with great meaning, if we do not strive to meditate on and generate the cause for higher rebirth
and liberation, then there is no better method of self-deception. If we fail to train ourselves in virtue and are unable to accomplish anything positive, if we are carried away by the eight worldly concerns (gain and loss, fame and lack of fame, praise and blame, pleasure and sorrow), our entire lives will be consumed with distractions, and we will completely deceive ourselves. For Śāntideva, there is indeed no greater deception than this. There is also no greater delusion than that which prevents us from seeing what needs to be taken up on the path and what needs to be discarded. From this perspective, our awareness is weak, and we can easily fall under the sway of confusion. Along these lines, the last two lines of verse 23 have also been translated in the following way:
There is no greater deception than this,
Beyond this no greater delusion.[29]
Thus, Śāntideva tells us, we should also be careful not to follow after the sense objects, which are so cunning and easily mislead us. Instead, we must cultivate conscientiousness and practice the Dharma wholeheartedly.
In his commentary to the Bodhicaryāvatāra, Sonam Tsemo gives a very interesting interpretation of what deception and delusion specifically mean in this verse. He writes, "The deception here is thinking of this life. The delusion is not understanding the harm for future lives."[30]
It is so easy for us to deceive ourselves into thinking only about this life, and our conduct becomes easily swayed by that perspective. This causes us to misunderstand how much the negative actions done now will harm us in our future lives. Therefore, we must be conscious of our conduct right now, both for the sake of ourselves in this life and all future lives and for the sake of all others as well.
Why It Is Necessary to Abandon Negativity and Practice Virtue
Next, Śāntideva reflects on how he has not attained a precious human rebirth in a very long time but now by some accident of merit has gained one. He stresses how vital it is not to fall victim to the same forms of senseless conduct as he did in the past. It would be the greatest of losses, he remarks, to allow ourselves to be led back down into the lower realms, a place we have all been before, when this precious life in a human form is exhausted.
For it’s as if by chance that I have gained
This state so hard to find, wherein to help myself.
If now, while having such discernment,
I am once again consigned to hell,
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 57 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
The discernment mentioned here is the wisdom to discern that from the causes of virtue the result of happiness arises, and from the causes of evil the result of suffering will arise. We may wonder how we could know that we have come from the hells into this life. To illustrate this, Khenpo Kunpal quotes a story of the historical Buddha.
As he was about to enter his parinirvana, the Buddha, like a father who, before embarking on a sea voyage leaves his will and testament for his young son in the safe keeping of his relatives, said to the supremely noble Avalokita and Manjughosha and others, "When beings now in hell who have some slight connection with me are freed from their sufferings and gain a human form, give them this treasury of knowledge that I have accumulated for three countless kalpas."[31]
For Śāntideva, if by some amazing chance we are blessed with this wisdom to be able to discern the qualities of virtue and the faults of negative actions, and yet we allow this chance, replete with so many conducive conditions, to slip through our fingers, it is as if we have come under some powerful and self-destructive spell.
I am as if benumbed by sorcery,
As if reduced to total mindlessness. (4.27ab)[32]
In relation to this verse, Khenpo Kunpal quotes Longchenpa (1308–1364), the renowned scholar of the Nyingma sect known for his teachings on Dzogchen (rdzogs chen).
We do not grasp things when explained;
We do not understand when things are shown to us.
Great balls of iron are our hearts, great lumps of flint.
We're mindless—there’s the honest truth![33]
It is a bit harsh to say that our hearts are great balls of stone, but according to Śāntideva we continue to mindlessly want goodness for ourselves here in this contaminated samsaric world, and we ignore the causes which lead us on to the path to enlightenment. In this way, we have lost our autonomy by failing to recognize our confusion and stupidity, and we are like someone being manipulated by an evil mantra.
Conscientiousness in Regard to the Afflictions Which Are to Be Abandoned
It is important for us to identify what the real "sorcery" is that holds us spellbound. This question then leads us on to the next focus of conscientiousness, which is how to get rid of afflictive emotions.
At the end of this section on how to develop conscientiousness of our precious human rebirth, Minyak Kunzang Sönam, in his commentary to the Bodhicaryāvatāra, quotes from Nāgārjuna's Letter To a Friend (Suhṛllekha) in order to remind us of one of the main purposes of practice.
Of these eight defective states that give no opportunity
You must be free, and, finding opportunity,
Be diligent, to put a stop to birth.[34]
Nāgārjuna illustrates that one of the main purposes of practice is to be able to cut the chain of rebirth in samsara whilst under the power of ignorance and karma. To do this, one of the most important factors is having the freedoms and endowments of a precious human rebirth. Therefore, we must be conscious and pay heed to our actions at all times or run the risk of falling into the unhappy states of existence.
The Defects of the Afflictive Emotions: Verses 28 to 35
In verse 27 Śāntideva tells us that we have become mindless, as if overcome by some form of sorcery. Therefore, we need to investigate this situation and ask ourselves, "What is it that renders us so stupid?"
I do not know what dulls my wits.
O what is it that has me in its grip? (4.27cd)[35]
And in answer to that question, Śāntideva makes a reply.
Anger, lust, these enemies of mine,
Are limbless and devoid of faculties. (4.28ab)[36]
Aversion and craving, together with ignorance, are indeed the parents of samsaric existence. All the afflictions, including both the root afflictions[37]and the secondary afflictions[38]are our own inner enemies.
Śāntideva is careful to point out that these afflictions are not like ordinary physical enemies. He calls them "cowardly," "lazy," and "stupid" enemies. He asks himself, "How have I allowed these afflictions to reduce me to a state of abject slavery? Why do I still honor them?"
The afflictions are not even clever about the way they deceive us, and yet how is it that they have managed to bring everyone—the high or low, strong or weak—under their spell? Attachment is seductive and appears as if a close friend whispering to us, "What you have right now is not sufficient. You need more." Driven by these thoughts, we do not rest, day and night, in the pursuit of fame and fortune. Anger also seems to come to us as a friend, often in the guise of helping protect us. But slaves to our aversion, we are thrown into committing actions which could even cost us our lives.
