Passages similar to: The Path of Light — Chapter 3: Taking the Thought of Enlightenment
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Buddhist
The Path of Light
Chapter 3: Taking the Thought of Enlightenment (1)
I REJOICE exceedingly in all creatures' good works that end the sorrows of their evil lot; may the sorrowful find happiness! I rejoice in the deliverance of embodied beings from the griefs of life's wanderings, and in the Sonship of Enlightenment, and the Enlightenment that belongs to the Saviours. I rejoice in the Commanders' oceans of Thought, that bring happiness and establish welfare for all creatures. With clasped hands I entreat the perfectly Enlightened Ones who stand in all regions that they kindle the lamp of the Law for them who in their blindness fall into sorrow. With clasped hands I pray the Conquerors who yearn for the Stillness that they abide here for endless seons, lest this world become blind. In reward for all this righteousness that I have won by my works I would fain become a soother of all the sorrows of all creatures. May I be a balm to the sick, their healer and servitor, until sickness come never again; may I quench with rains of food and drink the anguish of hunger and thirst; may I be in the famine of the ages' end their drink and meat; may I become an unfailing store for the poor, and serve them with manifold things for their need. My own being and my pleasures, all my righteousness in the past, present, and future I surrender indifferently, that all creatures may win to their end. The Stillness lies in surrender of all things, and my spirit is fain for the Stillness; if I must surrender all, it is best to give it for fellow-creatures. I yield myself to all living things to deal with me as they list; they may smite or revile me for ever, bestrew me with dust, play with my body, laugh and wanton; I have given them my body, why shall I care? Let them make me do whatever works bring them pleasure; but may never mishap befall any of them by reason of me. If the spirit of any be wroth or pleased with me, may that be ever a cause for them to win all their desires. May all who slander me, or do me hurt, or jeer at me, gain a share in Enlightenment. I would be a protector of the unprotected, a guide of wayfarers, a ship, a dyke, and a bridge for them who seek the further Shore; a lamp for them who need a lamp, a bed for them who need a bed, a slave for all beings who need a slave. I would be a magic gem, a lucky jar, a spell of power, a sovereign balm, a wishing-tree, a cow of plenty, for embodied beings. As the earth and other elements are for the various service of the countless creatures dwelling in the whole of space, so may I in various wise support the whole sphere of life lodged in space, until all be at peace. As the Blessed of old took the Thought of Enlightenment and held fast to the rule for Sons of Enlightenment in the order thereof, so do I frame the Thought of Enlightenment for the weal of the world, and so will I observe these rules in their sequence.
The Appendix: The Path of Good Wishes which Protecteth from Fear in the Bardo (45.14-45.22)
Obtaining for myself the body of a male [which is] the better, Let it come that I liberate all who see or hear me; Allowing not the evil karma to...
(45) Obtaining for myself the body of a male [which is] the better, Let it come that I liberate all who see or hear me; Allowing not the evil karma to follow me, Let it come that whatever merits [be mine] follow me and be multiplied. Wherever I be born, there and then, Let it come that I meet the Conquerors, the Peaceful and the Wrathful Deities; Being able to walk and to talk as soon as [I am] born, Let it come that I obtain the non-forgetting intellect and remember my past life [or lives]. In all the various lores, great, small, and intermediate, Let it come that I be able to obtain mastery merely upon hearing, reflecting, and seeing; In whatever place I be born, let it be auspicious; Let it come that all sentient beings be endowed with happiness. Ye Conquerors, Peaceful and Wrathful, in likeness to your bodies, [Number of your] followers, duration of your life-period, limit of your realms And [in likeness to the] goodness of your divine name, Let it come that I, and others, equal your very selves in all these. By the divine grace of the innumerable All-Good Peaceful and Wrathful [Ones}, And by the gift-waves of the wholly pure Reality, [And] by the gift-waves of the one-pointed devotion of the mystic devotees, Let it come that whatsoever be wished for be fulfilled here and now.
What is it not to abandon the created ? It is this; not to abandon great mercy and compassion; to cherish the thought of omniscience and never to be...
