5th Condition to Arise Bodhi Mind
Being mindful of all sentient beings’ 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
Fifth Criterion: Being mindful of all sentient beings’ deep kindness
Why should we be mindful of sentient beings’ deep kindness?
For countless kalpas, we and all sentient beings have been related as parents and children life after life, so we should have gratitude for one another.
The confusion of not recognizing each other is caused by rebirth. If we contemplate this deeply, how can we not repay them? The one with fur and horns could be our parent from before; the one crawling or flying could be our father.
When a child separates from his parents at childhood, he cannot recognize his parents as an adult. It must only be more so through the separation of rebirths. They may be suffering in hell or as hungry ghosts. Who is to know their pain? Who is to know their hunger? Even when I do not see and hear them, they must be pleading for help to be liberated.
If there were no sutras, such a statement could not be established. If there were no Buddha, who could discourse on his words? For those with deviant views, how can they know this?
Therefore, a Bodhisattva views an ant as if it were one’s parent from past lives, and as if it were a Buddha in the future, and always thinks to benefit it and repay its kindness. This is the fifth cause and condition for the initiation of Bodhi mind.
Continued …
Sixth criterion: Being mindful of the suffering of life and death
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.
