菩提行經

8. Far-Reaching Mental Stability

⁽¹⁾ Having increased my zestful vigor like that,

I shall set my mind in absorbed concentration;

Since a person having a distracted mind

Is set between the fangs of disturbing emotions.

⁽²⁾ Through dissociating (both my) body and mind,

There'll be no occurrence of any distraction;

Therefore, I'll set aside worldly concerns

And bring my rambling thought to a halt.

⁽³⁾ Worldly concerns are not discarded

Because of sticky attachments

and thirst for material gain and the like;

Therefore, to set these things aside,

Someone with knowledge would discern like this:

⁽⁴⁾ "An exceptionally perceptive state of mind,

joined onto a stilled and settled state,

Completely destroys the disturbing emotions."

Having understood this, first I shall seek

a stilled and settled mind;

And that's achieved through delight in detachment

from worldly concerns.

⁽⁵⁾ (After all,) any impermanent person

Having sticky attachment to impermanent beings

Won't see those loved ones again (after death)

For many thousands of lives.

⁽⁶⁾ Not seeing them, I'll be unhappy

And my mind won't settle in absorbed concentration;

Even if I've seen them, I'll never be satisfied,

And, as before, I'll be tormented by longing.

⁽⁷⁾ From being attached to limited beings,

I'm blocked from (seeing) things as they are;

I lose any sense of disillusionment too;

And, in the end, I'm tormented by grief.

⁽⁸⁾ Because of thinking only of them,

This life will pass without any meaning,

And through noneternal friends and relations,

I will come to lose the eternal Dharma.

⁽⁹⁾ Having acted e'qual to the lot of infantile people,

I'll surely go to a worse reb'irth state;

If I'm led to a lot that's not (even) e'qual,

Then what have I gained by relying on those infantile folk?

⁽¹⁰⁾ One moment, they're friends;

In an instant, they're enemies.

At a time for being delighted, they fall into a rage:

Ordinary beings are so difficult to please.

⁽¹¹⁾ Told what's of benefit, they get enraged

And cause me to turn from what's of benefit too.

But, if their words aren't listened to,

They fall into a rage and go, then, to a worse reb'irth state.

⁽¹²⁾ They're envious of superiors, competitive with e'quals,

Arrogant toward inferiors, conceited when praised,

And hateful when told what they don't want to hear:

When is there benefit from infantile beings?

⁽¹³⁾ If I associate with infantile people,

Then destructive behavior inevitably arises

among infantile folk,

Such as praising myself and belittling others,

And prattling on about the pleasures of samsara.

⁽¹⁴⁾ From entrusting myself to others in this way,

Nothing but loss comes about in the end,

For they'll be, in fact, no-good for me

And I'll be, in fact, no-good for them.

⁽¹⁵⁾ So let me flee far away from infantile folk;

But if encountered, I'll please them with pleasantries,

And without becoming overly familiar,

I'll conduct myself nicely, merely as an ordinary person would.

⁽¹⁶⁾ Obtaining only what's helpful for Dharma,

Like a bumblebee honey from a flower,

I'll live without having familiars,

Like having never seen any of them before.

⁽¹⁷⁾ "But I get a lot of material gain and honor,

And many people like me."

If I hold on to being conceited like that,

Terrifying things will arise after death.

⁽¹⁸⁾ Thus, no matter what my bewildered mind

Becomes attached to;

In conjunction with each of them,

Thousandfold problems arise and stay around.

⁽¹⁹⁾ Hence, the wise have no attachments,

(Because,) from attachments, terrifying things arise.

As these (objects) will naturally be discarded (at death),

Be firm and consider this well:

⁽²⁰⁾ There've been many people with material wealth

And there've been many with fame and reputation.

But it's never been known that they've passed on to some place

Where their amassed wealth and fame have come with.

⁽²¹⁾ If there are others who belittle me,

What pleasure is there when I'm being praised?

And if there are others who praise me,

What displeasure is there when I'm being belittled?

⁽²²⁾ If limited beings, with varied dispositions,

Couldn't be pleased by even the Triumphant,

What need to mention by the poor likes of me?

Therefore, let me give up my preoccupation

with worldly people.

⁽²³⁾ They belittle limited beings lacking material gain,

And, regarding those with material gain, they say bad things;

How can any pleasure arise with those

Whose company is, by nature, so difficult?

⁽²⁴⁾ The Thusly Gone (Buddha) has said,

"An infantile person isn't anyone's friend,"

That's because the friendliness of an infantile person

Doesn't arise except through its serving his own self-aims.

