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1. The Benefits of Bodhichitta
(1) Respectfully, I prostrate to the Blissfully Gone (Buddhas)
endowed with Dharmakaya,
As well as to their (bodhisattva) offspring
and to everyone worthy of prostration.
Let me explain (how to) engage in the Blissfully Gone offsprings' code,
Which I've compiled and condensed in accord with Buddhas' words.
(2) I've nothing to say here that's not come before,
And I lack any skill in the crafting of verse;
Yet, though I lack even the thought to help others,
I've composed this to familiarize my mind.
(3) For, due to acquaintance with what is constructive,
The force of my belief may increase for a moment,
even just through these (words).
And if others, e'qual to myself in fortune, happen to see them,
Perhaps they might find them meaningful (too).
(4) Having gained this (body with) respites and enrichments,
so hard to find,
Which can fulfill the wishes of (every) being,
If, in this (lifetime), I don't actualize its benefits,
When later will a perfect endowment with one come?
(5) Just as a flash of lightening on a dark, cloudy night,
For an instant, brightly illuminates all;
So, in this world, through the might of the Buddhas,
A positive attitude rarely and briefly appears.
(6) Thus, constructive (behavior) is constantly weak,
While negative forces are extremely strong,
and most unbearable.
Except for a full bodhichitta aim,
Can anything else constructive outshine it?
(7) The Kings of the Sages, having thoroughly reflected for many eons,
Have seen this very (mind) to be of (best) help,
For by it, limitless masses of beings
Will quickly and easily attain Supreme Bliss.
(8) Those who wish to destroy the hundreds of sufferings
of compulsive existence,
Those who wish to dispel the sorrow of limited beings,
And those who wish to enjoy the hundreds of states
of much happiness,
Will never give up the bodhichitta aim.
(9) The moment miserable beings bound in the prison
Of uncontrollably recurring samsara develop a bodhichitta aim,
They're called s'piritual offspring of the Blissfully Gone,
And become figures to be honored by the gods of this world,
as well as by men.
(10) Like the supreme creation of a gold-making elixir,
This unclean body, having been taken, will be transformed
Into the priceless gem of a Triumphant One's body.
So, firmly gain hold of what's known as bodhichitta.
(11) Since the immeasurable mind of the sole Navigator
for wandering beings
Has (seen) its precious worth upon examining fully;
Please, anyone wishing to be parted from the plights
of wandering beings:
Gain hold, truly firmly, of (this) gem, bodhichitta.
(12) Everything else that's constructive resembles the plantain tree:
Having given birth to its fruit, it's depleted.
But the tree of bodhichitta forever bears fruit
And, never depleted, it grows ever more.
(13) Even if they've committed extremely unbearable negative acts,
Why don't the caring rely on that
Which, when relied on, will instantly free them,
Like relying on a hero when greatly afraid.
(14) Like the time-ending fires, it burns off with certainty,
In an instant, enormous negative karmic force.
With wisdom, the Guardian Maitreya has explained
Its fathomless benefits to Sudhana.
(15) Bodhichitta is to be known, in brief,
As having two aspects:
A bodhichitta aim that aspires to enlightenment
And a bodhichitta that's engaged with (attaining) enlightenment.
(16) As is understood by the distinction
Between aspiring to go and (actually) going,
So the learned understand the distinction
Between these two to be as if stages.
(17) Although great fruits arise, even in recurring samsara,
From an aspiring bodhichitta aim,
Positive force doesn't accrue without interruption
As it does with an engaged bodhichitta aim.
(18) As soon as someone perfectly gains hold
Of that mind, with the thought
Never to turn back from totally liberating
Infinite realms of limited beings,
(19) From that time onward,
Whether asleep or even not caring,
A profusion of positive force gushes forth,
Without interruption, e'qual to space.
(20) For the sake of limited beings admiring modest (aims),
The Thusly Gone (Buddha) himself
Has proclaimed that this is correct
In The Sutra Subahu Requested.
(21) If having a thought to be of help,
Even thinking, "May I relieve limited beings
Merely of headaches,"
Comes to have fathomless positive force,
(22) What need to mention the wish to relieve
Each and every limited being of fathomless miseries,
And the wish to help each and every limited being
To actualize fathomless good qualities.
(23) Who has such an altruistic mind as this?
Do even fathers? Do even mothers?
Do even gods and sages?
Does even Brahma have it?
(24) If those limited beings, even in their dreams,
Have never before dreamt of such a mind
(Even) for their own sakes,
How would it have arisen for the sakes of others?
(25) This extraordinary jewel of the mind ¨C
A mind for the sake of limited beings, which in others
Doesn't arise for even their own sakes ¨C
Crystallizes as something of unprecedented wonder.
(26) How can the positive force of a jewel-like mind,
Which is the cause of happiness for all wandering beings
And the elixir for the sufferings of limited beings,
Be something whose measure can be taken?
(27) If merely a thought to be of help is more especially noble
Than making offerings to the Buddhas,
What need to mention striving for the sake of the happiness
Of all limited beings without exception?
(28) Although having the mind that wishes to shun suffering,
They rush headlong into suffering itself.
Although wishing for happiness, yet out of naivety,
They destroy their own happiness as if it were a foe.
(29) For those who are destitute of happiness
And who have many sufferings,
It satisfies them with all happiness,
Cuts off all suffering,
(30) And eliminates even their naivety.
Where is there anything comparably constructive as that?
Where is there even such a friend as that?
Where is there even such a force as positive as that?
(31) If some consider as worthy of praise
Even someone who's paid back for helping,
What need to mention a bodhisattva
Who does good without seeking (anything in return)?
(32) People honor as someone who acts constructively
Someone who only briefly gives merely a morsel of meager food
In a demeaning manner to a few wandering beings,
Satiating them for half a day.
(33) What need to mention someone who constantly looks to give,
For an eternity of time,
the peerless bliss of the Blissfully Gone (Buddhas)
To endless numbers of limited beings,
Fulfilling the wishes of all their minds?
(34) The Sage has said that if someone generates negative thoughts
Toward a philanthropist offspring of the Triumphant like that,
That person will remain in a joyless realm for as many eons
As the number of negative thoughts that were spent.