As Śāntideva states in verse 29, the afflictions have made our own minds their residence, and as long as we allow them to remain there, often entertaining them like guests, they will harm us at their will.
They dwell within my mind
And at their pleasure injure me.
All this I suffer meekly, unresenting—
Thus my abject patience, all displaced!
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 57 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
With regard to this, Thrangu Rinpoche (1933–2023), the renowned scholar and teacher of the Kagyu school, in this section of his commentary to the Bodhicaryāvatāra, instructs us to ask ourselves the following questions:
"Why do these disturbing emotions cause so much damage and harm, yet I am so patient with them? Why be patient with something so harmful? If I can't develop patience for a worldly human enemy, how would I have the capability of handling just a small fault? A human being provoking you can't cause your rebirth in hell. But your emotions can have the power to carry you to the extreme suffering of hell. So, don't be patient and forebear these neurotic emotions - fight them."[39]
Even if all the kings of the gods or the asuras rose up against us, they would not have the power to cast us down into the depths of the hells. They can do no more than harm our body and our belongings. The afflictions in our own minds are very different. In an instant they can lead us straight to the worst states in samsara.
Other external enemies do not endure. They may cause harm for a period of time, but inevitably at some point that negative influence must cease. However, the afflictions, Śāntideva asserts, have been with us since beginningless time, present in our mindstreams throughout all of our lives. Their disturbing influence will be with us until we reach enlightenment.
O my enemy, afflictive passion,
Endless and beginningless companion!
No other enemy indeed
Is able to endure so long![p.58]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 57 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
dus ring thog mtha' med pa ltar/_/
dgra gzhan kun kyang de lta bur/_/
yun ring thub pa ma yin no/_/
We cannot rest easy whilst these afflictions hold sway over us. Meditation on the antidote to the afflictions is very useful, but it must be sustained. Just doing a single session will not have much effect. We should strive to create an uninterrupted stream of effort which focuses on destroying the afflictions.
And Śāntideva mentions another crucial difference between the ordinary external enemies and the internal enemy of our afflictions.
All other foes that I appease and wait upon
Will show me favors, give me every aid,
But should I serve my dark defiled emotions,
They will only harm me, draw me down to grief.
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 58 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
With an ordinary enemy it may be possible to appease them by offering them tribute or making gestures of peace toward them. They could eventually even become allies and offer us assistance. But, according to Śāntideva, this is completely impossible with the afflictive emotions. The more we befriend the afflictions the worst our situation will get. If we yield even an inch to their demands, they will drag us down into grief, in this life and the next. As long as we live with them, we will never be truly happy. We must therefore be constantly conscious of them and turn them back at every moment.
If thus my ancient and unceasing foes,
The wellspring only of my growing pain,
Can lodge so safe within my heart,
How can I live so blithe and fearless in this wheel of life?
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 58 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
gnod pa'i tshogs rab 'phel ba'i rgyu gcig pu/_/
bdag gi snying la nges par gnas 'cha' na/_/
'khor bar 'jigs med dga' bar ga la 'gyur/_/
Just as fire is naturally hot, the afflictions are naturally destructive to our lives. From them alone spring all the sorrows of this life and all future lives in samsara. And yet the basic reason for all these ills is the fact that we do not fear samsara.
Elaborating on samsara and bodhisattvas' relationship to samsara, Khenpo Kunpal states that
it is like a ditch of fire or a den of venomous snakes and is suffering by its very nature. On the contrary, we take pleasure in it. There lies the blame. How can we enjoy and be attached to samsaric things? It is completely senseless.
Although they have no desire for the sufferings of samsara, Bodhisattvas take birth there and strive for the welfare of beings. This is because they are moved by compassion. It is not that they take pleasure in samsara, for if they did, they would want beings to stay there and not be liberated. But this is not the case. It is said that the Bodhisattvas themselves cannot stand the unbearable sorrows of beings in samsara. They therefore make little of their own suffering and remain in samsara for the sake of others.[40]
Although the afflictions have a very seductive side to them, Śāntideva points out that they are in fact the jailers who keep us bound in samsara.
And if the jail guards of the prisons of saṃsāra,
The butchers and tormentors of infernal realms,
All lurk within me in the web of craving,
What joy can ever be my destiny?
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 58 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
gsod byed gshed mar gyur pa 'di dag ni/_/
gal te blo gnas chags pa'i dra ba ni/_/
gnas na bdag la bde ba ga la yod/_/
The afflictions do not lead us to joy and happiness but are the very guardians of this self-made prison. We are like a fish all tangled up in their net. When we are born in the lower realms, these afflictions become the executioners and the denizens of hell. These are the real enemies that we must strive with all our effort to destroy. We will never find physical or mental peace until we have done away with them.
Gyaltsap Je concludes this section in his commentary on the Bodhicaryāvatāra by asking how one can enjoy samsaric existence given the harm caused by the afflictive emotions.
Therefore, if this continual long time enemy, who is the singular unrivalled cause for the strong increase of the accumulation of all harm, takes up permanent residence in my heart, then how can cyclic existence be free and joyful?[41]
Putting Up with the Hardships Involved in Abandoning the Afflictions
Of course, in the process of destroying the afflictions there will be many hardships. We are so accustomed to them and so addicted to their influence in our lives that to challenge them will not be easy. But Śāntideva reminds us that in many people's lives they will have to endure much suffering just to find enough food to feed them and their families.
When fishers, butchers, farmers, and the like,
Intending just to gain their livelihood,
Will suffer all the miseries of heat and cold,
Why, for beings’ happiness, should those like me not bear the same?
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 59 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
rang gi 'tsho ba tsam zhig sems pa yang /_/
grang dang tsha la sogs pa'i gnod bzod na/_/
'gro ba bde phyir bdag ltas cis mi bzod/_/
If they can put up with so much hardship for a much more personal goal of smaller scope, for the greater purpose of attaining the fully enlightened state, we should be able to withstand so much more.
