To Cover all the Earth

---

To cover all the earth with sheets of leather -
Where could such amounts of skin be found?
But with the leather soles of just my shoes
It is as though I cover all the earth!

And thus the outer course of things
I myself cannot restrain.
But let me just restrain my mind,
And what is left to be restrained?

All those who fail to understand
The secret of the mind, the greatest of all things,
Although they wish for joy and sorrow's end,
Will wander to no purpose, uselessly.

Therefore I will take in hand
And well protect this mind of mine.
What use to me are many disciplines,
If I can't guard and discipline my mind?

​
Shantideva
The Way of the Bodhisattva ("Bodhicharyavatara")
Chapter 5, Vigilant Introspection
verses 13 - 14, 17- 18.
Shambhala Classics Edition
Padmakara Translation Group