The Fifth Realization:
Ignorance leads
to birth and death.
Bodhisattvas are always
mindful
To study and learn extensively,
To
increase their wisdom
And perfect their
eloquence,
So they can teach and enlighten all
beings,
And impart great joy to all.
The Sixth Realization:
Poverty and
hardship breed resentment,
Creating harm and
discord.
Bodhisattvas practice
dana,
Beholding the friendly and hostile
equally;
They neither harbor grudges
Nor
despise malicious people.
The Seventh Realization:
The five
desires are perilous.
Even as laity, be not
sullied by worldly pleasures;
Think frequently
of the three robes,
The tiled bowl, and
instruments of Dharma;
Aspire to the monastic
life
And cultivate the Way with purity;
Let
your actions be noble and sublime,
Showering
compassion on all.
The Eighth Realization:
Birth and death
are like a blazing fire
Plagued with endless
afflictions and suffering.
Vow to cultivate the
Mahayana mind,
To bring relief to all;
To
take on infinite sufferings for sentient beings,
And lead all to supreme joy.
These are
the eight realizations of Great Beings,
Buddhas and bodhisattvas.
They practice the
Way with diligence,
Develop compassion, and
cultivate wisdom.
They sail the ship of
dharmakaya
To the shore of
nirvana,
Returning again to samsara to liberate
sentient beings.
With these eight
principles,
They point out the Way,
So that
all beings may awaken
To the sufferings of life
and death,
Relinquish the five desires,
and
Cultivate the mind on the noble path.
If
Buddha’s disciples recite these eight
realizations,
In thought after thought,
They
will eradicate countless sins,
Advance on the
bodhi path,
Promptly attain
enlightenment,
Be forever freed from birth and
death,
And always abide in
joy.