(Friendliness through the gateway of its serving self-aims,

Is friendliness just for the aims of a "self";

Just as distress at the breaking of some material possession

Is something, in fact, that comes from a loss of self-pleasure.)

⁽²⁵⁾ In forests, however, wild creatures, birds, and trees

Never say bad things about you

And are happy when befriended.

When shall I come to live with them?

⁽²⁶⁾ Oh when shall I become detached,

Living in caves, an empty shrine,

Or at the foot of a tree,

And never look back?

⁽²⁷⁾ When shall I come to live in nature,

In vast regions, not privately owned,

Moving under my own incentive or

Staying put, without attachment.

⁽²⁸⁾ When shall I come to live without fears,

Having (just a few) small things,

a (clay) begging bowl and the like,

Wearing clothes that no one would want,

And not even sheltering this body?

⁽²⁹⁾ When, having gone to a charnel ground,

Shall I come to compare,

With the piles of others' bones,

My body, having the nature to rot.

⁽³⁰⁾ This very body of mine

Will also become (putrid) like that,

And because of its stench,

Not even the jackals will slink near.

⁽³¹⁾ Though this body was born as a single object,

The flesh and bones that arose with it

Will fall apart and go their own ways.

What need to mention friends that are other (than it)?

⁽³²⁾ A man is born alone, when taking birth,

And dies alone too, when undergoing death.

As no one else can take a share of this pain,

What can be done by encumbering friends?

⁽³³⁾ Just as the way in which travelers on a road

Take up a place to lodge,

Similar is the way in which travelers on the road

of compulsive existence

Take up a reb'irth as a place to lodge.

⁽³⁴⁾ So, let me retire to the forest

Until four pallbearers

Haul that body out from there,

While all my worldly (relations) grieve.

⁽³⁵⁾ Let this body stay there in isolation, alone,

Making neither intimate friends nor conflicts.

If I'm already counted as if I were dead,

There'll be no mourners when I actually die.

⁽³⁶⁾ As there'll be no attendants (hovering) nearby,

Mourning and causing distress,

There'll be no one to distract this (hermit)

From continuing mindfulness of Buddha and more.

⁽³⁷⁾ So, let me live in solitude

In lovely, delightful forests,

With little trouble, happiness and well-being,

Quieting all distractions.

⁽³⁸⁾ Having cast off all other intentions,

And with my intent single-pointed,

I shall strive (there) for settling my mind

in absorbed concentration

And making it tamed;

⁽³⁹⁾ (For) lustful desires give rise to disasters

In this world and in the next ones as well.

In this one, they bring about murder, imprisonment,

and knifings,

And in the next, joyless realms and the like.

⁽⁴⁰⁾ Those (bodies) for whose sake,

you repeatedly begged

Before male and female go-betweens,

And for whose sake, you didn't shrink

From either negative behavior or disgrace,

⁽⁴¹⁾ (For which) you threw yourself even into danger

And even spent all your wealth,

And embracing which,

You experienced the utmost pleasure (of sexual release)—

⁽⁴²⁾ They were nothing but skeletons,

Independent, and never yours!

Why not push on, (instead,) to nirvanic release,

Which you can fully embrace to your heart's content?

⁽⁴³⁾ That face, which, (at your wedding,) you lifted up first with effort

and drew near,

Although it was bashfully looking down,

And whether previously seen or not seen (by you),

Was covered with a veil,

⁽⁴⁴⁾ That face, which emotionally disturbed you so,

Is now unveiled by the vultures

And can be directly seen.

Why do you run away now?

⁽⁴⁵⁾ That (face) which you protected (before)

From the leers of others' eyes,

Why aren't you protecting it now, (jealous) miser,

While it's being devoured by them?

⁽⁴⁶⁾ Seeing this pile of meat

Being gulped down by vultures and the rest,

(Tell me), is the food of others something to be offered

With garlands of flowers, jewelry, and sandalwood scent?

⁽⁴⁷⁾ If you (experience) fright from seeing even a skeleton,

Though it lacks any movement,

Why wasn't there horror when it was set into motion

By some (intent), like a zombie?

⁽⁴⁸⁾ You lusted after it, even when it was covered,

Why don't you lust for it (now), when uncovered (from its skin)?

If you have no use for it (now),

Why did you sexually embrace it when covered?