A tone of regret enters Śāntideva's voice at this point in the last verses of this section.
When I pledged myself to free from their afflictions
Beings who abide in every region,
Stretching to the limits of the sky,
I was myself not free from such defilements.
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 59 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
'gro ba nyon mongs las bsgral bar/_/
dam bcas gang tshe bdag nyid kyang /_/
nyon mongs rnams las ma grol ba/_/
To speak like that, not knowing my capacity,
Were these not, truly, but a madman’s words?
More reason then for never drawing back
Abandoning the fight against defiled affliction.55The point being made is that pledges should be honored. In order to liberate others it is necessary to be free oneself; and Shāntideva is saying that the purification of oneʼs own defilements is the best way of helping others. It is the indispensable first step.
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 59 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
[ toggle Tib. ]
[ tib / wyl ]
བདག་གི་ཚོད་ཀྱང་མི་ཤེས་པར། །
སྨྲ་བ་ཇི་ལྟར་སྨྱོན་[p.30]Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa rtsa ba dang 'grel pa (1990) Slob dpon zhi ba lha and Mkhan po kun dpal. Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa rtsa ba dang 'grel pa. Khreng tu'u: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1990. པ་མིན། །
དེ་ལྟས་ཉོན་མོངས་གཞོམ་པ་ལ། །
རྟག་ཏུ་ཕྱིར་མི་ལྡོག་པར་བྱ། །
bdag gi tshod kyang mi shes par/_/
smra ba ji ltar smyon [p.30]Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa rtsa ba dang 'grel pa (1990) Slob dpon zhi ba lha and Mkhan po kun dpal. Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa rtsa ba dang 'grel pa. Khreng tu'u: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1990. pa min/_/
de ltas nyon mongs gzhom pa la/_/
rtag tu phyir mi ldog par bya/_/
Here, Śāntideva says that when previously generating bodhicitta, he made a promise to the beings in the ten directions to help them be liberated from all their karma and the afflictions. He specifically promised not to destroy his own afflictions alone, as that would lead him merely to the solitary peace of nirvana.
But when this pledge was made, Śāntideva himself was not free from the negative emotions. Looking back now, he feels that this was indeed an ill-considered promise. Not taking realistic stock of his qualities and abilities, he feels it is almost the act of a madman. "How," he asks, "could I have the ability to release others from afflictions if I had not already destroyed my own?" It is akin to promising to save someone from a swiftly flowing river whilst we ourselves are bound and drowning. But that promise has been made, and now that pledge must be honored.
Unless we are able to destroy the afflictions, this vow of ours to guide all sentient beings to the highest state of buddhahood will never be fulfilled. Therefore, we must strive with utmost diligence in the antidotes.
How to Abandon the Afflictions
Having developed conscientiousness in regard to the faults of the afflictions, in verses 43 to 48 Śāntideva then explains the process through which we challenge and eventually overcome them.
This shall be my all-consuming passion.
Filled with rancor I will wage my war!
Defilement of this kind will halt defilement
And for this reason it shall not be spurned.
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 59 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
khon du bzung nas g.yul sprad de/_/
rnam pa de 'dra'i nyon mongs pa/_/
nyon mongs 'joms byed ma gtogs so/_/
Here, Śāntideva tells us, one should hold tight to the antidotes and destroy the afflictions by meeting them head on in battle. But the third line of this verse seems rather curious. How could it be that defilement could halt defilement? In his commentary, Gyaltsap Je illuminates this doubt.
There is attachment to the antidotes and anger towards what is to be abandoned, and also there is resentment or holding a grudge towards those objects of abandonment. But since all of these are also afflictive emotions, shouldn't they be something to be abandoned?[42]
In addition, Khenpo Kunpal points out that although afflictions such as resentment can be used as an antidote against the afflictions, they will still need to be overcome at some point.
It could be argued that passion and rancor are themselves types of attachment and aversion, and that they must consequently be rejected. But defilements such as these, namely passion for the antidotes and rancor against defilements, are, in the early stages, means by which the negative emotions are to be destroyed. This is why, for the time being, they are not to be regarded as things to be rejected. They should not be spurned. All the same, they do constitute cognitive obscurations and at some point, they too will have to be abandoned.[43]
Sometimes we may feel that it might be easier to just go along with the afflictions and that the very process of having to destroy them brings us great suffering and hardship. But Śāntideva makes it very clear to us that we should never give in to their power.
Better if I perish in the fire,
Better that my head be severed from my body
Than ever I should serve or reverence
My mortal enemies, defiled emotions.
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 59 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
bdag gi mgo bo bcad kyang bla'i/_/
rnam pa kun tu nyon mongs pa'i/_/
dgra la 'dud par mi bya'o/_/
Better to lose our lives, he warns us, than to surrender to this internal enemy. The afflictions can cause much longer-term damage, dragging us down into birth in the lower realms from which it is then so hard to escape.
Since it seems almost impossible to permanently destroy all external enemies, we may also wonder whether there is any hope of completely overcoming our afflictions. However, Śāntideva gives us hope in our fight against our delusions by impressing upon us the difference between ordinary external enemies and the internal enemy of the afflictions.
Common foes, when driven from the state,
Retreat and base themselves in other lands,
And muster all their strength the better to return.
But enemy afflictions are without such stratagems.
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 59 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
yul gzhan dag tu gnas shing yongs bzung nas/_/
nus pa brtas nas de nas phyir ldog gi_/
nyon mongs dgra tshul de dang 'dra ma yin/_/
Even if an ordinary foe is temporarily defeated in battle, they may be able to retreat and escape to another land for immediate safety. Because their army has not been entirely destroyed, they will lick their wounds and slowly regroup and regain their strength. They may elicit help from other opponents of ours and then make fresh plans to return and raid our lands or fight us again on the battlefield. But, Śāntideva tells us, the defiled mental states are not like this.
Miserable defilements, scattered by the eye of wisdom!
