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 ...

The Praśānta-viniścaya-prātihārya-sūtra, according to the Peking Kangyur, Vol, 32, page 51,2,1 reads:

“Mañjughoṣa! Be forewarned, since for as long as a bodhisattva develops a mind full of anger or a mind full of contempt toward (another) bodhisattva, for that many aeons will that bodhisattva dwell with the beings of the hell realms.”

’jam dpal byang chub sems dpa’ byang chub sems dpa’ la khong khro’i sems bskyed pa’am / brnyas pa’i sems bskyed pa ji tsam pa de snyed kyi bskal par byang chub sems dpa’ des sems can dmyal ba rnams su gnas par go cha mgo bar bya’o.

The phrase be forewarned [go cha bgo ba] literally means ’to don the armor (of courage)’ or ’to put on the harness (of courage)’. It connotes ’being certain’ [thag chod pa], ’understanding clearly’ [brtan brtan ha go ba], or ’preparing oneself’ [gra sgrig byed a].

Since harboring a negative mindset toward a bodhisattva affects the happiness of all sentient beings, it creates boundless negative karma. This is the natural working of karma and not a punishment invented by Buddhist masters. Regardless of whether or not the bodhisattva is someone within the Buddhist hierarchy or someone living the life of an ordinary person, harboring ill-will toward a true bodhisattva harms all sentient beings. We cannot know who is a true bodhisattva and who is not. As Śāntideva’s fellow monks did not recognize him to be a great bodhisattva, they were planning to expel him from the monastic community.

You should know the distinction between a ‘Buddhist practitioner’ [chos pa] and a ‘follower of the Buddhist system’ [chos lugs pa]. If you identify yourself with your spiritual community, your school and your philosophical system, you have already become a follower of organized religion [chos lugs pa]. Next, you feel easily obligated to take a stance and defend ’your school’ against all ‘other schools’.

Without intending it, you have become involved in dharma politics. The ‘Buddhist practitioner’ [chos pa], on the other hand, simply strives to study and practice with his masters and stays away from group or dharma politics. He walks the path of truth. What he does and what he says accord with one another. He does not need to sweet-talk other people to achieve something, nor does he feel the need to put other people down. He practices the dharma and minds his own business.

A follower of a religious system, however, feels the need to join a group and to take up biased positions. He identifies with hierarchical structures and rules as well as with cultural or ethnic groups. He will try to advance within the group hierarchy for his personal benefit. He does not say what he really thinks. He will praise and slander wherever he sees it benefiting himself. There is not much of a difference between a member of a political or cultural party and a member of an institutionalized religion. All these systems are based on politics.

A beginner should from the very start train in pure perception, guarding himself against being drawn into negative views and gossip about other schools, systems, teachers, or practitioners. A beginner should understand that all beings are endowed with the buddha nature and are thus worthy of pure perception. Even if beings appear and act in a totally ordinary manner, in essence they are primordially pure buddhas [ngo bo ye dag gi sangs rgyas]. Consider all sentient beings to be future buddhas. If a beginner does not have the capacity to hold this view in his daily life, he should at least be honest with himself and think, “I don’t know who is or who is not endowed with the precious bodhicitta. Therefore, I had better treat all people as if they were bodhisattvas.”

Know that for ordinary beings like ourselves it is impossible to know the minds of others. We have no way to know whether or not someone else is a true practitioner. Tibet was full of examples of hidden practitioners who attained the rainbow body at the moment of death. Not even close family members realized that they had a true practitioner among them.

You should also realize that if you perceive mistakes in another person, this is often fifty percent your own mistaken perception and fifty percent the other person’s mistake. People always naturally tend to see the mistakes in others but really must search for their good qualities. A practitioner searches only for the good qualities in other persons. He ignores and never tries to disclose other people’s faults. Know that since we ourselves lack good qualities, we have only a very limited capacity to see the qualities in others.

From the very beginning, clearly distinguish between the precious dharma [dam pa’i chos] and the person [gang zag] involved with dharma. Only a perfectly enlightened buddha truly represents the dharma. All other students, teachers, lamas and masters are still on the path toward enlightenment.

A practitioner should first aspire to overcome the most dangerous mistakes in his own mind such as aggression [zhe sdang], jealousy [phrag dog], pride [nga rgyal] and the like. Later he should learn how to deal with the more subtle mind poisons. Finally, he should overcome even positive fixations such as fixation on the Buddha. It is of utmost importance to follow this sequence. The two most dangerous mind poisons are aggression and jealousy. Aggression is the direct path to the hell realms. The most dangerous aspect of jealousy [phrag dog] is malevolence or ill will [gnod sems], the intention to destroy the happiness of others. If these two kinds of mind poisons are diminished, one’s mind will be happy and content. Never try to destroy a virtuous thought or intent [dge ba’i sems] in another person’s mind. Never try to take revenge [gnod lan], regardless of how much harm others have inflicted upon you. Revenge is nothing other than ill will. A practitioner must look into his own mind and see if these dangerous tendencies have diminished or not.

If one’s mind is governed by aggression and ill will, and if one, even after many years of practice, has not overcome these great defects, one is not a practitioner, regardless of how much one meditates or studies. The dharma has not penetrated one’s being. The nature of the buddha dharma is positive thinking [bsam pa bzang po]. The temporary purpose of the buddha dharma is to achieve a transformation of one’s character. The ultimate purpose is the attainment of enlightenment. A practitioner is someone who harbors good intentions and thoughts [bsam pa bzang po yod pa po]. A beginning practitioner seeks to defeat his negative tendencies through positive thoughts.

As it is said:

The sign of true learning is a tamed and peaceful mind.
The sign of true practice is having few afflictions.

mkhas pa’i rtags ni zhi zhing ’dul ba
sgom pa’i rtags ni nyon mong chung ba

Most people who lack merit [bsod nams med mkhan] will not have the fortune to meet the dharma at all. Unless one has made aspirations in former lifetimes, it is almost impossible to come into contact with the three jewels. Only persons endowed with merit [bsod nams can] will have the good fortune to meet the right teacher early on. Some students are not benefited even when meeting genuine Buddhist masters but rather seek connections with teachers of lesser quality. This is the student’s personal karma and the power of his personal aspirations [smon lam]. One meets only the teacher with whom one has a karmic connection [las ’brel].

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