Does anyone else have a great love for Shantideva's works? If so, would you like to post some of your favorite verses? Here is a marvelous site called Shantideva Online. I would encourage anyone to support the site by visiting if possible. The monk who runs the place is a very kind person, and he works very hard to bring the dharma to people who are in tough circumstances.
Best,
Laura
Shantideva
Re: Shantideva
May all beings everywhere,
Plagued by sufferings of body and mind,
Obtain an ocean of happiness and joy
By virtue of my merits.
May no living creature suffer,
Commit evil or ever fall ill.
May no one be afraid or belittled,
With a mind weighed down by depression.
May the blind see forms,
And the deaf hear sounds.
May those whose bodies are worn with toil
Be restored on finding repose.
May the naked find clothing,
The hungry find food.
May the thirsty find water
And delicious drinks.
May the poor find wealth,
Those weak with sorrow find joy.
May the forlorn find hope,
Constant happiness and prosperity.
May there be timely rains
And bountiful harvests.
May all medicines be effective
And wholesome prayers bear fruit.
May all who are sick and ill
Quickly be freed from their ailments .
Whatever diseases there are in the world,
May they never occur again.
May the frightened cease to be afraid
And those bound be freed.
May the powerless find power
And may people think of benefiting each other.
By His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama of Tibet
Following the example of Bodhisattva Shantideva
Re: Shantideva
.
I particularly like these verses by Shantideva (and taken from the site mentioned by Ngawang Drolma).
The Bodhicaryavatara
Chapter VIII: The Perfection of Meditation
1. Upon developing zeal in that way, one should stabilize the mind in meditative concentration, since a person whose mind is distracted lives between the fangs of mental afflictions.
2. With bodily and mental seclusion, distraction does not arise. Therefore, upon renouncing the world, one should renounce discursive thoughts.
3. On account of attachment and craving for gain and the like, one does not renounce the world. Thus, upon forsaking them, the wise should contemplate in this way.
4. Realizing that one who is well endowed with insight through quiescence eradicates mental afflictions one should first seek quiescence. Quiescence is due to detachment toward the world and due to joy.
5. For what impermanent person, who will not see his loved ones again in thousands of births, is it appropriate to be attached to impermanent things?
6. Failing to see them, one does not find joy nor does one abide in meditative concentration. Even upon seeing them, one does not become satisfied but is tormented by strong desire, just as before.
7. One does not perceive reality and loses disillusionment with the cycle of existence. One is consumed by that grief—desire for the company of the beloved.
8. Because of thinking of that person, life ever so swiftly passes in vain. Due to a transient entity, the eternal Dharma is lost.
9. One who acts in the same manner as foolish people definitely goes to a miserable state of existence. They do like someone who is different. What is gained from association with fools?
10. One moment they are friends, and the next moment they are enemies. On an occasion for being pleased, they become angry. Ordinary people are difficult to gratify.
11. When given good advice, they become angry; and they turn me away from good advice. If they are not listened to, they become angry and go to a miserable state of existence.
12. They feel envy toward a superior, competitiveness with a peer, arrogance toward one who is inferior, conceit due to praise, and anger due to reproach. When could there be any benefit from a fool?
13. Between one fool and another, something non-virtuous is inevitable, such as glorification of one’s own self, speaking ill of others, and conversation about the pleasures of the cycle of existence.
14. Thus, on account of one’s association with someone else, one encounters adversity. I shall happily live alone with a non-afflicted mind.
15. One should flee far from a fool. One should gratify the encountered person with pleasantries, not with the intention of intimacy but in the manner of a kind and impartial person.
16. Taking only what benefits Dharma, like a bee taking nectar from a flower, I shall live everywhere without acquaintance, as if I had not existed before.
17. A mortal who thinks, "I am rich and respected, and many like me," experiences fear of approaching death.
18. Wherever the mind, infatuated by pleasures, finds enjoyment, there a thousand-fold suffering arises and falls to one’s share.
19. Hence, the wise should not desire it. Fear arises from desire, yet it passes away by itself. Generate fortitude and look at it with indifference.
