“Namo Lokeshvara,
While seeing that the existents are all devoid of appearance and disappearance with ardor you dedicate yourself to the good of beings.
Supreme Masters and Protector Avalokiteshvara,
with respect I continually pay homage to you through the three gates.
The perfect Buddhas sources of benefit and happiness,
arise from the attainment of the sublime Dharma. As this supposes knowing how to put it into practice,
I will expose here the practices of the sons of Victorieux.
1-On this occasion when you have a precious human body, a vessel so difficult to obtain, to listen, reflect and meditate day and night without distraction in order to free yourself and others from the ocean of samsara, is to act as a son of Victorious.
2-When towards the loved ones, the waves of attachment carry you, when towards the enemies, the fire of aversion sets you ablaze, when the darkness of ignorance makes sink into oblivion what is to be rejected and to perform, to leave the homeland is to act as a son of Victorious.
3-Any deleterious object ostracized, the disruptive factors gradually fade away. Without distraction, virtuous practice flourishes naturally. From a clear mind comes certainty in the Dharma. To cultivate solitude is to act as a son of Victorious.
4-Longtime friends are separated. Hard-earned goods are left behind. The inn of the body is abandoned by consciousness, its guest. To banish all concern for this life is to act as a son of the Victorious.
5-Whoever in contact with whom the three poisons are amplified, listening, reflection and meditation are altered and love and compassion evaporate, is a bad friend and to reject him is to act as a son of Victorious.
6-Whoever thanks to the councils of which the defects are attenuated in oneself and the qualities increase like the waxing moon, is a perfect spiritual friend, and to cherish it even more than his own body is to act as a child of Victorious.
7-Chained as they too are in the jails of samsara, the worldly deities cannot protect anyone. Therefore, to take refuge in the Three Jewels which never disappoint who speak to them, is to act as a son of the Victorious.
8-The unbearable sufferings of unfortunate states are the fruits of negative karmas, explained the Muni. This is why, even at the cost of life, never to commit bad karma is to act as a son of the Victorious.
9-The joys of the three worlds, like the dew on the tip of a blade of grass, are instantly perishable. The supreme liberation being immutable, to direct one's interest towards it is to act as a son of the Victorious.
10-When these mothers who since the dawn of time have lavished their affection on you are suffering, what to do with a happiness limited to you? This is why to engender the spirit of Awakening in order to liberate the infinities of beings is to act as a son of Victorious.
11-All suffering emanates from the desire for one's own happiness. The perfect Buddha is born out of concern for the good of others. This is why to exchange one's personal happiness for the sufferings of others is to act as a son of the Victorious.
12-Even if, under the influence of a strong attachment, some seize all your goods or have them stolen, to dedicate your body, your possessions and your virtues of the three times to them is to act as a son of Victorious.
13-Even if someone cuts off your head when you are not in the slightest wrong, moved by compassion, to take upon oneself all his faults is to act as a son of the Victorious.
14-Even if someone spreads many calumnies on you everywhere in the three thousand worlds, with love, to praise your qualities in return is to act as a son of Victorious.
15-Even if within a vast assembly, someone sifts your faults and insults you, to bow with deference before him by looking at him as a master is to act as a son of Victorious.
16-Even if a person whom you pampered like your son, looks at you as an enemy, like the mother towards her son stricken by illness, to cherish him especially is to act as a son of Victorious.
17-Even if someone equal or inferior to you denigrates you under the influence of pride, to place him respectfully at the top of your head like a Master is to act as a son of the Victorious.
18-Even fallen into destitution and constantly the butt of people's contempt, struck down by a serious illness or by a demon, to take upon yourself the faults and the sufferings of all beings and not to give in to discouragement is to act as a child of Victorious .
19-Even famous and praised by the crowds, having come into possession of riches similar to those of Vaishravana, to see that the goods of this world are devoid of essence and to have no arrogance is to act as a son of Victorious.
20-For lack of having been able to subdue the enemy which is his own aversion, one fights external enemies, which multiply. Therefore, with the armies of love and compassion, mastering one's own stream of consciousness is acting as a son of the Victorious.
21-The pleasures of the senses are similar to salt water: the more one enjoys them, the more the thirst increases. Immediately abandoning any object that arouses attachment is acting as a son of the Victorious.
