3rd Condition to Arise Bodhi Mind

Being mindful of our teachers’ 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.

Amitabha Mindful Chanting Music

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
Third Criterion: Being mindful of our teachers’ deep kindness

Why should we be mindful of our teachers’ deep kindness?

Although our parents give us life, we would not know morals and manners if there were no teachers of worldly knowledge, and we would not understand the Dharma if there were no teachers of Buddhism.

• Without knowing morals and manners, are we not just like animals?
• Without understanding the Dharma, are we not just like an ordinary person?

Now we have a little knowledge of morals and manners, understood the basic concept of Buddhism, worn the monastic’s robes, and upheld the pure precepts — are these not due to the guidance of our teachers? If we were seeking only a small goal, it would only benefit ourselves.

Now, we strive for the great vehicle and vow universally to benefit everyone, so the teachers of worldly knowledge and the teachers of Buddhism also receive benefits. This is the third cause and condition of the initiation of the Bodhi mind.

Continued …
Fourth criterion: Being mindful of our benefac­tors’ deep kindness

Master Xing’an

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.

1. Being mindful of the Buddha’s deep kindness.
2. Being mindful of our parents’ deep kindness.
3. Being mindful of our teachers’ deep kindness.
4. Being mindful of our benefac­tors’ deep kindness.
5. Being mindful of all sentient beings’ deep kindness.
6. Being mindful of the suffering of life and death.
7. Having respect for our own spiritual being.
8. Being repentant of karmic hindrances.
9. Aspiring toward rebirth in the Pure Land.
10. 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.