20. Many have become wealthy and many have become famous, but no one knows where they have gone with their wealth and fame.
21. If others despise me, why should I rejoice when praised? If others praise me, why should I be despondent when reviled?
22. If sentient beings of different dispositions have not been satisfied by the Jinas themselves, then how could they be like an ignorant person like myself? So, what is the point of attending to the world?
23. They revile a person without acquisitions, and despise a person with acquisitions. How can those whose company is by nature suffering bring forth joy?
24. The Tathágatas have said that a fool is no ones friend, because the affection of a fool does not arise without self-interest.
25. Love due to self-interest is love for one’s own sake, just as distress at the loss of possessions is occasioned by the loss of pleasures.
26. Trees do not revile nor can they be pleased with effort. When might I dwell with those whose company is a delight?
27. When shall I dwell in a cave, an empty temple, or at the foot of a tree, without looking back, and without attachment?
28. When shall I dwell, living freely and without attachment, in unclaimed and naturally spacious regions?
29. When shall I dwell with a paltry alms bowl and so on in clothing wanted by no one, living fearlessly, even without concealing my body?
30. When shall I go to the local charnel grounds and compare my own body, which has the nature of decay, with other corpses?
31. For this body of mine will also become so putrid that even the jackals will not come near it because of the stench.
32. If the flesh and bone that have arisen together with this body will deteriorate and disperse, how much more is this the case for other friends?
33. A person is born alone and also dies alone. No one else has a share in one’s agony. What is the use of loved ones who create hindrances?
34. Just as one who has undertaken a journey takes lodging, so does one who travels in the cycle of existence take lodging in a rebirth.
35. Until one his hoisted by four men and mourned by the world, one should retire to the forest.
36. Without intimacy and without conflict, one dwells in physical solitude, and when one is counted as if already dead no one grieves when one actually dies.
37. There is on one to inflict grief and harm, nor is there any one to distract one from the recollection of the Buddha and so forth.
38. Thus, I shall always dwell alone in the delightful forest, which creates few problems, good cheer, and the pacification of all distraction.
Continued http://www.shantideva.net/guide_ch8.htm
I particularly like these verses by Shantideva (and taken from the site mentioned by Ngawang Drolma).
The Bodhicaryavatara
Chapter VIII: The Perfection of Meditation
1. Upon developing zeal in that way, one should stabilize the mind in meditative concentration, since a person whose mind is distracted lives between the fangs of mental afflictions.
2. With bodily and mental seclusion, distraction does not arise. Therefore, upon renouncing the world, one should renounce discursive thoughts.
3. On account of attachment and craving for gain and the like, one does not renounce the world. Thus, upon forsaking them, the wise should contemplate in this way.
4. Realizing that one who is well endowed with insight through quiescence eradicates mental afflictions one should first seek quiescence. Quiescence is due to detachment toward the world and due to joy.
5. For what impermanent person, who will not see his loved ones again in thousands of births, is it appropriate to be attached to impermanent things?
6. Failing to see them, one does not find joy nor does one abide in meditative concentration. Even upon seeing them, one does not become satisfied but is tormented by strong desire, just as before.
7. One does not perceive reality and loses disillusionment with the cycle of existence. One is consumed by that grief—desire for the company of the beloved.
8. Because of thinking of that person, life ever so swiftly passes in vain. Due to a transient entity, the eternal Dharma is lost.
9. One who acts in the same manner as foolish people definitely goes to a miserable state of existence. They do like someone who is different. What is gained from association with fools?
10. One moment they are friends, and the next moment they are enemies. On an occasion for being pleased, they become angry. Ordinary people are difficult to gratify.
11. When given good advice, they become angry; and they turn me away from good advice. If they are not listened to, they become angry and go to a miserable state of existence.
12. They feel envy toward a superior, competitiveness with a peer, arrogance toward one who is inferior, conceit due to praise, and anger due to reproach. When could there be any benefit from a fool?
13. Between one fool and another, something non-virtuous is inevitable, such as glorification of one’s own self, speaking ill of others, and conversation about the pleasures of the cycle of existence.
