Before we begin to trace its history, the text itself needs a proper introduction.
Bodhicaryāvatāra, the title of the work, translates as "An Introduction to the Conduct of Awakening." In the Tibetan and Mongolian[1] translations the Sanskrit title is given as
Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra, which translates as "An Introduction to the Conduct of the Bodhisattva (the being/hero destined for awakening)." It may well be argued that the prior
title is merely a short version of the latter. All available Sanskrit manuscripts of the text,
however, give the shorter title,[2] and we will therefore use that title here, abbreviated BCA. As
Akira Saito has shown in a series of articles[3] there seems to have existed two versions of the
BCA. The presumably older of the two, BCA1, is only extant in a Tibetan translation
(BCATib1), and was found among the manuscripts discovered in the caves at Dūnhuáng in the
beginning of the 20th Century.[4] This version consists of nine chapters with a total of
701.5/702.5 verses.[5] The later version, BCA2, is the one found in all other sources,[6] and consists of ten chapters with a total of 912/913 verses.[7] The difference in number of chapters is due to chapter two having been divided into two separate chapters in the later version. The verses that have been added in the later edition are partly quotes from other texts, added to
clarify certain points, or to elaborate. Many of these verses are taken from Śāntideva's other
work, the Śikṣāsamuccaya (ŚS), perhaps inserted by a later editor.[8] The BCA seems to have
been composed as a text to be recited by practitioners, and this is the reason why the first
person singular is used quite frequently. The verses that have been added later, however,
break the flow of the work in certain places. Arguments have also been elaborated upon to the
extent that they have become more difficult to understand than was first intended. The chart
below shows the chapter-titles and number of verses of each chapter in the two editions of the
BCA, as well as the Tibetan (BCATib3),[9] Chinese (BCAChi),[10] and Mongolian (BCAMon)[11]
canonical translations. The translations will be discussed separately in later chapters.[12]
The BCA is written in classic Sanskrit verse, and the beauty of its poetry has been emphasised
by many who have written about it.[13] This is not, however, necessarily because of the
technical apparatus employed, but just as much the contents, showing a sentiment of
unconditional compassion for all beings that have touched many. The verse structure is quite
basic, and the bulk of the text is written in the anuṣṭubh-metre. This is a simple verse structure
with eight syllables per pāda,[14] each verse line consisting of two pādas, and where only six of
the total 16 syllables are of fixed weight.[15] An example of this is found in verse 1.15 (with the
rhythm illustrated below):
tad bodhicittaṃ dvividhaṃ vijñātavyaṃ samāsataḥ /
bodhipraṇidhicittaṃ ca bodhiprasthānam eva ca//[16]
¯¯˘¯¯˘˘¯ ˘¯¯¯˘¯˘¯ /
¯¯˘˘˘¯¯˘ ¯¯¯¯˘¯˘˘ //
Other and more complicated verse structures are also used in between, both even
(samacatuṣpadī) and semi-even (ardhasamacatuṣpadī). The longest verses are found in the
10th chapter, where the dedications of merit are elaborated upon in lengthy verse-lines, giving
the reader a feeling of abundance in the amount of merit accrued. In verse 10.11 we hear of
the powerful bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi, conqueror of the servants of death (yamapuruṣa), and the
benefits accrued from turning towards him:[17]
trastāḥ paśyantv akasmād iha yamapuruṣāḥ kākagṛdhrāś ca ghorāḥ dhvāntaṃ
dhvastaṃ samantāt sukharatijananī kasya saumyā prabheyam /
ity ūrdhvaṃ prekṣamāṇā gaganatalagataṃ vajrapāṇiṃ jvalantaṃ dṛṣṭvā
prāmodyavegād vyapagataduritā yāṃ tu tenaiva sārdham //[18]
¯¯¯¯˘¯¯˘˘˘˘˘˘¯¯˘˘¯˘¯¯ ¯¯¯¯˘¯¯˘˘˘˘˘˘¯¯˘¯¯˘¯¯ /
¯¯¯¯˘¯¯˘˘˘˘˘˘¯¯˘¯¯˘¯¯ ¯¯¯¯˘¯¯˘˘˘˘˘˘¯¯˘¯¯˘¯¯ //
The BCA contains a recipe for how to live the life of a bodhisattva, a being who has pledged
to practice the path of awakening for the benefit of all beings. The chapters are constructed in
a gradual manner, a step-by-step procedure leading the practitioner through mental practices
of devotion, meditation, and insight. The first chapter is a presentation of the attitude needed
to begin the practice of a bodhisattva. This attitude is called bodhicitta, the mind of
awakening, and has a theoretical (bodhipraṇidhicittaṃ) and practical (bodhiprasthānam)
