Excerpts from

A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life
 

(Bodhicaryavatara)
 

by

 Shantideva

(An 8th-century Indian thinker and adherent of the Madyamika or "middle-way" philosophy )

 

***

There is nothing here that has not been said before, nor do I have any skill in composition. Thus, I have no concern for the welfare of others, and I have composed this solely to season my own mind.
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Owing to this, the power of my faith increases to cultivate virtue. Moreover, if someone else with a disposition like my own examines this, it may be meaningful.
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This leisure and endowment, which are so difficult to obtain, have been acquired, and they bring about the welfare of the world. If one fails to take this favourable opportunity into consideration, how could this occasion occur again?
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Just as lightning illuminates the darkness of a cloudy night for an instant, in the same way, by the power of the Buddha, occasionally people's minds are momentarily inclined toward merit.
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Thus, virtue is perpetually ever so feeble, while the power of vice is great and extremely dreadful. If there were no Spirit of Perfect Awakening, what other virtue would overcome it?
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Those who long to overcome the abundant miseries of mundane existence, those who wish to dispel the adversities of sentient beings, and those who yearn to experience a myriad of joys should never forsake the Spirit of Awakening.

***

With folded hands I beseech the Fully Awakened Ones present in all directions and the greatly compassionate Bodhisattvas.

Whatever sin I, a brute, have committed or caused others to commit in this life and others throughout the beginningless cycle of existence, and anything in which I have deludedly rejoiced, thereby harming myself that transgression I confess, overcome by remorse.
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Whatever offence I have committed, out of disrespect, with my body, speech, and mind against the Three Jewels, against mothers and fathers, and against spiritual mentors and others, and whatever terrible vices I, a sinner, defiled with many faults, have done, O Guides, I confess them all.
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How shall I escape it? Rescue me quickly! May death not soon creep up on me before my vices have vanished.
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Death does not differentiate between tasks done and undone. This traitor is not to be trusted by the healthy or the ill, for it is like an unexpected, great thunderbolt.
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I have committed various vices for the sake of friends and enemies. This I have not recognized: "Leaving everyone behind, I must pass away."
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My enemies will not remain, nor will my friends remain. I shall not remain. Nothing will remain.
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Whatever is experienced will fade to a memory. Like an experience in a dream, everything that has passed will not be seen again.
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Even in this life, as I have stood by, many friends and enemies have passed away, but terrible sin induced by them remains ahead of me.
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Thus, I have not considered that I am ephemeral.  Due to delusion, attachment, and hatred, I have sinned in many ways.
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Day and night, a life span unceasingly diminishes, and there is no adding onto it. Shall I not die then?
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Although lying here on a bed and relying on relatives, I alone have to bear the feeling of being cut off from my vitality.
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For a person seized by the messengers of Death, what good is a relative and what good is a friend? At that time, merit alone is a protection, and I have not applied myself to it.
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O Protectors, I, negligent and unaware of this danger, have acquired many vices out of attachment to this transient life.
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One completely languishes while being led today to have the limbs of one's body amputated. Parched with thirst, and with pitiable eyes, one sees the world differently.
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How much more is one overpowered by the horrifying appearances of the messengers of Death as one is consumed by the fever of terror and smeared with a mass of excrement?
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With distressed glances I seek protection in the four directions. Which good person will be my protection from this great fear?
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Seeing the four directions devoid of protection, I return to confusion. What shall I do in that state of great fear?

***

Even one frightened by a fleeting illness would not disregard the physician's advice; how much more so one afflicted by the four hundred and four diseases, of which just one can annihilate all people living in Jambudvipa, and for which a medicine is not found in any region.
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If I disregard the counsel of the Omniscient Physician who removes every pain, shame on me, extremely deluded one that I am!
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If I stand very attentive even on a smaller cliff, then how much more so on an enduring chasm of a thousand leagues?
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It is inappropriate for me to be at ease, thinking, "Just today death will not arrive." The time when I will not exist is inevitable.
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Who can give me fearlessness? How shall I escape? I shall certainly not exist. Why is my mind at ease?

