Now i shall start on the discussion
before that as a rule of thumb ,I would like to introduce abit of
the
background of shantideva
Shantideva (sometimes Santideva) was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist
scholar at Nalanda University and an adherent of the Madhyamika
philosophy.
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In all dharma teaching , there is the first motivation to pay
homage to the
author and the Bodhisattvas ,show we begins and to have the correct
concept that we learning are to vowed to save all sentient beings
and in the spirits of Enlightenment
all sources quoted from shantideva net
http://www.shantideva.net/guide_ch1.htm
Homage to the Shantideva who provide us with profound teaching on
path of the bodhisattva
Homage to Bodhisattva Manjushri ,the embodiment of Wisdom,guiding
us in the quest for enlightenment
The Bodhicaryavatara
Chapter I: The Benefit of the Spirit of Awakening
1. Reverently bowing to the Sugatas, who are endowed with the
Dharmakaya, together with their children and all who are worthy of
veneration, I shall concisely present a guide to the discipline of
the children of the Sugatas in accordance with the
scriptures.
2. There is nothing here that has not been said before, nor do I
have any skill in composition. Thus, I have no concern for the
welfare of others, and I have composed this solely to season my own
mind.
3. Owing to this, the power of my faith increases to cultivate
virtue. Moreover, if someone else with a disposition like my own
examines this, it may be meaningful.
4. This leisure and endowment, which are so difficult to obtain
have been acquired, and they bring about the welfare of the world.
If one fails to take this favorable opportunity into consideration,
how could this occasion occur again?
5. Just as lightning illuminates the darkness of a cloudy night for
an instant, in the same way, by the power of the Buddha,
occasionally peoples minds are momentarily inclined toward
merit.
6. Thus, virtue is perpetually ever so feeble, while the power of
vice is great and extremely dreadful. If there were no spirit of
perfect awakening, what other virtue would overcome it?
7. The Lords of Sages, who have been contemplating for many eons,
have seen this alone as a blessing by which joy is easily increased
and immeasurable multitudes of beings are rescued.
8. Those who long to overcome the abundant miseries of mundane
existence, who wish to dispel the adversities of sentient beings,
and those who yearn to experience a myriad of joys should never
forsake the spirit of awakening.
as a humble practitioner he mentioned that he dare not boast on his
achievement
para 7 talks abt the Lords of Sages, refer to the Buddhas
8. Those who long to overcome the abundant miseries of mundane
existence, who wish to dispel the adversities of sentient beings,
and those who yearn to experience a myriad of joys should never
forsake the spirit of awakening.
9. When the spirit of awakening has arisen, in an instant a wretch
who is bound in the prison of the cycle of existence is called a
child of the Sugatas and becomes worthy of reverence in the worlds
of gods and humans.
10. Upon taking this impure form, it transmutes it into the
priceless image of the gem of the Jina. So, firmly hold to the
quicksilver elixir, called the spirit of awakening, which must be
utterly transmuted.
11. The worlds sole leaders, whose minds are fathomless, have well
examined its great value. You, who are inclined to escape from the
states of mundane existence, hold fast to the jewel of the spirit
of awakening.
12. Just as a plantain tree decays upon losing its fruit, so does
every other virtue wane. But the tree of the spirit of awakening
perpetually bears fruit, does not decay, and only flourishes.
13. Owing to its protection, as due to the protection of a powerful
man, even after committing horrendous vices, one immediately
overcomes great fears. Why do ignorant beings not seek refuge in
it?
14. Like the conflagration at the time of the destruction of the
universe, it consumes great ices in an instant. The wise lord
Maitreya taught its incalculable benefits to Sudhana.
15. In brief, this spirit of awakening is known to be of two kinds:
the spirit of awakening, and the spirit of aspiring for awakening,
and the spirit of venturing towards awakening.
16. Just as one perceives the difference between a person who
yearns to travel and a traveler, so do the learned recognize the
corresponding difference between those two.
17. Although the result of the spirit of aspiring for awakening is
great within the cycle of existence, it is still not like the
continual state of merit of the spirit of venturing.
18. From the time that one adopts that spirit with an irreversible
attitude for the sake of liberating limitless sentient
beings.