(29) What is it not to abandon the created ? It is this; not to abandon great mercy and compassion; to cherish the thought of omniscience and never to be negligent; even to teach all beings without weariness; ever to remember and practise the law of the fourfold acceptance; not to spare body and life for the protection of the true law; to accumulate a stock of merit without weariness; ever to have the mind abiding in peace with the necessary means and the transference of one’s merit to others; to seek the law diligently; to preach the law without sparing; not to fear entering a life of birth and death as he strives to honour all the Buddhas; to be far above either sorrow in poverty or joy in prosperity; not to despise novices; to revere sages like the Buddhas-; to make those who fall into passion return to the right thought; not to deem the pleasure of renunciation the best; not to get attached to one’s own pleasures but to rejoice at other’s pleasures; to regard meditation as the hell; to regard a life of birth and death as a pleasure garden; to regard those who come to seek [the law] as good teachers; to abandon all possessions with the thought for the acquirement of omniscience; to cherish the thought of rescue and protection when seeing those who break the precepts; to regard the Para-mitas as parents; to regard the laws of requisites for attaining the supreme knowledge as kinsfolk; to do good without limit; to perfect one’s own land of Buddha with all adornments of the pure land; to be endowed with perfect signs by practising infinite charity; to purify the body, speech and mind by removing all wickedness; to undergo bravely the countless kalpas of birth and death; never to be weary in hearing of the infinite virtue of Buddha; to slay the enemy of passion with the sword of wisdom; to be far above the Skandhas, the Ayatanas and the Dhatus; to care for all beings for their eternal liberation; to vanquish the army of evil with great diligence; ever to seek the wisdom of unconscious reality; not to abandon things of the world abiding in self-contentment with the fewest possible desires; to follow the world without injuring one’s dignity; to lead beings by means of the supernatural wisdom; not to forget what has been learned being in possession of a retentive memory; to exterminate doubts as entertained by all according to their capacities; to preach [the law] without impediments with the perfect eloquence that fulfills every desire; to enjoy the happiness, belonging to gods and men by practising the tenfold goodness with a pure heart; to open the way of the Brahman god by practising the fourfold infinite [mind] ; to pray [to Buddha] to preach the law that he may rejoice at it and praise goodness; to obtain the voice of Buddha whereby the body, speech and mind are improved; to obtain the dignity of Buddha whereby good virtues are intensely practised, ever in enhancement of his behaviour; to found an order of Bodhisattvas by teaching the Mahayana; not to lose the stock of merit with a mind free from dissipation; —
“ O Manjusri, a Bodhisattva who is sick should conquer his mind in such a manner: he should live neither in the conquered mind nor in the unconquered...
(36) “ O Manjusri, a Bodhisattva who is sick should conquer his mind in such a manner: he should live neither in the conquered mind nor in the unconquered mind. And why? If he lives in the unconquered mind, he follows in the way of the ignorant, and if he lives in the conquered mind he follows in the way of the Sravakas. “ Therefore a Bodhisattva should live neither in the conquered mind nor in the unconquered mind. To be far above these two states of mind is said to be the life of a Bodhisattva. Not to commit impure deeds even in [the world of] birth and death, and never to enter into Nirvana, while he is living in Nirvana— this is the life of a Bodhisattva. Doing neither the deeds of an ordinary man, nor the deeds of a saint is the life of a Bodhisattva. Committing neither impure deeds nor pure deeds is the life of a Bodhisattva. “ Though far above all evil deeds but manifesting himself as repressing evil ones is the life of a Bodhisattva. Seeking omniscience but never making untimely demands is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though knowing that all things are not created but not to enter the rank of certainty is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though contemplating the twelve chains of causation, allow himself to enter all evil thoughts is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though accepting all beings yet never to attain himself to them is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though wishing renunciation yet never to extinguish the body and mind is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though living in the three worlds yet never to go against the nature of things is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though realising the emptiness of things yet to accumulate a stock of merits is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though realising the formlessness of things yet to save all beings is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though realising the nonacting of things yet to manifest in the body which suffers is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though realising causelessness of things to achieve all good deeds is the life of a Bodhisattva. “ Though realising the six Paramitas yet to comprehend all mental conditions of beings is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though realising the six supernatural powers yet never to make passion extinct