Shantideva Quotes on Happiness
Shantideva (c.685–c.763) — the eighth-century Indian Mahayana monk associated with Nalanda monastery and the Madhyamaka philosophical tradition — gave Mahayana Buddhist ethics its most enduring statement in the Bodhicaryāvatāra (A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life). The treatment of happiness develops the bodhisattva analysis of suffering and well-being: the apparent self whose happiness ordinary experience pursues is empty of intrinsic existence, and the genuine happiness of the bodhisattva therefore consists in the active relief of others’ suffering through the cultivation of the six perfections (pāramitās) — generosity, ethical discipline, patience, joyful effort, meditative concentration, and wisdom. The framework, especially the famous chapters on patience and wisdom, shaped Tibetan Buddhist practice through Atisha and the Dalai Lamas, and reaches contemporary Western readers through the modern Buddhist ethical tradition.
Quotes
-
Attributed to Shantideva:
“All happiness in the world comes from desiring the welfare of others; all suffering comes from desiring one's own welfare.”
-
Attributed to Shantideva:
“Patience is the noblest of virtues.”
-
“In the spiritual energy that relieves The anguish of beings in misery and Places depressed beings in eternal joy I lift up my heart and rejoice.”
Wikiquote -
“In the ocean-like virtue of the Bodhimind That brings joy to all beings And in accomplishing the well-being of others, I lift up my heart and rejoice.”
Wikiquote -
“Suffering is transcended by total surrender And the mind attains to nirvana. As one day all must be given up, Why not dedicate it now to universal happiness?”
Wikiquote -
“Thus today in the presence of all awakened Ones I invite every living being to this festival Giving both immediate and lasting joy. May the gods and all others rejoice.”
Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra -
“May all those languishing in hell come now to perfect joy. And may the stooping animals be freed From fear of being preyed upon, each other's food.”
Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra -
“Until every being afflicted by pain Has reached nirvanas shores, May I serve only as a condition That encourages progress and joy.”
Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra