ABSTRACT
Now I shall teach ‘The Method of Awakening According to the Śrīmāyājāla[-tantra]’, which has come down through the line of my teachers, and is included within the Śrīmāyājāla[-tantra] in sixteen thousand [verses]. Now, at the start of this [method], the bodhisattva who “practises the observances of the way of mantras”, [and] who desires to make manifest “this crest-jewel called the Nāmasaṃgīti, which has non-duality as its ultimate nature, [and which is] associated with the gnosis-being Mañjuśrī, the gnosis-body of all the Tathāgatas, [and] the embodiment of gnosis”, 1 [5] [and this bodhisattva] who is intent on the protection of the whole mass of beings without remnant, who possesses the mind of aspiration (praṇidhānacitta) 2 that leads to great awakening (mahābodhi), 3 who embodies both wisdom and means, having attracted beings by means of the four articles of attraction, 4 should generate a resolve to attain the highest perfect awakening. And thus he [i.e. the bodhisattva] says,
May all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas bear witness to me. I, called so and so, [10] from this time onwards until I am seated on the terrace of awakening [make the following vows]:
“Just as the protectors [i.e. the Buddhas] of the three times have resolved to attain perfect awakening, [so] shall I raise the highest unsurpassed awakening mind (bodhicitta). I firmly undertake the threefold training in morality, the amassing of good moral qualities and the practice of serving the interests of beings. 5
Starting [15] from today I shall accept the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, the supreme excellent triple-jewel, [which is] the vow, arising from the union [i.e. the family] of the Buddhas.
In the excellence of the great family of the vajra, I shall take up the vajra, bell and mudrā 6 in their true nature; [and] I shall accept the teacher.
In the excellent, great family of the jewel, in the delightful assembly, [20] I shall offer four gifts six times a day. 7
In the pure, great family of the lotus, which arises from the great awakening, 8 I shall take up the true Dharma which is both exoteric and esoteric and has three paths. 9
In the excellence of the great family of action, I shall take up in its true nature the vow that is all-inclusive, [i.e.] the performance of devotion (pūjā), to the utmost of my ability.
Having [25] raised the highest supreme awakening mind, [and] taking up the complete vow [i.e. all the vows] for the sake of all beings, I will cause those to cross over who have not crossed over, I will free those who are not free, I will encourage the discouraged, [and] I will place beings in Nirvāṇa.” 10