***

Surrendering everything is nirvana, and my mind seeks nirvana. If I must surrender everything, it is better that I give it to sentient beings.
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For the sake of all beings, I have made this body pleasureless. Let them continually beat it, revile it, and cover it with filth.
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Let them play with my body. Let them laugh at it and ridicule it. What does it matter to me? I have given my body to them.
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Let them have me perform deeds that are conducive to their happiness. Whoever resorts to me, may it never be in vain.
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May those who falsely accuse me, who harm me, and who ridicule me all partake of Awakening.
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May I be a protector for those who are without protectors, a guide for travelers, and a boat, a bridge, and a ship for those who wish to cross over.
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Just as earth and other elements are useful in various ways to innumerable sentient beings dwelling throughout infinite space,
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So may I be in various ways a source of life for the sentient beings present throughout space until they are all liberated.
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Upon gladly adopting the Spirit of Awakening in this way, an intelligent person should thus nurture the Spirit in order to fulfill his wish:

Now my life is fruitful. Human existence is well obtained. Today I have been born into the family of the Buddhas. Now I am a Child of the Buddha.
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Thus, whatever I do now should accord with the Bodhisattvas' family, and it should not be like a stain on this pure family.
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Just as a blind man might find a jewel amongst heaps of rubbish, so this Spirit of Awakening has somehow arisen in me.
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It is the elixir of life produced to vanquish death in the world. It is an inexhaustible treasure eliminating the poverty of the world.
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It is the supreme medicine that alleviates the illness of the world. It is the tree of rest for beings exhausted from wandering on the pathways of mundane existence.
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It is the universal bridge for all travellers on their crossing over miserable states of existence. It is the rising moon of the mind that soothes the mental afflictions of the world.
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It is the great sun dispelling the darkness of the world's ignorance. It is the fresh butter formed from churning the milk of Dharma.
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For the caravan of beings traveling on the path of mundane existence and starving for the meal of happiness, it is the feast of happiness that satisfies all sentient beings who have come as guests.

***

If, upon making such a promise, I do not put it into action, then having deceived those sentient beings, what destiny shall I have?
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It has been said that a person who intended to give away even a tiny thing but does not do so becomes a preta (hungry ghost).   Then all the more so, having deceived the entire world after loudly and sincerely inviting it to unsurpassable happiness, what state of existence shall I have?
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Only the Omniscient One knows the inconceivable course of action of those people whom he liberates even when they forsake the Spirit of Awakening.
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Therefore, for a Bodhisattva it is the heaviest downfall of all; for if he commits such a downfall, he impairs the welfare of all sentient beings.
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If someone else hinders his virtue, even for a moment, there will be no end to his miserable states of existence, because he diminishes the welfare of sentient beings.
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One would be destroyed, obliterating the well-being of even one sentient being; how much more so of beings dwelling throughout all of space?
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Thus, due to the power of downfalls and due to the power of the Spirit of Awakening, one revolving in the cycle of existence is slow in attaining the Bodhisattva Grounds.

Therefore, I should respectfully act in accordance with my commitment. If I do not make an effort now, I shall go from lower to lower states.
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Innumerable Buddhas have gone by, seeking out every sentient being; but through my own fault, I have not come into the domain of their cure.
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If I remain like this, as I am now, I will repeatedly come to the miserable states of existence, illness, death, amputation, destruction, and the like.
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When shall I encounter the extremely rare appearance of the Tathagata, faith, human existence, and the ability to practice virtue, health, daily sustenance, and lack of adversity? Life is momentary and deceptive; and the body is as if on loan.
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With such behaviour on my part, a human state is certainly not obtained again. When a human state is not achieved, there is only vice; and how could there be blessing?
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If I do not perform virtue even when I am capable of it, what then shall I do when fully dazed by the sufferings of miserable states of existence?
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For one who does not perform virtue but accumulates sin, even the expression "favourable state of existence" will be lost for a thousand million eons.
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Therefore, the Blessed One stated that human existence is extremely difficult to obtain, like a turtle's head emerging into the ring of a yoke on a vast ocean.
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One dwells in the Avici hell for an eon as a consequence of a vice committed in a single moment. What then can be said of a favourable state of existence, since sin has been accumulated since beginningless time?

Having experienced that alone, one is still not liberated. Therefore, while experiencing it, one begets more vices.
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Upon obtaining such leisure, if I do not practice virtue, then there is no duplicity greater than this, and there is no delusion greater than this.
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If I recognize this and still deludedly fall into sloth, then when I am commanded by the messengers of Yama, I shall long remain in great anguish.
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The unendurable fire of hell will scorch my body for ages, and afterward the fire of remorse will torment my undisciplined mind for a long time..

***

Enemies such as craving and hatred are without arms, legs, and so on. They are neither courageous nor wise. How is it that they have enslaved me?

How can I take delight in the cycle of existence when constant, long-lasting enemies, who are the sole cause of the currents and floods of adversities, fearlessly dwell in my heart?
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How can I be happy if the guardians of the prison of the cycle of existence, these murderers and slaughterers in hells and the like, remain in the cage of greed within the dwelling of my heart?
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Therefore, as long as these enemies are not destroyed before my eyes, I shall not forsake my task.

