The Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (菩提道燈論)

I pay homage to all Buddhas of the three times, To the true Dharma and the Sangha. At the request of the worthy disciple Bodhiprabha, I shall clearly explain the Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment.

From low to middle and high, Know there are three types of practitioners; Their characteristics should be written, Each with their distinct differences.

If by any means One seeks only worldly pleasures, Concerned solely with self-benefit, This is known as the lower practitioner.

Turning away from the joys of the three realms, Restraining all harmful actions, Seeking only personal peace and liberation— This is called the middle practitioner.

If one takes one's own suffering And compares it to the suffering of all beings, Aspiring to completely end it for all— This is the higher practitioner.

For the sake of all noble beings, Seeking great enlightenment, One should follow the proper methods Taught by the masters.

Before images of the Buddha, And before sacred stupas, Offer flowers, incense, and other gifts, Giving all that one has.

Also, with the practice of Samantabhadra, Perform the seven-limbed offering, And with an unwavering mind Aspiring toward the treasure of enlightenment,

Take refuge in the Three Jewels, With faith and reverence, Kneeling on both knees, Joining palms respectfully.

First, take refuge three times, Then, for all sentient beings, With compassion as the foundation, Reflect on the sufferings of the lower realms,

And the pains of death and impermanence. All beings without exception Are tormented by suffering; From suffering and its causes,

Vow to liberate all beings, Taking an unshakable pledge, And arouse the mind of enlightenment.

The merits born from such an aspiration, As taught in the Avatamsaka Sutra, Should be proclaimed by Maitreya.

Whether reading that sutra or hearing from a teacher, One comes to understand the true, equal, awakened mind. For the sake of its boundless merit as the cause and condition, Again and again, one gives rise to this mind.

The Sutra Requested by Courageous Giving also extensively speaks of this merit. Here, I will briefly extract three verses from it:

The merit of the bodhi mind— if it had form, it would fill the entire realm of space, and still there would be more.

If someone were to fill all the Buddha worlds, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, with precious jewels and offer them to all the Buddhas,

yet if someone were to simply join their palms and with a reverent mind honor the great bodhi, this offering would be the most supreme, its merit boundless and limitless.

Once you have awakened the mind of enlightenment, Strive earnestly to nurture and expand it. In all future lives, keep this vow ever in mind, And diligently uphold the precepts as taught.

Apart from the discipline of the awakened mind itself, No other practice can truly deepen this vow. Therefore, to strengthen your resolve for enlightenment, Exert yourself to embrace this discipline.

If one constantly possesses the other seven Prātimokṣa precepts, Then there is the Bodhisattva precept; Other virtuous roots do not exist. The sevenfold assembly's Prātimokṣa Was proclaimed by the Tathāgata.

The brahmacarya is the most sublime, That is the bhikṣu's discipline. One should follow the guidelines From the Bodhisattva-bhūmi's section on precepts, And receive and uphold that discipline From a qualified teacher endowed with virtuous qualities.

Skilled in the methods of discipline, Dwelling oneself in the precepts, Capable of transmitting the discipline and compassionate— Know such a one to be a good teacher. If, despite diligent seeking, One cannot find such a teacher,

Then one should proclaim the other Method for receiving the discipline. As in the past, Mañjuśrī, When he was King Akāśagarbha, Aroused the bodhicitta, As described in the *Mañjuśrī-vyūha-sūtra*,

So too, one should write this down, And before all the refuges, Arouse the great bodhicitta, Inviting all sentient beings, To liberate them from birth and death.

Harmful mind, angry mind, Stinginess and jealousy— From now until enlightenment, These shall never arise. I shall practice the holy life, Abandon wrongdoing and desire,

Delight in the discipline of precepts, And follow the example of all buddhas. Not seeking for myself alone To swiftly attain great enlightenment, But for the sake of even one sentient being, I shall remain until the very end.

I shall adorn and purify Immeasurable, inconceivable buddha-fields, Uphold the names [of buddhas], And abide in the ten directions. May all my bodily and verbal actions Be utterly purified,

And my mental actions as well— May I never commit unwholesome deeds.

