The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature

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Śāntideva's Life and Cultural World

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Descriptionངོ་སྤྲོད།

The present work consists of seven chapters that deal with the Bodhisattva doctrine as expounded in the principal Buddhist Sanskrit Literature. Chapter 1 describes the nature of the Bodhisattva doctrine with particular stress on the distinct characteristics of arhat, Bodhisattva and śrāvaka. Chapter II recounts the different factors including the influence Persian religio-cult, Greek art and Christian ethics that contributed to the rise and growth of the Bodhisattva doctrine. Chapter III expounds the production of the thought of Enlightenment for the welfare and liberation of all creatures. Chapter IV describes thirty-seven practices and principles conducive to the attainment of Enlightenment. Chapter V explains the ten perfections that lead to welfare, rebirth, serenity, spiritual cultivation, and supreme knowledge. Chapter VI states different stages of spiritual progress in the aspirant's long journey to the goal of final emancipation and Chapter VII relates the events of the Gautama Buddha's past lives as Bodhisattva. The book contains comprehensive notes and references besides a general index appended at the end. It is written in a very lucid style that speaks of the writer's scholarly acumen and mastery of literary art. (Source: Motilal Banarsidass)

Citation

Dayal, Har. The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1970. First published 1932 by K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. (London). https://ahandfulofleaves.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/the-bodhisattva-doctrine-in-buddhist-sanskrit-literature_dayal.pdf.

Publisher Link

https://www.mlbd.in/products/bodhisattva-doctrine-in-buddhist-sanskrit-literature-har-dayal-9788120812574-8120812573

Table of contents

Chap.Page
- List of Abbreviationsxi
I. The Bodhisattva Doctrine1
II. Origin and Development of the Bodhisattva Doctrine30
III. The Thought of Enlightenment50
IV. The Thirty-Seven "Dharmas"80
V. The Pāramitās165
VI. The Bhūmis270
VII. The Last Life and Enlightenment292
- Notes and References319
- Appendix382
- Index387

Interconnections

Works related to this item

1 Scholarship on

Asaṅga (ཐོགས་མེད་). Yogācārabhūmau Bodhisattvabhūmiḥ [योगाचारभूमौ बोधिसत्त्वभूमिः]. rnal 'byor spyod pa'i sa las byang chub sems dpa'i sa [རྣལ་འབྱོར་སྤྱོད་པའི་ས་ལས་བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་ས།]. [From The Levels of Spiritual Practice: The Level of a Bodhisattva (84000)]. Translated by Prajñāvarman, Ye shes sde. Tengyur, RKTST 3376 http://www.rkts.org/cat.php?id=3376&typ=2.

Classical WorksAbout this item

The Bodhisattvabhūmi (literally "The Stage of a Bodhisattva") stands as one of the most comprehensive and systematic expositions of the Mahāyāna Buddhist path from classical India. Formally the fifteenth section of the massive Yogācārabhūmi corpus, this foundational treatise provides an encyclopedic manual detailing the entire spiritual trajectory of a bodhisattva—from the initial arising of the "mind of awakening" (bodhicitta) to the ultimate attainment of perfect buddhahood.

Traditionally attributed to Ārya Asaṅga (c. fourth–fifth century CE) through revelation from the future buddha Maitreya, the text likely represents a compilation of earlier materials (c. 230–300 CE) that predates the fully developed Yogācāra philosophical system. Its existence in multiple Chinese translations from the early fifth century onward confirms its early date and widespread influence across Asian Buddhism.

The work's meticulously structured curriculum unfolds across three main books: The Support (ādhāra), the foundational prerequisites for the path; The Qualities That Accord with the Support (ādhārānudharma), the progressive stages of development; and The Perfection of the Support (ādhāraniṣṭhā), the ultimate fruition of buddhahood. At its philosophical heart lies the Tattvārthapaṭala (Chapter on Reality), which articulates a nuanced doctrine of "rightly grasped emptiness" that avoids both nihilism and eternalism. The text's longest and most influential section, the Śīlapaṭala (Chapter on Morality), codifies the complete ethical discipline of bodhisattvas through the famous system of bodhisattva precepts that became standard in Tibetan Buddhism.