1. Determined to obtain the greatest possible benefit
From all sentient beings,
Who are more precious than a wish-fulfilling jewel,
I hold them most dear at all times.

2. Wherever I am and whoever I am with,
I always consider myself the lowest of all
And from the depths of my heart
Hold others dear and supreme.

3. In all actions, I examine my mental continuum
And the minute a delusion arises,
Since it endangers myself and others,
I forcefully confront and avert it.

4. Whenever I see sentient beings who are wicked in nature
And overwhelmed by negative actions and heavy suffering,
I hold such rare ones dear,
As if I had found a precious treasure.

5. When, out of envy, others mistreat me
With abuse, insults, or the like,
I accept defeat
And offer the victory to them.

6. When someone whom I have benefited
And in whom I have great hopes
Gives me terrible harm,
I regard them as my virtuous friend.

7. In short, both directly and indirectly,
I offer every happiness and benefit to all my mothers.
I secretly take upon myself
All their harms and sufferings.

8. Also, I do not defile all these practices
With the stains of the superstitions of the eight worldly concerns
And by knowing all phenomena to be illusory,
Without trusting in them, I am freed from bondage.

Colophon

This rendition of Kadampa Geshe Langri Thangpa’s Eight Verses of Thought Transformation (blo sbyong tshigs brgyad ma) was translated by Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Everflowing Nectar of Bodhicitta, Portland: FPMT Inc., 2008, 7–9. Verse 2 amended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Land of Medicine Buddha, Soquel, USA, 2015. Verses 3, 4, and 8 amended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Chag Tong Chen Tong Centre, Hobart, Australia, 2018. Changes input by Ven. Ailsa Cameron and Ven. Joan Nicell in consultation with Joona Repo, FPMT Translation Services, 2018. Approved by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, 2019.

Notes

In some Tibetan versions each verse ends with shog (Tib. shog), meaning “May I,” while in others each verse ends with lab (Tib. bslab), meaning “I will practice” or “I will train.” The latter version is included here as this is Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s preference (Light of the Path, North Carolina, USA, 2009 and 2014). Since Rinpoche said that it is even better to say “I am going to do it,” bslab was originally translated simply as “I will.” However, in 2019 Lama Zopa Rinpoche amended “I will” to the present tense, saying that “I will” makes it sound as if one will only do these practices in the future.