On Altruism and Rebirth: Philosophical Comments on Bodhicaryāvatāra 8: 97-8

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On Altruism and Rebirth: Philosophical Comments on Bodhicaryāvatāra 8: 97-8
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It is normal, in lndo-Tibetan Madhyamaka, to portray analysis as involving the investigation of whether x can be found under analysis, in other words—at least for Prāsaṅgika Madhyamaka—whether x has inherent existence or not. This investigation is, of course, central to Madhyamaka, and forms the concern of insight meditation leading eventually to prajñā, seeing things the way they really are. However, much of what comes under the range of analytic inquiry in Western philosophy is not simply a matter of the search for putative ultimate reality. Ethical inquiry, for example, is not in itself a matter of such ultimates. Clearly, in Buddhist meditation, and debate also—even in Madhyamaka writing—critical analytic reasoning is not only employed in the area of ultimate investigation, the investigation of whether something can be found under analysis and, therefore, has ultimate, i.e., inherent, existence. A Madhyamaka meditation manual, like Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra, shows from the beginning how its author gives arguments, appeals to reason, in order to convince initially himself, and then any other reader (see 1: 2–3), to adopt a radically new vision and perspective. For Śāntideva, as a follower of Mahāyāna Buddhism, this new vision more often than not moves from his relationship to himself, his own concerns and projects, towards his relationships with other sentient beings. It is a move from self-centered egoism to an anticipated perfect altruism, but a move which is accomplished perhaps initially and in part, but certainly fundamentally, through appeals to reason, the rationality of the Buddhist spiritual path and ultimately, the complete rationality of altruism. (Williams, preliminary remarks, 307)

Citation
Williams, Paul. "On Altruism and Rebirth: Philosophical Comments on Bodhicaryāvatāra 8: 97-8." In The Buddhist Forum. Vol. 3. Papers in Honour and Appreciation of Professor David Seyfort Ruegg's Contribution to Indological, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies, edited by Tadeusz Skorupski and Ulrich Pagel, 307–32. London: School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London), 1994.
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Classical WorksAbout this item
An "Introduction to Bodhisattva Practice," the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra is a poem about the path of a bodhisattva, in ten chapters, written by the Indian Buddhist Śāntideva (fl. c. 685–763). One of the masterpieces of world literature, it is a core text of Mahāyāna Buddhism and continues to be taught, studied, and commented upon in many languages and by many traditions around the world. The main subject of the text is bodhicitta, the altruistic aspiration for enlightenment, and the path and practices of the bodhisattva, the six perfections (pāramitās). The text forms the basis of many contemporary discussions of Buddhist ethics and philosophy.