[Below is an excerpt of a poem by Shantideva, that I have found to be quite inspiring. --Meghna]
May any spiritual energy thus generated
By my devotion to the enlightened ones
Be dedicated to dispelling the misery
Of living beings without exception.
As long as diseases afflict living beings
May I be the doctor, the medicine
And also the nurse
Who restores them to health.
May I fall as rain to increase
The harvests that must feed living beings
And in ages of dire famine
May I myself serve as food and drink.
May I be an unending treasury
For those desperate and forlorn.
May I manifest as what they require
And wish to have near them.
My body, every possession
And all goodness, past, present and future
Without remorse I dedicate
To the well-being of the world
Suffering is transcended by total surrender
And the mind attains to nirvana.
As one day all must be given up,
Why not dedicate it now to universal happiness?
My bodily powers I dedicate
To the well-being of all that lives.
Should anyone wish to kill, abuse or beat me,
The responsibility is purely their own.
Should anyone wish to ridicule me
And make me an object of jest and scorn
Why should I possibly care
If I have dedicated myself to others?
Let them do as they wish with me
So long as it does not harm them.
May no one who encounters me
Ever have an insignificant contact.
Regardless whether those whom I meet
Respond towards me with anger or faith,
May the mere fact of our meeting
Contribute to the fulfilment of their wishes.
May the slander, harm
And all forms of abuse
That anyone should direct towards me
Act as a cause of their enlightenment.
May I be a protector to the helpless,
A guide to those travelling the path,
A boat to those wishing to cross over;
Or a bridge or a raft.
May I be land for those requiring it,
A lamp for those in darkness,
May I be a home for the homeless,
And a servant for the world.
In order to fulfil the needs of beings
May I be as a magic gem,
An inexhaustible vase, a mystic spell,
A cure-all medicine, and a wish granting tree.
May I act as the mighty earth
Or like the free and open skies
To support and provide the space
Whereby I and all others may grow.
Until every being afflicted by pain
Has reached nirvanas shores,
May I serve only as a condition
That encourages progress and joy.
Just as all previous Buddhas
First gave rise to the precious Bodhimind
And just as then carefully followed
The stages of the Bodhisattva disciplines.
Likewise for the sake of sentient beings
Do I now myself generate the Bodhimind,
And likewise will I train myself
In the disciplines of a Bodhisattva.
May any spiritual energy thus generated
By my devotion to the enlightened ones
Be dedicated to dispelling the misery
Of living beings without exception.
As long as diseases afflict living beings
May I be the doctor, the medicine
And also the nurse
Who restores them to health.
May I fall as rain to increase
The harvests that must feed living beings
And in ages of dire famine
May I myself serve as food and drink.
May I be an unending treasury
For those desperate and forlorn.
May I manifest as what they require
And wish to have near them.
My body, every possession
And all goodness, past, present and future
Without remorse I dedicate
To the well-being of the world
Suffering is transcended by total surrender
And the mind attains to nirvana.
As one day all must be given up,
Why not dedicate it now to universal happiness?
My bodily powers I dedicate
To the well-being of all that lives.
Should anyone wish to kill, abuse or beat me,
The responsibility is purely their own.
Should anyone wish to ridicule me
And make me an object of jest and scorn
Why should I possibly care
If I have dedicated myself to others?
Let them do as they wish with me
So long as it does not harm them.
May no one who encounters me
Ever have an insignificant contact.
Regardless whether those whom I meet
Respond towards me with anger or faith,
May the mere fact of our meeting
Contribute to the fulfilment of their wishes.
May the slander, harm
And all forms of abuse
That anyone should direct towards me
Act as a cause of their enlightenment.
May I be a protector to the helpless,
A guide to those travelling the path,
A boat to those wishing to cross over;
Or a bridge or a raft.
May I be land for those requiring it,
A lamp for those in darkness,
May I be a home for the homeless,
And a servant for the world.
In order to fulfil the needs of beings
May I be as a magic gem,
An inexhaustible vase, a mystic spell,
A cure-all medicine, and a wish granting tree.
May I act as the mighty earth
Or like the free and open skies
To support and provide the space
Whereby I and all others may grow.
Until every being afflicted by pain
Has reached nirvanas shores,
May I serve only as a condition
That encourages progress and joy.
Just as all previous Buddhas
First gave rise to the precious Bodhimind
And just as then carefully followed
The stages of the Bodhisattva disciplines.
Likewise for the sake of sentient beings
Do I now myself generate the Bodhimind,
And likewise will I train myself
In the disciplines of a Bodhisattva.
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