The Tibetan pronunciation of bodhicitta is "Jiang Qiusen". "Jiang" is to sweep, "autumn" is to have, and "Sen" is the heart. "Jiang Qiusen" means: for the sake of all sentient beings in the world, to be free from all suffering, and to attain the attainment of the Buddhahood of enlightenment. In the "Solemn Treatise on Present Views", it is mentioned that "the intention is for altruism, and the desire to seek enlightenment is the cause of bodhi." ”

If you don't have bodhichitta, no matter how strong your devotion and renunciation are, your cultivation will still be mixed with selfish thoughts, so it won't become the cause for becoming a Buddha. With bodhichitta, even a small amount of merit, such as a short six-character mantra or a simple Buddha name, will be turned into a source of supreme bodhi. When the practice is complete, dedicating all the good deeds you have done to sentient beings will become immeasurable merits.

There is a Tibetan saying, "It is more important to generate bodhichitta than to develop bodhichitta." "To develop bodhichitta is to deliberately make a wish in your heart. This kind of bodhichitta that we think about occasionally may be forgotten as all kinds of causes and conditions converge and cannot take root in the mind. However, the training of first developing bodhichitta is very important, because without it, there will be no generation of bodhichitta. Generating bodhichitta means being able to generate bodhichitta naturally, to be able to stay in the mind for a long time, not to be forgotten or regressed by changes in karma, and to grow and act on it. This is also the meaning of the prayer, "Bodhicitta is the most wonderful treasure, and those who have not arisen will be born immediately, and those who have already been born should be careful not to retreat, and may increase the goodness endlessly". If bodhichitta is not stable enough, then it will shrink back in the face of sentient beings, in the face of setbacks in reality.

If you haven't developed bodhichitta yet, you want it to arise in your mind. If you already have bodhichitta, you should let it stay in your mind forever and steadily, and let it grow higher and higher.

Bodhichitta can be divided into three different types of motivation, depending on the size of one's mind: the motivation of those who are generally courageous, the motivation of those who are moderately courageous, and the motivation of those who are bold in measurement.

The motivation of the general guts is called the motivation of the king. If a person wants to be a king, he will try his best to unite the power of the masses first, let many people serve him under his leadership, and rely on the strong power of this group of people to eliminate the factors that are not conducive to his establishment of power and become a king; Because of the status of the king, he can use his power to give the people a great environment and achieve national peace and security. In this process, the first thing is to enhance one's own ability, and when he has great power, he will benefit the public, and this mentality is called king-style motivation. In other words, before we become a Buddha, we think, "I want to save all sentient beings, but if I don't become a Buddha myself, I can't even subdue and save myself, then it will be difficult to subdue and benefit sentient beings." Therefore, people who have such thoughts will hope that they will become a bodhisattva and a Buddha first, and only when they have the ability to subdue and benefit sentient beings after they have become a Buddha will they save sentient beings. This is the first state of mind, also known as the motivation of the corporal path.

The motivation of those with medium guts is called the captain's or boatman's motivation. A boatman who wants to ferry many people to the other side of the sea must first place all the guests on his boat, and the steering wheel in his hand, that is, the steering wheel, is the guarantee of the life of the passengers. When piloting the boat, the captain must find a way not to touch the reef and safely drive the boat to the other shore so that the passengers and themselves can reach their destination safely. This kind of motivation is: "I became a Buddha first, as if I was ashamed of all sentient beings, but I became a Buddha late, and I am not bold enough, so I hope that I will practice with all the people in the world until one day I reach the other side and become a Buddha together." This kind of mentality is also called the motivation of the sergeant.

The motivation of the most daring is called the shepherd's motivation. A shepherd, whether shepherding sheep or cattle, must first choose a fertile meadow where there will be no wild beasts to harm the cattle and sheep. Once he had found the grass, he would walk behind the cattle and sheep and herd them to safety. In other words, after finding the path to Buddhahood, we will carefully protect this path to Buddhahood from greed, hatred, ignorance, jealousy, arrogance, and worldly distractions, delusions, and so on, and give all the methods and know-how to become a Buddha, as well as the fertile grassland that can bring all the blessings to ourselves, to sentient beings. Let sentient beings walk ahead of themselves, hoping that they will all become Buddhas as soon as possible, until all hells and samsaras are empty; Walk behind by yourself, and then follow all sentient beings to become a Buddha. This kind of mentality is the most bold measure, also known as the motivation of the sergeant.

Of these three, the king's motivation is also known as the great promise motivation, which is to promise sentient beings that they will be saved after they become Buddhas, and with such bodhichitta they will first become Buddhas by relying on the power of sentient beings. It's like the great Shakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, and many other Buddhas who have become Buddhas – after he has become a Buddha, he will come to a vast range of beings and let them become Buddhas.

The boatman's motivation can also be called the motivation of special wisdom, such as Maitreya.

The greatest shepherd-like motivation is like Manjushri's or Jizo's vow that "hell is not empty, and you will not become a Buddha," or Avalokiteshvara's vow that you will endure all suffering sentient beings, and that you will not become a Buddha until you become a Buddha. When Shakyamuni Buddha was still an ordinary man, they were already bodhisattvas of the ten lands; Now, Shakyamuni Buddha has become a Buddha after the practice of the three great monks, but they are still bodhisattvas. At present, we are still ordinary people, listening to the Dharma here; One day when we become Buddhas, they will still be bodhisattvas, because all sentient beings will follow them until they become Buddhas, so they will not become Buddhas. Of course, in terms of "meaning", these bodhisattvas are already Buddhas, but the appearance of the outside will accompany sentient beings according to their wishes.

Of the three different types of motivation mentioned above, we have to choose one of them when we develop bodhichitta in our daily life. If you have enough courage, you should think, "All sentient beings become Buddhas first, and then I become Buddhas"; If you don't have that much courage, you can make a vow to become a Buddha with sentient beings; If you still can't make such a vow, then you think, "I will become a Buddha first, and then I will come to save sentient beings." Every day, we should strive to practice this as a desire for spiritual practice.

The Sutra says, "Establish all bodhisattva actions in your own mind...... should protect the city of the heart, which means not to be greedy for all the realm of life and death...... The city of the heart should be purified, which means that after all, the jealousy and flattery should be cut off...... The city of hearts should be broadened, and it should be said that great sorrow is sorrowful for all sentient beings; You should be happy at the city gate, saying that you will give everything you have, and give it as you wish...... The city of the heart should be taken seriously, and the evil law should be chased away, and it should not be allowed to live...... If you can purify the city of the mind like this, you will be able to accumulate all the good dharmas. "If we can put these methods of mind cultivation into practice correctly and steadfastly, then our bodhichitta will surely grow as the good dharma grows.