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THE B U D D H I S T T R A D I T I O N

the people of town and country, he said: Listen, gentle

men! This is my son, whom I begot. . . . To him I leave all
my family revenues, and my private wealth he shall have as
his own.
[From Saddharmapup^iuika, 4.101 S.]
Joy in All Things

Joy is one of the cardinal virtues of Buddhism, and the bodhisattva,

who is the example which all MahSySna Buddhists are expected to
follow as far as their powers allow, has so trained his mind that even
in the most painful and unhappy situations it is still full of calm
inner joy. The following passage is from the Compendium of Doc
trine; the Erst paragraph is the work of the author, Shintideva,
while the second is quoted from a lost sutra, the Meeting of Father
and Son (Pitrputrasam3gama).
Indeed nothing is difhcult after practice. Simple folk, such as
porters, fishermen and plowmen, for instance, are not over
come by depression, for their minds are marked by the scars
of the many pains with which they earn their humble livings,
and which they have learned to bear. How much the more
should one be cheerful in a task of which the purpose is to
reach the incomparable state where all the joys of all beings,
all the joys of the bodhisattvas are to be found. . . . Con
sciousness of sorrow and joy comes by habit; so, if whenever
sorrow arises we make a habit of associating with it a feeling
of joy, consciousness of joy will indeed arise. The fruit of
this is a contemplative spirit full of joy in all things. . . .
So the bodhisattva . . . is happy even when subjected to
the tortures of hell. . . . W hen he is being beaten with
canes or whips, when he is thrown into prison, he still feels
happy.^ . . . For . . . this was the resolve of the Great
Being, the bodhisattva: May those who feed me win the
joy of tranquillity and peace, with those who protect me,
honor me, respect me, and revere me. And those who revile
me, afflict me, beat me, cut me in pieces with their swords,
or take my lifemay they all obtain the joy of complete
enlightenment, may they be awakened to perfect and sublime
enlightenment. W ith such thoughts and actions and resolves
* Here a long list of the most gmesome tortures is omitted.