***

If fishermen, outcasts, farmers, and others, whose minds are fixed merely on their own livelihoods, withstand the adversities of cold and heat, then why do I not endure for the sake of the well-being of the world?
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While I have promised to liberate beings throughout space in the ten directions from their mental afflictions, I have not liberated even myself from mental afflictions.
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Without knowing my own limitations, I spoke at that time as if I were a bit insane. Therefore, I shall never turn back from vanquishing mental afflictions.
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I shall be tenacious in this matter; and fixed on revenge, I shall wage war, except against those mental afflictions that are related to the elimination of mental afflictions.
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Let my entrails ooze out and my head fall off, but by no means shall I bow down to my enemies, the mental afflictions.

Mental afflictions do not exist in sense objects, nor in the sense faculties, nor in the space between, nor anywhere else. Then where do they exist and agitate the whole world? This is an illusion only. Liberate your fearing heart and cultivate perseverance for the sake of wisdom. Why would you torture yourself in hells for no reason?

***

Those who wish to protect their practice should zealously guard the mind. The practice cannot be protected without guarding the unsteady mind.
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Untamed, mad elephants do not inflict as much harm in this world as does the unleashed elephant of the mind in the Avici hell and the like.
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But if the elephant of the mind is completely restrained by the rope of mindfulness, then all perils vanish and complete well-being is obtained.
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Tigers, lions, elephants, bears, snakes, all enemies, all guardians of hells, dakinis and demons become controlled by controlling the mind alone.
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By subduing the mind alone, they all become subdued.
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For the Propounder of the Truth said that all fears and immeasurable sufferings arise from the mind only.
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Who diligently constructed the weapons in hell? Who devised the floor of heated iron? And from where have those women come?
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The Sage declared that all of that has arisen from the evil mind, so there is nothing else in the three worlds more formidable than the mind..
 

***

Where would there be leather enough to cover the entire world? The earth is covered over merely with the leather of my sandals.
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Likewise, I am unable to restrain external phenomena, but I shall restrain my own mind. What need is there to restrain anything else?
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Those who have not cultivated the mind, which is the mystery and the very essence of Dharma, uselessly wander in space in order to eliminate suffering and find happiness.
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Therefore, I should well control and well guard my mind. Once I have forsaken the vow of guarding the mind, of what use are many vows to me?
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Just as those standing in the midst of boisterous people carefully guard their wounds, so those standing in the midst of evil people should always guard the wounds of their minds.
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Fearing slight pain from a wound, I guard it with great care. Why don't I, fearing the crushing of the mountains of the Samghata hell, guard the wound of my mind?
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Living with this attitude even among evil people and among maidens, with steadfast effort, a persevering sage will not be defeated.
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Let my possessions freely vanish; let my honor, my body, livelihood, and everything else pass away. But may my virtuous mind never be lost.

***

What has been heard, pondered, and cultivated, like water in a cracked jar, does not remain in the memory of the mind that lacks introspection.
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Even many learned people who have faith and extraordinary perseverance become defiled by vices on account of the fault of lacking introspection.
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Even upon accumulating virtues, those who have been robbed by the thief of non-introspection, who comes after the loss of mindfulness, enter miserable states of existence.
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This band of thieves, the mental afflictions, looks for an entrance. Upon finding an entrance, it plunders and destroys life in fortunate realms of existence.
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Therefore, mindfulness should never be displaced from the gate of the mind. If it is gone, it should be reinstated while recalling the anguish of hell.
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One should eliminate yearning that arises for various idle conversations, which often take place, and for all kinds of entertainment.
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If useless crushing of the earth, ripping of grass, or drawing in the dirt takes place, then fearfully recalling the teaching of the Tathagata, one should instantly stop it.
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The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have unobstructed vision in all directions. Everything is in their presence; and I stand in front of them.
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Meditating thus, one should remain filled with a sense of propriety, respect, and fear; and one should repeatedly think of the Buddhas in this way.
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When mindfulness stands guard at the gate of the mind, introspection arrives, and once it has come, it does not depart again.

***

Just like one would quickly, fearfully pick up a dropped sword, so should one pick up the dropped sword of mindfulness, while bearing the hells in mind.
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Just as poison spreads throughout the body once it has reached the blood, so does a fault spread throughout the mind once it has reached a vulnerable spot.
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A practitioner should be like someone carrying a jar of oil while under the scrutiny of swordsmen, careful of stumbling out of fear of death.
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Therefore, just as one quickly jumps up when a snake creeps onto one's lap, so should one swiftly counteract the advent of drowsiness and sloth.
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At every single disgrace, one should burn with remorse and ponder: "How shall I act so that this does not happen to me again?"

