Bodhisattvacharyavatara
by Andreas Kretschmar | 246,740 words
The English translation of the Bodhisattvacharyavatara (“entering the conduct of the bodhisattvas”), a Sanskrit text with Tibetan commentary. This book explains the bodhisattva concept and gives guidance to the Buddhist practitioner following the Mahāyāna path towards the attainment of enlightenment. The text was written in Sanskrit by Shantideva ...
Text Sections 196-197
Text section 200:
First, Śāntideva explains the support for bodhicitta [byang chub sems kyi rten bshad], the basis upon which bodhicitta can arise [bskyed sa’i gzhi]. This basis is the precious human body, which itself is the support for the mind. The mind is the support for the precious bodhicitta.
A human existence endowed with the eight freedoms and ten advantages is very difficult to attain, and, therefore, Śāntideva says in stanza 4:
“These freedoms and advantages are extremely difficult to obtain [dal ’byor ’di ni rnyed par shin tu dka’].”