6. Becoming a Bodhisattva

The Guarantee of Enlightenment 

As we approach the end of this course, perhaps you’re thinking, “Lama, we’ve been meditating for weeks; now you need to sign a guarantee that if we keep practicing Dharma we’ll attain everlasting, peaceful enlightenment.” OK, so now I’m going to make that guarantee. I’m going to explain how it happens.

The guarantee is to possess the enlightenment attitude, bodhicitta. Freedom from the constant thought, “I want to be happy, I want to be happy, I want to be happy” is the guarantee. That thought of self-­happiness and the taking advantage of others that inevitably follows is incredibly powerful. The opposite of that self-­cherishing attitude is the enlightenment attitude of bodhicitta.

Citta is a Sanskrit word that means heart. If in your heart you have more concern for the welfare of other sentient beings than your own, that will lead you to everlasting, peaceful enlightenment, especially if you realize and understand your potential to reach that state. Automatically, you release the nail of attachment. Attachment is like a nail or knife in your heart. It is painful by nature. It doesn’t matter whether you’re dancing around or sitting still: if in your heart you have the enlightenment attitude—the opposite of self-­cherishing, having more concern for others than yourself—that is your guarantee of enlightenment. 

Another guarantee is your ability to completely control anger, frustration and fear. Have a look at how afraid you are that something bad will happen to you. If you have concern for other sentient beings, if you develop bodhicitta, you’ll be completely free of fear. Fear, “maybe this will happen, maybe that,” also comes from attachment. 

Countries sign peace treaties guaranteeing they won’t go to war. As long as the parties have attachment and self-­cherishing, those agreements aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. Such paper guarantees are ridiculous. The real guarantee is bodhicitta. No matter the situation, the person with bodhicitta is never going to kill other sentient beings. That person’s nature is peace. 

Wars are everywhere. People are going, “Peace! Peace! Everybody’s fighting each other—we need to make peace.” It’s impossible. Difficult. If you really want to achieve peace in the external world you first have to make peace within yourself. As long as people harbor the self-­cherishing thought, peace is impossible. 

Communist countries try to force people to be equal at the point of a gun. But self-­cherishing is still there. The authorities say, “If you do that, I will kill you.” At that moment, the people respond “Yes, yes, yes, OK,” because they don’t want to die. But still, if they get the chance to do whatever that forbidden activity is, their self-­cherishing is going to make them do it because they haven’t trained their mind. As long as people haven’t trained their mind in the equilibrium meditation there’s no way to force them to be equal.²¹

Russia and China are good examples of what I’m saying. But I’m not talking politics; I’m talking about mother sentient beings’ attitude, that’s all. The real guarantee of peaceful everlasting enlightenment is internal realization of equilibrium, which leads to the enlightenment attitude of bodhicitta. That is the real guarantee, the real vehicle, the Mahayana, the actual vehicle that without a doubt will definitely carry you to buddhahood.

This is also great psychology. You can see how bodhicitta not only overcomes self-­cherishing; it also controls hatred and anger. Since we live on earth, most of our relationships are with other human beings, not so much with trees and rocks. Most of the time, at least from the side of the object, our problems arise through conflict with other people, other sentient beings. If we have the enlightenment attitude of bodhicitta, automatically our human relationships improve. As Shantideva said, since the majority of our negativity comes from our relationships with others, bodhicitta is the most powerful purification; it’s like an atomic bomb. You can see that. It makes sense. 

Shantideva was a great Indian Mahayana saint from Nalanda Monastery. He lived well before Buddhism became established in Tibet. And, of course, he wrote the classic text, A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life (Bodhicaryavatara), which still exists in the original Sanskrit and has been translated into Tibetan, English and many other languages. It’s an incredible book, so logical, simple and precise. 

Check out your everyday life. Your troubles aren’t with Mao, for example, because he’s nowhere near you.²² Your troubles are with the people surrounding you, your family and friends. Whenever you’re around people there’s always the potential for trouble: negative feelings, anger and so forth. That’s simple. We all have this inner potential for the flames of anger to suddenly ignite whenever we encounter an appropriate object. It’s almost like a magnetic attraction. And most often that’s other people. That’s what I mean by most of our problems coming from contact with those around us. Something happens and we explode.

