Bodhicittavivarana — Three Principles of the Path Bodhicitta

The Three Principles of the Path¹

(transl. by I. Durovic)

5 Bodhicitta

5.1 The reason for generating Bodhicitta

However, should that definite emergence not be held

By the Perfect Mind [of Bodhicitta], inasmuch as it will not become the cause

Of the perfect bliss of Enlightenment,

The intelligent generate the supreme Mind of Enlightenment.

5.2 The method of meditating on actual Bodhicitta

Carried away by the flow of the four raging rivers

Tightly bound up by the fetters of karma which are hard to loosen,

Ensnared in the iron net of self-grasping,

Totally obscured by the great darkness of ignorance,

[Wandering] in boundless existence, life after life,

Tormented uninterruptedly by the three sufferings

Upon reflecting upon the predicament² of mothers who were in such a situation,

Generate the Supreme Mind [of Bodhicitta] !

---

1. We will rely on the outline in Bstan ‘dzin rgya mtsho, 14^th Dalai Lama : “A Lamp for the Three Principles of the Path”, (“Lam gtso’i sgron me”, Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Dharamsala, 2009)↩︎

2. ngang tshul, literally “disposition” or “ character”↩︎