Shantideva

Shantideva (sometimes Śāntideva) was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar and adherent of the Prasangika Madhyamaka philosophy, renowned as the author of the Bodhicaryavatara

Online text at bodhicitta.net

Chapter 3

• In the spiritual energy that relieves
  The anguish of beings in misery and
  Places depressed beings in eternal joy
  I lift up my heart and rejoice.

• In the ocean-like virtue of the Bodhimind
  That brings joy to all beings
  And in accomplishing the well-being of others,
  I lift up my heart and rejoice.

• To the Buddhas of the ten directions
  I join my hands in respect
  Let blaze the light of Dharmas truth
  For the beings lost in darkness

• To the Buddhas considering parinirvarna
  I join my hands in prayer
  Do not abandon the beings in sorrow
  But remain and teach for countless ages.

• May any spiritual energy thus generated
  By my devotion to the enlightened ones
  Be dedicated to dispelling the misery
  Of living beings without exception.

• As long as diseases afflict living beings
  May I be the doctor, the medicine
  And also the nurse
  Who restores them to health.

• May I fall as rain to increase
  The harvests that must feed living beings
  And in ages of dire famine
  May I myself serve as food and drink.

• My body, every possession
  And all goodness, past, present and future
  Without remorse I dedicate
  To the well-being of the world.

• Suffering is transcended by total surrender
  And the mind attains to nirvana.
  As one day all must be given up,
  Why not dedicate it now to universal happiness?

• May no one who encounters me
  Ever have an insignificant contact.

• Regardless whether those whom I meet
  Respond towards me with anger or faith,
  May the mere fact of our meeting
  Contribute to the fulfilment of their wishes.

• May the slander, harm
  And all forms of abuse
  That anyone should direct towards me
  Act as a cause of their enlightenment.

• May I act as the mighty earth
  Or like the free and open skies
  To support and provide the space
  Whereby I and all others may grow.

• Until every being afflicted by pain
  Has reached nirvanas shores,
  May I serve only as a condition
  That encourages progress and joy.

• They who out of wisdom
  Have seized the supreme Bodhimind
  Praise, glorify and rejoice in it,
  That it may grow to fulfilment.

• Like a blind man fumbling in garbage
  Happens to find a rare and precious gem,
  Likewise I have discovered
  The jewel of the precious Bodhimind.
  Thus was found this supreme ambrosia to dispel
  The Lord of death, destroyer of life;
  An inexhaustible treasure able to cure
  The poverty of all sentient beings.

• The Bodhimind is a great radiant sun
  To disperse the darkness of unknowing,
  And it is the very essence of butters
  Gained from churning the milks of Dharma.
  For all guests on the roads of life
  Who would take the very substance of joy,
  Here is the actual seat of true happiness,
  A veritable feast to satiate the world.

• Thus today in the presence of all awakened Ones
  I invite every living being to this festival
  Giving both immediate and lasting joy.
  May the gods and all others rejoice.

Chapter 6

• His the knife, and mine the body
  the twofold cause of suffering.
  He has grasped the knife, I my body.
  At which is there anger?

• Those who injure me are really impelled by my actions.
  For this they will go to the realms of hell.
  Surely it is they who are harmed by me?

Chapter 10

• May all those languishing in hell come now to perfect joy.
  And may the stooping animals be freed
  From fear of being preyed upon, each other's food.^[1]

A translation of the Bodhicaryavatara by V. Wallace and B. Wallace (1997)

• The Spirit of Awakening is known to be of two kinds: the spirit of aspiring for Awakening, and the spirit of venturing toward awakening. Just as one perceives the difference between a person who yearns to travel and a traveler, so do the learned recognize the corresponding difference between these two.
  • § 1.15

• For the sake of all beings I have made this body pleasureless. Let them continually beat it, revile it, and cover it with filth. 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.
  • § 3.12

• Let those who falsely accuse me, who harm me, and who ridicule me all partake of Awakening.
  • § 3.16

• Just as a blind man might find a jewel amongst heaps of rubbish, so this Spirit of Awakening has somehow arisen in me.
  • § 3.27

• The Spirit of Awakening … is the tree of rest for beings exhausted from wandering on the pathways of mundane existence.
  • § 3.29

• Where would there be leather enough to cover the entire world? With just the leather of my sandals, it is as if the whole world were covered. Likewise, I am unable to restrain external phenomena, but I shall restrain my own mind. What need is there to restrain anything else?
  • § 5.13

• Once I have forsaken the vow of guarding my mind, of what use are many vows to me?
  • § 5.18

• 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.

Santideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life, V. Wallace and B. Wallace, trans. (1997), ** § 5.19

• Let my possessions vanish; let my honor, my body, livelihood, and everything else pass away. But may my virtuous mind never be lost.
  • § 5.22

• One should eliminate yearning that arises for various idle conversations, which often take place, and for all kinds of entertainment.
  • § 5.45

• When one intends to move or when one intends to speak, one should first examine one’s own mind and then act appropriately with composure. When one sees one’s mind to be attached or repulsed, then one should neither act nor speak, but remain still like a piece of wood. When my mind is haughty, sarcastic, full of conceit and arrogance, ridiculing, evasive and deceitful, when it is inclined to boast, or when it is contemptuous of others, abusive, and irritable, then I should remain still like a piece of wood. When my mind is averse to the interests of others and seeks my own self-interest, or when it wishes to speak out of a desire for an audience, then I will remain still like a piece of wood. When it is impatient, indolent, timid, impudent, garrulous, or biased in my own favor, then I will remain still like a piece of wood.
  • § 5.47