⁽⁴⁹⁾ Its excrement and saliva

Arise from one and the same food;

So why, out of the two, do you take no delight

in the excrement

And yet delight in (a taste of) saliva?

⁽⁵⁰⁾ Finding no sexual pleasure in pillows,

Filled with cotton and soft to the touch,

(After all) "They don't exude a foul stench,"

Lustful people are bewildered about excrement.

⁽⁵¹⁾ Lustful, gross, bewildered people,

(Thinking,) "It's impossible to make love

To cotton, soft to the touch,"

Become furious with it (instead).

⁽⁵²⁾ If you have no attachment for what is foul,

Why do you sexually embrace another (body):

A cagework of bones, bound together with sinews,

And plastered over with a mud of flesh?

⁽⁵³⁾ You yourself contain plenty of excrement,

So manage by yourself, steadfastly with that.

Glutton for excrement,

You long for yet another bag of excrement?

⁽⁵⁴⁾ (Thinking,) "But it's the flesh I delight in,"

You long to touch and look at it.

But why have you no desire for the flesh

(Here,) in its natural state, devoid of a mind?

⁽⁵⁵⁾ And whatever mind you might desire,

Cannot be touched or looked at,

And whatever can, hasn't a consciousness.

So it's no use! Why do you sexually embrace it?

⁽⁵⁶⁾ Though it's no great surprise that you don't understand

That another's body, by nature, is something (full of) excrement;

But that you don't understand that your very own

Is, by nature, something (full of) excrement—that's really shocking!

⁽⁵⁷⁾ Having rejected the tender lotus, (born from the muck

And) opened by the rays of the unclouded sun,

What delight is there in a cagework (of bones, full) of feces,

For a mind obsessed with excrement?

⁽⁵⁸⁾ If you don't wish to touch soil and places

That are smeared with excrement,

How is it that you wish to touch the body

Out of which it was excreted?

⁽⁵⁹⁾ If you have no attachment for what is foul,

Why do you sexually embrace another (body):

The seed of which grew from a field (full) of excrement

And was nourished by it.

⁽⁶⁰⁾ Is it because of its tininess that you don't long

For a foul maggot, born from excrement?

You desire, in fact, a body, also born from excrement,

(Since) by nature, it's (full) of a lot of excrement!

⁽⁶¹⁾ Not only do you not disparage

The excremental nature of yourself,

You glutton for excrement,

You long for other bags of excrement too!

⁽⁶²⁾ Whether it's refreshing (chews) with camphor and the like,

Or cooked rice with vegetable curries,

Once put in the mouth and then spat out or vomited,

Even the ground becomes filthy and foul.

⁽⁶³⁾ If you still have doubts about its being, like this,

In the nature of excrement, though it's so obvious,

Look at the (ghastly) foul bodies of others,

Thrown away in the charnel ground.

⁽⁶⁴⁾ When the skin is torn open,

Great horror comes up from it.

Knowing just that, how can delight

Come up any more from that very same thing?

⁽⁶⁵⁾ And that smell sloshed on the body

Is from sandalwood and such things,

not from the other (person).

So why are you attracted to someone else

By the smell of something other?

⁽⁶⁶⁾ If, because of its naturally foul smell,

There's no attraction to it, isn't that fortunate?

Why do people in this world, who relish what's useless,

Slosh it with sweet-smelling things?

⁽⁶⁷⁾ Well then, if what has the sweet smell is sandalwood,

What comes from the body in this case?

So why are you attracted to someone else

By the smell of something other?

⁽⁶⁸⁾ If the natural state of the body is totally horrific—

Naked, coated with a tarnish of grime,

Its hair and nails long,

Its teeth yellow and stained—

⁽⁶⁹⁾ Why spruce it up with (so much) hard work,

Like a weapon for inflicting self-harm?

(Oh dear,) this world is truly bustling with madmen

Working so hard deluding themselves!

⁽⁷⁰⁾ Having seen merely a few skeletons,

You were so turned off in the charnel ground;

Yet you find sexual pleasure in charnel-ground cities

Crowded with moving skeletons?

⁽⁷¹⁾ Further, that (bag) full of excrement like that

Isn't obtained without a price:

There's exhaustion in earning (money) for its sake

And torment (later) in joyless realms and the like.

⁽⁷²⁾ It's not possible to build up wealth as a child,

So as a teenager, what is there to get pleasure with?

Spending adulthood accumulating wealth,

What can an old person do with sexual desires?