***

One does not object when the body is being dragged here and there by vultures coveting its flesh. Then why do so now?
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Mind, why do you protect this body, appropriating it as your own? If it is really separate from you, what good is it to you?
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O fool, if you do not consider as your own a pure wooden statue, why are you guarding this foul machine composed of impurities?
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First, with your own intellect, peel off this sheath of skin, and with the knife of wisdom loosen the flesh from the skeleton.
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Breaking the bones, look inside at the marrow and examine for yourself, "Where is the essence here?"
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If searching carefully in this way, you do not see an essence here, then say why you are still protecting the body today.
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Even though you protect it so, merciless death will snatch the body away and give it to the vultures. What will you do then?
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You do not give clothing and such to a servant if you think he will not stay. The body will eat and pass away. Then why do you waste yourself?
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Therefore, mind, upon giving the body its wages, now serve your own needs, because not everything earned by a labourer should be given to him.
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Consider the body as a ship because it is the basis of coming and going. Set the body in motion at your will in order to accomplish the welfare of sentient beings..
 

***

One should do nothing other than benefit sentient beings either directly or indirectly; and for the sake of sentient beings alone, one should subordinate everything to Awakening.

One should always look straight at sentient beings as if drinking them in with the eyes, thinking, "Relying on them alone, I shall attain Buddhahood."

One who has become self-controlled in that way should always have a smiling face. One should give up frowning and grimacing, be the first to greet, and be a friend to the world.

One should not teach the profound and vast Dharma to the disrespectful, to a healthy person wearing a headdress, to a person with an umbrella, a stick, or a weapon, to one whose head is veiled, to those who are inadequate, nor to women in the absence of a man. One should pay equal respect to inferior and superior Dharmas.
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One should not expose a vessel of the vast Dharma to an inferior Dharma. Putting aside the Bodhisattva way of life, one should not seduce them with sutras and mantras.

***

Just as the notion of a self with regard to one's own body, which has no personal existence, is due to habituation, will the identity of one's self with others not arise out of habituation in the same way?.

Although working for the benefit of others in this way, there is neither conceit nor dismay. Even upon feeding oneself, expectation of a reward does not arise.
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Therefore, just as you wish to protect yourself from pain, grief, and the like, so may you cultivate a spirit of protection and a spirit of compassion toward the world.

***

All offences and vices of various kinds arise under the influence of conditions, and they do not arise independently.
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An assemblage of conditions does not have the intention, "I shall produce," nor does that which is produced have the intention, "I shall be produced."
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That which is regarded as the Primal Substance and that which is construed as the Self (Atman) do not originate, thinking, "I shall come into being."
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Since it has not arisen, how could it wish to come into existence? Since it engages with objects, it cannot strive to cease either.
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If the permanent Self is not sentient, it is obviously inactive like space. Even in conjunction with conditions, what activity does the immutable have?
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Thus, everything is dependent on something else, and even that on which something is dependent is not autonomous. Hence, why would one get angry at things that are inactive, like apparitions?

Therefore, upon seeing a friend or an enemy committing a wrong deed, one should reflect, "Such are his conditions," and be at ease..

***

I do not desire suffering; yet, fool that I am, I desire the cause of suffering. When suffering emerges due to my own fault, why should I be angry with anyone else?
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Just as the forest of razor-leaves and the birds of hell are brought into existence by my actions, so is this. With whom should I be angry?
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Those who hurt me are impelled by my actions, as a result of which they will go to the infernal realms. Surely, it is I alone who have ruined them.
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On account of them, many vices of mine diminish through forbearance. On account of me, they enter the infernal realms with long-lasting agonies.
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It is I alone who harm them, and they are my benefactors. Wicked mind, why do you misconstrue this and become angry?

Because of its immateriality, the mind can never be harmed by anyone. However, due to its attachment to the body, the mind is tormented by suffering.
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Neither contempt, abusive speech, nor disgrace harms the body. Why then, mind, do you become angry?
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***

It is better that I die today than have a long, corrupt life. For even after living a long time, I shall have the suffering of death.
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One person wakes up after enjoying a hundred years of pleasure in sleep, and another person wakes up after being happy for a moment.
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Does happiness return to either once they have awakened? It is the same at the time of death for one who lives a long time and for one who lives a short time.
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Even though I have acquired many possessions and have enjoyed pleasures for a long time, I shall depart empty-handed and naked as if I had been robbed.
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What if I destroy vice and perform virtue while living off my acquisitions? Do vice and the destruction of virtue not occur for one who gets angry on account of material gains?
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If the meaning of my life vanishes, then what is the point of a life that creates only non-virtue?

