The Five Trainings from Developing Pledged Aspiring Bodhichitta
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(8) Even if I have developed merely this resolve, if I lack the habit of the three types of ethical self-discipline, I will be unable to attain a (supreme) purified state. Seeing this well, I request inspiration to train with strong efforts in the bodhisattva vows.
When we have the wish or aspiration to achieve enlightenment to be able to benefit others, this is known as “aspiring bodhichitta.” When we pledge that we shall never give that aspiration up until we actually achieve that state of enlightenment, that is “pledged aspiring bodhichitta.” When we have such a pledged aspiring dedicated heart, there are five points with which we train.
The first of these is to think over and again of the benefits of dedicating our heart to others and to achieving enlightenment for their sake. It has been said that the benefits of dedicating our heart for even a moment like this is much greater than the positive potential that might be built up by offering the entire world full of gems to all the Buddhas of all the various realms in the ten directions. All the benefits of dedicating our heart to others and to enlightenment have been described in the sutras.
The next is that three times each day and three times each night, we rededicate our heart to others and to enlightenment. If we do this by reciting the four-lined verse: “I take safe direction, till my purified state, from the Buddhas, the Dharma, and the Highest Assembly. By the positive force of my giving and so on, may I actualize Buddhahood to help those who wander,” that is sufficient.
In addition, we train ourselves to build up our bountiful store or network of positive potential, our “collection of merit,” by making offerings to the Triple Gem, participating in charitable activities for the poor, and so on. As another aspect of that point, it is also necessary to build up our bountiful store or network of deep awareness, our “collection of insight,” through thinking over and again about the correct view of reality.
The next point for training is that we promise never to give up on any limited being. We never say that any person or being is too much or that we cannot work for their sake. That is the next point: never to give up on anyone.
Then the next point is to give up the four murky actions and to rely on the four lustrous actions. The first of the murky, negative actions is to deceive, fool or cheat our spiritual masters or parents, even as a joke. Instead, we put into the practice the lustrous, positive action of always being honest with them, especially about our motivation and the help we are giving to others.
The second murky action is saying nasty or harsh things or get angry at a dedicated being, a bodhisattva. As we can never tell actually who is a dedicated bodhisattva, we must never use harsh language with anyone. The lustrous action that is the opposite of that is to try to see everyone with a pure appearance and to recognize and take everyone as our teacher.
The next type of murky action would be to cause anyone to feel regret about the positive things that they might have done. The lustrous action that is the opposite of that is, if we come across someone who has the potential to be helped or tamed by us, to encourage and teach them in a vast-minded Mahayana manner.
The fourth murky action is to have ulterior motives with other beings. In other words, instead of having an exceptional resolve with respect to them, to act with hypocrisy and pretension, showing off and boasting to be able to help them when we cannot. The opposite lustrous action is to always be honest with others and admit our limitations.