The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 120

When bodhicitta has been taken as a friend

it is as reliable as the axial mountain,

and no matter how great a terror there may be,

like a lion it is ever free from fear.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 119

If the mindstream is moistened with bodhicitta,

one takes joy in abandoning wrongdoing,

one takes joy in doing virtue,

and one takes joy in removing fears.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

Presence

O spiritual friend fulfilling the hopes of an ocean of living beings, 

remain with us forever as firmly as the great king of trees, 

your branches spreading wise with knowledge, mercy and power

 and heavily laden with the fruits of the three buddha-bodies.

On seeing his form brilliantly ablaze with the marks and signs of perfection, 

one gains liberation; 

on hearing his voice beautifully melodious with the sixty qualities of excellence, 

one gains liberation; 

on thinking of his mind -- the wisdom of the non-duality of profound radiance--

one gains liberation. 

O master remain with us forever, the forces supporting you always steadfast.


This mighty tree stands on the root of having heard one hundred thousand scriptures;
then he applied his mind to their essence like the leaves of the tree rustling in the wind;
finally his branches bowed with the fruit of having meditated upon the course and subtle twofold path.
O excellent one, remain with us and fulfill the wishes of beings beyond number.

--from Long Life Song for His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, by Reting Rinpoche trans. Tsepak Rigzin and Glenn Mullin

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 118

 

Even if all of the wholesome thoughts of earthlings

were to be gathered together into one,

it would not compare with a fraction of bodhicitta,

just as ordinary trees cannot compare with the parijataka tree

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 117

 

Giving, morality, patience, vigor,

and concentration, as well as 

the wisdom that realizes the ultimate-

bodhicitta makes them all perfect.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 116

Abandoning the intention to do harm to anyone;

working directly or indirectly for the sake of others;

immovable regardless of the conditions one faces;

these, I think, are some of the dimensions of bodhicitta.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 115

Application of the seven-limbed practice

of offering and so forth produces and build up bodhicitta,

just as the application of water, fertilizer, and so forth

produces and build up a seedling.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 114

The ambrosia of bodhicitta cures

all sick beings wracked

by the severe pains of the three sufferings

in beginningless cyclic existence.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 113

One should properly ascertain the basis

of Mahayana bodhicitta, its definitions and divisions,

and the examples and so forth

that give the measure of it.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 112

Even at the expense of wealth, body, and life

one should protect precious bodhicitta.

And why? With it one easily obtains

even the knowledge of all.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 111

Bodhicitta invites all this universe,

with its gods, to be guests at the feast of

temporary worldly joys and the

ultimate complete enlightenment.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 110

Bodhicitta is the desire to obtain the state

of enlightenment for the sake of sentient beings

equal to space.  How could anyone else compare

with someone who is endowed with it?

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 109

The melodious call of the spring cuckoo

is a crowning joy for those who have ears to hear.

The bodhicitta of the Victor's children

is a crowning benefit for every living being.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 108

One whose mindstream is ornamented with bodhicitta

is free from obscuration, stops doing harm

to self and others, and is empowered to bring together

a great surge of good qualities.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 107

Since bodhicitta is born without discrimination

in the priest, warrior, merchant, and common castes,

all four should embrace it with

enthusiastic faith and reverence.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 106

It is true that it is extremely hard

to produce non-artificial bodhicitta.

But even if one must work at it for a thousand eons,

it is crucial that one have an irreversible confidence.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 105

It might be possible to lasso the wind.

It might be possible for sandalwood to have warmth.

It might be possible for light to turn to darkness.

It is impossible for bodhicitta to ever betray you.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 104

Bodhicitta is the supreme essence that is obtained

from churning the milk ocean of the Guru Buddha's teachings.

So until one is enlightened,

one should make an effort to treat it as important.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 103

Wherever goes a cakravartin emperor's precious wheel,

there go the other precious things as well.

Every goodness naturally follows

in the train of supreme bodhicitta.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 102

Since a buddha is born from a bodhisattva

and a bodhisattva is born from bodhicitta,

intelligent persons understand

the greatness of supreme bodhicitta.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 101

Those who wish to follow the spiritual practice

of the bodhisattvas, the Victor's children,

at the very outset strive to produce

bodhicitta since it is the foundation of that practice.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 100

Given that for whoever possesses it

there is never an opportunity for decline,

inestimable bodhicitta is supreme.

What intelligent person would not respect it?

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 99

Whoever is adorned with bodhicitta

can never have a vicious thought,

and even without being urged to do so, will naturally

work to stop the nastiness of others.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 98

If you start something, start it with bodhicitta.

If you think of something, let the thought be of bodhicitta.

If you analyze something, analyze it in the light of bodhicitta.

If you investigate something, investigate it in the light of bodhicitta.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 97

Relying on the shining orb of the sun

those with eyes look out on forms.

With bodhicitta the bodhisattvas look out

on living beings equal to space.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 96

Supreme bodhicitta is produced from the four spiritual grounds,

immeasurable love, compassion, joy, and equanimity.

That an effect is produced through the coming together

of causes and conditions is logically correct

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 95

Within the lotus is the essential nectar of the flower.

Within the bodhisattva is bodhicitta.

The former is merely beneficial to some.

The latter is supremely beneficial to all.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 94

Within the lotus is the essential nectar of the flower.

Within the bodhisattva is bodhicitta.

The former is merely beneficial to some.

The latter is supremely beneficial to all.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 93

Like the moon amongst the constellations,

on account of Mahayana bodhicitta

the bodhisattvas surpass non-Buddhists

and the sravakas and pratyekabuddhas.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche

The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta Verse 92

What a joy when the gentle rain comes on time.
What a joy when the crops ripen in the fields.
What a joy if bodhichitta were to be produced
in the minds of living beings equal to space.

--The Jewel Lamp: A Praise to Bodhicitta  Khunu Rinpoche