Bodhisattvacharyavatara

by Andreas Kretschmar | 246,740 words

The English translation of the Bodhisattvacharyavatara (“entering the conduct of the bodhisattvas”), a Sanskrit text with Tibetan commentary. This book explains the bodhisattva concept and gives guidance to the Buddhist practitioner following the Mahāyāna path towards the attainment of enlightenment. The text was written in Sanskrit by Shantideva ...

Text Sections 122-123

When listening to the dharma, students should practice the six transcendental perfections. As the practice of generosity, set up a throne for the master and offer him flowers. In this case, the flower offering represents the entire maṇḍala offering. At best, when requesting teachings, a student should offer a maṇḍala made out of precious metals such as gold, silver and so forth. The student should at least perform the maṇḍala mudra and chant the ‘seven point maṇḍala offering’.

This famous offering prayer was composed by king Trisong Detsen, when he offered his entire kingdom to Guru Rinpoche:

The earth is sprinkled with scented water and strewn with flowers,
Adorned with Mount Meru, the four continents, the sun, and the moon.
Imagining this as a buddha realm, I offer it
So that all beings may enjoy the pure realms.

Idam ratna maṇḍala kaṃ niryātayāṃī
sa gzhi spos chus byugs shing me tog bkram
ri rab gling bzhi nyi zlas brgyan pa ’di
sangs rgyas zhing du dmigs te phul ba yis
‘gro kun rnam dag zhing la spyod par shog
Idam ratna maṇḍala kaṃ niryātayāṃī

As a practice of discipline, prior to the teachings, the students should thoroughly clean the venue where the teachings are to take place. The students should beautify the entire setting and perfume the air with incense. The students themselves should be clean and properly dressed, and their conduct during the teachings should be well composed and disciplined.

As a practice of patience during the teachings, the students should endure insect bites and always abstain from killing any insects. They should sit calmly and should not fight or quarrel with their fellow students.

The practice of diligence means the students should again and again request the master to teach the dharma. Sometimes students must make many requests before the master agrees to give the teachings. Also, privately, the students should make prayers and supplications to the master to teach the dharma. Once the teacher has begun to teach, students should listen, study, and practice what they have learned diligently. It is said that while imbibing the nectar of the teachings, one should always look at the face of the teacher.

As the practice of meditation, the students listen to the teachings while avoiding all distractions of body, speech, or mind. The students’ minds should stay focused on whatever the teacher says. There should be no gossip nor even any talk among the students during the teachings, and those listening should keep their bodies still and poised. Students should not even recite mantras or use their mālas (rosaries) while receiving teachings. They should be utterly, single-mindedly concentrated on the teachings.

The practice of knowledge [shes rab] means that students should listen, contemplate, and meditate on the teachings they receive from their master. They should ask questions to clarify what is not understood, thus eliminating any doubts they may have about what is being said. This is how students should practice the six transcendental perfections while receiving teachings.

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