A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s6.t4.358

v2.c19.s6.t4.358

Our worst enemies are wrath and hatred and passion. These must be overcome. They harm us, not our enemies. We must love our enemies like all other creatures. For if we love the creatures, we delight the Buddhas, but if we injure them, we injure the Buddhas. If others wrong me, it is only the fruit of some action (Karman)—then why should I be angry with them? One must not hate even those who destroy or despise Buddha-pictures, Stūpas, or even the good religion itself. He who does good to the beings, does good to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, who have so often annihilated their bodies and have gone to hell for the sake of the beings. Therefore one should do good only, even to those who have done much evil to us.² From the outset the Bodhisattva aims at making no difference between his ego and his neighbour: to identify his ego absolutely and entirely with that of others, is a kind of spiritual exercise in which the Bodhisattva is particularly active.