14. Thus, on account of one’s association with someone else, one encounters adversity. I shall happily live alone with a non-afflicted mind.
15. One should flee far from a fool. One should gratify the encountered person with pleasantries, not with the intention of intimacy but in the manner of a kind and impartial person.
16. Taking only what benefits Dharma, like a bee taking nectar from a flower, I shall live everywhere without acquaintance, as if I had not existed before.
17. A mortal who thinks, "I am rich and respected, and many like me," experiences fear of approaching death.
18. Wherever the mind, infatuated by pleasures, finds enjoyment, there a thousand-fold suffering arises and falls to one’s share.
19. Hence, the wise should not desire it. Fear arises from desire, yet it passes away by itself. Generate fortitude and look at it with indifference.
20. Many have become wealthy and many have become famous, but no one knows where they have gone with their wealth and fame.
21. If others despise me, why should I rejoice when praised? If others praise me, why should I be despondent when reviled?
22. If sentient beings of different dispositions have not been satisfied by the Jinas themselves, then how could they be like an ignorant person like myself? So, what is the point of attending to the world?
23. They revile a person without acquisitions, and despise a person with acquisitions. How can those whose company is by nature suffering bring forth joy?
24. The Tathágatas have said that a fool is no ones friend, because the affection of a fool does not arise without self-interest.
25. Love due to self-interest is love for one’s own sake, just as distress at the loss of possessions is occasioned by the loss of pleasures.
26. Trees do not revile nor can they be pleased with effort. When might I dwell with those whose company is a delight?
27. When shall I dwell in a cave, an empty temple, or at the foot of a tree, without looking back, and without attachment?
28. When shall I dwell, living freely and without attachment, in unclaimed and naturally spacious regions?
29. When shall I dwell with a paltry alms bowl and so on in clothing wanted by no one, living fearlessly, even without concealing my body?
30. When shall I go to the local charnel grounds and compare my own body, which has the nature of decay, with other corpses?
31. For this body of mine will also become so putrid that even the jackals will not come near it because of the stench.
32. If the flesh and bone that have arisen together with this body will deteriorate and disperse, how much more is this the case for other friends?
33. A person is born alone and also dies alone. No one else has a share in one’s agony. What is the use of loved ones who create hindrances?
34. Just as one who has undertaken a journey takes lodging, so does one who travels in the cycle of existence take lodging in a rebirth.
35. Until one his hoisted by four men and mourned by the world, one should retire to the forest.
36. Without intimacy and without conflict, one dwells in physical solitude, and when one is counted as if already dead no one grieves when one actually dies.
37. There is on one to inflict grief and harm, nor is there any one to distract one from the recollection of the Buddha and so forth.
38. Thus, I shall always dwell alone in the delightful forest, which creates few problems, good cheer, and the pacification of all distraction.
Continued http://www.shantideva.net/guide_ch8.htm
http://www.buddhismwithoutboundaries.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: Shantideva
Another translation of Shantideva's "Bodhicaryavatara" can be found at Dr. Berzin's website.
http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/x/nav ... 05749.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Here's the pdf of it
http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/x/pdf ... _locale=en" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
This is the translation I'm going to read. The website http://www.shantideva.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; seems to disdain Tibetan Buddhism if you read the main page carefully. There are quotes on there such as "...the Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo Thodol), which actually has nothing to do with Buddhism,...."
The fact that they don't like Tibetan Buddhism doesn't mean that their translation is bad; however, I fear that some of this negativity may have slipped into their work, and for this reason, I prefer to read Dr. Berzin's translation.
It might be interesting to compare the two translations.
http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/x/nav ... 05749.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Here's the pdf of it
http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/x/pdf ... _locale=en" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
This is the translation I'm going to read. The website http://www.shantideva.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; seems to disdain Tibetan Buddhism if you read the main page carefully. There are quotes on there such as "...the Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo Thodol), which actually has nothing to do with Buddhism,...."
The fact that they don't like Tibetan Buddhism doesn't mean that their translation is bad; however, I fear that some of this negativity may have slipped into their work, and for this reason, I prefer to read Dr. Berzin's translation.
It might be interesting to compare the two translations.