(35) However, if someone has an extremely clear-minded
(belief in such persons),
Its fruits will multiply far more than that.
For even in the most acute situations,
Triumphant's offspring never will generate anything negative.
Rather, their positive actions naturally increase.
(36) I prostrate to the bodies of those in whom
The sacred state of mind, the gem, has arisen.
I take safe direction from those sources of bliss
Who join to bliss even those who harm them.
2. Openly Admitting Previous Negative Acts

(1) To gain hold of that precious mind,
I offer sincerely to you, the Thusly Gone (Buddhas),
To the stainless Rare Gem of the hallowed Dharma,
And to you, the offspring of the Buddhas, with oceans of good qualities:
(2) Whatever flowers and fruits there are
And whatever manners of medicine there are,
Whatever jewels there are in this world
And whatever pure pleasing waters there are,
(3) Mountains of precious minerals and likewise
Forests and secluded delightful places,
Trees adorned and bedecked with blossoms,
And trees whose branches are laden with all sorts of excellent fruit;
(4) And from the realms of divine beings and others, fragrances,
Incense, wish-granting trees, jewel shrubs,
An assortment of wild-growing crops,
And ornamentals as well, fit to be offered,
(5) Lakes and pools adorned with lotus
And with swans possessing a bewitching cry,
Everything that's without an owner
To the far reaches of the infinite sphere of space --
(6) Taking them to mind, I offer them fully
To you, the Sages, Foremost of Beings,
together with your s'piritual offspring.
Hallowed objects for offerings, having great compassion,
Think kindly of me and accept these (tokens) of mine.
(7) Lacking in positive karmic force, I'm extremely impoverished
And have nothing else that is precious to offer.
Therefore, Guardians whose thoughts are for the welfare of others,
Accept them by the power of your concern for my sake.
(8) All my bodies I offer for eternity
To you, the Triumphant and to your s'piritual offspring.
Supreme Beings, please fully accept me.
Respectfully, I shall serve as your attendant.
(9) Completely under your care and thus unafraid
Of compulsive existence, I shall benefit limited beings.
I shall perfectly transcend my previous negative karmic force
And henceforth, never commit further negative acts.
(10) To bathing chambers, exquisitely sweet scented,
With crystal floors, transparent and polished to a shine,
Having beautiful pillars, glowing with gems,
And crowned with canopies, radiant with pearls,
(11) I invite you, Thusly Gone (Buddhas) and your s'piritual offspring,
And shower your bodies, over and again, from many jeweled vases
Filled to the brim with scented water and delightful things,
To the accompaniment of song and music.
(12) I (now) dry your bodies with incomparable cloths,
Clean and well-anointed with scent,
And then present you hallowed beings
With most fragrant robes correctly dyed to color.
(13) I adorn with excellent garments, fine and smooth,
And with hundreds of the choicest pieces of jewelry, this and that,
You, the Aryas Samantabhadra, Manjushri,
Lokeshvara and all the rest.
(14) With the best colognes whose fragrant vapors
Rise to all the myriad worlds, I anoint the bodies
Of all you Kings of the Sages, who shine with light,
Like sluiced, refined, and polished gold.
(15) To you, the Kings of the Sages, foremost objects for offerings,
I present lovely flowers, such as mandarava, lotus, and water lily,
With sweet fragrance, each of them (loose) and also
Delicately strung together and exquisite in garlands.
(16) I offer you, as well, masses of clouds from the burning of
The choicest incense, stealing the mind,
whose fragrant aroma pervades (everywhere).
I offer you also a celestial feast
With a wide array of dishes, delicacies, and nectars to drink.
(17) I offer you lamps of precious metals as well,
Arranged in rows on lotuses of gold.
On swept ground, sprinkled with scented water,
I scatter beautiful flower petals
(18) And offer to you, with a nature of compassion,
Immeasurable palaces, enchanting with arias of praise,
Draped with dangling ornaments of pearls and gems,
beautiful and sparkling,
Beyond fathom, becoming an adornment of space.
(19) Eternally, I offer to you Kings of the Sages
Stunning jeweled parasols with golden handles,
Their rims adorned with exquisite types of decoration,
With an elegant shape, erect and gorgeous to behold.
(20) And, in addition to this, may clouds bursting with the music
Of a symphony of offering (instruments)
And beautiful celestial musicians each take their place,
Alleviating the suffering of limited beings.
(21) May they shower, without interruption,
A rain of jewels, flowers, and so forth
On all you Rare Supreme Gems of the hallowed Dharma,
And on your stupa monuments and Buddha images.
(22) Just as Manjushri and others
Have made offerings to you, the Triumphant,
So do I, too, make offerings to you, my Thusly Gone Guardians,
And to your s'piritual offspring.
(23) I offer praises to you Oceans of Good Qualities,
With melodious eulogies and a sea of tongues.
May clouds of harmonies of melodious
Eulogies to you amass with certainty all around.
(24) I prostrate to all you Buddhas who have graced the three times,
To the Dharma and to you, the Highest Assembly,
Bowing down with bodies as numerous
As all the atoms of the world.
(25) I prostrate to you bases for the bodhichitta aim
And to your stupa monuments.
I prostrate to you abbots and likewise to you (ordaining) masters,
And to you supreme (upholders of) tamed behavior.
(26) Till I reach the heart of a purified state,
I take safe direction from you Buddhas.
Likewise, I take safe direction from the Dharma
And from you, the Assembly of bodhisattvas.
(27) With palms pressed together, I beseech
You Buddhas and bodhisattvas
Residing in every direction,
Possessing great compassion:
(28) Throughout my beginningless samsaric existence,
In this and other lives,
I've unwittingly committed negative acts
Or caused others to commit (them), and further,
(29) Op'pressed by the confusion of naivety,
I've rejoiced (in them) -- whatever I've done,
I see them as mistakes and openly admit (them)
To you, my Guardians, from the depths of my heart.
(30) Whatever harmful actions of body, speech and mind
I've committed out of disturbing emotion
Toward you Three Supreme Gems, my fathers, my mothers,
My s'piritual mentors or others,
(31) And whatever extremely unbearable base actions I've done --
I, who am full of negative force
That gives rise to faults through many wrong actions --
I openly admit all of them to you S'piritual Leaders.
(32) But, I may be snatched from my life
Before cleansing myself of my negative forces of karma.
Just as (then I may fall to a horrible reb'irth),
I beseech you for safe direction
To free myself definitely from that, with the swiftest of means.
(33) Whether or not I've done (purification),
Since this Lord of Death, who can't be trusted, never will wait,
Everyone, whether sick or not, (dies) all of a sudden.
My life can't be trusted.
(34) Leaving all behind, I'll depart.
But not having realized this,
I've committed all sorts of negative acts
For the sake of my friends and my foes.
(35) My foes will vanish;
My friends also will vanish;
I too shall vanish;
Likewise, all will vanish.
(36) Just like the experiences in a dream,
Anything I enjoy
Will become an object of memory;
Everything that's passed, I won't see (again).
(37) Even within this brief lifetime itself,
Many friends and foes have passed.
But whatever unbearable (fruits) there are
From the negative acts I've committed for their sake (still) lie ahead.
(38) Through not having realized
That, all of a sudden, I (can die) like this,
I've committed negative acts of so many sorts
Out of naivety, desire, and anger.
(39) Day and night, without a stop,
This life is always getting shorter --
No extension ever comes from the side;
Why should someone like me not die?
(40) While lying in bed,
Even if I'm surrounded by all my relatives and friends,
I alone shall experience
The feelings of my life being severed.
(41) When seized by the messengers of the Lord of Death,
What help are relatives? What help are friends?
Only my positive karmic force will provide me a safe direction then,
But I've never relied on just that.
(42) O Guardians! Not (really) caring, I didn't know
(There'd be) such ter'ror as this,
And so, for the sake of this impermanent life,
I've caused so much negative karmic force to build up.
(43) If someone even just being led to where
His limbs will be lopped off today is so terrified that,
With dry mouth, sunken eyes, and worse,
He appears transfigured from before,
(44) What need to mention the tremendous torment
When grabbed by the macabre physical forms
Of the sinister messengers of the Lord of Death
And fallen into a fit of great panic.
(45) "Who can show me a safe and sound direction
Out of this monstrous horror?"
Staring with terrified, bulging eyes
I'll search the four quarters for anyone (who can show me)
safe direction out.
(46) (And then,) seeing no one in the four quarters
who can give safe direction,
I'll become filled with total despair from that.
If no one having safe direction is there in that place,
What can I do at that time?
(47) Therefore, from this very day, I take safe direction
From you, the Triumphant, you Guardians of those who wander,
Who strove to become safe directions for wandering beings
And who can remove all my fears with your stupendous forces.
(48) Likewise, I purely take safe direction
From the Dharma you've realized,
Which abolishes the fears of recurring samsara,
And also from you, the Assembly of bodhisattvas.
(49) Totally panicked with anguish,
To you, Samantabhadra, I offer myself;
And, of my own accord, I make to you,
Manjughosha, an offering of my body.
(50) To you as well, Guardian Avaloki-teshvara,
Who are undeceiving in acting with compassion,
I cry out for help in a wail of torment:
"Pray, give safe direction to me who has
(such) a negative karmic force!"
(51) From Akashagarbha, Kshitigarbha,
And all you Guardians with great compassion,
I seek safe direction and, from my heart,
Cry out for help.
(52) I take safe direction from you, the One with a Vajra:
Upon your sight, all malevolent beings,
Such as the messengers of the Lord of Death,
Flee in panic to the four quarters (of the world).
(53) Previously, I've transgressed your advice,
But seeing now these horribly frightening things,
I take safe direction from you, and by this,
May I purge myself quickly of these fearful things.
(54) If even when scared by a common illness,
I have to act in accord with a doctor's advice,
What need to mention when perpetually afflicted
By diseases, like desire, (that produce) hundreds of injuries.
(55) If just one of these can bring all the people
Living in this Southern Continent to ruin,
And if no other medicine to cure them
Is to be found in any direction,
(56) Then the urge not to act in accord with the advice
Of the Omniscient Physicians concerning that,
Which can remove every painful disease,
Is something to be rebuked as extremely naive.
(57) If I need to be careful
At a small and ordinary cliff,
What need to mention at the cliff over which I can fall
For thousands of leagues for a long duration (in the joyless realms).
(58) It's incorrect (for me) to sit at ease,
Thinking, "I won't die just today,"
For without a doubt that time will come
When I shall be no more.
(59) Who can give me a state of no fear?
How can I be freed with certainty from this?
If I shall doubtlessly vanish,
How can I sit with my mind at ease?
(60) What I've experienced in the past has disappeared,
And because of my clinging
To whatever extra I have beyond that,
I've been acting contrary to my mentors' advice.
(61) Having abandoned this lifetime
And likewise my relatives and friends,
If alone I must wander in an uncertain direction,
What use with all of my friends and foes?
(62) "From destructive actions comes (nothing but) suffering;
How can I be liberated definitely from that?"
It's proper for me to think, day and night,
Constantly only about that.
(63) Out of naivety or (simply) not knowing,
Whatever I've done that fits into being
Either naturally disgraceful
Or a negative act proscribed (by you Buddhas),
(64) I openly admit all of them
Directly before the eyes of you Guardians,
Prostrating over and again, with palms pressed together
And a mind dreading suffering.
(65) S'piritual Leaders, in (light of my) taking my negative acts
As having been misdeeds, I beseech you:
Since this was not wholesome,
I shall never do them again.
3. Gaining Hold of a Bodhichitta Aim

(1) With pleasure, I rejoice in the positive actions
That relieve the sufferings of the worse rebirth states
For all limited beings and that place these, who suffer,
In better rebirth states.
(2) I rejoice in that build up of positive (force)
That became the causes for the (arhats') purified state;
I rejoice in the definite fr'eedom of (these) embodied beings
From the miseries of uncontrollable rebirth.
(3) I rejoice in the purified state of the Guardian (Buddhas)
And also in the levels of mind of their s'piritual offspring;
And with pleasure, I rejoice in the ocean of positive force
From their having developed bodhichitta aims
To bring every limited being joy
And in their deeds that have aided limited beings.
(4) With palms pressed together, I beseech
The Buddhas of all directions:
Please shine Dharma's lamp for limited beings
Suffering and groping in darkness.
(5) With palms pressed together, I beseech
The Triumphant who would pass beyond sorrow:
I beg you, remain for countless eons
So as not to leave in their blindness these wandering beings.
(6) By whatever positive force I've built up
Through all of these that I've done like that,
May I remove every suffering
Of all limited beings.
(7) So long as wandering beings fall sick,
May I serve as the medicine,
The doctors and their nurse,
Until they've been cured of their illness.
(8) May I eliminate the pain of hunger and thirst
With a shower of food and drink;
And, in the times of the middle eons of famine,
May I myself change into food and drink.
(9) For limited beings, destitute and poor,
May I become a treasure that never runs out
And remain in their presence
As a variety of sorts of useful things.
(10) To fulfil the aims of all limited beings,
I give, without sense of a loss,
My body and likewise my pleasures,
And all my positive forces of the three times.
(11) Giving everything away (brings) release with nirvana,
And my mind is (aimed) for realising nirvana.
As giving away all comes together (with death),
It's best to give (now) to limited beings.
(12) Having given this body to all those with limited bodies
To do with as they like,
It's up to them to do what they want:
Let them kill it, rev'ile it, always beat it, or whatever.
(13) Let them toy with my body,
Make it into a source of ridicule or a joke.
Having given away this body of mine,
For what should I hold it dear?
(14) Let them do whatever to (my) body,
So long as it doesn't cause them harm;
But may anything focused on me
Never turn out to be meaningless.
(15) If anyone, having focused on me,
Develops an angry or negative mind,
May that always turn into a cause
For fulfilling all of his or her aims.
(16) And may everyone who speaks badly of me,
Or does something else that's of harm,
Or likewise hurls ridicule at me,
Become someone with the fortune for a purified state.
(17) May I be a guardian for those with no guardian,
A pathfinder for those who are on the road,
And a boat, a ship, and a bridge
For those who would cross.
(18) May I be an island for those seeking an island,
A lamp for those desiring a lamp,
A bed for everyone wishing a bed,
And a servant for every embodied being
who would want a servant.
(19) May I be a wish-granting gem, a vase of excellence,
M'antras of pure awareness, magnificent medicine,
Wish-granting trees, and cows of plenty
For embodied beings.
(20) And eternally, like earth and so on ¨C
The great elements ¨C and space,
May I serve, in a plenitude of forms, as the basis for life
For fathomless numbers of limited beings.
(21) And till they pass to nirvana,
May I serve, as well, in all ways,
As the causes for life in the realms
Of limited beings till the ends of space.
(22) Just as the Blissfully Gone (Buddhas) of the past
Have generated a bodhichitta aim,
Then lived by the stages
Of bodhisattva training;
(23) So, too, do I generate a bodhichitta aim
To help those who wander,
And shall train in the stages
Of bodhisattva training.
(24) Purely gaining hold, like this,
Of bodhichitta with (this) sound state of mind,
Afterwards, as well, to enhance it further,
Celebrate (that) mind in this way:
(25) Now my life's become fruitful,
For having wonderfully attained a human existence,
Today I've awakened my Buddha-nature
And now have become a Buddha's s'piritual child.
(26) Now, in whatever way possible,
I shall undertake actions that accord with its traits,
And never defile this impeccable nature
That lacks any fault.
(27) Just like a blind man
Finding a gem in a pile of trash,
Likewise, it's come about by some force
That within me has developed a bodhichitta aim.
(28) It's the supreme nectar, indeed, for defeating
The Lord of Death of wandering beings;
It's the inexhaustible treasure as well
For dispelling the poverty of those who roam.
(29) It is the best medicine, too, that brings to full rest
The diseases of those who are passing through;
It's the tree that shelters all wandering beings,
Roaming and exhausted on the roads of their compulsive lives.
(30) It's the public bridge for freeing
All wandering beings from the worse rebirth states;
It's the risen mind-moon for dispelling the fever
Of the disturbing emotions of those who roam.
(31) It's the magnificent sun for clearing away
The mist of not knowing of wandering beings;
It's the fresh froth of butter that rises to the top
From the churning of the milk of the sacred Dharma.
(32) For wandering beings roaming, as guests,
on the roads of compulsive existence,
Wishing to enjoy a share of bliss,
This is the best for setting (them) with bliss,
Satisfying the entirety of beings (who'll come) as guests.
(33) Today, before the eyes of all sources of direction,
I've summoned as guests (all) wandering beings
For bliss up to the state of a Blissfully Gone (Buddha).
Gods, anti-gods, and so on, take joy!
4. Taking Care (about Bodhichitta)
(1) As a Triumphant Ones' offspring,
Having firmly gained hold of bodhichitta like this,
I'll strive never to transgress its training,
Without ever wavering.
(2) For something undertaken all of a sudden
Or something I didn't examine well,
Even if I've given a promise about it,
It's proper to examine, "Do it or give it up?"
(3) But how can I ever withdraw
From what the Buddhas and their s'piritual offspring
Have examined with great discriminating awareness
And I, myself, have repeatedly examined as well?
(4) If, having promised like this,
I don't carry it through with my actions,
Then, by deceiving every limited being,
What will become of my rebirth states?
(5) If (Buddha) has said that once someone's made up his mind
To give away even some small and trivial thing,
And then doesn't (actually) give it away,
He'll turn into a clutching ghost;
(6) Then, if I should deceive all wandering beings,
After having sincerely invited them
To unsurpassable bliss,
Will I go to a better rebirth state?
(7) And how the karma works for someone
Who gives up bodhichitta, yet attains liberation,
Is beyond all thought:
Only the Omniscient can understand.
(8) For a bodhisattva, (however,) this is the heaviest
From among (all) the downfalls;
Because, if something should happen like that,
It impairs the welfare of all limited beings.
(9) And should anyone else cause an obstruction,
For even an instant, to his positive acts,
There'll be no end to his worse rebirth states,
From impairing the welfare of limited beings.
(10) For if one's (state of rebirth) will worsen
By destroying the joy of even a single, limited being,
What need to mention destroying the bliss
Of embodied beings as vast as all space?
(11) Therefore, someone with the force from a downfall
And the force from (developing) bodhichitta (again)
Keeps bouncing down and up in samsara,
For a long time obstructed in reaching any arya level of realised mind.
(12) Therefore, with highest regard, I shall carry it through,
Just as I've promised, because
If, from now on, I don't make an effort,
I'll wander from lower to ever-lower states.
(13) Countless Buddhas, who have helped
All limited beings, have already passed.
Yet, I wasn't an object of their healing,
Because of my mistakes.
(14) And if I still were to act like this,
It would be the same, over and again:
Worse rebirth states, sickness, death,
Being dismembered and torn apart.
(15) If the advent of a Thusly Gone (Buddha),
And gaining embodiment as a human (with) belief in what's fact
And the properly constructive instincts are so rare,
When shall I attain them (again) like this?
(16) Although on a day like today, I'm not sick,
Have food, and haven't any injuries,
Life is but for a moment and will let me down:
The body is like something on loan for an instant.
(17) And with my behavior like this,
I won't even attain a human body (again).
And if I haven't attained (another) human body,
I'll have only (my) negative karmic force and nothing constructive.
(18) If even when having the chance for constructive behavior,
I do nothing constructive, then what course will I have
When completely struck dumb by the sufferings
In the worse rebirth states?
(19) If, while not doing anything constructive,
I continue to build up negative karmic force,
Then for hundreds of millions of eons
I won't even hear the words "better rebirth state."
(20) Because of just this, the Vanquishing Master has said
rebirth as a human is so difficult to attain,
Just as it is for a turtle to stick its neck through the hole
In a yoke adrift on the vast sea.
(21) If, by the negative force of committing (a heinous act) for an instant,
I must spend an eon in a joyless realm of unrelenting pain,
What need to mention not going to one of the better rebirth states
Because of the negative force I've built up over beginningless samsara?
(22) But just having experienced only that much,
I shall still not get free,
For while experiencing like this,
I'll prolifically create further negative force.
(23) So if, having found a respite such as this,
I don't make being constructive a habit,
There's nothing more self-deceptive than this;
There's nothing more stupid than this.
(24) If, having understood this,
I procrastinate stupidly still in the future,
Then, when the hour for (my) dying will come,
Enormous anguish will swell.
(25) Then, if my body will burn for so long
In the unbearable fires of a joyless realm,
There can be no doubt that my mind will be tortured
By the searing flames of unendurable regret.
(26) Having found, somehow, a beneficial
rebirth, so hard to find,
If (now), while able to discriminate,
I drag myself down once more to a joyless realm,
(27) It amounts to not having had a mind while here,
Like having been stupefied by a m'antra spell.
If I don't know what's causing me to be so stupid,
Well, what is it there inside my (head)?
(28) Although enemies, such as anger and craving,
Have neither legs nor arms,
Are neither brave nor wise,
How is it that they've made me like their slave?
(29) For while squatting in my mind,
At their pleasure, they gleefully cause me harm.
To be patient and not become angry with them
Is an inappropriate, pathetic place for patience.
(30) Even if all the gods and anti-gods
Were to rise up against me as enemies,
They couldn't drag and feed me into the fires
(Of a joyless realm) of unrelenting pain.
(31) But those strong mighty enemies, my disturbing emotions,
Can, in a moment, hurl me into them, which,
When met, will cause not even the ashes
Of the King of Mountains to remain.
(32) My disturbing emotions are long-standing enemies,
Without a beginning or an end.
No other enemy can be like that,
For such a long time.
(33) With all (the others), becoming close and serving (them) nicely
Bring benefit and happiness;
But being close with my disturbing emotions
(Only) harms me with even more pain.
(34) These longtime, continuing enemies like this
Are the sole causes for masses of harm to multiply wildly.
How can I be joyful and not terrified in samsara,
If I set a secure place (for them) in my heart?
(35) Where can I have happiness
If, in a web of attachments within my mind,
They lurk as guards of my samsara-prison,
Becoming my murderers and butchers in joyless realms and the like?
(36a) Therefore, I shall never give up my efforts in this
Until, directly myself, I definitely smash these enemies.
(36b) Having become enraged at someone
who caused them even some minor, occasional harm,
Those with full-blown pride won't sleep
till they've smashed that (enemy).
(37) And if, while lined up in the height of battle
against those with disturbing emotions,
Who will come to suffer their natural deaths (anyway),
Those obsessed with vindictively smashing them will dismiss the pain
of being struck by the weapons of arrows or spears
And, till accomplishing their aims,
will never run off in the opposite direction;
(38) Is there need to mention that I mustn't lose
heart and procrastinate,
Even if I'm caused hundreds of sufferings
When, now, I strive to definitely overcome my natural enemies
(my disturbing emotions),
Which are the continual source of all my sufferings?
(39) If wounds, without even some purpose, inflicted by enemies,
Are held up like ornaments on the body,
Then why are sufferings troublesome to me,
Who impeccably strive to fulfill the Great Purpose?
(40) If fishermen, outcastes, peasants and the like,
Even with the thought of merely their livelihoods,
Endure such sufferings as heat and cold,
Why aren't the likes of me patient for the sake of the happiness
of wandering beings?
(41) When I promised to liberate from their disturbing emotions
Wandering beings in the ten directions
As far as the ends of space,
I myself was not freed yet from disturbing emotions,
(42) And didn't even realize the extent of my
(being under their control);
Wasn't it crazy to have spoken (like that)?
But, as this is so, I shall never withdraw
From destroying my disturbing emotions.
(43) To do this shall be my obsession:
Holding a grudge, I shall meet them in battle!
Disturbing emotions, in forms such as these,
Are exclusively for destroying the disturbing emotions.
(44) Better for me to be burned to death
Or have my head chopped off:
I shall never, in any circumstances,
Bow to the enemy, (my) disturbing emotions.
(45) Common enemies, when driven off from a country,
Will settle and occupy other lands,
And when they've recovered their strength, return once again;
But the way of the enemy, my disturbing emotions,
is not similar in this regard.
