The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyavatara (Shambhala Classics) [Paperback]

Shantideva (Author), Padmakara Translation Group (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 10, 2003 | Series: Shambhala Classics

One of the great classics of Mahayana Buddhism, 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. Presented in the form of a personal meditation in verse, it outlines the path of the bodhisattvas—those beings who renounce the peace of an individual salvation and vow to work for the deliverance of all beings, and to attain enlightenment for their sake. The text is beloved by Buddhists of all traditions. Originally written in India in Sanskrit, the text first appeared in Tibetan translation in the eighth century. The fact that it has been expounded, studied, and practiced in Tibet in an unbroken tradition lends the Tibetan version of the Bodhicharyavatara a particular authority. The present version has therefore been translated from the Tibetan, following a commentary by the Nyingma master Kunzang Pelden, renowned for its thoroughness, clarity, and accessibility.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Shantideva was an Indian Buddhist while Buddhism still flourished in India. His great work, the Bodhicharyavatara, or "Entrance to the Path of Awakening," became a major text of Tibetan Buddhism long after it went out of circulation in its homeland. It is a handbook on how to realize the nature of existence and of compassion that arises from such realization. The Dalai Lama said of it, "If I have any understanding of compassion and the practice of the Bodhisattva path, it is entirely on the basis of this text that I possess it." Like the Book of Proverbs, the Bodhicharyavatara is a timeless work of wisdom, the longevity of which is due to the quality of its verse as much as to its wisdom. For the first time, an attempt has been made to recover that poetic immediacy by rendering the text in iambic lines.

Regard your body as a vessel,
A simple boat for going here and there.
Make of it a wish-fulfilling gem
To bring about the benefit of beings.

With this translation, gleaming in its clarity, a Buddhist classic becomes an English classic. Worthy of recitation and committing to memory, Shantideva's words on such topics as doing good, reading sutras, guarding the mind, keeping good company, and on the nature of the mind and reality can take on a life of their own, to grow and blossom in a new native tongue. The text booms, like the voice of a Shakespearean actor, as if it were not the bodhisattva but the book itself that proclaims:

And now as long as space endures,
As long as there are beings to be found,
May I continue likewise to remain
To drive away the sorrows of the world.

--Brian Bruya --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

One of the many Buddhist masters who have written profoundly and with clarity about the wellsprings of the Buddhist traditions is Shantideva, a seventh-century Buddhist scholar who taught at Nalanda, one of the great monastic universities of ancient India. Shantideva's Bodhicharyavatara, one of the foundational texts of Tibetan Buddhism, deeply influenced the Dalai Lama, who once remarked that his own understanding of the bodhisattva path is based entirely upon Shantideva's text. Bodhisattvas are beings who renounce nirvana and vow to work for the welfare of all beings. The Bodhicharyavatara, which means "An Entry Into the Activities of Enlightenment," is an outline of the path that bodhisattvas should follow as they seek to teach others the path to nirvana. Thus, this collection contains meditation exercises and moral instruction for bodhisattvas to practice as they engage in their work. Shantideva's work is required reading for an understanding of Tibetan Buddhism, and the clarity and crispness of this new translation make it an accessible way into the world of Tibetan Buddhism.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala (June 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590300572
• ISBN-13: 978-1590300572
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #677,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shantideva's Guide, December 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyavatara (Shambhala Dragon Editions) (Paperback)

Shatideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life is a very practical guide for those seeking to actualize the six perfections of Buddhism. It is a book that will reward your study over and over again, and is meant to be read and studied more than once. I have read three different translations of this work. The Shambala edition is the most poetic of the three and what it gains in poetry it slightly looses in meaning. My first choice is the version published by the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. That is not to slight the Shambala edition though, for it merely presents another view of an immense landscape. If you have any interest in Buddhism and have some background in basic Buddhist ideas, read this book, and try your best to put it into practice.

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another translation of the Bodhicaryavatara, July 21, 2001

By 

Steve Uhlig (Berlin, Germany) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyavatara (Shambhala Dragon Editions) (Paperback)

Although being a good translation of the Bodhicaryavatara, my impression is that this English translation lags behind the one from Kate Crosby and Andrew Skilton. The reason is that the authors have tried to provide a more poetic version of the text, to the detriment of the accuracy in meaning. Although such an intent is laudable, the result is mitigated. The problem comes from the language with its too different cultural roots, English appears difficult for allowing a poetic translation of a text of this nature. For exanple, the French translation from Louis Finot achieves accuracy and poetry at the same time.

Nevertheless, the translation is still very good, and the comments are sufficiently detailed for the reader to grasp all the substance from this wonderful text.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Lovin' Spoonful, December 18, 2004

By 

Myron Makewater "redcrosseknight" (Laramie) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyavatara (Shambhala Classics) (Paperback)

This short book is the place to start if you genuinely aspire to understand and undertake Mahayana practice. (That in itself is a wonderful aspiration, and I sincerely thank you for it.) Why this translation, though?

The Padmakara Translation Committee does great work. They have chosen the tradition of practice and practical experience as the basis of their translation over scholarly adherance to the Sanskrit original, translating from the Tibetan text, informed also by many generations of disciplined practitioners including themselves. And the poetry is as good as it can be, which helps if you want to memorize parts of the text. This translation has at its back the energy and immediate relevance of living tradition and real practice, which is priceless.

As is sometimes the case with traditional Buddhism, though, some moments give the contemporary reader pause; Shantideva's comments on women, like Milarepa's, come immediately to mind. The reader would do well to ask his or her teacher about this, IMHO, or find a teacher and ask.

Finally, a special note for those involved in Chogyam Trungpa's Shambhala community: Shantideva relies heavily on warrior imagery and metaphors of spiritual warfare that you may find illuminating in the context of Shambhala Training, Trungpa Rinpoche's comments on the warrior's practice, and Kalachakra teachings generally.