Shantideva Quotes on Virtue
Shantideva’s Bodhicaryāvatāra (A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life) gives Mahayana Buddhist ethics its most enduring statement of the bodhisattva’s program of virtue cultivation. The ten chapters develop the systematic practice of the six perfections (pāramitās) — generosity, ethical discipline, patience, joyful effort, meditative concentration, and wisdom — under the framing aspiration of bodhicitta, the awakening mind that vows to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. The famous chapters on patience and meditation supply some of the most influential treatments of compassion in classical Indian philosophy, and the framework shaped Tibetan Buddhist practice through Atisha, the Kadampa lojong (mind-training) tradition, and the modern Western reception through translations and the Dalai Lama’s commentary.
Quotes
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Attributed to Shantideva:
“All happiness in the world comes from desiring the welfare of others; all suffering comes from desiring one's own welfare.”
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Attributed to Shantideva:
“If a problem can be solved, what is the use of worrying? If it cannot be solved, what is the use of worrying?”
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Attributed to Shantideva:
“By protecting others you protect yourself.”
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Attributed to Shantideva:
“Patience is the noblest of virtues.”
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Attributed to Shantideva:
“May I become a protector for those without protection, a guide for travelers on the way.”
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Attributed to Shantideva:
“There is nothing whatsoever that does not become easier with practice.”
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“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.”
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“My body, every possession And all goodness, past, present and future Without remorse I dedicate To the well-being of the world.”
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