(46) Pitiful disturbing emotions, when gotten rid of by wisdom's eye
And kicked out of my mind, where will you go?
Where will you live to come back to harm me?
Weak-minded, it's fallen to my making no effort.
(47) If disturbing emotions don't live in sensory objects,
in networks of sensory cells, in between (the two),
Or somewhere other than that, then where can they live to harass
all wandering beings (again)?
They're like an illusion and, because of that,
I shall get rid of the fear in my heart
and devote myself resolutely to striving for wisdom.
Why have I been torturing myself, for no real reason,
in joyless realms and the like?
(48) Having decisively thought like this,
I shall strive to actualize the training, just as explained.
Not listening to the doctor's instructions,
How can a patient in need of a cure be healed by his medicines?
5. Safeguarding with Alertness
(1) With the wish to safeguard my training,
I need to work hard and safeguard my mind;
If I'm unable to safeguard my mind,
I'll also be unable to safeguard my training.
(2) Left to run loose, the elephant of my mind can ravage me
With (a joyless realm of) unrelenting pain.
Untamed, rutting elephants in this (world)
Can't cause me such harm.
(3) But, if the elephant of my mind is firmly bound
By the rope of mindfulness on every side,
All fears will vanish and everything constructive
Will come into my hands.
(4) Tigers, lions, elephants, bears,
Snakes and all enemies,
The beings who are the guards in the joyless realms,
Witches and likewise cannibals -
(5) They'll all be bound, by having bound
This mind alone;
They'll all be tamed, by having tamed
This mind alone.
(6) The Speaker of the Perfect himself has shown
That, in this way, all fears,
As well as immeasurable sufferings,
Come from the mind.
(7) Who intentionally created
All the weapons for the beings in the joyless realms?
Who created the burning iron ground?
Where did all the siren-mai'ds come from?
(8) The Sage has said that all such things as that
Are (what come from) a mind having negative karmic force.
Therefore, in the threefold world,
There's nothing to fear except the mind.
(9) (After all,) if the perfection of giving were
That the poverty of wandering beings was all gone;
Then how could the Guardians of old have perfected it,
Since wandering beings have hunger still now?
(10) The perfection of giving is said to be
Through the mind that would give away to everyone
All that is mine, together with its results;
Thus, it's the mind itself.
(11) Fish and the like, where could anyone take them (all)
So that they won't be killed (ever again)?
The perfection of ethical discipline, it's explained,
Is from gaining the mind to give up (such acts).
(12) Cruel beings are (everywhere) just as is space:
It can't possibly come that I'll have destroyed them (all).
But if I've destroyed this mind of anger alone,
It's the same as my having destroyed all those foes.
(13) Where could I possibly find the leather
To cover with leather the whole surface of the earth?
But with leather just on the soles of my shoes,
It's the same as having covered the entire earth's surface.
(14) Likewise, although it's impossible for me
To w'ard off external events;
If I would w'ard off my mind,
What need to w'ard off anything else?
(15) The result of feeble (mental) application,
Even when accompanied by speech and physical (acts),
Is not like the result of developing an intense mind alone,
Which would be Brahma states and beyond.
(16) The Knower of Reality has said
That recitation and all physically difficult practices,
Even if done for a very long time, will be meaningless,
If done with a mind that's distracted elsewhere.
(17) And those who don't know the secret of the mind,
The paramount significance of Dharma,
Will wander about, pointlessly and miserably,
Wishing to gain happiness and overcome suffering.
(18) This being so, I'll take hold of my mind
And safeguard it well.
If I've left out the taming behavior of safeguarding the mind,
What use are the many (other) taming behaviors?
(19) Just as I'd take great pains and be careful about a wound
When standing in the midst of an unstable, wild crowd,
So too, I shall safeguard, always, the wound of my mind,
Since I'm living in the midst of difficult people.
(20) And if I'd be careful about a wound,
Even from fearing the wound's hurting a little,
Then why don't I safeguard the wound of my mind,
From fear of being smashed by the crushing mountains
(of a joyless realm)?
(21) If I can remain like this in my behavior,
Then whether I'm situated amidst difficult people
Or placed even in the midst of nubile young women,
My stable restraint shall not fall apart.
(22) Better that my wealth, the respect I receive,
My body and livelihood disappear!
Better even that my other virtues decline,
But I shall never let my mind degenerate!
(23) O you, who would wish to safeguard your minds,
With palms pressed together, I tell you,
Safeguard your mindfulness and alertness,
With all effort.
(24) People who are disturbed by sickness
Are powerless over all their actions.
Those whose minds are disturbed by bewilderment
Are likewise powerless over all their actions.
(25) Whatever has been heard, pondered and meditated upon
By those whose minds are lacking alertness,
Will not be retained in their memories,
Just like water in a leaking vase.
(26) Many learned people,
Even when having conviction and extraordinary effort,
Become fouled with a downfall,
Due to the mistake of lacking alertness.
(27) The thieves (that come in) from their lack of alertness
Go on, after plundering their mindfulness,
(To take,) as well, the positive karmic force they've built up,
So that they go to a worse rebirth state, as if robbed by thieves.
(28) This pack of thieves, the disturbing emotions,
Searches for a chance (to break in);
And, having found the chance, steals what's constructive,
Destroying the life of a better rebirth state.
(29) Therefore, I shall never let mindfulness
Be taken away from the gateway of my mind.
Should it be gone, I'll recall the sufferings
Of the worse rebirth states and closely reset it.
(30) Through the instructions of the learned and dread,
(Gained) from living together with s'piritual mentors,
Fortunate people, who would show (them) respect,
Will easily develop their mindfulness.
(31) "The Buddhas and bodhisattvas are endowed
With unobstructed vision, everywhere:
I'm always standing
Before the eyes of them all."
(32) Someone thinking like that, would take on, in this way,
Moral self-dignity, respect and dread.
Through this, his close mindfulness of the Buddhas
Would rise up, over and again.
(33) When mindfulness is set at the gateway of the mind
For the purpose of safeguarding,
Then alertness will come,
And even what's gone will come back again.
(34) Whenever I've recognized that, at the start,
The way my mind's (motivated) has some fault,
I shall remain, at those times, like a block of wood,
Able to restrain myself.
(35) I shall never look around
Without any purpose, because of distraction.
With a resolute mind,
I shall always look with my eyes cast downwards.
(36) But, for the sake of relaxing my gaze,
I'll look around now and then.
And if someone appears in my field of vision,
I shall look up and say, "Welcome."
(37) To check for dangers on the road and the like,
I shall look over and again in the four directions.
Then, after pausing, I shall turn round and look
To see what's behind.
(38) Then having examined both ahead and behind,
I shall either go on or come (back).
Thus, shall I act, in all situations,
After knowing what's needed.
(39) (Having paused and decided,) "I'll keep my body like this,"
And then jumping back into whatever I'm doing,
Then later, I shall look periodically
At the way in which my body's remaining.
(40) With the utmost effort, I shall check
That the rutting elephant of my mind
Has not been let loose from how it's been tied
To the great pillar of my Dharma intent.
(41) Never letting go, for even an instant,
The duty of my absorbed concentration,
I shall check one by one, like that, (each moment of) mind,
(To see,) "What's my mind engaging in?"
(42) But if I'm unable, when involved in a frightening situation,
An offering feast, or the like, I'll let it do what's appropriate.
Thus, it's been taught that at times of giving,
One may stay with equanimity toward ethical discipline.
(43) Having considered and begun to do something,
I won't think about anything other than this.
Then, with my intentions directed at that,
I shall accomplish that very thing first.
(44) Everything, this way, will get accomplished well;
Otherwise, neither will come about.
Also like this, the derivative disturbing factor,
Inalertness, will never increase.
(45) When various kinds of senseless talk
And numerous varieties of wondrous entertainment
Are happening all around,
I shall rid myself of attraction to them.
(46) If, for no reason, I start digging up the earth,
Picking at the grass, or doodling in the dirt,
I shall immediately stop, out of dread,
By recalling the advice of the Blissfully Gone (Buddhas).
(47) Whenever I might wish to move (my body)
Or might wish to speak,
First, I'll examine my mind, and then act with firmness,
Yoked to what's (ethically) correct.
(48) When (I notice that) my mind would (compromise)
with attachment,
Or would (oppose this) with anger,
I shall not make a move; I shall not speak (a word).
I shall remain like a block of wood.
(49) If my mind is overexcited and sarcastic,
Or has arrogance and conceit,
Has the intention to ridicule,
Or is greedy, hypocritical, and deceitful,
(50) When it would readily brag about me,
Or would criticize others,
And become insulting and quarrelsome,
I shall remain, at those times, like a block of wood.
(51) (When) my mind would desire material gain,
displays of respect, and fame;
Or desire the care of attendants and followers,
Or would wish to be served,
I shall remain, at those times, like a block of wood.
(52) (When) my mind would toss away the aims of others
And, wishing to care for my own aims (alone),
Would wish to say something,
I shall remain, at those times, like a block of wood.
(53) (When) my mind is impatient, lazy, and cowardly,
Or likewise, overly confident and noisy with nonsense,
Or is stubbornly attached to what's on my side,
I shall remain, at those times, like a block of wood.
(54) Having examined my mind in this way
For fully disturbing emotions and pointless endeavors,
Being courageous, I shall hold it firmly
With opponent forces, at those times.
(55) Resolute and happily convinced,
Stable, respectful, and polite,
Having moral self-dignity as well as dread,
Quieted down, and striving to bring happiness to others,
(56) Never disheartened by the inconsistent whims
of infantile people,
And, (realizing) that they arise in their minds
Because of their developing disturbing emotions,
Having a feeling of kindness (toward them),
(57) And, influenced by (thoughts) of myself and (these) limited beings,
(Engaging) in things that are never disgraceful,
I shall always keep hold of this mind,
Without self(-pride), like a magic emanation.
(58) By thinking over and again that it's after a long time
That I've gained a respite, supreme,
I shall hold my mind in that way,
As utterly immovable as the King of Mountains.
(59) If, O mind, you're not made unhappy
When (this body) is completely torn apart and dragged here and there
By vultures greedy for flesh,
Why are you pampering it now?
(60) Holding onto this body as "mine,"
Why, O mind, do you safeguard it (so)?
Since you and it are two separate things,
What can it do for you by itself?
(61) Bewildered mind, why don't you take possession
Of a clean, wooden sculpture (instead)?
What's the point of safeguarding this putrid device,
Assembled from unclean things?
(62) First, with your intellect,
Peel off and separate the layer of skin,
And then, with the scalpel of discriminating awareness,
Slice off, to the side, the meat from the skeletal frame.
(63) And having split open even the bones,
Look inside, down to the marrow,
And examine for yourself,
"What essence is there?"
(64) If, even searching with effort like this,
You're unable to see any essence in it,
Then why are you safeguarding this body still,
With such attachment?
(65) If, being unclean, it's unfit to be eaten by you,
And even the blood is not fit to be drunk,
And even the intestines not fit to be sucked;
What use is the body to you?
(66) Just secondarily, safeguarding it is proper
For the sake of feed for the jackals and vultures.
This body of human beings is no more
Than something to be put to good use.
(67) And if even, when you've safeguarded like that,
The merciless Lord of Death will (still) steal it
And give it to the birds and the dogs,
What will there be that you can do then?
(68) If you wouldn't give clothing and the like
Even to a servant who's unwilling to (stay on and) work,
Then why exhaustingly take care of the flesh,
When this body goes elsewhere, even having spoon-fed it?
(69) But having given it wages,
Now you must make it serve your own aims.
Don't give it everything (it wants),
Without it's being of help.
(70) Apply to the body the notion of a boat,
For it's merely the support of going and coming,
And transform it into a body that (will go) as you will,
To fulfill the wishes of limited beings.
(71) Thus I shall have self-control
And always present a smiling face.
I'll stop frowning and grimacing (in disapproval),
I'll be friendly with wandering beings, and be honest.
(72) I won't throw down seats and the like,
Recklessly, with noise;
I won't (pound) violently for doors to be opened;
(Rather,) I shall always delight in being quiet.
