The Bodhisattvabhūmi - An Old Manual for Engaged Buddhists?

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The Bodhisattvabhūmi - an Old Manual for Engaged Buddhists?
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Michael Zimmermann from the University of Hamburg gives a lecture on the Bodhisattvabhūmi at the International Conference "Dharma Today: Faces of Contemporary Buddhism", organized by the Italian Buddhist Union with the endorsement of the Ca' Foscari University of Venice and the FISPPA Department of the University of Padua (March 5-6 and 11-13, 2022)
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Zimmermann, Michael. "The Bodhisattvabhūmi - An Old Manual for Engaged Buddhists?" A talk given at the International Conference "Dharma Today: Faces of Contemporary Buddhism. Produced by Unione Buddhista Italiana, March 5-6 and 11-13, 2022. Video, 48:25. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLGqi-xiVD4.
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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.