Bodhicittavivaraṇa (BV) (Lindtner 1982)
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Bodhicittavivaraṇa (BV)
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Description
A study and English translation of the Bodhicittavivaraṇa (BV), attributed to Nāgārjuna. Contains a discussion of the text's authenticity and a synopsis. Also contains the Tibetan version and Sanskrit fragments.
Citation
Lindtner, Chr., trans. "Bodhicittavivaraṇa." In Nāgārjuniana: Studies in the Writings and Philosophy of Nāgārjuna, 180–217. Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag, 1982.
Interconnections
1 Recension of
The Bodhicittavivaraṇa (Tib. བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་ཀྱི་འགྲེལ་པ།, Eng. Commentary on the Awakening Mind) is a foundational Mahāyāna text comprising 112 verses, originally composed in Sanskrit, preceded by a prose introduction, traditionally attributed to the second-century master Nāgārjuna. This work serves as both a comprehensive Madhyamaka analysis and a practical guide for cultivating bodhicitta in its two dimensions: conventional bodhicitta as the compassionate aspiration for all beings' enlightenment, and ultimate bodhicitta as the direct realization of emptiness (śūnyatā). The text grounds ethical aspiration in ontological analysis, demonstrating how understanding the empty nature of phenomena naturally generates universal compassion, while also refuting competing philosophical positions including Vijñānavāda idealism, the tīrthika conception of self, and the śrāvaka understanding of the skandhas. Although scholarly questions persist regarding its authorship—particularly given the text’s apparent tantric elements, critique of Vijñānavāda, and absence of citation by Nāgārjuna’s principal commentators Buddhapālita, Candrakīrti, and Bhāvaviveka—the Bodhicittavivaraṇa has exerted profound influence across Indian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Its remarkable interpretive flexibility has allowed it to serve as a scriptural foundation for diverse philosophical schools and contemplative practices, from strict Prāsaṅgika philosophy to mahāmudrā and mind training (lojong), making it an essential text for both monastic and lay bodhisattvas throughout the history of Mahāyāna Buddhism.
1 Full translation of
The Bodhicittavivaraṇa (Tib. བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་ཀྱི་འགྲེལ་པ།, Eng. Commentary on the Awakening Mind) is a foundational Mahāyāna text comprising 112 verses, originally composed in Sanskrit, preceded by a prose introduction, traditionally attributed to the second-century master Nāgārjuna. This work serves as both a comprehensive Madhyamaka analysis and a practical guide for cultivating bodhicitta in its two dimensions: conventional bodhicitta as the compassionate aspiration for all beings' enlightenment, and ultimate bodhicitta as the direct realization of emptiness (śūnyatā). The text grounds ethical aspiration in ontological analysis, demonstrating how understanding the empty nature of phenomena naturally generates universal compassion, while also refuting competing philosophical positions including Vijñānavāda idealism, the tīrthika conception of self, and the śrāvaka understanding of the skandhas. Although scholarly questions persist regarding its authorship—particularly given the text’s apparent tantric elements, critique of Vijñānavāda, and absence of citation by Nāgārjuna’s principal commentators Buddhapālita, Candrakīrti, and Bhāvaviveka—the Bodhicittavivaraṇa has exerted profound influence across Indian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Its remarkable interpretive flexibility has allowed it to serve as a scriptural foundation for diverse philosophical schools and contemplative practices, from strict Prāsaṅgika philosophy to mahāmudrā and mind training (lojong), making it an essential text for both monastic and lay bodhisattvas throughout the history of Mahāyāna Buddhism.
1 Chapter or part of
The author deals with the thirteen works attributed to Nāgārjuna. The first six are mainly dialectical works such as Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, Śūnyatāsaptati, Vigrahavyāvartanī, Vaidalyaprakaraṇa, Vyavahārasiddhi, Yuktiṣaṣṭikā followed by the remaining seven which are chiefly didactic texts - Catuḥstava, Ratnāvali, Pratītyasamutpādahṛdayakārikā, Sūtrasamuccaya, Bodhicittavivaraṇa, Suhṛllekha, and Bodhisaṃbhāra (ka). Thus he roughly follows the prescriptive distinction between Yukti and Agama.
1 Scholarship on
The Bodhicittavivaraṇa (Tib. བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་ཀྱི་འགྲེལ་པ།, Eng. Commentary on the Awakening Mind) is a foundational Mahāyāna text comprising 112 verses, originally composed in Sanskrit, preceded by a prose introduction, traditionally attributed to the second-century master Nāgārjuna. This work serves as both a comprehensive Madhyamaka analysis and a practical guide for cultivating bodhicitta in its two dimensions: conventional bodhicitta as the compassionate aspiration for all beings' enlightenment, and ultimate bodhicitta as the direct realization of emptiness (śūnyatā). The text grounds ethical aspiration in ontological analysis, demonstrating how understanding the empty nature of phenomena naturally generates universal compassion, while also refuting competing philosophical positions including Vijñānavāda idealism, the tīrthika conception of self, and the śrāvaka understanding of the skandhas. Although scholarly questions persist regarding its authorship—particularly given the text’s apparent tantric elements, critique of Vijñānavāda, and absence of citation by Nāgārjuna’s principal commentators Buddhapālita, Candrakīrti, and Bhāvaviveka—the Bodhicittavivaraṇa has exerted profound influence across Indian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Its remarkable interpretive flexibility has allowed it to serve as a scriptural foundation for diverse philosophical schools and contemplative practices, from strict Prāsaṅgika philosophy to mahāmudrā and mind training (lojong), making it an essential text for both monastic and lay bodhisattvas throughout the history of Mahāyāna Buddhism.
