Shrine Offerings

Facing paintings, statues and so forth

Of the completely enlightened one,

Reliquaries and the excellent teaching,

Offer flowers, incense - whatever you have.

The Purpose of the Text

For those excellent living beings,

Who desire supreme enlightenment,

I shall explain the perfect methods

Taught by the spiritual teachers.

 

Persons of Highest Capacity

Those who, through their personal suffering,

Truly want to end completely

All the suffering of others

Are persons of supreme capacity.

Persons of Middling Cpacity

Those who seek peace for themselves alone,

Turning away from worldly pleasures

And avoiding destructive actions

Are said to be middling capacity.

Persons of Lesser Capacity

Know that those who by whatever means
Seek for themselves no more
Than the pleasures of cyclic existence
Are persons of the least capacity

Three Kinds of Persons

Understand there are three kinds of persons

Because of their small, middling and supreme capacities.

I shall write clearly distinguishing

Their individual characteristics.

Opening Verse

I've set this blog up to serve as a discussion group for Atisha's text, The Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment. Every couple of days I will post a verse from Atisha's text. Discussion will take place in the comments on the post. Tonight I'll start with the first verse of the text:

I pay homage with great respect

To the Conquerors [Buddha] of the three times [the past, present and future]

To their teaching and to those who aspire to virtue.

Urged by the good disciple Jangchup Wo

I shall illuminate the lamp

For the path to enlightenment