Where will you now run, when driven from my mind?
Whence would you return to do me harm?
But oh, my mind is feeble. I am indolent![p.60]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 59 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
bdag yid las bsal gang du 'gro bar 'gyur/_/
gang du gnas nas bdag gnod bya phyir 'ong /_/
blo zhan bdag la brtson pa med par zad/_/
Śāntideva taunts the afflictions, calling them pathetic and miserable. His reasoning is that, unlike external enemies, the defilements have little power against being cast out by their antidote, the eye of wisdom. He reminds us that they can be cut away at their very root and prevented from ever arising again.
One very important point here is that the afflictions have a faulty foundation. They are based on a mistaken perception, and when that mistake is fully comprehended, this newfound wisdom can then drive the afflictions away forever. It is similar to the moment when we see through a magician's trick and understand that we have been deceived all along. This connects with the topic of the third of the four noble truths, the truth of the cessation of suffering.
The Ultimate Nature of the Afflictions
Connected with the eye of wisdom mentioned above, Śāntideva briefly mentions another crucial point that comes up throughout the text but is dealt with in greatest detail in the ninth chapter on wisdom. One very important aspect of learning how to deal with the afflictions is to understand their nature, not just from a relative perspective but also from an ultimate perspective.
Defilements are not in the object,
Nor within the faculties, nor somewhere in between.
And if not elsewhere, where is their abode,
Whence they inflict their havoc on the world?
They are simple mirages, and so take heart!
Banish all your fear and strive to know their nature.
Why suffer needlessly the pains of hell?
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 60 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
nyon mongs rnams ni yul na mi gnas dbang tshogs la min bar na'ang min/_/
de las gzhan na'ang min na 'di dag gar gnas 'gro ba kun gnod byed/_/
'di ni sgyu 'dra de phyir snying la 'jigs spangs shes phyir brtson pa bsten/_/
don med nyid du bdag la dmyal sogs rnams su ci ste gnod pa byed/_/
The afflictive defilements appear on a relative level to have a disruptive quality, disturbing our minds and wreaking havoc in the world in general. But with a much more careful and detailed investigation of their real nature we cannot find them anywhere. We can come to see that they are mere mirages or illusions, and with this wisdom we start to release ourselves from their grasp.
Ultimately, we must not focus on more superficial aspects of the sense objects and our daily experience but instead understand the ultimate nature of our minds and phenomena—that they do not truly exist in the way that they appear. Bringing this understanding to the afflictions allows us to see through them and cut them down right from their root.
Śāntideva points out that the afflictions reside neither in objects of these afflictions external to us nor in the sense powers nor somewhere in between.
The afflictions are not to be found inherently in the external objects of form, such as our friends and enemies, because if this were the case, the arhats would generate afflictions when they see forms. If they were actually based in such objects, it would also have to follow that when other people encountered the external objects, they would experience exactly the same negative emotions of aversion and attraction in exactly the same way that we do. We know that this is not the case, so the afflictions cannot be inherently present in outer objects. Illustrating this, Khenpo Kunpal explains further why the afflictions cannot inherently reside in the sense organs, such as the eye sense power.
But neither do they subsist within the conjunction of the sense organs and consciousness. For even when sense power and consciousness meet, defilements do not automatically arise. If the defilements were intrinsic to such conjunctions, it would mean that whenever we see or hear anything, attachment or aversion would be felt, whereas this does not happen.[44]
Neither can these afflictions exist in some kind of way in the intervening space between object and consciousness because that intervening space is empty.
Under this kind of ultimate analysis, we find that the afflictions have no dwelling place. And if they cannot abide in beings, nor anywhere in the outer universe, we may start to wonder where on earth they could be. These very same afflictions are the ones that have tormented us since time without beginning, and yet when we look more closely, they have no true nature of their own.
Khenpo Kunpal also offers us a slightly different but equally profound technique with which to look into the afflictions.
Whatever defiled thoughts of craving or aversion arise in the mind, we should recognize them for what they are, in their nakedness. First we should search for where they have come from, then we should search for where they dwell in the present moment, and finally we should search for where they go. If we do this, if we strive to see, by means of this technique, that the defilements are without inherent existence, it will be easy to discard them, for they are without intrinsic being.[45]
Finally, we are able to see clearly with the eye of wisdom. We realize that the afflictions, and indeed all phenomena, cannot withstand this kind of detailed analysis into their true nature. Things appear to exist inherently, and yet they cannot be found in any of these spheres. They are like illusions or mirages that have deceived us, appearing in one way but actually existing in a completely different manner.
This exalted understanding of prajñā, the wisdom which sees through to the lack of an inherent nature in all phenomena, can help us to tackle the afflictions and aid us in destroying them forever.
To illustrate how we are often so confused as to where the real problem lies and how correct wisdom is so important in orienting ourselves on the Buddhist path, Khenpo Kunpal cites The Heap of Jewels Sūtra (Ratnakūṭasūtra), which states the following:
In future times, O Kashyapa, there will be conceited monks who will be like dogs running after stones. Excited by [the throwing of] a stone, a dog will chase after it; it will not chase the person who threw it. In the same way, O Kashyapa, certain monks and practitioners will persistently discriminate between forms, sounds, smells, taste, and textures. They will understand that these are impermanent, deceptive, and liable to destruction, yet they will not know whence they arise. . . .
In times to come, however, O Kashyapa, there will be other monk-yogis who will not be like dogs chasing after stones. If you throw a stone at a lion, it will know where the stone has come from. It will chase not the stone but the one who threw it, with the result that no more stones will be thrown! In the same way, when monks who practice yoga behold the outer objects of the senses, they know that the latter take their origin in the mind. And having examined the mind, they know that it is not truly existent, and thus they are free.[46]
His final words to us are an admonishment to practice.
This is how I should reflect and labor,
That I might apply the precepts thus set forth.
What invalids in need of medicine
Ignored their doctor’s words and gained their health?
[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006) Page(s) 60 Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.