***

My hatred toward those who revile and violate images, stupas, and the sublime Dharma is wrong, because the Buddhas and the like are free of distress.
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As in the preceding case, one should ward off anger toward those who injure spiritual mentors, relatives, and friends, by seeing this as arising from conditions.
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Harm is certainly inflicted on beings either by sentient beings or non-sentient things. This distress is felt in a sentient being, so endure that pain.
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Some do wrong out of delusion, while others, being deluded, become angry. Among them, whom do we call innocent, and whom do we call guilty?
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Why did I previously act in such a way that now I am harmed by others? All are subject to their actions. Who am I to alter this?
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Realizing this, I shall strive for virtues in such a way that all will have loving thoughts toward each other.
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When fire spreads from one burning house to another, one should bundle up the straw and the like, take it out, and discard it.
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Likewise, when the mind burns with the fire of hatred due to attachment, one should immediately cast it aside because of the fear of burning the body of merit..

***

What is zeal? It is enthusiasm for virtue. What is said to be its antithesis? It is spiritual sloth, clinging to the reprehensible, apathy, and self-contempt.
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Spiritual sloth arises from indolence, indulging in pleasures, sleep, and craving for lounging around due to one's apathy toward the miseries of the cycle of existence.
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Scented out by the hunters, the mental afflictions, you have entered the snare of rebirth. Why do you not recognize even now that you are in the mouth of death?
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You do not see that those of your own kind are gradually being killed. You even fall asleep like a buffalo among butchers.
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When Yama watches you and your path is blocked on all sides, how can you enjoy eating, and how can you sleep and have sexual intercourse?
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Since death will come swiftly, with its implements prepared, what will you do then even if you have abandoned spiritual sloth at this wrong time?
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Thinking: "I have not achieved this. I have just started this, but it remains half-done. Death has suddenly arrived. Oh, I am wretched,"
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Realizing "I am like a live fish," your fear is appropriate now. How much more when you have committed vices and face the intense suffering of hell?
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So, delicate one, you burn even when touched by hot water. Upon performing deeds leading to hell, how will you remain at ease?
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You expect results with no effort. So delicate you are and in so much pain. While in the clutches of death, you act like an immortal. Hey, miserable one, you are destroying yourself!
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Upon finding the boat of human birth now, cross the great river of suffering. O fool, there is no time for sleep, for this boat is hard to catch again.
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Forsaking the supreme joy of Dharma, which is an endless stream of joy, how can you delight in frivolity and jokes, which are two causes of suffering?
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Human by birth and capable of knowing what is beneficial and what is not, why could I not attain Awakening as long as I do not forsake the guidance of the Omniscient One?
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If I fear, thinking, "I shall have to sacrifice my arms, legs, and the like," I may confuse the important with the insignificant due to my lack of discrimination.
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For countless millions of eons I shall be cut, pierced, burned, and split open many times, but Awakening will not occur.
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However, this limited suffering of mine, which yields perfect Awakening, is like the suffering of extraction when removing the pain of an embedded splinter.
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All physicians cure with unpleasant treatments. Therefore, to destroy a multitude of pains, a slight one must be endured.
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Upon mounting the chariot of the Spirit of Awakening, which carries away all despondency and weariness, what sensible person would despair at progressing in this way from joy to joy?

***

One who acts in the same manner as foolish people definitely goes to a miserable state of existence. They do not like someone who is different. What is gained from association with fools?
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One moment they are friends, and the next moment they are enemies. On an occasion for being pleased, they become angry. Ordinary people are difficult to gratify.
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When given good advice, they become angry; and they turn me away from good advice. If they are not listened to, they become angry and go to a miserable state of existence.
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They feel envy toward a superior, competitiveness with a peer, arrogance toward one who is inferior, conceit due to praise, and anger due to reproach. When could there be any benefit from a fool?
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Between one fool and another, something non-virtuous is inevitable, such as glorification of one's own self, speaking ill of others, and conversation about the pleasures of the cycle of existence.
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Thus, on account of one's association with someone else, one encounters adversity. I shall happily live alone with a non-afflicted mind.
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One should flee far from a fool. One should gratify the encountered person with pleasantries, not with the intention of intimacy, but in the manner of a kind and impartial person.
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Taking only what benefits Dharma, like a bee taking nectar from a flower, I shall live everywhere without acquaintance, as if I had not existed before.

