Linda: Motivational Lecture, Friday AM, May 1

Motivational Lecture, Friday AM, May 1

Review of Verse 5 in The Way of the Bodhisattava by Shantidevi

As when a flash of lightning rends the night,
And in its glare shows all that the dark black clouds hid,
Likewise rarely, through the buddhas’ power,
Virtuous thoughts rise, brief and transient, in the world.

We are all beginners, so the with to really engage in a spiritual practice only comes up rarely AND to have an ardent wish to practice the Mahayana is even more rare AND to be detached from one’s own personal happiness and be concerned for others’ suffering is extremely rare. So, when one does have these thoughts, it is very important to try and strengthen them and have them become more frequent.

To practice bodhicitta (the spirit of enlightenment), one needs a good body, but the main thing is the belief and admiration of spiritual teachings, in this case of Buddhist teaching and in particular the teachings of the Great Vehicle. Interest and Belief are the essential starting point and this is the Mental Basis for a spiritual aspiration. We will not develop it if we are not interested or if we do not believe in it.

The next part of this text is written to inspire us to practice by describing the wonderful benefits of following a spiritual path. Verse 6 describes the power of bodhicitta to counteract the wrongdoing of body, speech, and mind.

Thus behold the utter frailty of goodness!
Except for perfect bodhicitta,
There is nothing able to withstand
The great and overwhelming strength of wrongdoing.

If one wants to counteract our perpetual tendencies to wrongdoing, one needs a strong body and mind. We HAVE a Life of Freedom and Fortune and we want to create the causes so we can have it again, so that it will not be rare for us to find it.

How rare is it to sincerely engage with the practice of spiritual teachings? The virtuous side is so lacking in strength. We only occasionally think of it, and only for a short time. And what we are trying to get rid of is very strong and overwhelming. This is a problem. If virtue is so short and weak and evil is so strong and abundant, isn’t it unbearable to know that the maturation of wrongdoing can come up in a very brief period of time? Is this not terrifying? Is this not true? For most of us? We are in a critical situation. The negative is powerful, lasts longer, and is more frequent than the virtue trying to counteract it and the required virtue is pretty powerless. Th only thing that can really ofercome it is the desire to develop the spirit of enlightenment for the benefit of others. So doesn’t this make a good case to try and develop bodhicitta?

Bodhicitta can cleanse us even of very grave actions such as matricide, patricide, drawing blood from a Buddha with intent to harm, and creating or encouraging divisiveness within a spiritual community. Imagine the conflagration at the end of time that nothing can resist. Bodhicitta consumes all negativities in this way.

Ashragosha, a poet who wrote stories of the Buddha’s past lives, said that if we had affection for all living beings like we have affection for those closets to us, we will never do anything that will harm others. We can achieve this. It requires training and work, as it typically does not come naturally. If we want to work of positive acts to counteract the negative, we need a good rebirth, and the wish and belief that this is worth doing. This is, at first, a brief and occasional thought. Is it easy to get in a situation where you have Freedom and Fortune? And do we have a tendency to do negative things and do them for a long time? Do we want to get rid of negativities? If the answer is yes, you are developing the spirit of enlightenment. This wish can be aspiring, a strong wish to become enlightened, or engaged, to actually do it!

The benefit of this path is the power to wipe out all terrible wrongdoings. This is a big bonus. AND it brings sublime happiness. There are two kinds of bodhicitta: the conventional bodhicitta which is a strong drive to enlightenment in order to help others and ultimate bodhicitta, which is the understanding and direct perception of reality that understands it and can uproot the cause of suffering.

Verse 7 is the Wish Fulfilling Jewel and that this path is best for us and best for others.

The mighty buddhas, pondering for many ages,
Have seen that this, and only this, will save
The boundless multitudes,
And bring them easily to supreme joy.

These are good words, so take an interest! If, for eons of time, all the buddhas, with their marvelous power of intelligence were to investigate and confirm, they would conclude that the very best thing is the development of bodhicitta. Bodhicitta is a totally altruistic concern, it is the seed to all happiness, temporary, intermediate, and ultimate for all the limitless human beings. It is the highest from of kindheartedness. “This is the best, so why not do it?” One doesn’t need to starve the body, have matted hair, not bathe, expose the body to the elements, or practice austerities. The development of bodhicitta can attain the supreme and complete enlightenment easily, and will guarantee good rebirths. So do not be discouraged. With it, you will achieve kindheartedness. You will not harm others and will therefore not have to endure the consequence of that harm by experience the resultant suffering. You will have a clear path. Do you think that is true? The Supreme Altruism, if developed, will, first, get rid of all negativities and, second, give you the seed to all happiness and we have the body and the mind to do it. Do you think so? You do not need to be an exalted being. Ordinary people can develop it and then they get the Big Name: bodhisattva. And then they become the child of the Victorious Ones and you become someone, no matter how humble you were, you become worthy of offerings because you have a precious way of thinking. Do you want to be like that?
Verse 8 Developing bodhicitta is freedom from suffering, so once started, do not turn back.

Those who wish to overcome the sorrows of their lives,
And put to flight the pain and sufferings of beings,
Those who wish to win such great beatitude,
Should never turn their back on bodhicitta.

Any state in the samsara (cyclic existences) is undesirable. One will go around and around through birth, illness, old age, death, whether one is a hell being, a hungry ghost, a human, or an animal. If you fully appreciate the nature of suffering and want to be free from it, developing bodhicitta is the key. Initially, it is the understanding that one wants to maintain one’s higher status (a life of freedom and fortune). If you do not develop bodhicitta, you will have happiness, but it will be intermittent, a side effect. With bodhicitta, we and all others have permanent happiness. SO, make a big effort to develop bodhicitta and never let it to – hang onto it as tightly as you can.

So, is developing bodhicitta essential for our happiness? NO! Gaining personal liberation will free ourselves and we will be happy. But if we develop bodhicitta, that liberation will be faster. Do you understand the benefits? Do you think it’s good to develop bodhicitta? Developing bodhicitta is not for others. It is for us. Are you interested in becoming authentic spiritual practioners?