If, through long-term self-examination, one gradually cultivates a genuine and mature bodhicitta, then no other practice is absolutely indispensable. Khenpo Tsultrim Lodrö once remarked: One who has genuinely generated bodhicitta does not need to practice the Five Preliminary Practices (Ngondro).
This is indeed true. The merit generated by arousing bodhicitta is beyond measure. Even if one were to pulverize the the trichiliocosm into countless motes of dust, transform every single particle into a stūpa made of the seven precious substances, and offer each of them to the innumerable Buddhas of the three times (past, present, and future) , the merit of doing so would still not equal that of a person possessing genuine bodhicitta offering a single bowl of water to a stray dog.
The merit of any virtuous action depends upon the interaction of three factors: the agent, the object, and the action itself. When bodhicitta takes immeasurable sentient beings as its object, the vastness of that aspiration renders the agent's merit equally immeasurable. Consequently, every virtuous deed performed on the basis of bodhicitta carries boundless merit.
If bodhicitta possesses such inconceivable merit, why does its power seem so slow to manifest within our own mindstream? Simply because our bodhicitta is still artificial—it exists merely as a concept. The way to realize its true power is, in fact, quite simple: be a little less “clever,” and dare to make it genuine.
People often say that generating bodhicitta is difficult. In reality, it is actually not difficult at all. The real problem is that we are far too “clever.” We habitually use every thought and every action to reinforce our self-centeredness, constantly trying to elevate ourselves and appear to possess a “noble spiritual lineage (gotra) ”—a deliberately ironic expression in this context.
True nobility of spiritual lineage belongs only to bodhisattvas who have genuinely aroused bodhicitta. As the Bodhicaryāvatāra states: "Never defile this stainless and noble lineage." "Guard well this immaculate and exalted lineage." It is this lineage of bodhicitta that is referred to as the "stainless noble lineage."
If you have confidence in the Buddhadharma, in karma and rebirth (saṃsāra), if you trust the truth of what we have studied, and if you have faith in the Buddha and in your spiritual teacher, then everything I have explained here rests upon a sound and valid foundation.
—Excerpted and adapted from Genuine Bodhicitta and Conceptual Bodhicitta.
This article is a preliminary translation draft and has not yet been reviewed or proofread by the speaker.
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