***

The Buddhas have said that a fool is no one's friend, because the affection of a fool does not arise without self-interest.
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Love due to self-interest is love for one's own sake, just as distress at the loss of possessions is occasioned by the loss of pleasures.
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Trees do not revile nor can they be pleased with effort. When might I dwell with those whose company is a delight?
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After dwelling in an empty temple, at the foot of a tree, or in caves, when shall I set forth, unconcerned and not looking back?
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When shall I dwell in unclaimed and naturally spacious regions, wandering as I please and without a residence?
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When shall I dwell fearlessly, without protecting my body, having a clay bowl as my only property and a garment useless to a thief?
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When shall I go to the local charnel grounds and compare my own body, which has the nature of decay, with other corpses? (i.e. Once in solitude, starting with a meditation about death and impermanence)
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For this body of mine will also become so putrid that even the jackals will not come near it because of its stench.
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If the co-emergent pieces of bones of this single body will fall apart, how much more so another person whom one holds dear?
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A person is born alone and also dies alone. No one else has a share in one's agony. What is the use of loved ones who create hindrances?
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Therefore, I should always cultivate solitude, which is delightful, without difficulties, having a favourable outcome, and subduing all distractions.
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Free from all other concerns and having a single-pointed mind, I shall apply myself to meditative concentration and to the subjugation of the mind.
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For sensuous desires create calamities in this world and the next: through imprisonment, beating, and dismemberment in this world, and in hell and the like in the next.
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She for whom you have supplicated male and female messengers many times and for whose sake you have not considered the cost of either vice nor disgrace, throwing yourself into danger and wasting your wealth, embracing her with the greatest pleasure She is nothing but bones, indifferent and impersonal. Why do you not resort to emancipation, fully embracing it to your heart's content?
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Either you have seen that bashfully lowered face before as being lifted up with effort, or you have not seen it as it was covered by a veil.
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Now, that face is revealed by vultures as if they are unable to bear your anxiousness. Look at it! Why are you fleeing away now?
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If you do not desire to touch soil and the like because it is smeared with excrement, how can you desire to touch the body out of which it is excreted?
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If you do not have passion for what is impure, why do you embrace someone else, who is a seed arisen from a field of filth and nourished by it?
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You do not desire a dirty worm originating from filth because it is small, but you desire a body that consists of much filth and is also born from filth.
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If the naked body, containing the slime of filth, is frightening in its natural condition with its long hair and nails and stained yellowish teeth, why do you meticulously polish it like a weapon for suicide? The earth is crowned with insane people, diligent in deluding themselves.
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Seeing a few corpses in a charnel ground, you are repelled, yet you delight in a village which is a charnel ground crowded with moving corpses.
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A child is not able to earn money. When one is a youth, with what is one happy? The prime of one's life passes away in making a living. What can an old person do with sensual gratification?
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For the sake of that bit of enjoyment, which is easily attainable even for an animal, an ill-fated one has destroyed this leisure and endowment, which is very difficult to find.
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This exertion is constantly made for the sake of the body, which is definitely transient, insignificant, and falls into hells and the like.
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With even a billionth part of that diligence, there can be Buddhahood. Sensualists have suffering greater than the suffering of the Path, but they have no Awakening.

Living as one wishes, homeless, and not tied down by anyone, one savours the joy of contentment, which is difficult even for a king to find..

***

O mind, if you do not do this even when you are being told, then I shall subjugate you alone, for all faults dwell in you.
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Where will you go? I can see you, and I shall annihilate all your vanities. That was another, earlier time when I was ruined by you.
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Now give up this hope: "Still, I have my own self-interest"! Unconcerned as you are with much distress, I have sold you to others.
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If I do not joyfully offer you to sentient beings, you will undoubtedly deliver me to the guardians of hell.
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Handing me over in that way many times, you have tormented me for a long time. Remembering those grudges, I shall destroy you, the servant of your own self-interest.

***

The more this body is pampered, the more fragile it becomes and the more it degenerates.  When it has degenerated in this way, not even this earth can completely fulfill its desire. Who will then satisfy its desire?

By favouring the body, one uselessly accumulates suffering. Of what use is anger or love to something equal to a piece of wood?
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Whether it is nurtured by me or eaten by vultures, it feels neither affection nor aversion, so why am I fond of it?
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If the body, which has no anger due to abuse nor satisfaction due to praise, is unconscious, then for whom am I exerting myself?
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Those who like this body are said to be my friends. They all like their own bodies, too, so why do I not like them?
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Therefore, with indifference I have given up my body for the benefit of the world. Hence, although it has many faults, I keep it as an instrument for that task.
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So enough of worldly conduct! Recalling the teaching on conscientiousness and warding off drowsiness and lethargy, I shall follow the wise.
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Therefore, withdrawing the mind from evil ways, I shall always concentrate it on its own meditative object to eliminate obscurations.
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***

May the women in the world become men. May the lowly obtain grandeur and yet be free of arrogance.
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May all beings unceasingly hear the sound of Dharma from the birds, from every tree, from the rays of light, and from the sky.
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May those who are of poor ethical discipline be disgusted and become constantly intent on the extinction of their vices. May they reach a fortunate state of existence, and may their vows remain unbroken there.
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May all sentient beings worship all the Buddhas in many ways. May they be exceedingly joyful with the inconceivable bliss of the Buddhas.

May my way of life be like that of Manjusri, who lives to accomplish the benefit of all sentient beings throughout the ten directions.
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For as long as space endures and for as long as the world lasts, may I live dispelling the miseries of the world.
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Whatever suffering there is for the world, may it all ripen upon me. May the world find happiness through all the virtues of the Bodhisattvas..
 