22-All appearance is (forged by) the mind, but the essence of said mind has always been free from extreme fabrications. Having understood this, to no longer conceive of object/subject characteristics is to act as a son of Victorious.
23-In any encounter with an attractive object, as with a rainbow in summer, not granting it reality despite its apparent beauty and rejecting attachment is acting as a son of Victorious.
24-The various sufferings are similar to the death of his son in a dream. Because we grasp false appearances as true, we are overwhelmed by them. This is why, when one encounters unfavorable circumstances, to regard them as fallacious is to act as a son of Victorious.
25-If, when one aspires to enlightenment, one must give even to one's own body, concerning external objects, that goes without saying. This is why practicing a generosity that expects neither return nor result_ is to act as a son of Victorious.
26-While, devoid of ethics, one cannot achieve one's own good, wanting to work for that of others is laughable. This is why, without more interest for this low world, to observe ethics is to act as a child of Victorious.
27-For the son of Victorious who aspires to harvests of virtues, all malevolence is like a precious treasure. This is why, without the slightest aversion, to cultivate patience is to act as a son of the Victorious.
28-When solitary listeners and Buddhas, who work only for their own good, struggle as if to put out a fire that has taken hold of their heads, for the good of all beings, cultivating enthusiasm, the source of qualities, is act as a son of Victorious.
29-Having understood that the deep view endowed with mental calm annihilates the disturbing factors, to meditate the concentration (dhyâna) which transcends the four absorptions (of the world) without form is to act as a son of Victorious.
30-In the absence of wisdom, the five other perfections not allowing to realize the Awakening, to meditate on a wisdom equipped with the method and free from the notions of the three spheres is to act as a son of Victorious.
31- For lack of observing one's own errors, although having the appearance of a practitioner, it can happen to contravene the Dharma. This is why continually scrutinizing one's errors and rejecting them is to act as a son of the Victorious.
32-Under the influence of disturbing factors, disclosing the faults of other sons of Victorious causing regression, not mentioning the faults of anyone engaged in the great vehicle is to act as a son of Victorious.
33-As, under the influence of wealth and honors, quarrels divide and the activities of listening, reflection and meditation deteriorate, to reject any attachment to the households of relatives and benefactors is to act as a son of Victorious.
34-Following hurtful words, the mind of others being agitated and the behavior of sons of the Victorious altered, banishing any harsh words unpleasant to others is to act as a son of Victorious.
35-Addiction to kleshas making it difficult to counter them with antidotes, endowed with memory and vigilance, arm oneself with remedies and mow down attachment or other disturbing factor as soon as it is possible to act as a son of Victorious.
36-In summary, in any place and in any circumstances, by checking in what state of mind one is, with the constant help of memory and vigilance, devoting oneself to the good of others is to act as a son of Victorious.
37-Thanks to the efforts thus deployed, many virtues are accomplished. In order to dispel the sufferings of innumerable sentient beings, to dedicate them to enlightenment through the pure wisdom of the three spheres is to act as sons of the Victorious.
The pleasures of the senses are like salt water: the more one enjoys them, the more the thirst increases. Immediately abandoning any object that arouses attachment is acting as a son of the Victorious.
The meaning stated in the sutras, tantras and commentaries,
By conforming to the explanations of the excellent Masters,
I have condensed it into these thirty-seven practices of sons of Victorious,
For those who wish to follow the bodhisattva path.
My intelligence being mediocre and my knowledge weak,
I cannot compose in such a way as to delight the scholars,
But since I relied on the sutras and writings of the Masters,
I think these are the authentic sons of Victorious practices.
However, as the vast conduits of the sons of Victorious
Are difficult for an inferior mind like me to penetrate,
Towards the contradictions, inconsistencies and other errors of my own making,
I implore the Masters for their leniency.
Through the virtues resulting from the writing of this text, may all beings
Become like Protector Avalokiteshavra,
Beyond the extremes of samsara and nirvana
Thanks to the excellent minds of Ultimate and Conventional Awakening.
Composed in the precious Quicksilver Cave by the monk Thogme, doctor of scriptures and dialectics, for the good of others and himself.
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