Shantideva’s Bodhisattvacharyavatara — Chapter II

2. Whatever flowers and fruits there are
And whatever kinds of medicine,
Whatever jewels exist in this world
And whatever clean refreshing waters;

3. Likewise gem-encrusted mountains,
Forest groves, quiet and joyful places,
Heavenly trees bedecked. with flowers
And trees with fruit-laden branches;

4. Fragrances of the celestial realms,
Incense, wishing trees and jewel trees,
Uncultivated harvests, and all ornaments
That are worthy to be offered;

5. Lakes and pools adorned with lotuses
And the beautiful cry of wild geese,
Everything unowned
Within the limitless spheres of space.

6. Creating these things in my mind I offer
them
To the supreme beings, the Buddhas, as well
as their Sons;
0 Compassionate Ones, think kindly of me
And accept these offerings of mine.

7. Having no merit I am destitute
And I have no other gifts to offer.
0 Protectors, you who think of helping
others.
By your power accept these for my sake.

8. Eternally shall I offer all my bodies
To the Conquerors and their Sons.
Please accept me, you Supreme Heroes.
Respectfully shall I be your subject.

9. Through being completely under your care
I shall benefit all with no fears of conditioned
existence;
I shall perfectly transcend my previous evils
And in the future shall commit no more.

10. To very sweetly scented bathing chambers
With brilliantly sparkling crystal floors
And exquisite pillars ablaze with gems,
Having canopies above aglow with pearls.

11. I beseech the Tathagatas and their Sons
To come and bathe their bodies
From many jeweled vases filled with waters
scented and enticing,
To the accompaniment of music and song.

12. Let me dry their bodies with incomparable
cloths
Clean and well-anointed with scent,
And then may I present these Holy Beings
With fragrant garments of suitable colors.

13. I adorn with manifold ornaments
And various raiments fine and smooth,
The Aryas Samantabhadra, Manjughosba
Avalokiteshvara and all the others.

14. Just like polishing pure, refined gold
Do I anoint the Buddhas’ forms that blaze
with light
With the choicest perfumes whose fragrance
permeates
A thousand million worlds

15. And to the highest objects of giving I offer
Beautiful, well-arranged garlands,
As well as enchanting, sweet smelling
flowers,
Such as lily, jasmine and lotus blooms.

16. Also I send forth clouds of incense
Whose sweet aroma steals away the mind,
As well as celestial delicacies
Including a variety of foods and drinks.

17. I offer them jeweled lamps
Arranged on golden lotus buds;
Upon land sprinkled with scented water
Do I scatter delicate flower petals.

18. To those who have the nature of compassion
I offer palaces resounding with melodious
hymns,
Exquisitely illuminated by hanging pearls
and gems
That adorn the infinities of space.

19. Eternally shall I offer to all the Buddhas
Jeweled umbrellas with golden handles
And exquisite ornaments embellishing the
rims,
Standing erect, their shapes beautiful to
behold.

20. And in addition may a mass of offerings
Resounding with sweet and pleasing music,
(Like) clouds that appease the misery of all,
Each remain (for as long as necessary).

21. And may a continuous rain
Of flowers and precious gems descend
Upon the reliquaries and the statues,
And upon all the jewels of Dharma.

22. In the same way as Manjughosha and others
Have made offerings to the Conquerors,
Similarly do I bestow gifts upon the
Tathagatas,
The Protectors, their Sons and all.

23. I glorify the Oceans of Excellence
With limitless verses of harmonious praise;
May these clouds of gentle eulogy
Constantly ascend to their presence.

24. With bodies as numerous
As all the atoms within the universe,
I prostrate to all Buddhas of the three times,
The Dharma and the supreme community.

25. Likewise I prostrate to all reliquaries,
To the bases of an Awakening Mind,
To all learned abbots and masters
And to all the noble practitioners.

26. I seek refuge in all Buddhas
Until I possess the essence of Awakening,
Likewise I seek refuge in Dharma
And in the assembly of Bodhisattvas.

27. With folded hands I beseech
The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
Who possess the great compassion
And reside in all directions.

28. Throughout beginningless cyclic existence
In this life and in others,
Unknowingly I committed evil deeds
And ordered them to be done (by others).

29. Overwhelmed by the deceptions of ignorance
I rejoiced in what was done,
But now seeing these mistakes
From my heart I declare them to the
Buddhas.

30. Whatever harmful acts of body, speech and
mind
I have done in a disturbed mental state,
Towards the three jewels of refuge,
My parents, my spiritual masters and others;

31. And all the grave wrongs done by me,
So thoroughly evil and polluted
But an abundance of faults,
I openly declare to the Guides of the World.

