Who is shanti deva

Whence come the lovers in hell? The Sage has said that all of these Arise from wicked thoughts. Therefore there is in the three worlds No danger other than mind. If ridding the world of poverty Made generosity transcendent, There are still paupers, so how could The past protectors have transcended? The wish to give all your belongings And the results to everyone Is taught to be transcendent giving, And therefore that is mind itself.

And where could fish, et cetera, Be sent where they would not be killed? How could one kill belligerent beings Who are as infinite as space? Vanquishing this one angry mind Is like defeating all those foes. How could there be sufficient leather To cover the earth entirely?

No matter how long they are practiced, All liturgies and austerities Are futile, said the knower of suchness, If something else distracts the mind. Thus I will grasp and protect well This mind of mine.

This discipline Of guarding mind aside, why bother With multifarious disciplines? Like those who in a boisterous crowd Concentrate and take care of their wounds, Those in the crowds of evil people Should always guard the wound of mind. If you are careful of a wound From fear of its slight, minor pain, Why not protect the wound of mind From fear of crushing mountains in hell?

Living by conduct such as this, A steadfast monk who keeps his vows, Whether in crowds of evil people Or among women, will not fall. It would be better to lose my things, Life, limbs, respect, or livelihood; Better that other virtues lapse Than ever my intent diminish. This App displays one verse a day from Shantideva's text "Engaging in Bodhisattva Behavior" Bodhisattvacharyavatara and allows to read through the entire text.

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At a certain stage, his father passed away. They wanted him to become the king and wanted to enthrone him. The day before he was to be enthroned, he had a dream. In the dream he saw the big throne on which he was to be enthroned and saw Manjushri sitting on his throne. How can we two sit on the same seat? When he woke up he understood that it was not right to become a king. It was an indication from Manjushri that it is no use to become a king.

So he fled away. He just left everything and went away. Then he went to Nalanda and met the pandita Jinadeva, who was the head teacher of Nalanda. There were five hundred teachers and Jinadeva was the most senior over them all.

Shantideva became a monk under Jinadeva, and so he was given the name Shantideva, coming from the name of his teacher. Shantideva studied and practised secretly and was not showing off.

He studied more inwardly and all the time he practised on his own. He practised on the meaning. And then he also wrote three great treatises. One of these three books is the collection of instructions, the other is the collection of the sutras, and then there is the Bodhicharyavatara. Although he had these great qualities, he remained in the Nalanda University without doing anything.

We are competitive with our equals. It would be so simple to turn these biases into the practice of dharma. With our superiors, we could practice sympathetic joy; thus, by awakening our bodhi heart, their station would bring us benefit. Instead of being competitive with equals, we could practice kindness and respect.

With those below, we could practice compassion. We only get it wrong out of habit, and by doing so we miss valuable opportunities.

What often happens when we get emotionally entangled with childish folk is that we egg each other on. The support we need to dissolve these old patterns, Shantideva says again, will come from finding time for solitude.

Only ruin can result From links like these, between yourself and others. For they will bring no benefit to you, And you in turn can bring them nothing good.

Therefore flee the company of childish people. Greet them, when you meet, with smiles That keep on terms of pleasant courtesy, While not inviting close familiarity. Like bees that get their honey from the flowers, Take only what is consonant with Dharma. Treat them like first-time acquaintances, Without encouraging a close relationship.

The way we get hooked by relationships always pulls us down. No one benefits and no good comes of it. We could stay on good terms with each other without getting hooked. Like wise bees, we can get what sustains our good heart without getting hopelessly trapped. These teachings can be very challenging, and somewhat insulting or disturbing.

But truthfully, do we use our current relationships to awaken bodhicitta [the mind of enlightenment]? Most of us have no desire to be malicious or cause harm. We see our practice as a way of involving ourselves with sentient beings, not avoiding them.

But as long as we are so easily triggered and seduced, we need solitude to deepen our stability and awareness. Related: Bodhicitta Explained. He is giving us advice for becoming less reactive and more wise. The stability of mind is like a candle flame that at this point is very vulnerable.

Solitude is like a glass chimney that keeps it from blowing out in the wind. When the flame is stable we can take the cover off. The wind is no longer a threat; now, in fact, it will make the flame like a bonfire. You could, however, meditate each day and do daylong or weekend retreats whenever possible. If you can take more time, I certainly encourage you to do so.

The main point is to make solitude a part of your life. In order to work with difficult outer circumstances, we need to gather our inner strength. Making good use of our limited time—the limited time from birth until death, as well as our limited time each day—is the key to developing inner steadiness and calm.

Her life was extremely demanding. But even though she worked hard from early morning until late at night, she became a highly realized person by practicing in the gaps. Whether she was milking cows, washing dishes, or walking from here to there, she used any opportunity to settle her mind. With every pause, she found outer solitude and thus discovered an inner solitude that was unshakable and profound.

Verses 17 to 21 address the way we get distracted by good fortune.