Shantideva lived in the 8th century in India near Bodhgaya, India. Like the Buddha, his father was a great king. During his childhood his father died. After his father’s death Shantideva developed deep realizations into impermanence and death.
His father’s subjects asked Shantideva to succeed his father as King. Since he couldn’t refuse he accepted the position. However the night before his enthronement ceremony he had a dream where Manjushri (the Bodhisattva of Wisdom) said that Shantideva would become his student and one day sit upon his throne.
After he awoke he realized that he would be more benefit to sentient beings by becoming a monk rather than a king. So he left for Nalanda monastery. At this time Nalanda was the center of Buddhist and worldly studies in northern India. It was at Nalanda that he was given the name “Shantideva” upon his ordination. It is said that he quickly became a master in his studies, although this was not obvious to others.
Even if he was a great scholar he didn’t show this outwardly. Most saw him as lazy and in fact gave him a nickname similar to “lazybones.” His nickname translated as “Eats, Sleeps, Shits” because this all they ever saw him do. The other monks mocked him because they saw him as lazy and completely useless. Some students wanted him expelled because the University was full of scholars and Shantideva was no scholar. They said all he knows about is eating, sleeping and going to the bathroom. So they asked Shantideva to give a teaching, with the hopes that he would be so embarrassed that he would leave the monastery.
Shantideva accepted the invitation to teach but didn’t know they were planning on embarrassing him by building a huge throne but with no steps and therefore no way to reach the seat. They also assembled a very large group of monks to hear Shantideva’s teachings. However when Shantideva arrived and saw the huge throne with no steps, he merely touched the throne and it magically shrank to a size that Shantideva could sit upon it. Then immediately the throne grew back to its original size. The monks who had built the throne were shocked and amazed that he was able to do such a thing.
Once upon the throne, Shantideva asked the assemblage what kind of teaching would they like? Something that had been taught before, or something that had never been taught before? The monks requested that he teach something that had never been taught before, again hoping he would embarrass himself. Shantideva began teaching, his now famous, “Bodhisattva’s Way of Life.”
Everyone present was amazed at this never heard before teaching. When Shantideva reach the ninth chapter on “wisdom,” he came to the phrase “…..whatever is existent and nonexistent……” At this point he suddenly levitated in the air and floated up into a cloud. From this cloud, Shantideva he gave the tenth and final chapter. It is said that while he was invisible and could not be seen, there were those highly realized beings who were able to heard the tenth and final chapter.
The monks and people who liked Shantideva were very sad because he was now gone, and those who were against him felt every impressed and very sorry about what they’d done.
If you haven’t read the “Bodhisattva’s Way of Life” I highly recommend it. The entire text is even available online. There have been several commentaries written in recent times. Pema Chodron has just recently written a new commentary of this wonderful text by the name of “No Time To Lose.”
Whenever I am asked to participate in an interfaith event and to give a Buddhist prayer I don’t have the heart to tell the organizers that Buddhists don’t pray. But I always choose one of several stanzas from Shantideva’s “A Guide To The Bodhisattva Way of Life.” Below are several of my favorites:
Shantideva’s Prayer #1
May all beings everywhere Plagued by sufferings of body and mind Obtain an ocean of happiness and joy By virtue of my merits.
May no living creature suffer, Commit evil or ever fall ill. May no one be afraid or belittled, With a mind weighed down by depression.
May the blind see forms, And the deaf hear sounds. May those whose bodies are worn with toil Be restored on finding repose.
May the naked find clothing, The hungry find food; May the thirsty find water And delicious drinks.
May the poor find wealth, Those weak with sorrow find joy; May the forlorn find hope, Constant happiness and prosperity.
May there be timely rains And bountiful harvests; May all medicine be effective And wholesome prayers bear fruit.
May all who are sick and ill Quickly be freed from their ailments. Whatever diseases there are in the world, May they never occur again.
May the frightened cease to be afraid And those bound be freed; May the powerless find power And may people think of benefiting each other.
Shantideva Prayer #2
May I be a protector to those without protection, A leader for those who journey, And a boat, a bridge, a passage For those desiring the further shore.
May the pain of every living creature Be completely cleared away. May I be the doctor and the medicine And may I be the nurse For all sick beings in the world Until everyone is healed.
Just like space And the great elements such as earth, May I always support the life Of all the boundless creatures.
And until they pass away from pain May I also be the source of life For all the realms of varied beings That reach unto the ends of space.
Shantideva Prayer #3
May I be a guard for all those who are protectorless, A guide for those who journey on the road, For those who wish to go across the water, May I be a boat, a raft, a bridge.
For all those ailing in the world, Until their every sickness has been healed, May I myself become for them The doctor, nurse, the medicine itself.
If you have seen the movie Kundun, I remember the young Dalai Lama working on memorizing this last prayer.
All of these prayers are excellent teachings on how to live the life of a Bodhisattva. My good friend Carmen Chirveno the 75 year old ex-nun who is still a practicing Catholic but loves Buddhism tells me she reads the first prayer the first thing every day. This is an excellent reminder of the importance of bodhichitta (awakened heart).
Of course there are other ways and methods for developing bodhichitta. For example there are the six paramitas of:
- Generosity
- Discipline
- Patience
- Effort
- Meditation
- Wisdom and the Lojong teachings which include the 59 slogans - all of which are designed to help you cultivate bodhichitta on the path to a Bodhisattva. But how do you actualize these things into your daily life? I believe it is by combining these teachings with meditation. I believe merely reading and studying these qualities alone is not enough. That is why developing a daily meditation practice is so important. So I encourage you to post these prayers somewhere that you will see them each morning. Re-read them and contemplate the importance of giving up self-cherishing and working for the benefit of others - and then do some meditation.
This is the path to becoming a bodhisattva.