⁽⁷³⁾ Some people, (though) having gross desires,

Exhaust themselves with work all day long

And, coming home (at night), their bodies spent,

Drop down asleep like the dead.

⁽⁷⁴⁾ Some must go abroad (on army expeditions)

And, with disturbing emotions, have the suffering of being

far away.

Longing for their children and wives, they don't see

Their children and wives, though the years roll by.

⁽⁷⁵⁾ Confused by desires for what would be of self-benefit,

They even sell themselves for the sake of that

Which they never obtain, and so (toil) pointlessly,

Driven by the winds of others' karmic whims.

⁽⁷⁶⁾ And the wives of some of those who have sold

their own bodies

And must follow others' orders, powerlessly,

Have to give birth to their children, with them plopping out

At the feet of trees or in desolate places.

⁽⁷⁷⁾ (Some) foolish people, deceived by desires,

Wishing to make a livelihood, thinking, "I'll earn a living,"

Enter into war, (thus) risking their lives,

Or go into servitude for the sake of self-gain.

⁽⁷⁸⁾ Some, having greed, are even bodily mutilated

And some get impaled on spikes.

Some are seen being stabbed with daggers

And some even burned alive.

⁽⁷⁹⁾ With the torments (involved) in amassing, protecting, and losing it,

Know that material advantage is a disadvantage without an end:

(For) those distracted by obsession with wealth

Haven't the time to free themselves

from the sufferings of compulsive existence.

⁽⁸⁰⁾ (Thus,) for those with desire, drawbacks like these and more

are abundant

And (any) tastes of pleasure are paltry,

Like the snatches of a few mouthfuls of grass

(Won) by an ox while pulling a cart.

⁽⁸¹⁾ For the sake of that paltry taste of pleasure,

Not hard to find for even an ox,

This hard-to-find splendor of respites and endowments

Is destroyed by those who waste their (good) karma.

⁽⁸²⁾ Whatever hardships there are in exhausting yourself

All the time for the sake of the puny desires (of the body)

That will definitely perish and (consequently)

Fall to joyless realms and worse,

⁽⁸³⁾ With one millionth of the hardship, there would be Buddhahood;

Whereas those with desires have suffering

Greater than those engaged in bodhisattva behavior,

And yet they have no enlightenment.

⁽⁸⁴⁾ Neither weapons, poison, fire,

Precipices, nor foes

Compare with desires when I think

Of the tortures of joyless realms and the like.

⁽⁸⁵⁾ Recoiling from desires in this way,

I shall enhance my delight in solitude.

In peaceful forests,

Devoid of strife and emotional disturbance,

⁽⁸⁶⁾ Amongst (beautiful) boulders,

Huge as palaces, cooled by the sandalwood rays of the moon,

Joyfully roam the fortunate ones, fanned by the silent, gentle,

forest breezes,

Reflecting on the aims of benefiting others.

⁽⁸⁷⁾ Staying anywhere, for as long as desired—

In an empty shelter, at the foot of a tree, or in caves—

Those rid of the strain of safeguarding possessions

Live relaxed, without any cares,

⁽⁸⁸⁾ Acting according to their own intent,

Without attachments, not bound by anyone,

Savoring the joy of contentment,

Difficult to find for even powerful rulers.

⁽⁸⁹⁾ Having considered, with aspects such as these and more,

The benefits of dissociating (myself),

And thus fully quieting my rambling thoughts,

I shall meditate on bodhichitta.

⁽⁹⁰⁾ First, I shall meditate strongly on

The equality of myself and others (in this way):

As everyone's a fellow being, having happiness and pain,

(Others) are to be cared for (by me) in the same way as I am.

⁽⁹¹⁾ Just as, despite its many parts, with divisions into hands and so on,

The body's to be cared for as a whole;

Similarly, despite the differences among wandering beings,

Yet in regard to happiness and pain, they're all equal to myself

in wishing to be happy, and (thus form) a whole.

⁽⁹²⁾ Although my own pain

Doesn't hurt the bodies of others,

Yet being, like that, the pain of a "me,"

It's unbearable, because of clinging to a "me."

⁽⁹³⁾ Likewise, though the pain of others

Doesn't befall me,

Yet being, like that, the pain of a "me,"

It's (also) difficult to bear, because of clinging to a "me."

⁽⁹⁴⁾ Thus, the pain of others is something to be eliminated by me,

Because of its (nature as) pain, like the pain of a "me";

And others are beings to be helped by me,

Because of their (natures as) limited beings, like the body of a "me."

