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New Translation of a Key Buddhist Text
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Written in India in the early eighth century AD, Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara became one of the most popular accounts of the Buddhist's spiritual path. The Bodhicaryavatara takes as its subject the profound desire to become a Buddha and save all beings from suffering. The person who enacts such a desire is a Bodhisattva. Santideva not only sets out what the Bodhisattva must do and become, he also invokes the intense feelings of aspiration which underlie such a commitment, using language which has inspired Buddhists in their religious life from his time to the present. Important as a manual of training among Mahayana Buddhists, especially in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the Bodhicaryavatara continues to be used as the basis for teaching by modern Buddhist teachers. This is a new translation from the original language, with detailed annotations explaining allusions and technical references. The Introduction sets Santideva's work in context, and for the first time explain its structure.
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THE first chapter of Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara is an extended praise of his subject, the Awakening Mind. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
THE first chapter of Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara is an extended praise of his subject, the Awakening Mind. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a very important Mahayana Buddhist Sutra, appearing as a volume in Oxford's 'World's Classics' series - a publication that is over a hundred years old, and which serves to bring classic literature from around the world, to as broad an audience as possible. The authers - Kate Crosby and Andrew Skilton - have studied and taught at Oxford, and are considered authorities upon the academic subject of Buddhism. At the time of writing (c. 1994), Crosby is described as writing a doctrinal dissertation upon the subject of a Tantric Theravada meditation manual, whilst Skilton was completely his doctrinal dissertation upon the Samadhiraja Sutra. Paul Williams provides the General Introduction - at the time of writing, he is described as a Reader in Indo-Tibetan Studies and the Co-ordinator of the Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Bristol. This translation represents British academia at its most productive.
The paperback (1995) edition contains 191 numbered pages and consists of a General Introduction, a Translators' Introduction and ten distinct chapters:
General Introduction: Santideva and his world.
Translators' Introduction.
The Bodhicaryavatara.
1) Praise of the Awakening Mind.
2) Confession of Faults.
3) Adopting the Awakening Mind.
4) Vigilance regarding the Awakening Mind.
5) The Guarding Awareness.
6) The Perfection of Forbearance.
7) The Perfection of Vigour.
8) The Perfection of Meditative Absorption.
9) The Perfection of Understanding.
10) Dedication.
The Bodhicaryavatara Sutra can be translated from the Sanskrit into English as 'A Guide to Bodhisattva Behaviour', other renderings include 'Engaging in Bodhisattva Behaviour', and 'A Guide to the Buddhist Path to Awakening' - the latter being the preferred translation of the authors. Santideva flourished between 685 and 763 CE, and is believed to have been a Buddhist monk resident at Nalanda University, the ruins of which can still be observed at Bihar, modern India. This sutra is the recording of an extended verbal teaching that Santideva gave at the university, as a means of demonstrating his wisdom and understanding to the Buddhist professors of his day. A number of monks had gathered together in an attempt to have Santideva expelled on the grounds that he did not appear to be following the discipline correctly, and was, therefore, not cultivating Buddha-Mind. This sutra, in one expression, obviously demonstrates a fully functioning and enlightened mind, full of wisdom and compassion. Furthermore, such is the depth of enlightenment with Santideva, that his insight transcends the daily routines of the uinversity and sees through the unenlightened 'rote' learning pursued by many of the other students. Santideva teaches that emptiness 'sunyata' pervades all matter without exception, and that to realise this truth is to have compassion and understanding. A remarkable translation.
The paperback (1995) edition contains 191 numbered pages and consists of a General Introduction, a Translators' Introduction and ten distinct chapters:
General Introduction: Santideva and his world.
Translators' Introduction.
The Bodhicaryavatara.
1) Praise of the Awakening Mind.
2) Confession of Faults.
3) Adopting the Awakening Mind.
4) Vigilance regarding the Awakening Mind.
5) The Guarding Awareness.
6) The Perfection of Forbearance.
7) The Perfection of Vigour.
8) The Perfection of Meditative Absorption.
9) The Perfection of Understanding.
10) Dedication.
The Bodhicaryavatara Sutra can be translated from the Sanskrit into English as 'A Guide to Bodhisattva Behaviour', other renderings include 'Engaging in Bodhisattva Behaviour', and 'A Guide to the Buddhist Path to Awakening' - the latter being the preferred translation of the authors. Santideva flourished between 685 and 763 CE, and is believed to have been a Buddhist monk resident at Nalanda University, the ruins of which can still be observed at Bihar, modern India. This sutra is the recording of an extended verbal teaching that Santideva gave at the university, as a means of demonstrating his wisdom and understanding to the Buddhist professors of his day. A number of monks had gathered together in an attempt to have Santideva expelled on the grounds that he did not appear to be following the discipline correctly, and was, therefore, not cultivating Buddha-Mind. This sutra, in one expression, obviously demonstrates a fully functioning and enlightened mind, full of wisdom and compassion. Furthermore, such is the depth of enlightenment with Santideva, that his insight transcends the daily routines of the uinversity and sees through the unenlightened 'rote' learning pursued by many of the other students. Santideva teaches that emptiness 'sunyata' pervades all matter without exception, and that to realise this truth is to have compassion and understanding. A remarkable translation.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is, to my mind, a fine rendering of Shantideva's eighth century classic "The Bodhicaryavatara" (translated from the Sanskrit). In addition to the translation itself, this work includes a useful general introduction by Paul Williams and helpful introductions to each chapter.
I also recommend The Way of the Bodhisattva (Shambhala Classics) which is another fine version, this time taken from the Tibetan. This work also includes a fine introduction and several helpful appendices. Also available is A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life, translated by V A Wallace and B Allan Wallace. This edition, also taken from the Sanskrit, includes the Tibetan variations as well.
I also recommend The Way of the Bodhisattva (Shambhala Classics) which is another fine version, this time taken from the Tibetan. This work also includes a fine introduction and several helpful appendices. Also available is A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life, translated by V A Wallace and B Allan Wallace. This edition, also taken from the Sanskrit, includes the Tibetan variations as well.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I didn't like reading this book, even though I have a craving for anything buddhist. I don't know if it was shantideva's or the translator's fault, but I suspect it was both.
To me, apart from some good inspirational phrases, I only liked chapter 9 on prajnaparamita.
If you want a good manual on boddhicitta, look instead to The Flower Ornament Scripture: Translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra.
To me, apart from some good inspirational phrases, I only liked chapter 9 on prajnaparamita.
If you want a good manual on boddhicitta, look instead to The Flower Ornament Scripture: Translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra.
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