is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though realising the fourfold infinite mind yet never to covet to be born in the world of the Brahman is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though realising the Dhyana and Samadhi of deliverance yet never to be reborn in their respective 'worlds is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though realising the fourfold meditation yet never to be separated either from the body or the sensation or the mind or the external objects is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though realising the fourfold diligence yet never to abandon the diligence of the body and mind is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though realising the fourfold practice 'which fulfils any desire yet to attain to fullness of supernatural power is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though realising the five senses yet to discern the intelligence or the ignorance of all beings is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though realising the five powers yet to wish to obtain the tenfold power of Buddha is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though realising the seven requisites for attaining supreme enlightenment yet to understand the wisdom of Buddha is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though realising the eightfold right path yet to desire to walk the innumerable ways of Buddha is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though realising the [twofold] equipment, i. e., the control of mind and the meditations yet never to attain to absolute annihilation is the life of a Bodhisattva. “ Though realising that things have neither beginning nor end yet to adorn himself with splendour is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though appearing as a Sravaka or a Pratyeka-Buddha yet never to abandon the law of Buddha is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though following the absolute purity of all things yet, when necessary, to appear as himself for the sake of others is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though comprehending all the Buddha-lands as absolute empty, yet to show all the pure Buddha-lands is the life of a Bodhisattva. Though attaining to the ways of Buddha, rolling the wheel of the law, and entering into Nirvana, yet never to abandon the ways of a Bodhisattva is the life of a Bodhisattva.”
“To those who are timorous he manifests himself before them and gives them comfort: he first bestows fearlessness on them and then lets them awaken...
(17) “To those who are timorous he manifests himself before them and gives them comfort: he first bestows fearlessness on them and then lets them awaken the thought of supreme enlightenment “Showing himself as a hermit, free from sensuality and in possession of the five supernatural powers, he leads all beings to realise discipline, patience, and mercy. “ If there is any who requires attendants, he will be manifested to him as a servant; first he satisfies him in his needs, and then persuades him to cherish the thought of supreme enlightenment. “Whatever beings desire he bestows upon them; he induces them to the way of Buddha, and by the power of the good necessary means he provides them with everything they are need of. “Thus infinite are the ways of Bodhisattvas and measureless his deeds; and innumerable are beings he thus delivers; limitless is his wisdom.
“Elephants and horses of the five supernatural powers yoked to the Mahayana vehicles, driven by intent mind, serve for the journey to the quarters of...
(12) “Elephants and horses of the five supernatural powers yoked to the Mahayana vehicles, driven by intent mind, serve for the journey to the quarters of the eightfold righteousness. “ He is endowed with a form adorned with excellent things the best garment of penitence and the garlands of profound mind [are for him to -wear], “ There is the wealth of the sevenfold treasure; to teach beings is the interest brought forth therefrom; to make them practice according to the law and bring these merits to maturity are the great profit. “The fourfold meditation is the seat born of pure living; much learning and increase in wisdom serve as the awakening music. “The food of the immortal law he takes; the savour of emancipation is the sauce; the purity of mind is the bath, the anointing is the chapters of the law of discipline. “Destroying all the enemies of passion, there are none who surpass him in courage and strength; repressing the four evils he sets up the banner of victory in the Bodhimandala.
Every species of life, whether hatched in the egg, formed in the womb, evolved from spawn, produced by metamorphosis, with or without form or intellig...
(1) “By this wisdom shall enlightened disciples be enabled to bring into subjection every inordinate desire! Every species of life, whether hatched in the egg, formed in the womb, evolved from spawn, produced by metamorphosis, with or without form or intelligence, possessing or devoid of natural instinct—from these changeful conditions of being, I command you to seek deliverance, in the transcendental concept of Nirvana. Thus, you shall be delivered from an immeasurable, innumerable, and illimitable world of sentient life; but, in reality, there is no world of sentient life from which to seek deliverance. And why? Because, in the minds of enlightened disciples there have ceased to exist such arbitrary concepts of phenomena as an entity, a being, a living being, or a personality.”
Vimalakirti said; “It is even as you say that the Bodhisattvas of this world are firm in their great compassion towards all beings; and the happiness...
