Selected Lectures on the Father and Son Compendium Sutra

O great king, you should think thus: How can I become the eyes for humans and gods, the illumination in the long night, the raft in the river of affection, and the guide in perilous places? For those without refuge, I shall become their sovereign. Having attained liberation myself, I will then liberate others. Having attained freedom myself, I will then free others. Having attained peace and security myself, I will then bestow peace and security upon others. Having realized nirvana myself, I will then enable others to realize it. O great king, you should not fixate on the present worldly enjoyments—the wealth, pleasures, and mastery over the five desires. The sense faculties are like illusions; the realms of experience are like dreams. This refers to clinging with greedy attachment to forms, sounds, scents, flavors, and tactile sensations, a state of insatiable craving.

Bodhisattvas should vow: "Having attained liberation myself, I will then liberate others." Only after one has crossed over oneself can one help others cross over. If a bodhisattva possesses the mind to save beings but remains trapped in the bitter sea of samsara, one lacks the power to liberate sentient beings. Just as someone who has never visited a distant land of beautiful scenery cannot guide others to appreciate it—they might lose their way mid-journey and naturally fail to reach the destination—so too must one first have personally traveled to that scenic place, witnessed its beauty firsthand, and clearly understood the path before being able to lead others there. This is the principle that one must cross over oneself before crossing over others.

Bodhisattvas should vow: "Having attained freedom myself, I will then free others." Only by freeing oneself can one enable others to attain freedom. Only when one possesses the ability to transcend the three realms and is no longer bound by them can one guide others along the path to liberation. If one has not attained freedom oneself, one does not know the true path to liberation and cannot lead sentient beings onto it.

Bodhisattvas should vow: "Having attained peace and security myself, I will then bestow peace and security upon others." The Buddha, having reached the far shore of nirvana and attained the ultimate bliss of nirvana's stillness, has achieved complete peace and security in body and mind. To save sentient beings and grant them peace and security, he returns to the three realms, remaining serene and unbound, neither deluded nor fettered by the realms of the five desires and six dusts in the Saha world. Only thus can he guide sentient beings to gradually attain peace and security. Shakyamuni Buddha manifested the eight phases of attaining Buddhahood in the Saha world: born as Prince Siddhartha, surrounded by the five desires, yet his mind had long transcended these worldly realms, untainted by any state, abiding in peace and security. Unconfused and undisturbed in any circumstance, he resolutely renounced all worldly desires and familial ties to embark on the monastic path. After attaining enlightenment, he began liberating countless sentient beings. Bodhisattvas, too, should emulate the conduct of the Buddhas, diligently cultivating themselves to attain peace and security of body and mind, and then bestow peace and security upon immeasurable sentient beings. If one's own mind has not yet attained peace and security, if greed and attachment persist, one easily becomes deluded amidst the five desires and six dusts, creating unwholesome karma and suffering incessantly. In such a state, how can one who is not yet at peace oneself bestow peace upon others?