Publication
Snow Lion (1997), Edition: Likely 1st Edition, Paperback, 152 pages
Call number
GT-B-Tb / Shanti
ISBN
1559390611 / 9781559390613
Collections
Other editions
Physical description
152 p.; 9.04 inches
Description
Treasured by Buddhists of all traditions, The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara) is a guide to cultivating the mind of enlightenment and to generating the qualities of love, compassion, generosity, and patience. This text has been studied, practiced, and expounded upon in an unbroken tradition for centuries. Presented in the form of a personal meditation in verse, it outlines the path of the Bodhisattvas--those who renounce the peace of individual enlightenment and vow to work for the liberation of all beings and to attain buddhahood for their sake. This version is translated from the Tibetan and includes a foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, a translator's preface, a thorough introduction, a note on the translation, and three appendices of commentary by the Nyingma master Kunzang Pelden.… (more)
Language
Original language
Tibetan
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User reviews
LibraryThing member JamesBlake
A very readable translation of the eighth-century Indian text usually known in English as "A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life." It's often seen as one of the greatest Mahayana texts, and is best known for its emphasis on altruism, compassion and seeking awakening for the sake of all. Includes
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a 35-page introduction by the respected scholar Paul Williams. Show Less
LibraryThing member elizaforest
Buddhism as literature. One of the most profound and yet accessible texts.
LibraryThing member johnverdon
This is for those who enjoy a more aphoristic and 'verse' driven inspiration.
LibraryThing member stillatim
A great collection of aphorism, but also a sophisticated philosophical consideration of two major problems for salvific religions: if I'm concerned with my own salvation, should I care about other people, and why? The obvious answer, of course, is that your treatment of other people is intimately
Well, what follows the above quote (5.10) is a pretty good try to get out of that logic.
The other problem concerns the value we place of this world. In Santideva's understanding of Buddhist cosmology, nothing exists, everything is illusion, and this causes some pretty obvious problems: why should I bother trying to avoid rebirth, if it's all just illusion anyway? Isn't the process of trying to avoid rebirth just as illusory as the pleasure we take from a nice meal? Book 9 tries to answer such questions, not very well in my eyes, but with a great deal of thought. And this is, again, applicable to all salvific religions: how do you balance the desire for a better state of existence with the needs of the present state? This is connected to the first problem, of course.
The Oxford World's Classics translation is a good one, scholarly but not obtrusive. The notes are helpful, while, of course, avoiding much discussion of the tremendous cosmology needed to justify the idea of rebirth. There's a lot of suffering and hell in this book, and the editors take the easy "oh, it's just in your mind" way out, which means they don't have to tell us anything about the various levels of hell and so on. That's okay, you can't annotate everything. I just want to know more about the levels.
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related to your own salvation, but that's much harder to justify than you might think. Santideva was a monk, writing to other monks, and prone to answering questions like how will all this meditation really help other people though? by saying things like "The perfection is the mental attitude itself." Because you kind of have to say that if you're going to defend withdrawal from the world, and you kind of have to withdraw from the world if you're going to live a life of purity, which is the only way to save yourself... right?Well, what follows the above quote (5.10) is a pretty good try to get out of that logic.
The other problem concerns the value we place of this world. In Santideva's understanding of Buddhist cosmology, nothing exists, everything is illusion, and this causes some pretty obvious problems: why should I bother trying to avoid rebirth, if it's all just illusion anyway? Isn't the process of trying to avoid rebirth just as illusory as the pleasure we take from a nice meal? Book 9 tries to answer such questions, not very well in my eyes, but with a great deal of thought. And this is, again, applicable to all salvific religions: how do you balance the desire for a better state of existence with the needs of the present state? This is connected to the first problem, of course.
The Oxford World's Classics translation is a good one, scholarly but not obtrusive. The notes are helpful, while, of course, avoiding much discussion of the tremendous cosmology needed to justify the idea of rebirth. There's a lot of suffering and hell in this book, and the editors take the easy "oh, it's just in your mind" way out, which means they don't have to tell us anything about the various levels of hell and so on. That's okay, you can't annotate everything. I just want to know more about the levels.
Show Less
LibraryThing member SGTCat
I read through this more quickly than I should have. I think it's a book that I'll have to read through a few times and after studying other material to really understand it well.