⁽⁹⁵⁾ When happiness is something equally liked,

Both by myself and others,

What's so special about me

That I strive after happiness for myself alone?

⁽⁹⁶⁾ And when suffering is something equally disliked,

Both by myself and others,

What's so special about me

That I take care of myself and not others?

⁽⁹⁷⁾ If it's because their suffering doesn't harm me

That I don't safeguard them,

Why safeguard myself against future (life) suffering,

If it doesn't harm me (now)?

⁽⁹⁸⁾ That notion is distorted that thinks,

"But I'm the one who'll experience it,"

For, like this, it's someone else who has died

And someone else who takes birth.

⁽⁹⁹⁾ If whatever suffering anyone has

Must be taken care of by that one himself,

Then since the foot's suffering is not the hand's,

Why is that to be taken care of by it?

⁽¹⁰⁰⁾ If it's the case that (ignoring) it would be illogical

And so here it's undertaken from a sense of a (whole) self;

Well then, surely what's illogical regarding (the whole

formed by) myself and others

Is something to be dismissed, as much as I can.

⁽¹⁰¹⁾ What are called "a continuum" and "a group,"

Such as a rosary, an army, and the like,

are not truly (a findable whole),

And so, since a possessor of suffering doesn't exist,

Whose responsibility is it (as "mine")?

⁽¹⁰²⁾ In their being without an owner,

All sufferings lack a distinction:

So it's (simply) because they're suffering

that they're to be averted.

Why are there fixed (limitations) made here?

⁽¹⁰³⁾ "But why is the suffering of everyone to be averted?"

Well, it's indisputable:

If (anyone's) is to be averted, then everyone's is to be averted;

If not, (that applies) to me as well,

just like to (every other) limited being.

⁽¹⁰⁴⁾ "But with compassion there's much suffering,

So why develop it with (such) effort?"

Well, having thought about the sufferings of wandering beings,

How could the suffering of compassion be much?

⁽¹⁰⁵⁾ If the suffering of many disappears

Through the suffering of one,

That suffering would be something that someone

with loving compassion

Would bring on, for the sake of himself and others.

⁽¹⁰⁶⁾ Thus Supushpa?chandra,

Though knowing the punishment (he'd receive) from the king,

Didn't avoid the suffering for himself

In order to dispel the sufferings of many.

⁽¹⁰⁷⁾ Those with mental continuums accustomed like this,

And who (hold e'qually) dear quelling the sufferings of others,

Plunge themselves into even (a joyless realm of) unrelenting pain

Like a swan into a lotus pond.

⁽¹⁰⁸⁾ And then, as limited beings are liberated,

they have oceans of joy:

These are the ones (who've gained real fulfillment).

Wouldn't that be sufficient?

What is there with the wish for (insipid) liberation?

⁽¹⁰⁹⁾ Thus, even though working for the benefit of others,

There's no conceit; there's no amazement;

There's no hoping for a ripening result (for oneself),

When it's with an appetite exclusively for what benefits others.

⁽¹¹⁰⁾ Therefore, just as I safeguard myself

Against becoming debased, to the tiniest extent,

Likewise, I shall act like that toward others

With a protective mind and a mind of compassion.

⁽¹¹¹⁾ Just as, out of familiarity,

There's an understanding of a "me"

Regarding drops of semen and blood

belonging to others,

Despite it's not existing as some "thing,"

⁽¹¹²⁾ Why couldn't I likewise take as "me"

A body that belongs to someone else?

(After all,) it's not difficult to set it, in the same way,

As something other than a body that's "mine."

⁽¹¹³⁾ (So,) having understood the faultiness of (cherishing) myself

And the oceans of advantages of (cherishing) others,

I shall meditate on discarding my way

Of taking a "me," and extend it to others.

⁽¹¹⁴⁾ Just as the hand and so on are held dear

Through their being the limbs of the body,

Why couldn't beings having a body be similarly held dear

Through their being limbs of wandering life?

⁽¹¹⁵⁾ Just as, out of familiarity, an attitude of "me"

Has come about with respect to this body (of mine),

despite its lacking a "me,"

Likewise, out of familiarity, why couldn't an attitude of "me"

Arise with respect to other limited beings as well?

⁽¹¹⁶⁾ Even though working, like that, for the benefit of others,

Amazement or conceit doesn't arise:

It's like the hope for a reward doesn't arise

From feeding food to myself.

