The Mind and Conduct of Bodhisattvas Cannot Be Fathomed by Sentient Beings

The mental conduct of bodhisattvas cannot be fathomed by sentient beings; especially for bodhisattvas practicing esoteric conduct, their mental conduct is beyond the comprehension of sentient beings. For example, when Śākyamuni Buddha was a bodhisattva, he once killed a person. This person was about to kill the five hundred bodhisattvas on board a ship. When the Buddha learned of this, in order to protect this person from falling into the Avīci hell, he killed him with extremely profound compassion, sparing him from creating the karma of hell, and was willing to fall into hell himself and suffer the painful retribution as a result. There are also other examples demonstrating the compassionate skillful means of Buddhas and bodhisattvas in delivering sentient beings, which cannot all be told one by one; otherwise, sentient beings with heavy afflictions would use them as an excuse to create unwholesome karma.

To judge whether a person is good or evil, one cannot merely look at a person's outward behavior at the moment; one must mainly look at a person's mental conduct and state of mind, at what the purpose of his actions is and what kind of results they can achieve. Such wisdom is generally not possessed by ordinary people, whereas the great bodhisattvas can grasp the proper measure and timing, and can skillfully know what to accept and reject, and the appropriate means. Sentient beings can only see surface phenomena, not the essence, and do not know the true purpose. Therefore, in many matters, bodhisattvas cannot tell sentient beings plainly, because sentient beings cannot understand, due to their shallow wisdom.

In order to deliver sentient beings, bodhisattvas hide among them, transforming into the bodies of butchers, prostitutes, patrons of brothels, and gamblers, mingling with sentient beings, with the sole purpose of rescuing them from the fiery pit of birth and death. As long as they can save and deliver sentient beings, bodhisattvas do not hesitate to blacken their own names, do not shrink from sentient beings' misunderstanding and misinterpretation, and do not hesitate to pay any price. How many people can perceive the compassionate mental conduct of bodhisattvas, who endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens?