Guide to a Bodhisattva’s Way of Life - Shantideva

From the Bodhisattvacharyavatara by Shantideva
(Guide to a Bodhisattva’s Way of Life)
translated by Steven Batchelor (©Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1979)

There is no evil like hatred,
And no fortitude like patience.
Thus I should strive in various ways
To meditate on patience.

My mind will not experience peace
If it fosters painful thoughts of hatred.
I shall find no joy or happiness;
Unable to sleep, I shall feel unsettled.

Having found its fuel of mental unhappiness
In the prevention of what I wish for
And in the doing of what I do not want,
Hatred increases and then destroys me.

Therefore I should totally eradicate
The fuel of this enemy;
For this enemy has no other function
Than that of causing me harm.

If in those who encounter me
An unfaithful or an angry thought arises,
May that eternally become the source
For fulfilling all their wishes.

May all who say bad things to me
Or cause me harm,
And those who mock and insult me
Have the fortune to fully awaken.

May I be a protector to those without protection
A leader for those who journey
And a boat, a bridge, a passage
For those desiring the further shore.

May I be an island for those who seek one
And a lamp for those desiring light,
May I be a bed for all who wish to rest
And a slave for all who want a slave.

May I be a wishing jewel, a magic vase,
Powerful mantras and great medicine,
May I become a wish-fulfilling tree
And a cow of plenty for the world.

Just like space
And the great elements such as earth,
May I always support the life
Of all the boundless creatures.

And until they pass away from pain
May I also be the source of life
For all the realms of varied beings
That reach until the end of space.

May the pain of every living creature
Be completely cleared away.

May I be the doctor and the medicine
And may I be the nurse
For all sick beings in the world
Until everyone is healed.

May a rain of food and drink descend
To clear away the pain of thirst and hunger
And during the aeon of famine
May I myself change into food and drink.

May I become an inexhaustible treasure
For those who are poor and destitute;
May I turn into all things they could need
And may these be placed close beside them.

Without any sense of loss
I shall give up my body and enjoyments
As well as all my virtues of the three times
For the sake of benefiting them all.

By giving up all, sorrow is transcended
and my mind will realise the sorrowless state.
It is best that I now give everything to all beings
In the same way as I shall at death.

For as long as space exists
And sentient beings endure,
May I too remain,
To dispel the misery of the world.