⁽¹¹⁷⁾ Therefore, just as I safeguard myself

Against becoming debased, to the tiniest extent,

Likewise, I'll habituate myself to having

A protective mind and a mind of compassion

toward (all) wandering beings.

⁽¹¹⁸⁾ That's why, out of great compassion, the Guardian

Avaloki-teshvara

Has elevated even (the power of) his own name

To dispel the fears of wandering beings,

(Such as shyness) in front an audience.

⁽¹¹⁹⁾ So, I shall not turn away from what's difficult to do,

Since, through the force of familiarity like this,

That very person whose name I was even afraid to hear

(Can become) someone, without whom, I can have no joy.

⁽¹²⁰⁾ Thus, anyone who wishes to give safe direction

Swiftly to himself and others

Needs to practice the most sacred secret:

The exchange of self with others.

⁽¹²¹⁾ Because of sticky attachment to this body as "me, "

From even small situations for fear, fear arises.

So who wouldn't reject, like a fear-inspiring foe,

Such a body (as "me")?

⁽¹²²⁾ (This) body, which, with the wish to remedy

Afflictions such as hunger, thirst, and the like,

Kills fowl, fish, and deer

And hides by the road in ambush (to steal),

⁽¹²³⁾ And which, because of profit and shows of respect,

Would murder even its father and mother,

And, by stealing the property of the Triple Gem,

Would burn in (a joyless realm of) unrelenting pain -

⁽¹²⁴⁾ What wise man would desire, protect,

And venerate such a body (as "me")?

Who wouldn't view it as a foe

And not scorn it?

⁽¹²⁵⁾ "If I were to give, what would I have to enjoy myself?"

Such thinking of my own self-aims is the way of clutching ghosts.

"If I were to enjoy it myself, what would I have to give?"

Such thinking of the aims of others is a quality of the divine.

⁽¹²⁶⁾ Paining others for my own self-aims,

I'll be tormented in joyless realms and the like;

But paining myself for the aims of others,

I'll acquire all glories.

⁽¹²⁷⁾ Through the wish for just myself to advance

Come the worse reb'irth states, low status, and stupidity;

But transferring that very (wish) to others

Brings the better reb'irth states, honor, (and intelligence).

⁽¹²⁸⁾ Ordering others around for my own self-aims,

I'll experience being a servant and worse;

But ordering myself around for the aims of others,

I'll experience being a lord and better.

⁽¹²⁹⁾ All whosoever who are happy in the world

Are (so) through the wish for the happiness of others;

While all whosoever who are miserable in the world

Are (so) through the wish for the happiness of themselves.

⁽¹³⁰⁾ But what need is there to elaborate more?

Just look at the difference between the two:

An infantile person acting for his own self-aims

And Sage (Buddha) acting for the aims of others.

⁽¹³¹⁾ For those who haven't exchanged their happiness

For the sufferings of others,

Buddhahood'll be impossible to attain

And there'll be no happiness even in samsara.

⁽¹³²⁾ Leave aside the hereafter, not even the aims

Of this seeable life will be fulfilled

For a waged servant not doing his work

And a master not paying his wages.

⁽¹³³⁾ Dropping the production of happiness (for one another) -

A festival of glorious happiness in (this) seeable (life)

and unseeable (beyond) -

Bewildered people grab hold, instead, of unbearable suffering,

Because of causing suffering to one another.

⁽¹³⁴⁾ Whatever violence there is in the world,

And as much fear and suffering as there is,

All of it arises from grasping at a self:

So what use is that terrible demon to me?

⁽¹³⁵⁾ If I don't fully drop (such) a self,

I won't be able to drop my suffering;

Just as if I don't fully drop a fire,

I won't be able to drop being burned.

⁽¹³⁶⁾ Therefore, for the sake of quelling my own suffering

And for quelling the sufferings of others as well,

I shall give myself over to others,

And take others on as myself.

⁽¹³⁷⁾ O mind, decide for sure,

“I am under the governance of others.”

Except for the welfare of all limited beings,

You are not going to have any other intentions now.

⁽¹³⁸⁾ It is inappropriate to seek to accomplish my own aims

With eyes and so forth governed by others;

It is also inappropriate to dally improperly

For my own aims

With hands, eyes, and so forth given over to them.

⁽¹³⁹⁾ Taking limited beings as the master through that view,

Whatever you see on this body of mine,

Rob it of each and every thing

And use it for the benefit of others.

