The Buddha Amitayus Attended by Bodhisattvas (Met Museum Collection)

VIMALAKIRTI SUTRA – Chapter 10
Excerpt – Qualities of a Bodhisattva
(Translation by Robert A. F. Thurman)

A bodhisattva must have eight qualities to reach a pure buddha-field safe and sound. What are the eight?

One must resolve to oneself:

  1. I must benefit all living beings, without seeking even the slightest benefit for myself.
  2. I must bear all the miseries of all living beings and give all my accumulated roots of virtue to all living beings.
  3. I must have no resentment toward any living being.
  4. I must rejoice in all bodhisattvas as if they were the Buddha.
  5. I must not neglect any [dharma] teachings, whether or not I have heard them before.
  6. I must control my mind, without coveting the gains of others, and without taking pride in gains of my own.
  7. I must examine my own faults and not blame others for their faults.
  8. I must take pleasure in being consciously aware and must truly undertake all virtues.