[ toggle Tib. ]
[ tib / wyl ]
དེ་ལྟར་རྣམས་བསམས་ཇི་སྐད་བཤད་པ་ཡི། །
བསླབ་པ་[p.31]Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa rtsa ba dang 'grel pa (1990) Slob dpon zhi ba lha and Mkhan po kun dpal. Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa rtsa ba dang 'grel pa. Khreng tu'u: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1990. བསྒྲུབ་པའི་ཆེད་དུ་འབད་པར་བྱ། །
སྨན་པའི་ངག་མ་མཉན་ན་སྨན་དག་གིས། །
བཅོས་དགོས་ནད་པ་སོས་པ་ག་ལ་ཡོད། །
de ltar rnams bsams ji skad bshad pa yi/_/
bslab pa [p.31]Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa rtsa ba dang 'grel pa (1990) Slob dpon zhi ba lha and Mkhan po kun dpal. Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa rtsa ba dang 'grel pa. Khreng tu'u: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1990. bsgrub pa'i ched du 'bad par bya/_/
sman pa'i ngag ma mnyan na sman dag gis/_/
bcos dgos nad pa sos pa ga la yod/_/
The Buddha is often likened to a doctor and the Dharma to medicine. Here, Śāntideva likens our condition to that of a patient who has been prescribed a curative medicine by a physician. Who, he asks us, having consulted with a doctor and been prescribed an appropriate medicine for their specific disease, would not then take the actual medicine? We may have been given guidance about following a particular diet or avoiding certain unhealthy foods or habits, but if we fail to follow the doctor's advice, how can we ever hope to be cured?
In this last verse Śāntideva summarizes the chapter, saying that we need to develop the conscientiousness which is aware of the preciousness of a human life endowed with the freedoms and endowments and the conscientiousness which is aware of what is to be abandoned, the mental afflictions.
We have taken up the spirit of bodhicitta, the mind wishing to attain the fully enlightened state for the welfare of others. To protect this bodhicitta from declining and to be able to accomplish the trainings of the bodhisattva's path, we need discipline. That discipline relies on the practice of conscientiousness.
Without conscientiousness, we cannot identify which practices and conduct we need to take up and which ones we need to relinquish in order to follow the training of the bodhisattva. Without conscientiousness, we will not be able to maintain virtuous states of mind, and we will not be able to remove the faulty mental states that continually disturb our mental peace.
↑Sara Boin-Webb, trans., Abhidharmasamuccaya: The Compendium of the Higher Teaching (Philosophy) by Asanga. Originally translated into French and annotated by Walpola Rahula (Fremont, CA: Asian Humanities Press, 2001), 11.
↑Attachment, anger, pride, ignorance, doubt, and wrong view.
↑Belligerence, grudge-holding, concealment, spite, jealousy, miserliness, dishonesty, deceit, haughtiness, harmful intent, lack of sense of shame, lack of fear of blame, dullness, mental agitation, lack of faith, laziness, carelessness, forgetfulness, distraction, and lack of vigilance.
↑Gyaltsab Darma Rinchen, Entrance Way for the Children of the Conquerors: An Extensive Explanation of the Bodhicaryāvatāra, Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa'i ram shad rgyal seas 'jug ngogs (Taiwan: Gaden Jangtse Thosam Norling Dratsang, 2007), 129.
↑Blankleder and Fletcher, Nectar of Manjushri's Speech, 162. As the Ratnakūṭa is a collection of forty-nine sūtras, the actual sūtra cited here is the Kāśyapaparivartasūtra, Toh 87. According to 84000, this work, in its own right, was known as the Ratnakūṭasūtra in several Indian treatises.
An "Introduction to Bodhisattva Practice," the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra is a poem about the path of a bodhisattva, in ten chapters, written by the Indian Buddhist Śāntideva (fl. c. 685–763). One of the masterpieces of world literature, it is a core text of Mahāyāna Buddhism and continues to be taught, studied, and commented upon in many languages and by many traditions around the world. The main subject of the text is bodhicitta, the altruistic aspiration for enlightenment, and the path and practices of the bodhisattva, the six perfections (pāramitās). The text forms the basis of many contemporary discussions of Buddhist ethics and philosophy.
Text
Bodhicitta - The altruistic thought to seek enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. It is said to have two aspects: compassion aimed at sentient beings and their problems and the wisdom of enlightenment as the solution. Skt बोधिचित्त Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས། Ch 菩提心
Bodhicitta - The altruistic thought to seek enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. It is said to have two aspects: compassion aimed at sentient beings and their problems and the wisdom of enlightenment as the solution. Skt बोधिचित्त Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས། Ch 菩提心
Tsukamoto, Keisho, Yukei Matsunaga, and Hirofumi Isoda, eds. "Śāntideva." In A Descriptive Bibliography of the Sanskrit Buddhist Literature. Vol. 3, Abhidharma, Madhyamaka, Yogācāra, Buddhist Epistemology and Logic, 250–69. Kyoto: Heirakuji-Shoten, 1990.
Lang, Karen. "Śāntideva." In Buddhist Philosophy from 600 to 750 A.D., edited by Karl H. Potter, 137–39. Vol. 21 of Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2017.
Potter, Karl H., David J. Kalupahana, and Michael J. Sweet. "Śāntideva." In Buddhist Philosophy from 600 to 750 A.D., edited by Karl H. Potter, 516–25. Vol. 21 of Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2017.
Potter, Karl H. ed. "Śāntideva." In Bibliography: Part 1, Texts Whose Authors Can Be Dated; Authors Listed Chronologically, 5th through 9th Century. Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies. Online edition. Last updated Apr 15, 2020. https://faculty.washington.edu/kpotter/xtxt2.htm.
Lele, Amod. "Śāntideva." In Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by James Fieser and Bradley Dowden. Accessed Feb. 11, 2021. https://iep.utm.edu/santideva/.
Gelek, Ngawang. Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life: An Oral Explanation of Chapter 4; Conscientiousness. Transcription of Teachings, 1998–99. Ann Arbor: Jewel Heart, 2002.
