Aspirational Bodhicitta

[Adapted from an oral commentary given by His Holiness Penor Rinpoche in conjunction with a ceremony wherein he bestowed the bodhisattva vow upon a gathering of disciples at Namdroling in Bozeman, Montana, November 1999. ---Ed.]

Cultivation of aspirational bodhicitta involves three aspirations, four dark dharmas to reject, and four white dharmas to accept. The three aspirations are to establish all sentient beings in the resultant state of buddhahood, to train in the methods of the higher grounds and paths, and to fulfill the needs and hopes of all parent sentient beings. The four dark dharmas to reject are to trick or deceive the spiritual guide, to deceive the patron, to disparage any Mahayana practitioner, and to deceive other sentient beings. The four white dharmas to accept are to never be deceitful, even at the cost of your life; to acknowledge the noble qualities of the bodhisattvas and praise them; to sincerely train in the bodhisattva way of life by abandoning all deceitful acts; and to have the intention to guide all beings—regardless of status, caste, creed, race, or any distinction—to the path of Mahayana practice. If you are training in these four white dharmas, the four dark dharmas will automatically be eliminated.

From “THE PATH of the Bodhisattva: A Collection of the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva and Related Prayers” with a commentary by Kyabje Pema Norbu Rinpoche on the Prayer for Excellent Conduct