The benefits of bodhicitta

Part of an ongoing series of teachings based on Shantideva’s classic text, "Bodhisattvacharyavatara", often translated as “Engaging in the Bodhisattva’s Deeds.” Venerable Thubten Chodron also refers to the outline of the commentary by Gyaltsab Dharma Rinchen and the commentary by the Abbot Dragpa Gyaltsen.

  • Meditation on equanimity
  • Bodhicitta makes the mind optimistic and accomplishes our wishes
  • Examples of how bodhicitta functions:
    • It changes an impure body into a priceless body of a buddha
    • It frees us from the state that we are in
    • It brings unending and increasing result
    • It helps us purify negativities we created in the past
    • It destroys the power of karma that is definitely to be experienced

04 Engaging in the Bodhisattva’s Deeds: The Benefits of Bodhicitta (download)

Venerable Thubten Chodron

Venerable Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1977 by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India, and in 1986 she received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan. Read her full bio.