Shantideva citations

Page 2

“Tous ceux qui sont malheureux le sont pour avoir cherché leur propre bonheur; tous ceux qui sont heureux le sont pour avoir cherché le bonheur d’autrui.”

“L’homme naît seul et meurt seul; personne ne peut prendre une part de sa peine. Alors que sont pour lui les amis? Des entraves.”

“C’est en actes que je proclamerai la Loi; à quoi bon en réciter seulement les paroles? Quel bien le malade tirerait-il de la seule lecture d’un traité médical?”

“May no one who encounters me
Ever have an insignificant contact.”

“The Spirit of Awakening is known to be of two kinds: the spirit of aspiring for Awakening, and the spirit of venturing toward awakening. Just as one perceives the difference between a person who yearns to travel and a traveler, so do the learned recognize the corresponding difference between these two.”

“May any spiritual energy thus generated
By my devotion to the enlightened ones
Be dedicated to dispelling the misery
Of living beings without exception.”

“Once I have forsaken the vow of guarding my mind, of what use are many vows to me?”

“One should eliminate yearning that arises for various idle conversations, which often take place, and for all kinds of entertainment.”

“To the Buddhas of the ten directions
I join my hands in respect
Let blaze the light of Dharmas truth
For the beings lost in darkness”

“When one intends to move or when one intends to speak, one should first examine one’s own mind and then act appropriately with composure. When one sees one’s mind to be attached or repulsed, then one should neither act nor speak, but remain still like a piece of wood. When my mind is haughty, sarcastic, full of conceit and arrogance, ridiculing, evasive and deceitful, when it is inclined to boast, or when it is contemptuous of others, abusive, and irritable, then I should remain still like a piece of wood. When my mind is averse to the interests of others and seeks my own self-interest, or when it wishes to speak out of a desire for an audience, then I will remain still like a piece of wood. When it is impatient, indolent, timid, impudent, garrulous, or biased in my own favor, then I will remain still like a piece of wood.”

“In the spiritual energy that relieves
The anguish of beings in misery and
Places depressed beings in eternal joy
I lift up my heart and rejoice.”

“Regardless whether those whom I meet
Respond towards me with anger or faith,
May the mere fact of our meeting
Contribute to the fulfilment of their wishes.”

“Where would there be leather enough to cover the entire world? With just the leather of my sandals, it is as if the whole world were covered. Likewise, I am unable to restrain external phenomena, but I shall restrain my own mind. What need is there to restrain anything else?”