On to Verses 21-30
11 At sight of that suffering, one suffers;
And he who wants to free the world
From the very cause of such suffering,
Must beget this Thought of Enlightenment
That is pledged never to
turn back.
12 Every quality that belongs to
Begetting thoughts of such Resolution
Has been well explained by Maitreya
In his sutra, the Stalks
in Array.
13 Read that sutra or hear it from a Guru, and when
The infinite benefits of Perfect Enlightenment Thought
Are seen, then for that very reason you
Will beget the Thought again
and again.
14 The merit of this is shown extremely well
In the sutra called the Questions of Viradatta;
And to give the essence of it,
I quote three of its verses
here:
15 "If a form could be had for the full
Merit of the Enlightenment Thought,
It would surpass even one
That filled the whole realm
of space."
16 "Or take a man who owns jewels, and with them
Fills every one of the Buddha-fields --
Reckoned as more than the grains of Ganga's sands --
Then offers all this to the
Lord of the World;"
17 "Yet another who merely folds his hands,
And inclines his thought to Enlightenment.
The latter's worship is higher by far,
Because in it there is found
no limit."
18 When you get the thoughts of aspiring to Enlightenment,
Then with great effort strive to expand them fully;
And to recall your resolve in your other births,
Observe fully the Training
I explained to you.
19 A right resolve will not be furthered
Without vows that have progress in mind; [275b]
Therefore he who seeks growth in the resolve for
Perfect Enlightenment, earnestly
takes them.
20 Only he who has lasting vows in
One of Pratimoksa's seven ranks
Is fit for the Vow of the Bodhisattva;
There is no other way for
it to be.
