Inspirational Quotations

Inspirational Quotes by Shantideva (Indian Buddhist Scholar)

Śāntideva (c.685–c.763) was an eighth-century Indian Buddhist monk philosopher, and poet of the Nālandā monastery. His writings on ethical theory were immensely influential in the development of Tibetan religious institutions.

Śāntideva is the author of two eminent works of Mahāyāna literature: the Bodhicaryavatara (“Entrance to the Path of Awakening,”) a long poem on the practice of the bodhisattva path, and the Siksasamuccaya (“Training Anthology,”) a compendium of passages from Mahāyāna sūtras corroborating the explanations given in the Bodhicaryavatara.

Not much is known about Śāntideva’s life. According to legends, he was of royal birth but renounced the world before his inauguration as king. At the Nālandā monastery, he was branded an indolent monk. To bring him into disrepute, his comrades challenged him to recite sūtras before a congregation. He asked whether they wished to hear something old or something new. When they requested something new, he quoted the Bodhicaryavatara. When he reached the ninth chapter, he rose into the air and vanished, never to return. For this reason, there is some debate as to how the ninth chapter ends, and indeed, there are different versions of the ninth chapter.

The Bodhicharyavatara shows the way to transcend the limitations of selfishness and realize the compassion of a Bodhisattva, whose primary concern is the benefit of others. The Bodhicharyavatara has been translated into many Western languages, most prominently as Stephen Batchelor’s famous translation, A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life (1979.)

More: Wikipedia READ: Works by Shantideva

For sentient beings, poor and destitute,
May I become a treasure ever plentiful,
And lie before them closely in their reach,
A varied source of all that they might need.
Shantideva

Tigers, lions, elephants, bears,
Snakes and all forms of enemies,
The guardians of the hell worlds,
Evil spirits and cannibals.

Will all be bound
By binding my mind alone,
And will all be subdued
By subduing my mind alone.
Shantideva
Topics: Meditation

Anger, lust—these enemies of mine—
Are limbless and devoid of faculties.
They have no bravery, no cleverness;
How then have they reduced me to such slavery?
Shantideva

And now as long as space endures,
As long as there are beings to be found,
May I continue likewise to remain
To drive away the sorrows of the world.
Shantideva

All the joy the world contains
Has come through wishing happiness for others.
All the misery the world contains
Has come through wanting pleasure for oneself.
Shantideva

The Perfect Teacher himself has shown
That in this way all fears
As well as all boundless miseries
Originate from the mind.
Shantideva
Topics: Meditation

Even those who wish to find happiness and overcome misery
Will wander with no aim nor meaning
If they do not comprehend the secret of the mind-
The paramount significance of Dharma.
Shantideva
Topics: Meditation

In this world, unsubdued and crazed elephants Are incapable of causing such harms As the miseries of the deepest hell Which can be caused by the unleashed elephant of my mind.
Shantideva
Topics: Meditation

But if the elephant of my mind is firmly bound
On all sides by the rope of mindfulness,
All fears will cease to exist
And all virtues will come into my hand.
Shantideva
Topics: Meditation

Since I and other beings both,
In wanting happiness, are equal and alike,
What difference is there to distinguish us,
That I should strive to have my bliss alone?
Shantideva

All those who suffer in the world do so because of their desire for their own happiness. All those happy in the world are so because of their desire for the happiness of others.
Shantideva

When crows find a dying snake,
They behave as if they were eagles.
When I see myself as a victim,
I am hurt by trifling failures.
Shantideva

My body, thus, and all my goods besides,
And all my merits gained and to be gained,
I give them all away withholding nothing
To bring about the benefit of beings.
Shantideva

The hand and other limbs are many and distinct,
But all are one – one body to be kept and guarded.
Likewise, different beings in their joys and sorrows,
Are, like me, all one in wanting happiness.
Shantideva

Where would I possibly find enough leather
With which to cover the surface of the earth?
But just leather on the soles of my shoes
Is equivalent to covering the earth with it

Likewise it is not possible for me
To restrain the external course of things
But should I restrain this mind of mine
What would be the need to restrain all else?
Shantideva
Topics: Meditation

My pain does not in fact afflict
Or cause discomfort to another’s body.
Through clinging to my “I,” this suffering is mine.
And, being mine, is very hard to bear.
Shantideva

And other beings’ pain
I do not feel, and yet
Because I take them for my own
Their suffering is likewise hard to bear.

And therefore I’ll dispel the pain of others,
For it is simply pain, just like my own.
And others I will aid and benefit,
For they are living beings, just like me.
Shantideva

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