(73) Storks, cats and robbers
Accomplish their desired aims
By moving noiselessly and keeping low.
A disciplined (bodhisattva) always acts in that way.
(74) Respectfully, I shall take to the crown of my head
The words of those skilled in encouraging others
And who offer their help, without being asked.
I shall always become the student of everyone.
(75) I shall say, "Well spoken," to all
Who speak good (advice),
And having seen someone acting constructively,
With praises, I'll let it bring me joy.
(76) I shall speak of (others') good qualities when they're out of sight,
And when their good qualities are spoken of, agree.
When my own good qualities are mentioned,
I shall think of those qualities with appreciation.
(77) All (constructive) undertakings are a cause for joy,
Which is rare, even if money could buy it.
Therefore, let me take pleasure with joy
In the good qualities that others have worked on.
(78) (Rejoicing) won't bring me any loss in this life
And in future lives, my happiness will be great.
Finding fault (will bring me) unfriendliness and suffering
And in future lives, my suffering will be great.
(79) When talking, I shall speak from my heart, coherently,
With the meaning clear, pleasingly,
Rid of greed and aggression,
Gently, and just enough.
(80) When my eyes behold limited beings,
I shall think, "Depending on them,
I shall attain Buddhahood,"
And look with a sincere and loving manner.
(81) Being continuous, driven by a strong intention,
Or driven by an opponent force,
And (directed) toward those with good qualities, the helpful,
or the suffering,
My constructive actions will become mighty.
(82) Skillful and filled with exuberance,
I shall always do my deeds myself;
I shall never rely on anyone else
To do any of my deeds.
(83) I shall practice the far-reaching attitudes of giving and so on
As being more exalted, one after the other.
I shall never discard a greater for the sake of a smaller:
I shall consider, most importantly, the benefit for others.
(84) Having realized it's like that,
I shall always keep striving for the benefit of others.
The Far-Seeing Compassionate One has permitted,
For such (a bodhisattva), what's prohibited (for others).
(85) I shall share with those fallen to ruin, those without guardians,
And those maintaining tamed behavior,
And merely eat a proper amount.
With the exception of my threefold robes, I shall give away all.
(86) For some trivial aim, I shall not harm my body
That's practicing the sacred Dharma.
Acting like that, (all) the hopes of limited beings
Will be quickly fulfilled.
(87) I shall not give this body away
While my thought of compassion is still not pure.
I shall give it over (till then), in this and other (lives),
in whatever (way possible),
To causes that'll fulfill the Great Purpose.
(88) I shall not explain Dharma to those lacking respect,
To those with heads bound (with cloth) while not being sick,
To those holding parasols, canes, or weapons,
Or to those whose faces are veiled,
(89) Nor the vast and profound to those who are modest,
Nor to women without (also) a man.
I shall always pay e'qual respect
To the modest and the supreme Dharma teachings.
(90) I shall not join to the Dharma for the modest
Those who are vessels for the vast Dharma teachings,
Nor shall I cause them to abandon (bodhisattva) behavior,
Or entice them into (merely reciting) the sutras or m'antras.
(91) Should I spit or toss away the stick for (cleaning) my teeth,
I shall cover it over (with earth).
Further, it's despicable to urinate and so forth
Into water or on land that's to be used.
(92) I shall not eat with stuffing my mouth,
With noise, or with my mouth wide open.
Nor shall I sit with my legs outstretched
Or with my arms simultaneously (crossed),
pressed (against my body).
(93) I shall not go in a vehicle, on a bed, (a seat),
Or in a room alone with someone else's woman.
Having observed or inquired, I shall give up
All that would bring disrespect from the world.
(94) I shall never point with (my left hand or) one finger,
But respectfully with my right,
And with the entire hand;
I shall also indicate the path like that.
(95) I shall not wildly wave my arms,
Nor shout out loud, when it's scarcely urgent,
But shall signal with a snap of the fingers and the like,
Otherwise, I'll get out of control.
(96) Just as the Guardian (Buddha) lay down to pass to nirvana,
So shall I lie down to sleep, on the preferable side,
And, with alertness, yoke myself firmly from the start
To the intention to rise again quickly.
(97) Out of all the boundless bodhisattva behaviors
That have been spoken of,
I shall definitely put them to practice (at least) to the extent
Of the conduct for cleansing my mind.
(98) And I shall recite The Three Heaps (Sutra)
Three times each day and (each) night,
And thus, with the support of the Triumphant and my bodhichitta aim,
I shall neutralize my remaining downfalls.
(99) Whatever situation I may be acting in,
Of my own accord or from the influence of others,
I shall vigorously train in whatever is the training
That's been taught for that situation.
(100) There isn't anything in which the s'piritual offspring
Of the Triumphant don't train.
For those skilled in living in this way, nothing (they do)
Will escape becoming a positive force.
(101) Whether directly or indirectly, I shall not do anything
Other than what's for the benefit of limited beings,
And for solely limited beings' sake
I shall dedicate it all to enlightenment.
(102) I shall never forsake, even at the cost of my life,
A s'piritual mentor, who is skilled
In the points of the Vast Vehicle (Mahayana)
And superlative in (keeping) the bodhisattva taming behavior.
(103) I shall learn the way to respectfully relate to a s'piritual mentor
From Shri Sambhava's Biography.
This and other advice of the Buddha
Can be known from reading the sutras.
(104) It is in the sutras that the trainings appear,
And so I shall read the sutra texts.
I shall examine, as a start,
The Akashagarbha Sutra.
(105) I shall definitely examine
The Compendium of Trainings over and again,
Because, in it, what always is practiced
Is extensively shown,
(106) Or look, to the extent they're condensed in brief,
At The Compendium of Sutras,
And then, energetically examine as well
The second (such texts), compiled by Arya Nagarjuna.
(107) I shall put into practice
Whatever is not prohibited in them,
And implement fully the trainings seen (there)
In order to safeguard my worldly mind.
(108) The defining feature of safeguarding with alertness
Is but this in brief:
Examining, over and again,
The condition of my body and mind.
(109) With my body, I shall put this all into practice.
What can be accomplished by mouthing it merely with words?
(After all,) will a sick man be helped
By merely reciting the medical treatment?