Aspiration bodhichitta is the vow to generate the same intention as the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the past. Application is the vow to accomplish, as they did, all the activities of the path to enlightenment, for the sake of all beings. Today we shall only take the vow of aspiration. To do this, we shall read through the second and third chapters of the Bodhicharyāvatāra up until the second line of verse 23. Try to concentrate on the meaning and afterward rejoice in what we have done. In order to take this vow, we should imagine that in front of us are the Buddha and his eight close disciples;23 the six ornaments,24 and the two supreme teachers,25 including Shāntideva; and all the realized masters of the Buddhist tradition, in particular the holders of the Sakya, Gelug, Kagyu, and Nyingma schools of Tibet—in fact, all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Consider also that we are surrounded by all the beings in the universe. With this visualization, we shall now read the Seven Branch Prayer. 18. May I be a guard for those who are protectorless, A guide for those who journey on the road. For those who wish to cross the water, May I be a boat, a raft, a bridge. 19. May I be an isle for those who yearn for land, A lamp for those who long for light; For all who need a resting place, a bed; For those who need a servant, may I be their slave. 20. May I be the wishing jewel, the vase of wealth, A word of power and the supreme healing, May I be the tree of miracles, For every being the abundant cow. 21. Just like the earth and space itself And all the other mighty elements, For boundless multitudes of beings May I always be the ground of life, the source of varied sustenance. 22. Thus for everything that lives, As far as are the limits of the sky, May I be constantly their source of livelihood Until they pass beyond all sorrow.
For the Benefit of All Beings: A Commentary on the Way of the Bodhisattva (H.H. the Dalai Lama)