32. But I may well perish
Before all my evils have been purified;
So please protect me in such a way
As will swiftly and surely free me from them.

33. The untrustworthy lord of death
Waits not for things to be done or undone;
Whether I am sick or healthy.
This fleeting lifespan is unstable.

34. Leaving all I must depart alone.
But through not having understood this
I committed various kinds of evil
For the sake of my friends and foes.

35. My foes will become nothing.
My friends will become nothing.
I too will become nothing.
Likewise all will become nothing.

36. Just like a dream experience,
Whatever things I enjoy
Will become a memory.
Whatever has passed will not be seen again.

37. Even within this brief life
Many friends and foes have passed,
But whatever unbearable evil I committed for
them
Remains ahead of me.

38. Thereby, through not having realized
That I shall suddenly vanish,
I committed so much evil
Out of ignorance, lust and bate.

39. Remaining neither day nor night,
Life is always slipping by
And never getting any longer,
Why will death not come to one like me?

40. While I am lying in bed,
Although surrounded by my friends and
relatives,
The feeling of life being severed
Will be experienced by me alone.

41. When seized by the messengers of death,
What benefit will friends and relatives
afford?
My merit alone shall protect me then,
But upon that I have never relied.

42. 0 Protectors! I, so unconcerned,
Unaware of such terror as this,
Accumulated a great deal of evil
For the sake of this transient life.

43. Petrified is the person
Today being led to a torture chamber.
With dry mouth and dreadful sunken eyes.
His entire appearance is transfigured.

44. What need to mention the tremendous
despair
When stricken with the disease of great
panic,
Being clasped by the physical forms,
Of the frightful messengers of death?

45. “Who can afford me real protection
From this great horror?”
With terrified, bulging eyes agape
I shall search the four quarters for refuge.

46. But seeing no refuge there
I shall become enveloped in gloom.
If there should be no protection there,
Then what shall I be able to do?

47. Therefore I now seek refuge
In the Buddhas who protect the world,
Who strive to shelter all that lives
And with great strength eradicate all fear.

48. Likewise I purely seek refuge
In the Dharma they have realized
That clears away the fears of cyclic
existence,
And also in the assembly of Bodhisattvas.

49. I, trembling with fear,
Offer myself to Samantabhadra;
To Manjughosha also
I make a gift of my body.

50. To the Protector Avalokiteshvara
Who infallibly acts with compassion,
I utter a mournful cry,
“Please protect this evil-doer!”

51. In my search for refuge
I cry from my heart
For Akashagarbha, Ksitigarbha
And all the Compassionate Protectors.

52. And I seek refuge in Vajrapani,
Upon the sight of whom all harmful beings
Such as the messengers of death
Flee in terror to the four quarters.

53. Previously I transgressed your advice,
But now upon seeing this great fear
I go to you for refuge.
By doing so may this fear be swiftly cleared
away.

54. If I need to comply with a doctor’s advice
When frightened by a common illness,
Then how much more so when perpetually
diseased
By the manifold evils of desire and so forth.

55. And if all people dwelling on this earth
Can be overcome by just one of these,
And if no other medicine to cure them
Is to be found elsewhere in the universe,

56. Then the intention not to act in accordance
With the advice of the All-Knowing
Physicians
That can uproot every misery,
Is extremely bewildered and worthy of scorn.

57. If I need to be careful
Near a small, ordinary precipice,
Then how much more so near the one of long
duration
That drops for a thousand miles.

58. It is inappropriate to enjoy myself
Thinking that today alone I shall not die,
For inevitably the time will come
When I shall become nothing.

59. Who can grant me fearlessness?
How can I be surely freed from this?
If I shall inevitably become nothing,
How can I relax and enjoy myself?

60. What remains with me now
From the terminated experiences of the past?
But through my great attachment to them
I have been going against my spiritual
masters’ advice.

61. Having departed from this life
And from all my friends and relatives,
If all alone I must go elsewhere
What is the use of making friends and
enemies?

62. How can I be surely freed
From unwholesomeness, the source of
misery?
Continually night and day
Should I only consider this.

63. Whatever has been done by me
Through ignorance and unknowing,
Be it the breaking of a vow
Or a deed by nature wrong,

64. I humbly-confess it all
In the presence of the Protectors,
With folded hands, prostrating myself again
and again,
My mind terrified by the misery (to come).

65. I beseech all the Guides of the World
To please accept my evils and wrongs.
Since these are not good,
In future I shall do them no more.

Translated into English by Stephan Bachelor

For the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives,

Dharmshala India