The purity of body, speech, and mind comes from living with discipline. Through sincere study of the three trainings, one develops respect for them.

Thus diligently purifying the Bodhisattva's precepts, one will then be able to perfect the provisions for great Enlightenment. Merit and wisdom are its inherent nature, the cause for perfecting the provisions. All Buddhas unanimously affirm that to manifest spiritual powers, like a bird without wings cannot soar in the sky, if one lacks the power of spiritual faculties, one cannot benefit sentient beings. One endowed with spiritual faculties can accumulate in days and nights the merit that those without them could not gather in a hundred lifetimes. If one wishes to swiftly perfect the provisions for great Enlightenment, one must diligently cultivate spiritual faculties; only then will it be accomplished, not through indolence. If one has not attained calm abiding, one cannot give rise to spiritual faculties. To accomplish calm abiding, one should repeatedly exert oneself. If the supports of calm abiding are impaired, even with diligent practice, one will not attain concentration even after a thousand years. Therefore, one should well establish oneself in the factors described in the section on the provisions for concentration. On any single object, let the mind abide in goodness. If through yoga one accomplishes calm abiding, spiritual faculties will also be accomplished. Without the yoga of wisdom, one cannot exhaust all obstructions. To utterly eradicate the afflictive and cognitive obscurations, one should possess skillful means and cultivate the yoga of wisdom. Wisdom without skillful means, skillful means without wisdom—both are said to be bondage. Therefore, the two should not be separated. What is wisdom? What is skillful means? To dispel all doubts, one should understand the distinctions between skillful means and wisdom. Apart from the perfection of wisdom, all virtuous provisions such as the perfection of generosity, etc., the Buddha taught as skillful means. If one cultivates the power of skillful means and oneself cultivates wisdom well, one will swiftly realize Enlightenment, not merely by cultivating selflessness. Fully comprehending that aggregates, sense bases, and elements are all unproduced, realizing their nature is empty—this is called wisdom. If they exist, production is unreasonable; if they do not exist, they are like sky-flowers. If both, one incurs the fault of both; therefore, with both, they also do not arise. Phenomena do not arise from themselves, nor from another, nor from both, nor without a cause; therefore, they are without inherent nature. Moreover, when all phenomena are examined as one or different, their inherent nature cannot be found. One definitively knows they are without inherent nature. The Seventy Stanzas on Emptiness, the Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way, and others also establish the emptiness of inherent nature in all phenomena. For fear of excessive elaboration, this is not extensively explained here. Merely based on established tenets, it is taught for the sake of practice. Therefore, all phenomena without exception have no obtainable inherent nature. All cultivation of selflessness is the cultivation of wisdom. With wisdom observing all phenomena, one sees no inherent nature at all, and one also realizes that the nature of that wisdom is without discrimination. Cultivating that without discrimination, the three realms arise from discrimination. Discrimination is their essential nature; therefore, severing all discrimination is the supreme Nirvana. As the World-Honored One said: "Discrimination is the great ignorance that can plunge one into the ocean of birth and death. Abiding in the concentration without discrimination, without discrimination is like space."

O disciples, regarding this Dharma, If you contemplate without discrimination, You will cross the perilous cliffs of discrimination, And gradually attain non-discrimination. Through the holy teachings and right reasoning, You will gain certainty that all phenomena Are unborn and without inherent nature. Thus, cultivate non-discrimination.

By practicing this true nature, And gradually attaining warmth and so forth, You will reach the stage of supreme joy and beyond. The enlightenment of a Buddha is not far away.

Through the power of mantras, You will accomplish peaceful, increasing, and other activities, And practice the vase and other rituals, Gaining the eight great accomplishments. To fully perfect the blissful qualities, And gather the provisions for great enlightenment, If you wish to practice The tantras of action and conduct, And the secret mantras they describe.

To receive the master's initiation, Offer service, treasures, and gifts.

Follow all teachings and actions, Bringing joy to the good master's heart.

When the master's heart is pleased, The initiation will be fully bestowed.

It purifies all faults at its core, And cultivates the roots of virtue for spiritual attainment.