There’s so much distrust among people on this earth. Everybody’s afraid of each other: “Maybe he’s going to kill me.” Even if a stranger on the street speaks to you very nicely, “Hello, how are you?” you’re thinking, “Hmm, maybe they want to take advantage of me.” If you don’t have bodhicitta you get paranoid very easily. You have little confidence or trust in others. 

You might mention to somebody that you’re practicing Buddhism. They ask, “What are you practicing, the Southern School or the Northern one? Hinayana or Mahayana?” Proudly, you reply, “Oh, Mahayana, of course.” But being a Mahayanist isn’t defined by the philosophy you’ve adopted. Simply accepting Mahayana philosophy doesn’t make you a Mahayanist. Maha means great; yana means vehicle. To be a Mahayanist you have to have the Great Vehicle within you. How do you do that? You have to be motivated by the enlightenment attitude of bodhicitta, the universal, innermost heart, pure thought. That is the universal vehicle that carries you to enlightenment, the boat that takes you across the ocean of suffering, samsara, to the other side, buddhahood. 

If you are studying and trying to practice Mahayana Buddhism you might have the partisan tendency to claim to be a Mahayanist. But even though you wear the Tibetan Sangha’s maroon robes, if you don’t have bodhicitta, you’re not a Mahayanist. 

People think that Hinayana and Mahayana are just philosophy or doctrine. Of course, these traditions contain philosophy and doctrine, but that’s not how they are defined. Some people can spend their entire life in a Mahayana center, but if they are only concerned for themselves and not for others, as long as they don’t change their attitude they can’t even solve their own problems.

Especially those who claim, with a partisan attitude, to be Mahayanists. No matter where in the world they live, no matter what their religion, it’s the same: if they have not tasted bodhicitta, if they have no real understanding of it, if all they know is the power of their own religious party and take pride in that, using their religion to grow their ego, they’re simply an object of compassion. People like that are the reason there are religious wars. Incredible! Their wrong conception attitude is ignorant and selfish. They have no understanding of reality or peace and just go through life blindly. All they know is power politics and materialism, simply using religion for material gain. It’s too much, isn’t it? Those who truly understand the nature of the path to liberation could never live like this. They would think themselves crazy for doing so. 

Of course, there are certain religions and religious leaders who say that its adherents can kill people who don’t follow that particular religion. That is their version of morality; that it’s good to kill non-­followers: “God says so, and so do I.” That’s a wrong conception. I’m not criticizing that kind of religion as such. I’m talking about reality, seeing clean clear with discriminating wisdom. Also, I’m not pushing some kind of dogmatic view. Nevertheless, acting out of self-­concern and hatred for others is totally wrong. I’m not saying this out of partisanship; I’m talking about how the human mind works when it comes into contact with religion, philosophy and so forth. It’s very strange, isn’t it?

Anyway, what I am saying is that the only truly guaranteed vessel to carry you to enlightenment is the enlightenment attitude of bodhicitta. Of that there is no doubt. And that’s why Lord Buddha greatly emphasized the pure thought of bodhicitta when he revealed the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism. This is an extremely important point.

Let me give you an example. There are meditators, and I know some, who are technically excellent and, having meditated for years and years, have developed powerful concentration. But when they come out of their room and go into the kitchen they can freak out angrily over the smallest thing. That shows they don’t have bodhicitta. They might have perfect concentration, but because they don’t have compassion, the enlightenment attitude of bodhicitta, they can’t handle even minimally irritating situations. It’s easy to miss that point. 

Now, you’re going to say that in the West, meditation is a new thing, and it’s true. It’s kind of a baby culture. And even though people might find it hard, they like to do it. However, generally, they don’t see the whole psychological world or how things work within it. If a person who has bodhicitta gives somebody a cup of tea, that becomes a cause of enlightenment, a step forward on the path to liberation. The rest of us are kind of lazy. If a thirsty stranger comes to our house asking for a cup of tea, we’re likely to just give them a glass of cold water rather take the trouble to brew up a nice chai. That’s our self-­cherishing in action—avoiding even the little effort it would take to make a cup of tea. Anyway, the point is, even if you’re a meditator, it’s extremely important to cultivate bodhicitta. That’s why we emphasize it so much.

