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In chapter 8–15, Śāntideva turns to the topic of purification and discusses the various practices bodhisattvas can engage in to purify themselves of sinful actions and afflictive emotions. These actions include: confession and atonement, the practice of patience, putting forth effort in study and learning, purifying the mind through meditation, and applying the mind to the practice of mindfulness.
Chapter 10: Perfection of Effort
Abiding with patience and forbearance, Śāntideva's next piece of advice is to put effort in study and learning while also being conscious that learning should be put into practice with observance of moral discipline instead of puffing the person up with pride. Learning should lead to wisdom, which can pacify afflictive emotions, and beings free from afflictive emotions cannot be harmed by the evil force (i.e. Māra). For one with a strong yearning to learn, even the buddhas will show themselves, give teachings, and reveal the texts which are hidden as treasures in mountains and forests. Such a person would be blessed to live long, be healthy, possess the power of memory, confidence, and realization, transcend wrong views and hold correct views, and avoid fears.
The Teachings of Akṣayamati lists eighty different aspects or manners of learning a bodhisattva should adopt and the many ways in which to engage in learning Dharma. For instance, one must learn with interest, reflection, benevolent determination, according to procedures, without pride, with vigilance, courteously, agreeably, etc. Similarly, one must engage with no distraction or activities, with diligence in the morning and evening, with understanding of the topic, with repeated quest for learning, without pollution in the mind, etc. As to what one must learn, Śāntideva cites The Sūtra of Extensive Pristine Wisdom (Skt. Jñānavaipulyasūtra) to state that a bodhisattva must learn meaningful treatises and avoid useless texts, such as those that teach the materialistic philosophy of the Cārvāka school, texts on curses and sorcery, texts on punishment, texts on the art of speech, texts on youthful plays, and texts on magical charms. In this chapter on effort, Śāntideva mainly deals with enthusiasm and effort in learning and study but does not cover the whole breadth of the perfection of effort as he does in The Way of the Bodhisattva. There appears also to be some corruption in the text.
Additional resources
Here we need to think about what would be particularly useful to the student/reader at this point. Link to key terms found in chapter one? Any thoughts?
The Way of the Bodhisattva
