Teachings The Way of the Bodhisattva By Shantideva From Chapter Three: May I be a guard for those who are protectorless, A guide for those who journey on the road. For those who wish to go across the water, May I be a boat, a raft, a bridge. May I be an isle for those who yearn for landfall, And a lamp for those who long for light; For those who need a resting place, a bed; For those who need a servant, may I be their slave. May I be the wishing jewel, the vase of plenty, A word of power and the supreme healing; May I be the tree of miracles, And for every being the abundant cow. Like the earth and the pervading elements, Enduring as the sky itself endures, For boundless multitudes of living beings, May I be their ground and sustenance. Just as all the Buddhas of the past Embraced the awakened attitude of mind, And in the precepts of the Bodhisattvas Step by step abode and trained, Just so, and for the benefit of beings, I will also have this attitude of mind, And in those precepts, step by step, I will abide and train myself. From Chapter Nine: Pain and pleasure, whence do these arise? And what is there to give me joy and sorrow? In this quest and search for perfect truth, Who is craving? What is there to crave? Examine now this world of living beings: Who is there therein to pass away? What is there to come, and what has been? And who, indeed, are relatives and friends? From Chapter Ten: From birdsong and the sighing of the trees, From shafts of light and from the sky itself, May living beings, each and every one, Perceive the constant sound of Dharma. 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. Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group Excerpted from The Way of the Bodhisattva Shambhala back to Teachings