You can be a meditator but still be completely selfish: “Oh, I have so many problems, so many problems. I’m the worst person in the world. Ugh, ugh! I just want to meditate; I just want to be happy and free.” You’re only concerned for yourself. As a result, it’s so easy to freak out when you deal with people. So then, what did your meditation get you? Look, you have to go to the supermarket to buy food. You can’t just stay in your room. Then you’re at the supermarket, people are milling about, there’s all this noise and you feel, “These damn people are so distracting for me and my meditation!” You get angry with all those shoppers. Do you think that’s good? Then you get into your car to go home and get frustrated with the traffic: “These samsaric drivers are disturbing my nirvana!”

Because of your attitude, everything agitates you. You can see how that’s possible: “None of these people meditate: they’re samsara! I meditate—I’m nirvana!” You create your own little world; then what’s the point? If everybody becomes your enemy—people in the supermarket, other drivers, everybody else—what does that say about your practice? How is it going to solve your problems? 

If, on the other hand, you have the enlightenment attitude of bodhicitta, even at the supermarket you can see everything as beautiful, everybody in a positive light. Even if horrible things are happening right in front of you, by knowing the nature of the sentient beings involved, you just feel much compassion for them. Instead of getting angry and frustrated, you feel close to them and generate compassion: “I wish I could do something about this but I can’t. It takes time.” Sometimes all you can do is to pray for things to improve.

Therefore, I really think that you should cultivate the enlightenment attitude of bodhicitta rather than the self-­cherishing thought of exclusive self-­concern that seeks only material gain or even nirvana for yourself alone. As I’ve told you before, even a spiritual trip can be completely self-­cherishing. 

You can see how incredible Lord Buddha’s teachings are. They offer a clean-­clear view of our own nature. He saw and explained how the minds of all universal living beings operate. That’s so important to know.

The benefits of bodhicitta

We always say “vajra.” The connotation of vajra is diamond-­hard, indestructible. Not yo-­yo-­like. What is the opposite of indestructible? [Student: Yo-­yo.] Yes, you are right. Not like that. So that’s what you need: the indestructible thought of bodhicitta; the enlightenment attitude. As long as you have that, nobody can bring you down; nobody can turn your mind. If you have bodhicitta based on understanding, equilibrium and compassion, nobody can take that away from you. It’s indestructible. Your mind becomes indestructible. 

In Lord Buddha’s prajnaparamita [perfection of wisdom] teachings he referred to bodhicitta as the father and wisdom as the mother. Western science considers the father’s side as generational, doesn’t it? Perhaps it varies from country to country. Anyway, whatever it is, we speak of method and wisdom as father and mother respectively, and we need both together. But as far as lineage is concerned, bodhicitta is the more important. 

Many people are afraid that they will lose when somebody else gains. If a neighbor gets a fancy new car you might look askance and think, “Hmm, where did they get the money for that?” Even though it’s a fantastic luxury car, you react with disdain because you’re jealous. Instead of being pleased and feeling glad that they’re happy with their new car, you feel uncomfortable. It’s like being jealous when your Dharma friend experiences good meditation: “Ooh, she’s so sharp and clear; her actions are so perfect.” Incredible jealousy. That comes from not having the enlightenment attitude of bodhicitta. With bodhicitta, you feel happy when good things happen to others. The happier they are, the happier you are, too. 

You can see that, right? It’s a kind of universal thought. The person who has bodhicitta is like a universal mother, a universal father. Wherever that person goes, they’re automatically beneficial for others; they’re like medicine. The person who has the pure thought always gives off a positive vibration. Just looking at the face of a person who has true love and compassion gives you a sort of light, blissful feeling. We don’t get that feeling from looking at each other because we don’t possess those qualities. The person with bodhicitta becomes a universal doctor, a universal relative, a universal friend. 

If you offer a gift, even a small one, such as a single flower, to a person with bodhicitta, you get merit equal to the amount you’d have received if you’d given that same flower to all beings in the universe. It’s much more powerful to make an offering to the person who possesses the universal thought than to everybody in the universe whose view is fanatical and small. 

Most of us in the West have to go to work, where we have to deal with people. If you get up late and rush out from home to get to work on time without having left yourself time to meditate and generate a positive motivation, self-­cherishing is going to rule your day. You’re likely to feel negative toward your boss and anybody else you encounter and not have much energy for work. But if you meditate before setting off in the morning, thinking, “Today I’m going to be as beneficial as possible for others,” you’re going to have a lot more energy for your job and feel a lot happier and satisfied when you get back home. 

In other words, if you don’t go to work with bodhicitta, your day is going to be completely different. It’s kind of stupid. You’re angry and frustrated all day, you agitate others and you don’t solve problems. It’s all self-­cherishing: “Ugh, these people!” Everybody’s trouble. With the enlightenment attitude you’re extremely patient and your day is very relaxed. 

With the self-­cherishing thought there’s no time to relax. Your selfish desires constantly pump you up: “I want the best; I want to be first.” Like when you go to the airport, some people rush to get into the security line, pushing in, elbowing other passengers out of the way, making everybody angry. They’re under the control of self-­cherishing; it’s difficult for them not to be. All mother sentient beings’ trips are really too much!

When it comes to purification, prostrations are very good, but if you really want the most perfect purification, it’s the enlightenment attitude of bodhicitta, which, as I said, comes from the realization of equilibrium and compassion. That is the most profound, universal purification, the most powerful solution. It’s like an atomic bomb. 

When the lamrim first came to Tibet, with its teachings on changing one’s attitude from attachment to oneself to concern for others, the people were a bit doubtful: “This is not Dharma.” They debated the idea of transforming self-­cherishing into cherishing others. “Is this real Dharma or not?” It’s difficult to do, but I think you can understand. Sure. That’s really worthwhile. It may be difficult, but it’s not impossible because you have a method for training your mind in bodhicitta, as Lama Zopa Rinpoche has explained. If there were no method, of course you could say, “Sounds good, but how to do it? It’s impossible.”

Most of the time our love is partial: limited and biased. We say, “I love you; I love you,” but each time we say that we’re really saying, “I want more attachment; I want more attachment. I want more, more, more.” That’s what our love is like. It’s too much, isn’t it? It’s laughable. Our love is so fickle. It’s incredible. The object of our love is others, but we’re just using it to grow our attachment. Out of concern for our own pleasure we tell someone we love them, but that’s just delusional. That kind of love is a delusion. Why? Because it makes us more restless and results in greater attachment, more bondage and less freedom. Our normal love is kind of like advertising. “I love you; how much do you love me?” It’s so transactional: “I’ll give you this much love. How much will you give me?” It’s a bit like bartering. 

Unlike Lord Buddha’s previous life, where he gave up his vow of celibacy for the sake of that suicidal woman, in most cases, our marriages are completely self-­cherishing. “I want,” isn’t it? Not necessarily in all cases, but it’s mostly “I want, I want,” like that.

However, when you have the enlightenment attitude of bodhicitta, whatever you do is done for the sake of all sentient beings. If you can do something that will help another develop bodhicitta or attain enlightenment, irrespective of the consequences of that action upon yourself, you do it; you don’t care what happens to you as a result. For example, if it’s beneficial in terms of leading some person to enlightenment, you’ll even let that person cut you to pieces, slice by slice. I’m not sure what I’m saying. Do you understand what I’m getting at? “If it helps lead someone to everlasting peaceful enlightenment, I don’t care what they do to me, even if it means I will suffer for years and years to come. For the sake of that one sentient being, I can tolerate it.” That’s the attitude I’m talking about. 

Normally, if we’re working just to help somebody else out, we tire easily, but if we’re getting paid, we don’t. That’s what I’m trying to say.

Of course, then the question arises, if that’s your attitude, aren’t people always going to be taking advantage of you? Then it’s up to you to try to make such people realize their self-­cherishing attitude. Having bodhicitta doesn’t mean being completely weak and just rolling over when others do take advantage of you. No! It’s their uncontrolled mind that’s making them do that, so somehow you have to shock them into seeing their self-­cherishing. But you have to do it with compassion, not out of anger. 

