III. Mind of malice (vyāpadacitta)

It is already forbidden to a Hīnayānist or a lay person (pṛthagjana) to produce a thought of malice (vyāpadacitta), all the more reason it is forbidden to a bodhisattva who has produced the mind of supreme perfect enlightenment.

The body (kāya) is a vessel of suffering (duḥkhabhājana): it suffers vexations. Thus the murderer (vadhaka) himself goes to his punishment: of what he himself has committed, he himself suffers the consequences,^[1] he cannot give it to another. Only by protecting his own mind is he able not to experience malice. It is like when one is suffering from wind (vātya), rain (varṣa), cold (śīta) or heat (uṣṇa), there is no use in becoming irritated.

Furthermore, the bodhisattva has the following thought: If the bodhisattva seeks to become Buddha, it is as a result of his great compassion (mahākaruṇā). When he gives himself up to anger (dveṣa), he is violating his vows. The wicked man does not obtain the happiness of this world (laukikasukha); how then would he obtain the bliss of bodhi? The wicked man does not find happiness for himself; how could he give it to others?