aspect, as presented in verse 1.15 above. It is described as a rare and fragile attitude, as rare
and transitory as lightning that illuminates the night (verse 1.6), but also as immensely
powerful for overcoming evil (verse 1.14). The next chapter, the one that has been divided
into two chapters in the later edition, is a manual for the practice of supreme devotion
(anuttarapūja) which traditionally consists of seven parts.[19] In the BCA it consists of nine
parts: worship (pūjā), going for refuge (śaraṇagamana), confession of faults (pāpadeśanā),
rejoicing in merit (anumodanā), requesting the teaching (adhyeṣaṇā), begging the Buddhas
not to abandon beings (yācanā), dedication of merit (pariṇāmanā), and arousal of the mind of
awakening (bodhicittotpāda). Verses from this chapter have frequently been used in
ceremonies, such as the ceremony for receiving the bodhisattva’s vow.[20] The next six chapters deal in general with the six perfections (pāramitā) that a bodhisattva must master: generosity (dāna), discipline (śīla), patience (kṣānti), enthusiasm (vīrya), meditative absorption (dhyāna), and transcendent wisdom (prajñā). The two first chapters, however, do not in fact deal with generosity and discipline directly, but with practicing humility
(nairātmya) and awareness (samprajanya), two characteristics necessary towards that end.
The text is written as practical instructions in how to go about nurturing these qualities. The
chapter on transcendent wisdom is quite technical, especially in the latter version where a lot
of extra material has been added, and is mainly concerned with refuting misconceptions held
by other philosophical schools, and, in the Mādhyamika view, "lesser" Buddhist schools. The
last chapter concludes elaborately by dedicating the merit accrued to the benefit of all beings.
- ↑ But not, necessarily, in the Chinese, where the title is given as Pútíxíng Jīng 菩提行經.
- ↑ The available manuscripts that have been located in connection with this thesis are listed in the appendix.
- ↑ Saito (1993, 1997, 1999, 2000); other contributions have been Ishida (1988) and Kajihara (1992).
- ↑ There are four mss. containing parts of this text: Lon. IOL Tib J 628-630 and Par. Pt. 794. These will be
discussed further in the chapter on Tibet.
- ↑ This version has bee edited in Saito (1993 and 2000); the ms. Lon. IOL Tib J 629 contains one extra verse in chapter seven that the other mss., Lon. IOL Tib J 628, 630, and Par. Pt. 794, do not have.
- ↑ This is found in all Sanskrit mss. listed in the appendix, in the canonical translation preserved in the Tibetan canon (Tg), and in the Mongolian and Chinese translations. It is presumably also this edition that is found in the Newari translation, but this has not been verified. The Sanskrit version has been edited in Minayev (1889) and La Vallée Poussin (1902-14).
- ↑ In some editions verse 9.20 seems to have been partially repeated, probably due to scribal errors, causing these versions to have one extra verse. The Chinese translation contains less verses due to parts of ch. 2, and the whole of chapters 3 and 4 being left out. This will be discussed in the chapter on China.
- ↑ Crosby (1996: xxxii-xxxiii).
- ↑ Tg la 1b1-40a7.
- ↑ T 1662.
- ↑ As edited in Rachewiltz (1996)
- ↑ When referring to the chapters of the BCA it is mainly the chapters of the later edition, the BCA2, that are used throughout the thesis.
- ↑ Crosby (1996: xxxviii).
- ↑ Pāda means a foot, and is the equivalent of half a verse line. The translation "foot" should therefore be
avoided when discussing Sanskrit versification. Each verse consists of two verse lines, i.e. four pādas; see
Coulson (2002: 211-226).
- ↑ The weight of the syllable is a central component of Sanskrit verse structure. A short vowel, or consonant and
a short vowel together, form a light syllable (˘), while any syllable longer than that is heavy(¯). A complete
verse in the anuṣṭubh-metre has the structure: / ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ / ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ˘ ¯ ˘◦ / ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ / ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ˘ ¯ ˘ ◦ // (The sign ◦
indicates an optional syllable).
- ↑ Minayev (1889: 156).
- ↑ This is an even metre of the sragdharā type with 21 (7+7+7) syllables per pāda.
- ↑ Minayev (1889: 222).
- ↑ This has been discussed in detail in Crosby (1996: 9-13).
- ↑ This will be discussed in the chapter that presents a teaching on the BCA by the 14th Dalai Lama.
