Chapter Iii of Bodhisattvacharyavatara
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SHANTIDEVA’S Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life An oral explanation of Chapter 3: Full Acceptance of the Awakening Mind Kyabje Gelek Rimpoche Teachings 1997 - 1998 Ann Arbor, Michigan Jewel Heart Transcript Gelek Rimpoche, Bodhisattva’s Way of Life Chapter 3 – Extensive Commentary © 2002 Ngawang Gelek. All rights reserved. Cover design: Piet Soeters Jewel Heart Transcripts are lightly to moderately edited transcriptions of the teachings of Kyabje Gelek Rimpoche and others teachers who have taught at Jewel Heart. Their purpose is to provide Rimpoche’s students, as well as all others who are interested, with these extremely valuable teachings in a way that gives one the feeling of being present at the teachings. JEWEL HEART 1129 Oak Valley Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, USA Phone (1) 734.994.3387 Fax (1) 734.994.5577 www.jewelheart.org ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This book is a moderately edited transcript of oral explanations given by Kyabje Gelek Rimpoche on Chapter Three of Shantideva’s Bodhisattvacharyavatara, A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life. Rimpoche gave these teachings on Tuesday nights in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from July 1997 to April 1998. Rimpoche’s teachings on Shantideva’s text have continued to the present; he has now reached Chapter 6. Transcripts of Chapters Four through Ten will be issued in separate volumes as they are completed. The transcripts on Chapters One and Two are already available. Throughout this transcript, Rimpoche uses the English translation by Stephen Batchelor, published by the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. Since Rinpoche frequently makes reference to Tibetan words and phrasing, the Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit original is included in Wylie transliteration. Rimpoche did not introduce a traditional extensive outline in giving this teaching. For those interested, an outline of this sort may be found in Geshe Kelsang Gyatso’s Meaningful to Behold. The headings and subheadings in this present volume have been added by the editor for ease of reference, and to help delineate changes of topic. Footnotes and a glossary provide some background information. The transcription of these teachings from tapes was done by Hartmut Sagolla, who has spent countless hours transcribing a great number of Rinpoche’s teachings. Marianne Soeters provided the glossaries from which most of the entries in the glossary in this volume were drawn. Jewel Heart owes a debt of gratitude for the efforts she has put in as editor to make transcripts of Rinpoche’s teachings available in useful form. It has been my great good fortune to be able to work on this volume. Errors in this transcript are solely due to my carelessness or lack of knowledge. Please let me know about any you may find in order that we may improve future editions. May this work be of great benefit to all who read it or even hear about it! Jang chub sem chog rin po che May the precious bodhimind Ma kye pa nam kye gyur chig Not yet born arise and grow. Kye pa nyam pa may pa yang May that born have no decline, Gong nay gong du pel war shog But increase forever more. Anne Warren, Cleveland, Ohio, December 9, 2001, Ganden Nga Chö CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................... 1 Preparation for Developing Bodhimind .......................... 13 Verse 1: Rejoicing ........................................................................ 20 Verses 2 and 3 .............................................................................. 21 Verse 4 ........................................................................................... 23 Questions and Answers ............................................................. 26 Verses 5 & 6: Requesting Teachings,Request to Remain ... 31 The Preliminaries for Bodhimind ........................................... 36 Questions and Answers ............................................................. 50 Dedicating ..................................................................................... 54 Verse 7: General Dedication ..................................................... 64 Verse 8: Dedicating for Healing ............................................... 72 Questions and Answers ............................................................. 83 The Essence of our Practice .................................................... 91 Verse 10: Dedicating to Eliminate Poverty ......................... 104 Verse 11: Dedicating one’s Body and Virtues ..................... 104 Questions and Answers ........................................................... 115 Verse 12 ....................................................................................... 117 Verses 13 and 14 ........................................................................ 126 Questions and Answers ........................................................... 129 Verse 15 ....................................................................................... 136 Verse 16 ........................................................................................ 139 Verse 17 ........................................................................................ 143 Meditating on These Points .................................................... 152 Questions and Answers............................................................ 170 Spiritual Development is Mind Development .................... 172 Questions and Answers............................................................ 187 Verses 18 to 22 ........................................................................... 200 Taking the Bodhisattva Vow.......................................... 202 Verses 23 and 24: the Bodhisattva Vow ............................... 202 Questions and Answers............................................................ 224 Nothing Here is Separate From Your Practice ................... 230 Concluding Actions ....................................................... 245 Verses 25 to 27 ........................................................................... 245 Working with the Mind: Developing Ultimate Love And Compassion ................................................................................ 249 Verse 28 ........................................................................................ 271 Questions and Answers............................................................ 273 Verse 29 ........................................................................................ 293 verse 30 ......................................................................................... 295 Questions and Answers............................................................ 297 Verse 31 ........................................................................................ 303 Overcoming our Addictions ................................................... 304 Verse 32 ........................................................................................ 317 Questions and Answers............................................................ 322 The bottom Line ........................................................................ 338 Verse 33 ........................................................................................ 346 Verse 34 ........................................................................................ 347 Tibetan Text ................................................................... 352 Glossary .......................................................................... 359 Selected Bibliography .................................................... 384 On The Bodhisattva Vow ........................................................ 387 Gelek Rimpoche INTRODUCTION 1 We are actually now on Chapter Three. I thought we would never finish the second chapter! So this third chapter is about accepting, holding and recognizing the bodhimind. The translation calls it Full Acceptance of the Awakening Mind.2 What is a Bodhisattva? What does the word Bodhisattva mean to us? How does a person become a Bodhisattva? I would like to hear your statements on this. Student: A Bodhisattva is somebody who through love and compassion is dedicated to helping all sentient beings. It is a person who has the bodhimind. Rimpoche: Let me ask you a question. Is bodhimind a mind of desire? Student: I think there is a desire to help and benefit, if that is technically called desire. Rimpoche: If there is desire it means that they want something. What do they want? Student: They want to become Buddhas. 1 GUIDE TO THE BODHISATTVA’S Way OF LIFE Rimpoche: So the mind of a Bodhisattva is not necessarily free of desire. They may not have attachment-oriented desire, or they may have attachment, too. They may be very attached to becoming Buddhas! What is bodhimind? On the one hand they are totally dedicated to altruistic service, and, at the same time, they have the very strong desire to become fully enlightened. Both of these minds combined together become one piece of mind. That is bodhimind. Is such a mind possible? Don’t these two aspects of the same mind contradict each other? Apparently they don’t. They don’t contradict each other, because the reason why the Bodhisattvas want to attain enlightenment is not just so that they can become Buddhas for their own sake, but because they need the best tools available in order to help those who need help. The best help for them is the ability to communicate. That is the best way. Magic may work sometimes, but at other times it does not. That is why it is magic; it is not scientific. You