⁽¹⁴⁰⁾ Creating in lesser beings and so forth the sense of a “me,”

And creating in yourself the sense of others,

Meditate on envy, rivalry, and arrogance like this,

With a mind free from prejudiced thoughts:

⁽¹⁴¹⁾ “This one is shown respect, but I am not;

I do not have wealth as this one does.

This one is praised, but I am belittled;

This one has happiness, but I have suffering.

⁽¹⁴²⁾ “I do all the work,

While this one lives a life of ease.

This one is renowned in the world as superior,

While I am inferior, without any good qualities.

⁽¹⁴³⁾ “But how could any work be done

By someone having no good qualities?

Thus, all of us possess good qualities!

And, after all, there are those among whom this one is inferior,

And there are those among whom I am in fact superior.

⁽¹⁴⁴⁾ “Such things as the decline of my ethical discipline and outlook

Are due to disturbing emotions, and not to their being

Under my control.

I need to be healed to the best of his ability;

I even readily accept the pain involved.

⁽¹⁴⁵⁾ “But not only does this one fail to treat me

As someone to be healed,

Why does he look down on me?

What use are his good qualities to me,

When this one is the ‘me’ having good qualities?

⁽¹⁴⁶⁾ “With no compassion in this one for wandering beings

Caught in the jaws of the carnivorous beast of the worse rebirth states,

And with arrogance instead toward everyone else

About his own good qualities,

He wants to outdo the skilled masters!”

⁽¹⁴⁷⁾ “Perceiving me as being on his own level,

He would struggle to secure the material gain

And show of respect that I have, even through contentious means,

For the sake of increasing his own lead in any way.

⁽¹⁴⁸⁾ “But if my own good qualities

Were evident throughout the whole world,

Then, by contrast, whatever good qualities this one might have

Would not be heard of by anyone.

⁽¹⁴⁹⁾ “And if my own shortcomings were concealed,

Then offerings would be made to me, not to him.

Material gain today would accrue abundantly to me,

And honors would come to me, not to this one.

⁽¹⁵⁰⁾ “And we would all look on with delight

As this one is finally put down as incompetent,

Made the laughingstock of all wandering beings,

And reviled everywhere.”

⁽¹⁵¹⁾ “Furthermore, it has come to light that this deluded, miserable being

Is even enviously competing with me.

But how could this one’s learning, intelligence, physique,

Class, or wealth

Be equal to mine?

⁽¹⁵²⁾ “That being so, upon hearing

My own good qualities proclaimed everywhere,

I shall feast upon a banquet of joy,

So delighted that the hairs on my body

Will stand on end.

⁽¹⁵³⁾ “Even if this one should somehow

Come to possess material gain,

If he is working for us,

He is to be given merely enough to live on,

And the rest is to be taken forcefully by us.

⁽¹⁵⁴⁾ “This one is to be brought down from his idle state of ease

And invariably linked to the harms we have experienced.

Hundreds of times, everywhere,

We have been harmed in recurring samsara by this one.”

⁽¹⁵⁵⁾ O mind, countless eons have passed

In your obsessive quest for your own aims;

Yet, despite such enormous exhaustion,

All you have procured is merely suffering.

⁽¹⁵⁶⁾ Please, definitely engage yourself in that way

Right now for the aims of others;

Then you will see its benefits in the future,

For the words of the Sage are never false.

⁽¹⁵⁷⁾ If, in the past, it had occurred

That you had undertaken this action,

Then a situation such as this would never have arisen,

In which you have instead been deprived of the bliss

Of success as a Buddha!

⁽¹⁵⁸⁾ Therefore, just as you have placed the sense of a “me”

Upon drops of the semen and blood of others,

Likewise, make a habit of placing it

Upon others as well.

⁽¹⁵⁹⁾ Having become a scout for others,

Whatever you see on this body of mine,

Rob it of each and every thing

And use it for the benefit of others.

⁽¹⁶⁰⁾ “This ‘me’ is happy; the others are unhappy.

This ‘me’ is exalted; the others are lowly.

This ‘me’ does what is beneficial to itself; others do not.”

Thinking like that, why would you not engender

Envy toward yourself?

⁽¹⁶¹⁾ Therefore, deprive yourself of your happiness

And take upon yourself the sufferings of others.

Investigate the fault of this “me” by asking,

“When does this one ever do anything for others?”

⁽¹⁶²⁾ Whatever mistake others might make,

Transform it by seeing it as the fault of this “me”;

But whatever mistake this “me” might make, even a minor one,

Openly admit it before many people.

