11 March 2016

Revered as king of the Bodhissatvas-Shanti Deva lived in 8th century AD. His poetic and philosophical teaching on the Bodhissatva and its life (Bodhicaryavatara) have captivated hearts of millions of people across the world. Equivalent to Muslims’ Quran or Christians’ Bible, his book is also one of the daily inspirational prayer of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Infinite rays of happiness and compassion, Bodhicitta-an evergreen mind Bodhicitta is an appealing blissful state of mind where compassion is boundless radiating happiness and pure wisdom to whoever it connects. And for Bodhissatvas, friend or foe is a same being whose sheer pursuit in its life is to seek happiness, pleasure, name, fame and every bit of comfort. As such Bodhissatvas are neither gladdened by the praise from their friends nor are they saddened by the defamation from their foes. They are the spiritual practitioners who strive to maintain a compassionate attitude for all beings.  The veil of Bodhissatvas-a shield of humility A typical tradition in Mahayana Buddhism is that the Bodhissatvas often veil their profound insights by disguising themselves in an idiotic appearance or by resorting to bizarre activities, they shield themselves from falling into the pitfall of mundane fame. From Tilopa working as an oil maker to Milarepa wandering as a homeless beggar, from Naropa giving up his throne of scholar to Drukpa Kunley famous for his insanity. Every now and then the unusual tales of the heroes of Bodhissatvas echoed in the Himalayan kingdom time after time. “Busukhu” Shanti Deva the lazy bone of Nalanda University   At Nalanda University in 8th century A.D, Shanti Deva was nicknamed “Busukhu” by his colleagues simply meaning three actions; eating, sleeping and defecating. Except for the eyes of few, no one really knew he had transcended all the worldly illusions and had realized the ultimate nature of every phenomena. But in his monastic community, he was known as a “Lazy Bone” and a filthy burden tagged to be dump out at the earliest note of breach. In fact he was doing nothing outwardly except for the three very tasks he had been executing everyday. He never let anybody know his profound realizations. Until when he was subjected to mockery by his companions to give teaching in front of a big gathering hoping he would embarrass himself and thereby expel him from the monastery. But to everybody’s surprise, he gave one of the most reflective teaching […]