I bow to the Lord of Compassion.
My human life with all its freedoms,
extremely rare, difficult to repeat—
bless me with zeal,
all day and night, to seize this opportunity.
My fragile body, like a water bubble,
decays and dies so very quickly—
bless me to know I walk toward my end,
a culprit to the scaffold.
My every act is followed by a consequence,
just like a shadow as the day grows older—
bless me to be extremely cautious,
avoiding harm and accumulating virtue.
Worldly pleasures are deceptive,
and bring no lasting joy, only suffering—
bless me to strive sincerely
to attain the bliss of perfect freedom.
The path begins with strong reliance
on my kind teachers, source of all good—
bless me with the discernment
to follow them with great devotion.
May I always meet authentic teachers
and delight in the Dharma,
traverse the path with patience and enthusiasm,
and manifest the union of wisdom and compassion!
Seven Points of Mind Training, 1. First, train in the preliminaries
Great Middle Way 