Śāntideva (ཞི་བ་ལྷ་). Bodhicaryāvatāra [बोधिचर्यावतार]. byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa [བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་སྤྱོད་པ་ལ་འཇུག་པ།]. [The Way of the Bodhisattva]. Tengyur, RKTST 3216 http://www.rkts.org/cat.php?id=3216&typ=2.
Bodhicitta - The altruistic thought to seek enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. It is said to have two aspects: compassion aimed at sentient beings and their problems and the wisdom of enlightenment as the solution. Skt बोधिचित्त Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས། Ch 菩提心
Bodhicitta - The altruistic thought to seek enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. It is said to have two aspects: compassion aimed at sentient beings and their problems and the wisdom of enlightenment as the solution. Skt बोधिचित्त Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས། Ch 菩提心
Bodhicitta - The altruistic thought to seek enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. It is said to have two aspects: compassion aimed at sentient beings and their problems and the wisdom of enlightenment as the solution. Skt बोधिचित्त Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས། Ch 菩提心
Bodhicitta - The altruistic thought to seek enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. It is said to have two aspects: compassion aimed at sentient beings and their problems and the wisdom of enlightenment as the solution. Skt बोधिचित्त Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས། Ch 菩提心
Mahāyāna - Mahāyāna, or the Great Vehicle, refers to the system of Buddhist thought and practice which developed around the beginning of Common Era, focusing on the pursuit of the state of full enlightenment of the Buddha through the realization of the wisdom of emptiness and the cultivation of compassion. Skt महायान Tib ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ། Ch 大乘
Pāramitā - The six or ten types of practices which lead an individual to Buddhahood. The practice of perfections is particularly important in Mahāyāna Buddhism in which the entire path of the Bodhisattva to reach full enlightenment is included in the six or ten perfections. The six perfections are that of giving, of discipline, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom. The perfection of skill-in-means, aspirations, power, and pristine wisdom are added to them to make ten perfections. Skt पारमिता Tib ཕར་ཕྱིན། and ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ། Ch 波羅蜜
Pāramitā - The six or ten types of practices which lead an individual to Buddhahood. The practice of perfections is particularly important in Mahāyāna Buddhism in which the entire path of the Bodhisattva to reach full enlightenment is included in the six or ten perfections. The six perfections are that of giving, of discipline, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom. The perfection of skill-in-means, aspirations, power, and pristine wisdom are added to them to make ten perfections. Skt पारमिता Tib ཕར་ཕྱིན། and ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ། Ch 波羅蜜
Pāramitā - The six or ten types of practices which lead an individual to Buddhahood. The practice of perfections is particularly important in Mahāyāna Buddhism in which the entire path of the Bodhisattva to reach full enlightenment is included in the six or ten perfections. The six perfections are that of giving, of discipline, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom. The perfection of skill-in-means, aspirations, power, and pristine wisdom are added to them to make ten perfections. Skt पारमिता Tib ཕར་ཕྱིན། and ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ། Ch 波羅蜜
Pāramitā - The six or ten types of practices which lead an individual to Buddhahood. The practice of perfections is particularly important in Mahāyāna Buddhism in which the entire path of the Bodhisattva to reach full enlightenment is included in the six or ten perfections. The six perfections are that of giving, of discipline, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom. The perfection of skill-in-means, aspirations, power, and pristine wisdom are added to them to make ten perfections. Skt पारमिता Tib ཕར་ཕྱིན། and ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ། Ch 波羅蜜
Pāramitā - The six or ten types of practices which lead an individual to Buddhahood. The practice of perfections is particularly important in Mahāyāna Buddhism in which the entire path of the Bodhisattva to reach full enlightenment is included in the six or ten perfections. The six perfections are that of giving, of discipline, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom. The perfection of skill-in-means, aspirations, power, and pristine wisdom are added to them to make ten perfections. Skt पारमिता Tib ཕར་ཕྱིན། and ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ། Ch 波羅蜜
Pāramitā - The six or ten types of practices which lead an individual to Buddhahood. The practice of perfections is particularly important in Mahāyāna Buddhism in which the entire path of the Bodhisattva to reach full enlightenment is included in the six or ten perfections. The six perfections are that of giving, of discipline, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom. The perfection of skill-in-means, aspirations, power, and pristine wisdom are added to them to make ten perfections. Skt पारमिता Tib ཕར་ཕྱིན། and ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ། Ch 波羅蜜
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Pāramitā - The six or ten types of practices which lead an individual to Buddhahood. The practice of perfections is particularly important in Mahāyāna Buddhism in which the entire path of the Bodhisattva to reach full enlightenment is included in the six or ten perfections. The six perfections are that of giving, of discipline, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom. The perfection of skill-in-means, aspirations, power, and pristine wisdom are added to them to make ten perfections. Skt पारमिता Tib ཕར་ཕྱིན། and ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ། Ch 波羅蜜
Pāramitā - The six or ten types of practices which lead an individual to Buddhahood. The practice of perfections is particularly important in Mahāyāna Buddhism in which the entire path of the Bodhisattva to reach full enlightenment is included in the six or ten perfections. The six perfections are that of giving, of discipline, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom. The perfection of skill-in-means, aspirations, power, and pristine wisdom are added to them to make ten perfections. Skt पारमिता Tib ཕར་ཕྱིན། and ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ། Ch 波羅蜜