⁽¹⁶³⁾ By declaring the renown of others to be superior,

Let it outshine the renown of this “me”;

And, like the lowest of servants,

Set this “me” to doing what benefits all.

⁽¹⁶⁴⁾ Do not praise this naturally fault-ridden one

For some tiny share of temporary good qualities;

Rather, act so that no one will ever somehow know

Of any good qualities this one might possess.

⁽¹⁶⁵⁾ In short, whatever harmful act you have done to others

For the sake of your own aims,

Let that very same harm descend upon yourself

For the sake of the aims of limited beings.

⁽¹⁶⁶⁾ Never give any reinforcement to this one

That would cause him to become boisterous;

Instead, make him behave like a newlywed bride,

Bashful, timid, and restrained.

⁽¹⁶⁷⁾ “Do that! Remain like that!

Never act like that!”

This one is to be brought under control in that way

And struck down if he ever transgresses beyond it.

⁽¹⁶⁸⁾ But even when instructed in that way,

If you do not act accordingly, O mind,

Then, since all wrongs depend upon you,

It is precisely you whom I shall strike down.

⁽¹⁶⁹⁾ That former time was different,

When I was being ruined by you.

But now I see you; so where can you go?

I'm going to knock all the arrogance out of you.

⁽¹⁷⁰⁾ Throw away, now, any hope,

"I still have my own self-interest."

I've sold you to others, so don't think

of your weariness;

I've offered your energies (to them).

⁽¹⁷¹⁾ If, because of not caring,

I don't hand you over to limited beings,

Then, for sure, you'll hand me over

To the guards of the joyless realms.

⁽¹⁷²⁾ I've been handed over, like that,

Many times by you and long tormented;

But now, recalling those grudges,

I shall smash you, you creature of self-interest.

⁽¹⁷³⁾ If you want self-happiness,

Don't work for happiness in yourself;

If you want self-protection,

Protect always others.

⁽¹⁷⁴⁾ To whatever degree

This body is pampered,

To that degree it degenerates

To a state of becoming ever more dainty.

⁽¹⁷⁵⁾ And when it's degenerated like that,

Not even this entire (wealth-bearing) earth

Has the ability to fulfill its longings;

So, who will be able to grant its desires?

⁽¹⁷⁶⁾ For someone desiring the impossible,

Disturbing emotion and the dashing of hopes

come about;

But for someone having no hopes for anything,

His fulfillment never knows an end.

⁽¹⁷⁷⁾ Therefore, don't leave the chance open

For an increase in desire concerning the body.

That object is best, which isn't taken

Because of its being desirable.

⁽¹⁷⁸⁾ It winds up as ashes in the end

And, (even when alive,) being inert,

it's set into motion by something else -

This filthy form is (truly) ghastly.

Why grasp to it as "mine?"

⁽¹⁷⁹⁾ Whether it's alive or dead,

What use is this device to me?

What difference does it have

from a lump of clay and such things?

But, oh no, you're not removing

your pride (of identifying with it)!

⁽¹⁸⁰⁾ Suffering accumulates pointlessly

Through being partial toward the body;

So what use is being fawning or angry

Over this thing that resembles a block of wood?

⁽¹⁸¹⁾ Whether nurtured by me in this way

Or devoured by vultures and such,

It doesn't have sticky attachment or anger,

So why do I have sticky attachment to it?

⁽¹⁸²⁾ Something getting furious at being belittled

Or something getting pleased at being praised -

If it doesn't know to be either of these,

For whom am I exhausting myself?

⁽¹⁸³⁾ "But those who desire this body -

They and I are friends."

Well, since everyone desires the body of oneself,

Why aren't they as dear to me too?

⁽¹⁸⁴⁾ Therefore, without partiality, this body's

been given over by me

For the benefit of wandering beings.

Nevertheless, though it has many faults,

It needs to be held like a tool for the job.

⁽¹⁸⁵⁾ So enough of behaving like an infant,

I'm following in the footsteps of the wise!

(Thus,) recalling the teaching on taking care,

I shall turn back sleepiness and being muddleheaded.

⁽¹⁸⁶⁾ Like the compassionate offspring of the Triumphant,

I shall bear the rigors of what's appropriate (to do);

For if I don't make a constant effort, day and night,

When will my suffering ever come to an end?

⁽¹⁸⁷⁾ Therefore, withdrawing my mind from distorted pathways,

I shall continuously set it in absorbed concentration

On the perfect object,

In order for its obscurations to be gone.