Je Tsong Khapa
Lobsang Drakpa
(1357-1419)
“How to turn away from wrongdoing once you have reflected in this way is stated in the ‘Chapter of the Truth Speaker’: ‘O King, do not kill. Life is very dear to all beings. Hence, they want to maintain their lives for a long time. So think not of killing, even in the depths of your mind.’ Apply this attitude of restraint toward the ten nonvirtuous actions as well as the misdeeds previously explained. Do so without even giving rise to the motivating thoughts. Become accustomed to this attitude, and use it frequently. If you do not reject wrongdoing in this way, you will experience suffering. No matter where you go, you will not be free from it. Therefore, it is not sensible to engage in actions that seem to bring happiness in the short term, yet have effects you must endure with tears covering your face. On the other hand, it is sensible to engage in actions that give you faultless happiness and delight when you experience the ripening of their effects.”
From The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment by Je Tsong Khapa As translated in: The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment: The Lam Rim Chen Mo by Tsong Khapa. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Snow Lion/Shambhala Publications.