In the first chapter, Śāntideva explains the meaning of bodhicitta and its benefits.

śāntidevaviracitaḥ bodhicaryāvatāraḥ|

bodhicittānuśaṃso nāma prathamaḥ paricchedaḥ|

|| om namo buddhāya ||

sugatān sasutān sadharmakāyān
praṇipatyādarato’khilāṃśca vandyān|
sugatātmajasaṃvarāvatāraṃ
kathayiṣyāmi yathāgamaṃ samāsāt||1||

na hi kiṃcidapūrvamatra vācyaṃ
na ca saṃgrathanakauśalaṃ mamāsti|
ata eva na me parārthacintā
svamano vāsayituṃ kṛtaṃ mayedam||2||

mama tāvadanena yāti vṛddhiṃ
kuśalaṃ bhāvayituṃ prasādavegaḥ|
atha matsamadhātureva paśye-
daparo’pyenamato’pi sārthako’yam||3||

kṣaṇasaṃpadiyaṃ sudurlabhā
pratilabdhā [bad word] #7779;ārthasādhanī|
yadi nātra vicintyate hitaṃ
punarapyeṣa samāgamaḥ kutaḥ||4||

rātrau yathā meghaghanāndhakāre
vidyut kṣaṇaṃ darśayati prakāśam|
buddhānubhāvena tathā kadāci-
llokasya puṇyeṣu matiḥ kṣaṇaṃ syāt||5||

tasmācchubhaṃ durbalameva nityaṃ
balaṃ tu pāpasya mahatsughoram|
tajjīyate’nyena śubhena kena
saṃbodhicittaṃ yadi nāma na syāt||6||

kalpānanalpān pravicintayadbhi-
rdṛṣṭaṃ munīndrairhitametadeva|
yataḥ sukhenaiva sukhaṃ pravṛddha-
mutplāvayatyapramitāñjanaughān||7||

bhavaduḥkhaśatāni tartukāmai-
rapi sattvavyasanāni hartukāmaiḥ|
bahusaukhyaśatāni bhoktukāmai-
rna vimocyaṃ hi sadaiva bodhicittam||8||

bhavacārakabandhano varākaḥ
sugatānāṃ suta ucyate kṣaṇena|
sanarāmaralokavandanīyo
bhavati smodita eva bodhicitte||9||

aśucipratimāmimāṃ gṛhītvā
jinaratnapratimāṃ karotyanarghām|
rasajātamatīva vedhanīyaṃ
sudṛḍhaṃ gṛhṇata bodhicittasaṃjñam||10||

suparīkṣitamaprameyadhībhi-
rbahumūlyaṃ jagadekasārthavāhaiḥ|
gatipattanavipravāsaśīlāḥ
sudṛḍhaṃ gṛhṇata bodhicittaratnam||11||

kadalīva phalaṃ vihāya yāti
kṣayamanyat kuśalaṃ hi sarvameva|
satataṃ phalati kṣayaṃ na yāti
prasavatyeva tu bodhicittavṛkṣaḥ||12||

kṛtvāpi pāpāni [bad word] #7751;āni
yadāśrayāduttarati kṣaṇena|
śūrāśrayeṇeva mahābhayāni
nāśrīyate tatkathamajñasattvaiḥ||13||

yugāntakālānalavanmahānti
pāpāni yannirdahati kṣaṇena|
yasyānuśaṃsānamitānuvāca
maitreyanāthaḥ sudhanāya dhīmān||14||

tadbodhicittaṃ dvividhaṃ vijñātavyaṃ samāsataḥ|
bodhipraṇidhicittaṃ ca bodhiprasthānameva ca||15||

gantukāmasya gantuśca yathā bhedaḥ pratīyate|
tathā bhedo’nayorjñeyo yāthāsaṃkhyena paṇḍitaiḥ||16||

bodhipraṇidhicittasya saṃsāre’pi phalaṃ mahat|
na tvavicchinnapuṇyatvaṃ yathā prasthānacetasaḥ||17||

yataḥ prabhṛtyaparyantasattvadhātupramokṣaṇe|
samādadāti taccittamanivartyena cetasā||18||

tataḥprabhṛti suptasya pramattasyāpyanekaśaḥ|
avicchinnāḥ puṇyadhārāḥ pravartante nabhaḥsamāḥ||19||

idaṃ subāhupṛcchāyāṃ sopapattikamuktavān|
hīnādhimuktisattvārthaṃ svayameva tathāgataḥ||20||

śiraḥśūlāni sattvānāṃ nāśayāmīti cintayan|
aprameyeṇa puṇyena gṛhyate sma hitāśayaḥ||21||

kimutāpratimaṃ śūlamekaikasya jihīrṣataḥ|
aprameyaguṇaṃ sattvamekaikaṃ ca cikīrṣataḥ||22||

kasya mātuḥ piturvāpi hitāśaṃseyamīdṛśī|
devatānāmṛṣīṇāṃ vā brahmaṇāṃ vā bhaviṣyati||23||

teṣāmeva ca sattvānāṃ svārthe’pyeṣa manorathaḥ|
notpannapūrvaḥ svapne’pi parārthe saṃbhavaḥ kutaḥ||24||

sattvaratnaviśeṣo’yamapūrvo jāyate katham|
yatparārthāśayo’nyeṣāṃ na svārthe’pyupajāyate||25||

jagadānandabījasya jagadduḥkhauṣadhasya ca|
cittaratnasya yatpuṇyaṃ tatkathaṃ hi pramīyatām||26||

hitāśaṃsanamātreṇa buddhapūjā viśiṣyate|
kiṃ punaḥ sarvasattvānāṃ sarvasaukhyārthamudyamāt||27||

duḥkhamevābhidhāvanti duḥkhaniḥsaraṇāśayā|
sukhecchayaiva saṃmohāt svasukhaṃ ghnanti [bad word] |28||

yasteṣāṃ sukharaṅkāṇāṃ pīḍitānāmanekaśaḥ|
tṛptiṃ sarvasukhaiḥ kuryātsarvāḥ pīḍāśchinatti ca||29||

nāśayatyapi saṃmohaṃ sādhustena samaḥ kutaḥ|
kuto vā tādṛśaṃ mitraṃ puṇyaṃ vā tādṛśaṃ kutaḥ||30||

kṛte yaḥ pratikurvīta so’pi tāvatpraśasyate|
avyāpāritasādhustu bodhisattvaḥ kimucyatām||31||

katipayajanasattradāyakaḥ
kuśalakṛdityabhipūjyate janaiḥ|
kṣaṇamaśanakamātradānataḥ
saparibhavaṃ divasārdhayāpanāt||32||

kimu niravadhisattvasaṃkhyayā
niravadhikālamanuprayacchataḥ|
gaganajanaparikṣayākṣayaṃ
sakalamanorathasaṃprapūraṇam||33||

iti sattrapatau jinasya putre
kaluṣaṃ sve hṛdaye karoti yaśca|
kaluṣodayasaṃkhyayā sa kalpān
narakeṣvāvasatīti nātha āha||34||

atha yasya manaḥ prasādameti
prasavettasya tato’dhikaṃ phalam|
mahatā hi balena pāpakaṃ
jinaputreṣu śubhaṃ tvayatnataḥ||35||

teṣāṃ śarīrāṇi namaskaromi
yatroditaṃ tadvaracittaratnam|
yatrāpakāro’pi sukhānubandhī
sukhākarāṃstān śaraṇaṃ prayāmi||36||

iti śrī śāntideva viracite bodhicaryāvatāre bodhicittānuśaṃsa nāma prathamaḥ paricchedaḥ||