The thirty-seven bodhisattva practices (一)
Namo Lokeshvara To the ones who see that all phenomena neither come nor go. And who seek only to benefit all beings. TO the supreme lama and the protector Chenrezig.
Continually I bow in respect with body. speech.and mind
1.At this time when the difficult-to-gain ship of leisure and fortune has been obtained, ceaselessly hearing, pondering and meditating day and night in order to liberateoneselfand others from the ocean of cyclicexistence is the bodhisattvas’ practice.
2.[The mind of] attachment to loves ones wavers like water.[The mind of] hatred of enemies burns like fire.[The mind of] ignorance which forgets what to adopt andwhat to discard is greatly obscured.Abandoning one’s fatherland is the bodhisattvas’ practice
3.When harmful places are abandoned,disturbing emotions gradually diminish.Without distraction,virtuous endeavors naturally increase.Being clear-minded,definite understanding of the Dharmaarises.Resorting to secluded places is the bodhisattvas’ practice.
4.Long-assiciated companions will part from each other.Wealth and possessions obtained with effort will be left behind.Consciousness,the guest,will cast aside the guest-house of the body.Letting go of this life is the bodhisattvas’ practice.
5.When [evil companions] are associated with,the three poisons increase,the activitives of listening,pondering and meditation decline,and love and compassion are extingished. Abandoning evil companions is the bodhisattvas’practive
6.When [sublime spiritual friends] are relied upon,one’s faults are exhausted and one’s qualities increase like the waxing moon.Holding sublime spiritual friends even more dear than one’s own bodys is the bodhisattvas’ practice
7.What worldly god,himself also bound in the prison of cyclic existence,is able to protect others? Therefore,when refuge is sought,taking refuge in the undeceiving triple gem is the bodhisattvas’practive.
8.The subduer said that all the unbearable suffering of the three lower realms is the fruitions of wrongdoing.Therefore,never committing negative deeds,even at peril to one’s life,is the bodhisattvas’practive.
9.The pleasure of the triple world,like a dewdrop on the tip of a blade of grass,is imperiled in a single moment.Striving for the supreme state of never-changing liberation is the bodhisattvas’practive
10.When mothers who have been kind to one since beginningless time are suffering,what's the use of one’s own happiness? Therefore,generating the mind of enlightenment in order to liberatelimitless sentient beings is the bodhisattvas’ pravtice.
11.All suffering without exception comes from wishing for one’s own happiness.The perfect buddhas arise from the altruisticmind.Therefore,completely exchanging one’s own happiness for the suffering of others is the bodhisattvas’practive.
12.Even if others,influenced by great desire,steal all one’s wealth or have it atolen dedicating to them body,possessions and virtues [accumulated in] the three times is the bodhisattvas’practive.
13.Even if others cut off one’s head when one is utterly blameless,taking upon oneself all their negative deeds by the power of compassion is the bodhisattvas’practive.
14.Even if someone broadcasts throughout the billion worlds all sorts of offensive remarks about one,speaking in turn of that person’s qualities with a loving mind is the bodhisattvas’practive.
15.Even if,in the midst of a public gathering,someone exposes faults and speaks ill of one, humbly paying homage to that person,perceiving him as a spiritual friend,is the bodhisattvas’practive.
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