Let’s say there’s someone who is always stealing from you. Actually, you don’t care that much for yourself: “OK, let them have it.” But you also know that their continual stealing is not good for their mind, and that concerns you. If the only way to finally break their habit is to lock them up, you take that step. Out of compassion. Having bodhicitta doesn’t mean being a doormat. You have to use your wisdom. Just because you’re trying to be humble doesn’t mean you have to take somebody’s constant beatings or their always taking advantage of you. Somehow you have to make them realize their delusions. Anyway, there are many aspects to this kind of discussion and questions do arise.

Nevertheless, bodhicitta is really worthwhile, right? In the West, it’s something we really need. The Western mind is already pretty good through the influence of Christianity and its emphasis on love. Jesus was an incredible individual, a highly realized man who taught love for sentient beings and suffered for the sake of others. He showed how to give other people true love and take their suffering onto oneself.

This doesn’t mean you have to do stupid things like jumping to your death. What Jesus showed was more like a psychological giving up of yourself and renunciation of samsara. Check up for yourself what he did. That’s really worthwhile; it’s the essence of Christianity. Bodhicitta is also the essence of all religions. They all teach love. 

There’s absolutely no danger in practicing bodhicitta. Certain other meditation techniques do carry a risk, especially if you don’t practice them correctly. You can go crazy and they can destroy you both physically and mentally. I’m sure you’ve seen examples of this. Take Malcolm here, for example. Somebody once taught him kundalini meditation or something and when he practices it he shakes all over the place. That’s very dangerous. It’s OK if you have the right technical approach, but, as I say, if you don’t it can be very dangerous. You can go crazy. The practice of bodhicitta is the complete opposite. There’s no danger at all. It’s the completely peaceful path of liberation. Encountering bodhicitta is what makes your meeting Mahayana Buddhism totally worthwhile. 

People who have received bodhicitta have a completely peaceful nature. Their nature is compassion; their nature is love; their nature is positive. In other words, they are medicine, universal medicine. They are a universal teacher, a universal guru. Wherever they go—north, south, wherever—they always emit a positive vibration. Their nature is harmony; their nature is the right nature. 

What would happen if every sentient being in the world had bodhicitta? Meditate on that. What would happen if every mother sentient being had bodhicitta? There’d be no war, no taking advantage of one another. It would just be incredible, a kind of universal enlightenment. Your attitude, your mind, would become universal. Can you imagine that? You’d feel that you were one with the energy of the universe. 

We could talk about the benefits of the bodhicitta realization for a year. I have very little knowledge but even I could talk about it for a month, for sure! I could exhaust you with my “bodhicitta, bodhicitta, bodhicitta. . . .” It’s really the most worthwhile thing; absolutely.

Taking the bodhisattva vows

There are sixty-­four bodhisattva vows. They are extremely sensitive; much more sensitive than the Vinaya rules. There’s no comparison. We fully ordained monks [Tib: gelong] take 253 vows. Those are hard enough to keep; the bodhisattva vows are much higher and, as I say, much more sensitive. 

How do they get broken? Say, for example, I’m having an argument with somebody and out of anger I say, “They’re so exasperating. I’m just trying to make them happy but it’s impossible. I really can’t help them.” Mentally, you give up on them: “I have no compassion for that person.” Just like that, you’ve broken your vow. “I’m OK with all the other sentient beings but they are just too much for me.” Can you imagine? As soon as you have decided to give up on that one person, right there you have broken your vow. 

Q. Lama, please could you repeat that.

Say it again? OK. The bodhisattva vows are very sensitive; much more sensitive than the Vinaya rules followed by monks and nuns. One way we break them is when we totally give up on somebody: “I can’t love that person; I can’t have compassion for them, it’s impossible.” Mentally I give up on that one sentient being. At that moment I break my vow. These vows are extremely sensitive. It’s difficult, isn’t it? There’s this one irritating person who always agitates you, whose vibration always makes you unhappy. It’s hard not to give up on somebody like that.

