Ten Minds for One Vow

"Good son, what is meant by the birth-treasury of the vow to constantly make offerings to every buddha? Good son, when a bodhisattva first gives rise to the resolve, he makes this vow: 'I shall revere, honour, and make offerings to every buddha; seeing a buddha, I shall never grow weary of it; toward every buddha I shall constantly give rise to love and delight, constantly give rise to deep faith, cultivate every merit, and forever be without rest.' This is the bodhisattva's birth-treasury of first gathering wholesome roots for the sake of all-knowing wisdom. "What is meant by the birth-treasury of giving rise to the mind of bodhi? Good son, this bodhisattva gives rise to the mind of anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. That is to say: he gives rise to the mind of great compassion, because he rescues and protects every being; he gives rise to the mind of making offerings to the Buddha, because he serves him to the very end; he gives rise to the mind of universally seeking the true dharma, because he withholds nothing at all; he gives rise to the mind of vast and expansive aspiration, because he seeks all-knowing wisdom; he gives rise to the mind of measureless loving-kindness, because he universally gathers in every being; he gives rise to the mind that never abandons any being, because he dons the firm armour of the vow to seek all-knowing wisdom; he gives rise to the mind free of flattery and deceit, because he attains wisdom that accords with reality; he gives rise to the mind that acts as it speaks, because he cultivates the bodhisattva path; he gives rise to the mind that never deceives any buddha, because he guards every buddha's great vow; and he gives rise to the mind that vows all-knowing wisdom, because he transforms beings to the very end of future time, without rest. Through the merit of resolves for bodhi as many as this, as numerous as the fine motes of dust in a buddha-land, the bodhisattva comes to be born into the tathāgata's own family. This is the bodhisattva's second birth-treasury. "What is meant by the birth-treasury of contemplating every dharma-gate and diligently cultivating it? Good son, this bodhisattva-mahāsattva gives rise to the mind that contemplates the whole ocean of every dharma-gate; gives rise to the mind that dedicates itself to the perfect and complete path of all-knowing wisdom; gives rise to the mind of right mindfulness free of any faulty action; gives rise to the mind purified through the whole ocean of every bodhisattva samādhi; gives rise to the mind that cultivates and accomplishes every bodhisattva merit; gives rise to the mind that adorns every bodhisattva path; gives rise to the mind of vigorous practice that seeks all-knowing wisdom, cultivating every merit as blazing and unresting as a kalpa-ending fire; gives rise to the mind that cultivates Samantabhadra's own practices to teach and transform every being; and gives rise to the real mind that skilfully learns every dignified bearing, cultivates the bodhisattva's merit, relinquishes every possession, and abides in having nothing at all. This is the bodhisattva's third birth-treasury. "What is meant by the birth-treasury of a mind profound and pure, universally illuminating the three times? Good son, this bodhisattva is endowed with a pure mind of ever-increasing resolve, attains the light of the tathāgata's own bodhi, and enters the ocean of the bodhisattva's skilful means; his mind is firm as vajra itself, and he turns his back on every destiny of existence; he accomplishes every buddha's own sovereign power, cultivates supreme practices, and is endowed with the bodhisattva's own faculties; his mind is bright and clear, and the power of his vow is unmoving; he is forever held in the mindful protection of every buddha, breaks apart every mountain of obstruction, and universally becomes a refuge for every being. This is the bodhisattva's fourth birth-treasury.