Bodhicharyavatara Chapter 9, Stanzas 154-158

Having gained some understanding of emptiness, Rinpoche tells us, we experience benefits, and in this session he demonstrates clearly and unambiguously how we keep ourselves frantically trying to stay afloat in a sea with no shore, which in turn becomes an ocean of suffering. In the last session we were told that peace, fearlessness, and equanimity are the first benefits of recognising emptiness. Here the 2^nd benefit––that of real lived compassion, is ascribed to those bodhisattvas who truly understand emptiness and interdependence.

Rinpoche elaborates here in the next verses which attribute the everlasting nature of samsara to not recognising that the endless pursuit of pleasures of the senses will only cause endless suffering. If we follow our basic instinct to indulge in sensual pleasures without recourse to those beings who are negatively affected by our behaviours, the only possible outcome is further suffering. This he says can only cause conflict, even as we cycle through any momentary periods of relief brought by previous karma. If we don’t use that window of opportunity to change our behaviour, we will fall once again, because we are ignorant of the true nature of things.

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