Another vow has to do with not criticizing the doctrine of any other philosophy. You can’t say, for example, that Buddhism’s lamrim is the perfect practice and that Christianity or Hinduism aren’t any good. You can’t take that sort of partisanship, yet it’s what we do, isn’t it? But Christianity isn’t the people; it’s the religion, which is wisdom. You can’t criticize a religion just by looking at its practitioners. The bodhisattva vows don’t allow you to say, “These people are low; I’m much higher than them.” This is too much for us, no? Too much or not, or is it reasonable?

Q. Lama, I met a Christian guy last week and he asked, “What’s your philosophy? Do you not accept Christ?” I replied, “Well, I think from the Buddhist point of view that Christ would be one of many buddhas. Furthermore, we have an attitude of developing love and compassion for all beings and don’t discriminate.” He was very pleased to hear this.

He was pleased. Good. Yes, that’s possible. Right. You know, often, when I look at the way nonreligious Western people think and act, they almost seem to be Buddhist. They don’t espouse Buddhist philosophy or its religious aspects and they’re going to tell you they’re not religious, but intuitively they want to help others; they’re so beautiful. I’ve really seen this in the West. They don’t want to be angry with or harm other people; they’re very gentle with them. In other words, Buddhism is more a state of mind than a philosophy. That’s true. 

Just look at the history of how Jesus lived. There’s no doubt that he was a kind of bodhisattva. He was more concerned for other sentient beings than himself. That’s all. And that’s the most difficult thing. It’s really worthwhile. 

However, in modern Christianity it seems that this kind of thing is rare; the key to how to practice the holy spiritual path has been lost. It’s a difficult thing. For sure, the essence of Christianity indicates that it’s a greatly beneficial vehicle for all mother sentient beings, but getting its followers to understand this requires a skillful approach. You can’t just say, “Believe! That’s enough.” It’s not enough. People these days are very intelligent, very skeptical; they want to know things. If they don’t understand something they tend to reject it.

Anyway, back to taking the bodhisattva vows. As I’ve been saying, they are very sensitive. You can see that. I mean, Lord Buddha’s teaching is too much! He didn’t say that he wanted everybody in the world to adopt his philosophy. His wish was for all mother sentient beings to be completely healthy and have a universally open mind. He said that in order for that to come about, you can’t fanatically criticize others’ views: “Mine is the best; others are the worst.” That really is too much. Instead, he promoted the middle way and an open mind. From my point of view, that is fantastic, incredible. Our dualistic mind tends to fall into extremes, but Lord Buddha made it clean clear that those should be avoided. You can understand this through studying his teachings.

History shows us that not only do people criticize others’ religions; they go to war over their differences. Now that is too much, isn’t it? For people to be mentally healthy he prescribed perfectly reasonable vows. Venerable Marcel is going to read them out, but you have to remember that some of them are quite difficult to translate and need further explanation, so he’s also going to do that as well.

There are two ways of taking the bodhisattva vows. If you understand that the most innermost heart, the most pure enlightenment attitude of bodhicitta, is so extremely worthwhile, absolutely worthwhile, and feel, “From now until I discover enlightenment, I will actualize bodhicitta as much as I possibly can,” you can take the vows with that attitude and motivation. Participating in the ceremony with that kind of aspiration, you don’t take the vows themselves. What you’re saying is simply that the enlightenment attitude of bodhicitta is really your path and you aspire to actualize it as much as you can. That is one way of taking them. 

The other way is to actually take the eighteen root and forty-­six branch vows themselves and follow the conduct they prescribe. You can see that this is a stricter way of making the commitment. So there are these two ways: aspiring and engaged.²³ 

The first way is simpler, isn’t it? You haven’t taken any vows that you can break. Even if you act contrary to the vows, since you haven’t taken them, you’re not breaking them. Here you’re simply saying, “The innermost heart enlightenment attitude of bodhicitta is most worthwhile. Of that I have no doubt. Cultivating bodhicitta is the most worthwhile thing I can do with my life and the best way of purifying my mind. It’s also the best way that I can benefit others. Since I have found this pure, innermost thought I will actualize it the best I can until I attain enlightenment.” That’s the simple way.

The second way, then, is, “Now that I have discovered bodhicitta, from this moment on I am going to take and keep all sixty-­four root and branch vows.” This is the more real way of taking the vows. The first way you simply aspire to actualize bodhicitta. The second way you act to do so. 

