Bodhicitta
- Those who long to triumph over life’s distress,
And who wish to put an end to others’ sorrows,
Those who seek to experience abundant joys—
Let them never turn their backs on bodhicitta. - For the very instant that bodhicitta is born
In the weary captives enslaved within saṃsāra,
They are called heirs of the bliss gone buddhas,
Honourable to gods, humans, and the world. - Like the alchemists’ supreme elixir,
It takes this ordinary, impure human form,
And makes of it a buddha’s priceless body—
Such is bodhicitta: let us grasp it firmly! - With their boundless wisdom, beings’ only guides,
Have investigated thoroughly and seen its value.
Thus whoever longs for freedom from conditioned states
Should grasp this precious bodhicitta and guard it well.
From: Bodhicaryāvatāra: An Introduction to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life by Śāntideva as Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2007. http://www.lotsawahouse.org/indian-masters/shantideva/bodhicharyavatara-1 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.