Shantideva Quotes

“We are all in this together. Our happiness inextricably is tied to that of all beings.”
― Allan Lokos, Patience: The Art of Peaceful Living

“All the joy the world contains
Has come through wishing happiness for others.
All the misery the world contains
Has come through wanting pleasure for oneself. (8.129)”
― Śāntideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva

“In solitude, the mind and body
Are not troubled by distraction.
Therefore leave this worldly life
And totally abandon mental wandering.”
― Śāntideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva

“Thus, once you have adopted such an attitude of infinite interconnectedness, you naturally want to liberate not just yourself but all beings from suffering. The Buddha calls this „the conception of the Spirit of Enlightenment“ it is the soul of the Bodhisattva, the person who dedicates him- or herself to helping all beings achieve total happiness. When you open to the inevitability of your infinite interconnection with other sensitive beings, you develop compassion. You learn to feel empathy for them, to love them, to want their happiness. You want to keep them from suffering, and you do so just as if they were a part of you. You don‘t think your behavior makes you special. You don‘t congratulate yourself for helping others, just as you wouldn't congratulate yourself for healing your own legs when you hurt it. It is natural for you to love your leg because it is one with you, and so it is natural for you to love others. You would certainly never harm another being. As the great Buddhist adept Shantideva (eighth-century Indian sage) wrote, „How wonderful will it be when all beings experience each other as limbs on the one body of life! (p. 27)”
― Robert A.F. Thurman, Infinite Life: Awakening to Bliss Within

“And now as long as space endures,
As long as there are beings to be found,
May I continue likewise to remain
To drive away the sorrows of the world.

The pains and sorrows of all wandering beings—
May they ripen wholly on myself.
And may the virtuous company of Bodhisattvas
Always bring about the happiness of beings.”
― Śāntideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva

“When you cultivate deeply such powerful sentiments as those articulated in Shantideva’s prayer...

For as long as space exists,
For as long as sentient beings remain,
Until then, may I too remain
And dispel the miseries of the world,

… time is totally irrelevant; you are thinking in terms of infinity.”
― Dalai Lama XIV, Illuminating the Path to Enlightenment: A Commentary on Atisha Dipamkara Shrijnana's A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment and Lama Je Tsong Khapa's Lines of Experience