Pāramitā - The six or ten types of practices which lead an individual to Buddhahood. The practice of perfections is particularly important in Mahāyāna Buddhism in which the entire path of the Bodhisattva to reach full enlightenment is included in the six or ten perfections. The six perfections are that of giving, of discipline, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom. The perfection of skill-in-means, aspirations, power, and pristine wisdom are added to them to make ten perfections. Skt पारमिता Tib ཕར་ཕྱིན། and ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ། Ch 波羅蜜
Geluk - The Geluk tradition traces its origin to Tsongkhapa, who propagated a modified version of the Kadampa lojong and lamrim teachings. It is the dominant tradition of Tibet, having established its control of the government under the figure of the Dalai Lama. Tib དགེ་ལུགས་
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Bodhicitta - The altruistic thought to seek enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. It is said to have two aspects: compassion aimed at sentient beings and their problems and the wisdom of enlightenment as the solution. Skt बोधिचित्त Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས། Ch 菩提心
Bodhicitta - The altruistic thought to seek enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. It is said to have two aspects: compassion aimed at sentient beings and their problems and the wisdom of enlightenment as the solution. Skt बोधिचित्त Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས། Ch 菩提心
Abhidharma - Abhidharma generally refers to the corpus of Buddhist texts which deals with the typological, phenomenological, metaphysical, and epistemological presentation of Buddhist concepts and teachings. The abhidharma teachings present a meta-knowledge of Buddhist sūtras through analytical and systemic schemas and are said to focus on developing wisdom among the three principles of training. The Abhidharma is presented alongside Sūtra and Vinaya as one of the three baskets of the teachings of the Buddha. Skt अभिधर्म Tib ཆོས་མངོན་པ། Ch 阿毗达磨
Kleśa - Often referred to as poisons, these are a class of disturbing or disruptive emotional states that when aroused negatively affect or taint the mind. Skt क्लेश Tib ཉོན་མོངས་ Ch 煩惱
Śrāvaka - The disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain individual liberation or nirvāṇa. The final goal of the Hearers is to become an arhat, a state in which one has totally eliminated the inner problems of attachment, hatred and ignorance, the main causes for rebirth in this cycle of existence. There are four stages of a śrāvaka path including eight phases. Skt श्रावक Tib ཉན་ཐོས། Ch 聲聞
Pratyekabuddha - Pratyekabuddhas are saints who, in their last birth in the cycle of existence, are said to become enlightened through solitary practice on the nature of dependent ordination. These saints are said to appear when there is no buddha around and work either alone or in small groups. Skt प्रत्येकबुद्ध Tib རང་སངས་རྒྱས། and རང་རྒྱལ། Ch 緣覺
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Sūtra - Sūtras mainly refer to the discourses delivered by the Buddha and his disciples, and the Sūtra corpus is one of the three main sets of teachings which form the Buddhist canon. Skt सूत्र Tib མདོ། Ch 佛经
Sūtra - Sūtras mainly refer to the discourses delivered by the Buddha and his disciples, and the Sūtra corpus is one of the three main sets of teachings which form the Buddhist canon. Skt सूत्र Tib མདོ། Ch 佛经
Sūtra - Sūtras mainly refer to the discourses delivered by the Buddha and his disciples, and the Sūtra corpus is one of the three main sets of teachings which form the Buddhist canon. Skt सूत्र Tib མདོ། Ch 佛经
Dharmasaṃgītisūtra [आर्यधर्मसंगीतिनाममहायानसूत्र]. 'phags pa chos yang dag par sdud pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo [འཕགས་པ་ཆོས་ཡང་དག་པར་སྡུད་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།]. [The Sūtra of the Deliberation on the Dharma (84000)]. Translated by Mañjuśrīgarbha, Vijayaśīla, Śīlendrabodhi, Ye shes sde, Bodhiruci. Kangyur, RKTSK 238 http://www.rkts.org/cat.php?id=238&typ=1.
Sūtra - Sūtras mainly refer to the discourses delivered by the Buddha and his disciples, and the Sūtra corpus is one of the three main sets of teachings which form the Buddhist canon. Skt सूत्र Tib མདོ། Ch 佛经
Sūtra - Sūtras mainly refer to the discourses delivered by the Buddha and his disciples, and the Sūtra corpus is one of the three main sets of teachings which form the Buddhist canon. Skt सूत्र Tib མདོ། Ch 佛经
Sūtra - Sūtras mainly refer to the discourses delivered by the Buddha and his disciples, and the Sūtra corpus is one of the three main sets of teachings which form the Buddhist canon. Skt सूत्र Tib མདོ། Ch 佛经
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Sakya - The Sakya tradition developed in the eleventh century in the Khön family of Tsang, which maintained an imperial-era lineage of Vajrakīla and which adopted a new teaching from India known as Lamdre. Tib ས་སྐྱ་
Praśāntaviniścayaprātihāryasamādhisūtra [आर्यप्रशान्तविनिश्चयप्रातिहार्यसमाधिनाममहायानसूत्र]. 'phags pa rab tu zhi ba rnam par nges pa'i cho 'phrul gyi ting nge 'dzin zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo [འཕགས་པ་རབ་ཏུ་ཞི་བ་རྣམ་པར་ངེས་པའི་ཆོ་འཕྲུལ་གྱི་ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།]. [The Samādhi of The Magical Display that Ascertains What is Peace (84000)]. Translated by Jinamitra, Dānaśīla, Ye shes sde, Xuanzang. Kangyur, RKTSK 129 http://www.rkts.org/cat.php?id=129&typ=1.
Sūtra - Sūtras mainly refer to the discourses delivered by the Buddha and his disciples, and the Sūtra corpus is one of the three main sets of teachings which form the Buddhist canon. Skt सूत्र Tib མདོ། Ch 佛经
Sūtra - Sūtras mainly refer to the discourses delivered by the Buddha and his disciples, and the Sūtra corpus is one of the three main sets of teachings which form the Buddhist canon. Skt सूत्र Tib མདོ། Ch 佛经
Sūtra - Sūtras mainly refer to the discourses delivered by the Buddha and his disciples, and the Sūtra corpus is one of the three main sets of teachings which form the Buddhist canon. Skt सूत्र Tib མདོ། Ch 佛经
Ātman - Though it can simply be used as the expression "I" or "me", in Indian thought the notion of self refers to a permanent, unchanging entity, such as that which passes from life to life in the case of people, or the innate essence (svabhāva) of phenomena. Skt आत्मन् Tib བདག་ Ch 我 and 灵魂
Ātman - Though it can simply be used as the expression "I" or "me", in Indian thought the notion of self refers to a permanent, unchanging entity, such as that which passes from life to life in the case of people, or the innate essence (svabhāva) of phenomena. Skt आत्मन् Tib བདག་ Ch 我 and 灵魂
Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra. dam pa'i chos pad ma dkar po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo [དམ་པའི་ཆོས་པད་མ་དཀར་པོ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།]. [The Mahāyāna Sūtra "The White Lotus of the Good Dharma" (84000)]. Translated by Surendrabodhi, Ye shes sde, Kumārajīva, Dharmarakṣa, Dharmakṣema, Jñānagupta, Dharmagupta. Kangyur, RKTSK 113 http://www.rkts.org/cat.php?id=113&typ=1.
Bīja - A seed, commonly used figuratively in the sense of something which has the potential to develop or grow, and likewise as the basic cause for this development or growth. Skt बीज Tib ས་བོན་ Ch 無漏種
Gotra - Disposition, lineage, or class; an individual's gotra determines the type of enlightenment one is destined to attain. Skt गोत्र Tib རིགས་ Ch 鍾姓,種性
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch 菩薩
Nyingma - The Nyingma, which is often described as the oldest tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, traces its origin to Padmasambhava, who is said to have visited Tibet in the eighth century. Tib རྙིང་མ་
Dzogchen - Dzogchen is an advanced system of meditation techniques to reveal the innate state of perfection primarily, but not exclusively, espoused by the Nyingma Buddhist tradition and the Tibetan Bön tradition. Skt महासन्धि Tib རྫོགས་ཆེན།
Kleśa - Often referred to as poisons, these are a class of disturbing or disruptive emotional states that when aroused negatively affect or taint the mind. Skt क्लेश Tib ཉོན་མོངས་ Ch 煩惱
Avidyā - Literally "unknowing," it refers to a lack of knowledge or misunderstanding of the nature of reality. As such, it is considered to be the root cause of suffering and the basis for the arising of all other negative mental factors. Skt अविद्या Tib མ་རིག་པ་ Ch 無明
Kagyu - The Kagyu school traces its origin to the eleventh-century translator Marpa, who studied in India with Nāropa. Marpa's student Milarepa trained Gampopa, who founded the first monastery of the Kagyu order. As many as twelve subtraditions grew out from there, the best known being the Karma Kagyu, the Drikung, and the Drukpa. Tib བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་
Kleśa - Often referred to as poisons, these are a class of disturbing or disruptive emotional states that when aroused negatively affect or taint the mind. Skt क्लेश Tib ཉོན་མོངས་ Ch 煩惱
Kleśa - Often referred to as poisons, these are a class of disturbing or disruptive emotional states that when aroused negatively affect or taint the mind. Skt क्लेश Tib ཉོན་མོངས་ Ch 煩惱
Pratipakṣa - An antidote or remedy that contributes or supports the elimination or pacification of a particular ailment or affliction. Skt प्रतिपक्ष Tib གཉེན་པོ་ Ch 對治
Āvaraṇa - Literally, that which obscures or conceals. Often listed as a set of two obscurations (sgrib gnyis): the afflictive emotional obscurations (Skt. kleśāvaraṇa, Tib. nyon mongs pa'i sgrib pa) and the cognitive obscurations (Skt. jñeyāvaraṇa, Tib. shes bya'i sgrib pa). By removing the first, one becomes free of suffering, and by removing the second, one becomes omniscient. Skt आवरण Tib སྒྲིབ་པ་
Āvaraṇa - Literally, that which obscures or conceals. Often listed as a set of two obscurations (sgrib gnyis): the afflictive emotional obscurations (Skt. kleśāvaraṇa, Tib. nyon mongs pa'i sgrib pa) and the cognitive obscurations (Skt. jñeyāvaraṇa, Tib. shes bya'i sgrib pa). By removing the first, one becomes free of suffering, and by removing the second, one becomes omniscient. Skt आवरण Tib སྒྲིབ་པ་
Āvaraṇa - Literally, that which obscures or conceals. Often listed as a set of two obscurations (sgrib gnyis): the afflictive emotional obscurations (Skt. kleśāvaraṇa, Tib. nyon mongs pa'i sgrib pa) and the cognitive obscurations (Skt. jñeyāvaraṇa, Tib. shes bya'i sgrib pa). By removing the first, one becomes free of suffering, and by removing the second, one becomes omniscient. Skt आवरण Tib སྒྲིབ་པ་
Āvaraṇa - Literally, that which obscures or conceals. Often listed as a set of two obscurations (sgrib gnyis): the afflictive emotional obscurations (Skt. kleśāvaraṇa, Tib. nyon mongs pa'i sgrib pa) and the cognitive obscurations (Skt. jñeyāvaraṇa, Tib. shes bya'i sgrib pa). By removing the first, one becomes free of suffering, and by removing the second, one becomes omniscient. Skt आवरण Tib སྒྲིབ་པ་
Arhat - A person who has reached nirvāṇa by eliminating the three poisons of attachment, hatred and ignorance having followed the path of seeking individual liberation as a Śrāvaka or a Pratyekabuddha. An arhat, thus, is a person who has overcome the cause of rebirth in the cycle of existence and will not take an ordinary birth again. Skt अर्हत् Tib དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ། Ch 阿羅漢
Prajñā - One of the key terms for wisdom or knowledge, most often having the sense of insight, transcendent knowledge, or perhaps gnosis. In some contexts it can also refer to cognition or intellectual understanding. Skt प्रज्ञा Tib ཤེས་རབ་ Ch 般若
Śāntideva (ཞི་བ་ལྷ་). Bodhicaryāvatāra [बोधिचर्यावतार]. byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa [བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་སྤྱོད་པ་ལ་འཇུག་པ།]. [The Way of the Bodhisattva]. Tengyur, RKTST 3216 http://www.rkts.org/cat.php?id=3216&typ=2.