(22) Vimalakirti said; “It is even as you say that the Bodhisattvas of this world are firm in their great compassion towards all beings; and the happiness which is bestowed on all beings by them throughout their lives, is of greater worth than all the deeds wrought in your land during hundreds of thousands of Kalpas. And why ? In the Saha world there are ten kinds of goodness which are never found in other lands of purity. What are they ? (1) To treat the poor with charity, (2) to treat the trespassers with pure discipline, (3) to treat the angry with patience, (4) to treat the indolent with diligence, (5) to treat the distracted with meditation, (6) to treat the ignorant with wisdom, (7) to save those who are in the eight difficulties by the law which removes them, (8) to save those who find pleasure in the Hīnayāna by the law of the Mahayana, (9) to save those who are destitute of virtue by a stock of merit, and (10) ever to perfect all beings with the Fourfold Acceptance,—these are ten kinds of [goodness].”
Through the perfectly pure intention of mine In the making of this, through the root of the merits thereof, [May] those protectorless sentient...
(46) Through the perfectly pure intention of mine In the making of this, through the root of the merits thereof, [May] those protectorless sentient beings, Mothers, [Be] placed in the State of the Buddha: Let the radiant glory of auspiciousness come to illuminate the world; Let this Book be auspicious; Let virtue and goodness be perfected in every way.
(Mine every wish and prayer is this), then therefore whatsoever I shall do, and whatsoever deeds (of ritual and truth I shall yet further do) on...
(10) (Mine every wish and prayer is this), then therefore whatsoever I shall do, and whatsoever deeds (of ritual and truth I shall yet further do) on account of, (and to make full ) these (prior deeds of worship), yea, whatsoever (holy works) shine bright as having worth in (all) men's eyes through Thy Good Mind (whose character they share; these as) the stars, suns, and the Aurora which brings on the light of days, are all, through their Righteous Order, (the speakers) of Thy praise, O Thou Great Giver, Lord!
This sick Bodhisattva receives sense-impressions as if he did not. Not being endowed yet with the Buddha’s law he does not exterminate sensations to...
(26) This sick Bodhisattva receives sense-impressions as if he did not. Not being endowed yet with the Buddha’s law he does not exterminate sensations to attain to the state of enlightenment. If he suffers he should cherish the great compassion comparing himself with those who are in the unhappy [states of] existence. [And he should dwell upon such a thought as this:] Having conquered myself I will cause all beings to conquer themselves. He ought only to remove his disease but not things themselves. In order to exterminate the origin of disease it should be taught [thus]: What is the origin of disease? It is bondage. Where there is bondage there is disease. By what is it bound? It is bound by the three states of existence. How is it exterminated? It is exterminated by [the thought of] nothing to obtain. Where there is nothing to obtain there is no bondage. What is [the meaning of] nothing to obtain? It is to be free from the two [opposing] heresies. They are [false ideas] of both things within and things without; they are nothing.
“ He causes a world conflagration and reduces the universe into nothing; this is to make all beings realise transiency of things, as they are...
(14) “ He causes a world conflagration and reduces the universe into nothing; this is to make all beings realise transiency of things, as they are possessed by the idea of permanency. ‘ When countless millions of beings come to invite the Bodhisattva, he goes even simultaneously to all their houses and make them walk in the way of Buddha. “All the books of spells and all kinds of arts he produces, making use of all these things in order to benefit all beings. “ He mixes himself among all the heretics of the world becoming himself one of the mendicants and helps others to be freed from errors, while he himself never falls into any of these heresies. “ He manifests himself as the sun or moon or Sakra. or Brahman who is the lord of this world, or sometimes even as earth or water, or again as fire or wind. ‘ When there is a plague in this kalpa, he shows himself as a medicinal herb; those who use it will be cured of disease and all poisonous [effects] will be nullified. “When there is a famine in this kalpa, he shows himself as food; and delivering people from hunger and thirst, he preaches the law to them. “
Thrice he rolled the wheel of the law in the world, the wheel ever pure and testified by gods and men, who through it attain their goal. Thence The...
(16) Thrice he rolled the wheel of the law in the world, the wheel ever pure and testified by gods and men, who through it attain their goal. Thence The Three Treasures made their appearance in the world. He saves all beings from sorrow through this excellent doctrine, which when once given brings them to peace, from which they never fall. He is the Great Physician King who delivers us from old age, disease, and death. Adoration is due to him whose virtues are infinite as the ocean.