(1.13) Just as when those who are greatly afraid rely upon a courageous one,
Whoever relies upon bodhichitta will immediately be freed from danger
Even if they have committed unbearable evils;
So why do the conscientious not rely upon it?

When people are afraid, they naturally turn to those who can protect them.  This is true in virtually every domain of life.  But how much better it would be to not need to turn to some outside source for protection, but to instead find all the security we need from within ourself.  With a mind of bodhichitta, we truly live without fear, free from all danger.

As was discussed in the series of posts on cultivating a true self-confidence, when we align ourself with the intention of the Spiritual Guide (who is the synthesis of all the Buddhas), all of his power flows into us so that we have nothing to fear.  All of our suffering, inabilities and ignorance ultimately come from the fact that we have knocked ourselves out of alignment with how things truly exist and function.  But when we bring ourselves back into alignment, it is as if everything powers up and we literally feel as if we have immediate access to all of the abilities and capacities of all of the Buddhas at our fingertips.  We merely need invoke them to accomplish their function, and they will do so through us.  For all practical purposes, even though we ourselves are not yet a Buddha, it will be as if we were one since all the Buddhas can now work through us.  The mind of bodhichitta brings us back into alignment.  The powerful winds of all of the Buddhas blow in the direction of the enlightenment of all beings.  If we run counter or cross this direction, we have no power.  But when we bring the sails of our mind into alignment with these winds, everything becomes easy and possible.

Once we have attained spontaneous bodhichitta, our eventual attainment of enlightenment is guaranteed, even if you die in between.  Spontaneous realizations are distinct from the non-spontaneous kind in that they are self-reproducing.  They are like a perpetual motion machine, which once started never stops.  Once we have attained spontaneous bodhichitta we couldn’t not attain enlightenment, even if we wanted to!  We will continuously be pushed forward towards enlightenment, even while we sleep and even though death itself.

We also come under the care of the Buddhas who take care of us and protect us from danger.  Our bodhichitta motivation creates the cause to receive their protection.  They correctly see us as a future Buddha.  Their sole purpose in attaining enlightenment was to help those who follow in their footsteps do the same.  If Buddhas help all living beings without exception every day, can there be any doubt that they take especially good care of those who seek to join their ranks?

(1.14) Just like the fire at the end of the aeon,
In an instant it completely consumes all great evil.
Its countless benefits were explained by the wise Protector Maitreya
To Bodhisattva Sudhana.

It was explained before that the precious mind of bodhichitta is the supreme method for purifying our negative karma.  The reason for this is the mind of bodhichitta single-handedly runs directly counter to every single harmful deed we ever performed.  In one fell swoop, it seeks to make up for all past harm by delivering these beings to permanent freedom.  Since its time horizon is towards an eternal future, it functions to purify an eternal past.  Even the smallest number multiplied by infinity is infinity.  In the same way, even the smallest virtue motivated by bodhichitta will undo all past harm.

These benefits of bodhichitta are not abstract speculation, nor are they exaggerated.  They are the living experience of all those that have taken the time to develop such a powerful mind, and if we do develop such a mind, it will be as if all of our negative karma were purified in merely an instant.  Such is the power of this mind.