Therefore, now, while the vows are read out, check to see if you think you can take them, if you’d be comfortable doing so and if you think it’s worthwhile to do so.²⁴ If you don’t think it’s worthwhile to take the vows, don’t take them. Nevertheless, I think it’s definitely worthwhile to at least take them the first way. Really, most worthwhile. I mean, there are some meditation techniques you can argue against philosophically, but there’s no way you can argue against aspiring to actualize bodhicitta, no way to deny its benefits. It is the most perfect vehicle. Extremely worthwhile. 

OK, I think that’s enough of an introduction to bodhicitta. Time is running too quickly. Has what I’ve said produced more questions? I don’t think so. 

When you have bodhicitta, the entire sense world becomes an object of beauty rather than one that makes you angry. As Shantideva said, there are so many places on this earth covered in thorns where you can’t walk. Instead of trying to cover all those with leather, wouldn’t it be simpler to just wear shoes?²⁵ Similarly, when the whole external world bothers you, the environment bothers you, people bother you, instead of trying to deal with all those bothers one by one, generate bodhicitta. By doing so, all sentient beings and the environment itself will appear beautiful. 

There’s much in the world that we want to control. So much negative vibration. It’s impossible to subdue it externally. The only way to completely control it all is through having the enlightenment attitude of bodhicitta. 

We look at Mao or Hitler or even the American president and think that those people were, or are, very powerful, fantastically influential in the world. But if you compare their power with that of bodhicitta, you basically can’t. Bodhicitta is much more powerful and lasts much longer as well. How long have Lord Buddha’s teachings lasted since he first gave them? It’s been more than 2,500 years, yet we still enjoy their power. Lord Buddha’s wisdom-­energy still exists. But Hitler’s power and influence has gone. Fundamentally, his philosophy holds no sway. I’m sure you people understand. Check up and compare for yourselves. Lord Buddha conquered the whole world; Hitler never had a worldwide following. 

If you want power and control, don’t look externally. Actualize bodhicitta instead. That’s all I’m saying. It’s so simple. Most worthwhile; absolutely no question. 

Someone who has bodhicitta becomes completely sympathetic to the plight of others. We, on the other hand, are often lazy and have no energy. If you have bodhicitta you have the energy to do something for those in need. Some people are like, “I don’t have the energy to do anything right now. There’s nothing I can do to help the world.” They lack compassion, bodhicitta and wisdom. Bodhicitta gives you the energy to always be busy doing something—unlike me, who likes to sleep a lot! But it’s true. Many of my students have told me that after a while they don’t feel like doing anything and asked me what to do. That’s because they are lazy, lack bodhicitta and don’t see the great potential of being human. They just say, “I can’t do, I can’t do, I can’t do, I can’t do.”

OK, well, I’m still talking too much! Excuse me. I think that’s enough. Thank you so much. That’s all. That’s my introduction to the topic of bodhicitta for those taking the bodhisattva ordination. It’s important that you understand all this before you take the vows. It’s good for you take them the first way, but if you want to take them the second way, ask yourself the big question after checking the vows in detail. Think about all this tonight and tomorrow we will conduct the vow ceremony.

[Ven. Marcel reads the vows to the students.]

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Notes

21. See the Mahayana Equilibrium Meditation. [Return to text]

22. Also, he had just died! [Return to text]

23. Aspiring bodhicitta: also called wishing bodhicitta; the mind that wishes to attain full enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. Engaged bodhicitta: the altruistic mind of enlightenment that actively engages in the six perfections and the four means of drawing sentient beings to the Dharma, after the bodhisattva vows have been taken. As Shantideva said (Bodhicaryavatara 1:15): 
"In brief, the Awakening Mind 
Should be understood to be of two types:
The mind that aspires to awaken 
And the mind that ventures to do so." [Return to text]

24. See the FPMT booklet, The Bodhisattva Vows. [Return to text]

25. Bodhicaryavatara 5:13
"Where would I possibly find enough leather 
With which to cover the surface of the earth? 
But wearing leather just on the soles of my shoes 
Is equivalent to covering the earth with it." [Return to text]