Bodhicitta Series

Practices › Bodhicitta

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Asaṅga

Courtesy of Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche

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O precious and sublime bodhicitta,

May it arise in those in whom it has not arisen,

May it never decline where it has arisen,

But go on increasing, further and further!

Texts on the subject of bodhicitta (byang chub sems), which (on the relative level, at least) is the compassionate wish to attain enlightenment for the sake of all living beings—and has been variously translated into English as 'thought of enlightenment', 'awakening-mind', 'spirit of awakening', etc.

Advice

This short instruction on relative and absolute bodhicitta was composed at the request of the English monk Tenzin Jamchen (Sean Price).

Aspirations

In this short text, the celebrated Dzogchen teacher Nyoshul Lungtok Tenpe Nyima offers a prayer to the root and lineage gurus and all the buddhas and bodhisattvas requesting their blessings and inspiration so that we might perfect the cultivation of bodhicitta in all its aspects.

This prayer of aspiration covers the entire Buddhist path, but places special emphasis on the cultivation of bodhicitta in its various forms. For to have bodhicitta, says Patrul Rinpoche, is to have "all that's needed to attain enlightenment."

Commentaries

A brief guide to cultivating immeasurable loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity; it is attributed to the Indian master Buddhagupta.

A simple commentary on the most famous four-line prayer of taking refuge and arousing bodhicitta; it explains the nature of the Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha as well as relative and absolute bodhicitta.

Taking a famous four-line prayer as his basis, Patrul Rinpoche explains the practice of taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha, and arousing bodhicitta, in both its relative and ultimate forms.

Practices

These verses taken from the Vajrapañjara Tantra, which are often recited as part of longer rituals and practices, include lines for taking refuge and generating bodhicitta.

This elaborate ritual for taking the bodhisattva vow, which includes preliminary recitations and practices as well as the vow itself, was arranged according to the tradition of the great Dza Patrul Rinpoche (1808–1887) by the holder of his lineage, Chatral Rinpoche Sangye Dorje, in 1986.

Extracted from Śākyaśrībhadra's Seven Branches for Practising the Sacred Dharma (Saptāṅgasaddharmacaryāvatāra), these verses for taking refuge and generating bodhicitta are often recited independently of their original source.

Three Noble Principles

A brief explanation of the three noble principles (of arousing bodhicitta in the beginning, remaining without reference in the middle, and dedicating merit at the end), which are said to be the root of the Mahāyāna path.

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