Bodhicharyavatara Chapter 8, Stanzas 39-40

Ringu Tulku Rinpoche
Teachings on Bodhicharyavatara
Chapter 8: Meditation
Session 16
Stanzas 39-40

Verse 39 begins to go further into attachment as the cause of suffering. Shantideva describes desire as the parent, the one who gives life to and feeds suffering. Desire will be the cause of pain in this life, and prepare the ground for a future life in hell. Rinpoche elaborates on the meaning of this verse, discussing how greed can consume us, the never ending desire for more of everything: success, wealth, lovers and property: and as it strengthens, it becomes the cause of war, fuelling every other negative emotion along with it.

This is the reason it is seen as the antithesis of love. Rinpoche touches on verse 40 which begins to look at sexual desire, involving all of the senses, and explains the reason Shantideva unambiguously places so much emphasis here: he is addressing hundreds of young monks for whom the adolescent struggle with feelings for the opposite sex is likely to lead to many transgressions, and for whom a clear method for working on desire is essential.

In this teaching Rinpoche also describes how a balanced society naturally arises when the family unit is based on love.

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