1st Condition to Arise Bodhi Mind
Being Mindful of the Buddha’s Deep Kindness
Master Xing’an (1686–1734), the 11th Patriarch of the Chinese Pure Land School, has composed “An Inspiration to Give Rise to the Bodhi Mind” when he experienced sudden enlightenment and generated the great vows of enlightenment for all sentient beings.
Master Xing’an emphasized the importance of generating the true Bodhi mind and making a vow in cultivation, urging that our goal is to be reborn in the Western Pure Land and then we will return to this world to liberate other sentient beings.
An Inspiration to Give Rise to the Bodhi Mind
First Criterion: Being Mindful of the Buddha’s Deep Kindness
Why should we be mindful of the Buddha’s deep kindness?
Since his first initiation of Bodhi mind, Sakyamuni Buddha practiced the Bodhisattva path and endured immeasurable suffering through countless kalpas for us. When we commit wrongdoing, the Buddha teaches us with skillful means out of his compassion, yet we are too ignorant to accept.
When we fall into hell, the Buddha is full of sorrow and pain. He wishes to suffer instead of us, but our karma is too heavy and it cannot be helped. When we are human, the Buddha uses skillful means to teach us how to plant the root of wholesomeness. He guides us in our endless rebirth, unwilling to abandon us for a single moment.
When the Buddha appeared in the world, we were in the mire. Now that we are human, the Buddha has already entered nirvana. How much wrongdoing must we have committed that we were born in this declining period of the Dharma! What merits must we have acquired that we have renounced the household life!
What obstacle do we face that hinders us from meeting the Buddha’s golden body? How fortunate we are that we can pay homage to his relics! Without the past root of wholesomeness, how could we learn the Dharma? Without learning the Dharma, how could we be aware of the Buddha’s kindness? His kindness and virtues are much higher than a mountain.
If we do not initiate the great mind to practice the Bodhisattva path, to propagate the Dharma, and to liberate all beings, even if we were to crush our bodies to do so, how can we repay this kindness? This is the first cause and condition of the initiation of the Bodhi mind.
Continued …
Second criterion: Being mindful of our parents’ deep kindness
Ten Causes and Conditions that Help Initiate the Bodhi Mind
The Bodhi mind is the king of all wholesomeness, yet there must be some causes and conditions that lead one to set one’s mind on Bodhi. Here are ten causes and conditions that help one to initiate the Bodhi mind.
- Being mindful of the Buddha’s deep kindness.
- Being mindful of our parents’ deep kindness.
- Being mindful of our teachers’ deep kindness.
- Being mindful of our benefactors’ deep kindness.
- Being mindful of all sentient beings’ deep kindness.
- Being mindful of the suffering of life and death.
- Having respect for our own spiritual being.
- Being repentant of karmic hindrances.
- Aspiring toward rebirth in the Pure Land.
- Being mindful of the importance of preserving the right Dharma for a long time.
The above is excerpted from the masterpiece “An Inspiration to Give Rise to the Bodhi Mind” (勸發菩提心文) authored by Master Xing’an 省庵大師 (1686–1734), originally composed in Chinese and was translated into English. Translation credits to Fo Guang Shan International Translation Center.
