The Concept of Bodhicitta in Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra (Diss)

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The Concept of Bodhicitta in Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra

Dissertation

Bodhicitta

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Descriptionངོ་སྤྲོད།

Abstract

This thesis is a contribution to the study of the interpretation of the concept of bodhicitta. This concept is a technical term of frequent occurrence in Buddhist Sanskrit literature. Within the Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition, bodhicitta is closely related to the spiritual practices of the Buddhist aspirant to enlightenment. Specifically researched is Śāntideva’s use of this concept in his Bodhicaryāvatāra, a text known to have been composed around the 8th century. The form of this study is as follows: first, a survey of the various interpretations of the concept of bodhicitta suggested so far; secondly, an analysis of its possible functions in the context of the spiritual path of the aspirant to enlightenment; thirdly, a discussion of what I believe to be an appropriate understanding of bodhicitta. An argument will be made that the path to realization consists in cultivating an awareness of the reality described by the concept of bodhicitta. Such cultivation should bring one to the realization that what is described by it is indeed the only possible reality. This means that bodhicitta is the means to as well as the description of the goal to attain.

Citation

Brassard, Francis. "The Concept of Bodhicitta in Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra." PhD diss., McGill University, 1996.

Table of contents

Acknowledgmentsiv
Abstractv
Abbreviationsvi
Introduction1
Chapter one: Bodhicitta and the spiritual path of the bodhisattva6
- 1. Methodological considerations6
- 2. Sāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra11
  - i. The text12
  - ii. Sāntideva17
  - iii. Prajñākaramati20
- 3. Review of literature20
  - i. Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki21
  - ii. Sangharakshita27
Chapter two: Bodhicitta as desire for enlightenment33
- 1. The importance and implications of the idea of motivation34
- 2. Criticism of bodhicitta as factor of motivation41
  - i. Citta41
  - ii. Citta-utpāda47
  - iii. The two types of bodhicitta51
  - iv. The ethical aspect of bodhicitta59
- 3. Conclusion64
Chapter three: Bodhicitta as object of concentration66
- 1. Arguments in favor of bodhicitta as object of concentration68
  - i. Derivatives of the verbal root √grah and √dhṛ69
  - ii. The practice of meditation73
  - iii. Implications related to the idea of bodhicitta as object of concentration78
- 2. Criticism of bodhicitta as object of concentration79
Chapter four: Bodhicitta and cultivation of awareness87
- 1. The nature of religious language89
  - i. The functional aspect of religious language90
  - ii. The metaphysical aspect of religious language94
  - iii. The ethical aspect of religious language98
- 2. The cultivation of awareness108
  - i. Examples of the cultivation of awareness112
  - ii. The feeling of detachment115
  - iii. The breaking up of distinctions119
  - iv. The unforeseeable nature of the experience of transformation120
- 3. The practice of devotion122
  - i. saddhā/śraddhā124
- 4. Conclusion128
Chapter five: The aspect of renunciation130
- - i. The kleśas and the cultivation of awareness136
  - ii. kṣāntipāramitā138
  - iii. The workings of the mind141
Chapter six: The aspect of conversion148
- - i. vīryapāramitā156
Chapter seven: The aspect of contemplation168
Conclusion182
Bibliography186

Interconnections

Works related to this item

1 Based on dissertation

Brassard, Francis. The Concept of Bodhicitta in Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2000. https://archive.org/details/conceptofbodhicittainsantidevasbodhicaryavatarafrancisbrassardsunny_117_u.

Books2000About this item

Francis Brassard offers a contextual analysis of bodhicitta based on the presuppositions underlying the spiritual practice of the bodhisattva.

2 Reviews

Edelglass, William. Review of The Concept of Bodhicitta in Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra, by Francis Brassard. Philosophy East and West 54, no. 1 (2004): 95-99.

Articles2004About this item

This is William Edelglass's review of Francis Brassard's book The Concept of Bodhicitta in Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra.

Tatz, Mark. Review of The Concept of Bodhicitta in Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra, by Francis Brassard. Journal of the American Oriental Society 123, no. 1 (2003): 266.

Articles2003About this item

This is Mark Tatz's brief review (in full) of Francis Brassard's book The Concept of Bodhicitta in Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra.

1 Scholarship on

Śāntideva (ཞི་བ་ལྷ་). Bodhicaryāvatāra [बोधिचर्यावतार]. byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa [བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་སྤྱོད་པ་ལ་འཇུག་པ།]. [The Way of the Bodhisattva]. Tengyur, RKTST 3216 http://www.rkts.org/cat.php?id=3216&typ=2.

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.