The Bodhisattva's Duty and Afflictions

When afflictions arise in the mind, we should quietly watch them, observe them, and investigate where they manifest from, where their source lies, and on account of what these afflictions appear. Then analyze the causes that gave rise to the afflictions, and resolve those causes. Keep pondering that cause in the mind, and then analyze whether, on account of that cause, it is worth generating afflictions, what the consequences of giving rise to these afflictions would be, and how many problems they could actually solve. Then recall how many afflictions we have generated from childhood up to now, how those afflictions were resolved, how they disappeared, and what the final outcome was. Then consider how many afflictions we have had over our countless kalpas of past lives, how much anguish there has been—all that anguish and affliction was our karmic retribution, and once the retribution is exhausted, it passes away. The afflictions of this life are the same: no matter what, they will pass. Why not view these afflictions correctly, untie the knots in our hearts, and resolve them in accordance with the Dharma?

We should contemplate that every one of us who studies Buddhism is a bodhisattva, and the duty of a bodhisattva is to broadly practice the bodhisattva path; therefore we cannot always remain immersed in the afflictions of the small self. We must open up our minds and look toward the future; our future lies throughout countless kalpas, in the lands of the Buddhas of the ten directions, broadly practicing the bodhisattva path and extensively delivering immeasurable beings. A bodhisattva's mind should not harbor personal afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion; it may only harbor the elevated afflictions that arise from the aspiration to attain higher realization of the Buddha-Dharma, only the afflictions that arise from seeking better ways to teach and transform sentient beings, and only the afflictions that arise from seeking to ensure that the true Dharma continues to be transmitted forever. As long as the mind constantly dwells on the bodhisattva path of future lives, one will not be bound by the petty afflictions before one's eyes, the mind will expand, and the heart will open up. Looking toward the future is extremely important!