***

Even an illusion lasts for as long as the collection of its conditions. Why should a sentient being be considered to truly exist merely because its continuum lasts a long time?

Diverse illusions originate on account of diverse conditions. Nowhere does a single condition have the ability to produce everything.

When its conditions are not destroyed, an illusion does not cease either.  If its conditions were discontinued, then it wouldn't be able to continue existing even in a conventional sense.

The Protector of the World stated that the mind does not perceive the mind. Just as a sword cannot cut itself, so it is with the mind.  

The manner in which something is seen, heard, or cognized is not what is refuted here, but rather the conceptualization of its true existence, which is the cause of suffering, is rejected.   Just as an illusion can be seen even though it does not truly exist, so it is with the observer, the mind.

By building up the imprints of emptiness, the imprint of existence is diminished; and after accustoming oneself ( habituation ) to the fact that nothing truly exists, even that diminishes.

When a charmer against poisons dies after completing a pillar, that pillar neutralizes poisons and the like, even a long time after his death.  Likewise, the pillar of wisdom, completed in accordance with the Bodhisattva way of life, accomplishes all tasks, even when the Bodhisattva has passed into nirvana.

Remaining in the cycle of existence for the sake of those suffering due to delusion is achieved through freedom from attachment and fear. That is a fruit of emptiness.
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Thus, no refutation is possible with regard to emptiness, so one should meditate on emptiness without hesitation.
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Since emptiness is the antidote to the darkness of (both) afflictive and cognitive obscurations, how is it that one desiring omniscience does not promptly meditate on it?
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Let fear arise toward something that produces suffering. Emptiness pacifies suffering. So why does fear of it arise?

***

The past or future mind is not "I," since it does not exist. If the present mind were "I," then when it had vanished, the "I" would not exist any more.
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Just as the trunk of a plantain tree is nothing when cut into pieces, in the same way, the "I" is non-existent when sought analytically.

The body is not the feet, the calves, nor the thighs. Nor is the body the hips, the abdomen, the back, the chest, or the arms.
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It is not the hands, the sides of the torso, or the armpits, nor is it characterized by the shoulders. Nor is the body the neck or the head. Then what here is the body?
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If this body partially exists in all of these and its parts exist in their parts, where does it stand by itself?
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If the body were located in its entirety in the hands and other limbs, there would be just as many bodies as there are hands and so forth.
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The body is neither inside nor outside. How can the body be in the hands and other limbs? It is not separate from the hands and the like. How, then, can it be found at all?
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Thus, the body does not exist (we cannot find it). However, on account of delusion, there is the impression of the body with regard to the hands and the like, because of their specific configuration, just as there is the impression of a person with regard to a pillar.
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As long as a collection of conditions lasts, the body appears like a person. Likewise, as long as it lasts with regard to the hands and the like, the body continues to be seen in them.

What discerning person would be attached to form, which is just like a dream? Since the body does not exist (we cannot find it), then who is a woman and who is a man?

If suffering does not arise when the conditions for its opposite have arisen, does it not follow that a " feeling" is a false notion created by conceptual fabrication?
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Therefore, this analysis is created as an antidote to that false notion. For the meditative stabilizations that arise from the field of investigations are the food of contemplatives.

If there is no one to experience feeling and if feeling does not exist, then after understanding this situation, why, O craving, are you not shattered?
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The mind that has a dreamlike and illusion-like nature sees and touches. Since feeling arises together with the mind, it is not perceived by the mind.
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What happens earlier is remembered but not experienced by what arises later. It does not experience itself, nor is it experienced by something else.
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There is no one who experiences feeling. Hence, in reality, there is no feeling. Thus, in this identityless bundle, who can be hurt by it?
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The mind is not located in the sense faculties, nor in form and other sense-objects, nor in between them. The mind is also not found inside, nor outside, nor anywhere else.
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That which is not in the body nor anywhere else, neither intermingled nor somewhere separate, is nothing. Therefore, sentient beings are by nature liberated.
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***

Madhyamika: People observe every cause through direct perception, since the components of a lotus, such as the stalk and so forth, are produced by a variety of causes.
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Qualm: What makes the variety of causes?

Madhyamika: A preceding variety of causes.

Qualm: How can a cause give an effect?

Madhyamika: Because of the power of preceding causes.
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Nyaya-Vaisesika: Isvara is the cause of the world.

Madhyamika: Then explain who Isvara is. If he is the elements, so be it; but then why the tussle over a mere name?.

If he does not depend on anything else, why does he not always create? There is nothing whatsoever that is not created by him, so on what would he depend?
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If Isvara depends on a collection of conditions, then again, he is not the cause. He cannot refrain from creating when there is a collection of conditions, nor can he create in their absence.
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If Isvara creates without desiring to do so, it would follow that he is dependent on something other than himself. Even if he desires to create, he is dependent on that desire. Whence is the supremacy of the creator?

***

Objection: If conventional truth does not exist, how can there be the two truths? If it does exist due to another conventional truth, how can there be a liberated sentient being?
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Madhyamika: One is an ideation of someone else's mind, and one does not exist by one's own conventional truth. After something has been ascertained, it exists; if not, it does not exist as a conventional reality either.

***

Hinayanist: Liberation comes from understanding the Four Noble Truths, so what is the point of perceiving emptiness?

Madhyamika: Because a Mahayana scripture states that there is no Awakening without the realization of emptiness.
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Hinayanist: The Mahayana is certainly not authenticated.

Madhyamika: How is your scripture authenticated?

Hinayanist: Because it is authenticated by both of us.

Madhyamika: Then it is not authenticated by you from the beginning.  Apply the same faith and respect to the Mahayana as you do to it. If something is true because it is accepted by two different parties, then the Vedas and the like would also be true.
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If you object that the Mahayana is controversial, then reject your own scripture because it is contested by heterodox groups and because parts of your scriptures are contested by your own people and others.
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The Hinayana teaching has its root in the monkhood, and yet the monkhood is not on a firm footing. For those whose minds are subject to grasping, nirvana is not on a firm footing either.

***

Objection: But if one analyzes by means of analysis which itself is analyzed, then there is an infinite regress, because that analysis can also be analyzed.
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Madhyamika: When the object of analysis is analyzed, no basis for analysis is left. Since there is no basis, it does not arise, and that is called "nirvana."

***

Madhyamika:  Without detecting an imagined thing, its non-existence is not apprehended. Therefore, if a thing is false, its non-existence is clearly false.
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Thus, when in a dream a son has died, the thought "He does not exist" prevents the arising of the thought of his existence.   
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Therefore, with this analysis, nothing exists without a cause, nor is it contained in its individual or combined causal conditions.
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Nothing comes from something else, nothing remains, and nothing departs. What is the difference between an illusion and that which is considered by fools as real?
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Examine this: As for that which is created by illusion and that which is created by causes, where do they come from and where do they go?
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How can there be true existence in something artificial, like a reflection, which is perceived only in conjunction with something else and not in its absence?
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For something that already exists, what need is there for a cause? If something does not exist, what is the need for a cause?
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Something that does not exist will not be subject to change, even with millions of causes. How can something in that state be existent? What else can come into existence?
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If there is no existent thing at the time of non-existence, when will an existent thing come into existence? For that non-existent thing will not disappear as long as the existent thing is not produced.
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When a non-existent thing has not disappeared, there is no opportunity for the existent thing. An existent thing does not become non-existent, since it would follow that it would be of two natures.
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Thus, there is neither cessation nor coming into existence at any time. Therefore, this entire world does not arise or cease.
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 States of existence are like dreams; upon analysis, they are similar to plantain trees. In reality, there is no difference between those who have attained nirvana and those who have not.
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When all phenomena are empty in this way, what can be gained and what can be lost? Who will be honoured or despised by whom?
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Whence comes happiness or suffering? What is pleasant and what is unpleasant? When investigated in its own nature, what is craving and for what is that craving?
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Upon investigation, what is the world of living beings, and who will really die here? Who will come into existence, and who has come into existence? Who is a relative, and who is a friend of whom?
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There are incomparable, violent, and boundless oceans of suffering. Strength is scanty there; and the life span is short there as well.
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There, too, in practices for long life and health, in hunger, fatigue, and weariness, in sleep and calamities, and in unprofitable associations with fools, lLife passes by swiftly and in vain. Discrimination is difficult to obtain there. How could there be a way to prevent habitual distractions?
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There, too, Mara tries to throw them into very wretched states. There, because of the abundance of wrong paths, doubt is difficult to overcome, and leisure is hard to obtain again. The appearance of a Buddha is extremely rare. The flood of mental afflictions is difficult to impede. Alas, what a succession of suffering!
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Ah, there should be great pity for those adrift in the flood of suffering, who, although miserable in this way, do not recognize their wretched situation.
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Just like one who repeatedly immerses himself in water but must enter fire again and again, so they consider themselves fortunate, although they are extremely miserable.
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As they live like this, pretending that they are not subject to aging and death, terrible calamities come, with death the foremost of them.
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Thus, when might I bring relief to those tormented by the fire of suffering, with the requisites of happiness springing forth from the clouds of my merit?
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When shall I respectfully teach emptiness (wisdom) and the accumulation of merit (method) in terms of (the two truths:) conventional truth and without reification (emptiness) to those whose views are reified?

***

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