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बोधिचित्तविवरणटीका
Bodhicittavivaraṇatīkā
བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་ཀྱི་འགྲེལ་པའི་རྣམ་པར་བཤད་པ
byang chub sems kyi 'grel pa'i rnam par bshad pa
An Explanation of (Nāgārjuna's) "Commentary on Bodhicitta" (84000)
Text
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Description
The commentary on the Bodhicittavivaraṇa by the eleventh-century Indian paṇḍita Smṛtijñānakīrti, the Bodhicittavivaraṇaṭīkā, represents one of the most sophisticated tantric interpretations of Nāgārjuna's treatise. From its opening verses, where the author humbly states his intention to eliminate conceptual elaborations (rtog pa kun spangs pa) motivated purely by faith (dad pas) rather than worldly concerns, the commentary positions itself as a profound integration of Madhyamaka philosophy with Vajrayāna practice. Significantly, Smṛtijñānakīrti immediately frames the Bodhicittavivaraṇa's instructions as originating from the Guhyasamājatantra and being specifically intended for "yogis and yoginis" (rnal 'byor pha dang ma), thereby establishing the text not as a general Mahāyāna treatise but as an essential guide for tantric practitioners.
Reference
Smṛtijñānakīrti. bodhicittavivaraṇatīkā [बोधिचित्तविवरणटीका]. byang chub sems kyi 'grel pa'i rnam par bshad pa [བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་ཀྱི་འགྲེལ་པའི་རྣམ་པར་བཤད་པ]. [An Explanation of (Nāgārjuna's) "Commentary on Bodhicitta" (84000)]. Tengyur, RKTST 693 http://www.rkts.org/cat.php?id=693&typ=2.
Interconnections
1 Classical commentary of
The Bodhicittavivaraṇa (Tib. བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་ཀྱི་འགྲེལ་པ།, Eng. Commentary on the Awakening Mind) is a foundational Mahāyāna text comprising 112 verses, originally composed in Sanskrit, preceded by a prose introduction, traditionally attributed to the second-century master Nāgārjuna. This work serves as both a comprehensive Madhyamaka analysis and a practical guide for cultivating bodhicitta in its two dimensions: conventional bodhicitta as the compassionate aspiration for all beings' enlightenment, and ultimate bodhicitta as the direct realization of emptiness (śūnyatā). The text grounds ethical aspiration in ontological analysis, demonstrating how understanding the empty nature of phenomena naturally generates universal compassion, while also refuting competing philosophical positions including Vijñānavāda idealism, the tīrthika conception of self, and the śrāvaka understanding of the skandhas. Although scholarly questions persist regarding its authorship—particularly given the text’s apparent tantric elements, critique of Vijñānavāda, and absence of citation by Nāgārjuna’s principal commentators Buddhapālita, Candrakīrti, and Bhāvaviveka—the Bodhicittavivaraṇa has exerted profound influence across Indian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Its remarkable interpretive flexibility has allowed it to serve as a scriptural foundation for diverse philosophical schools and contemplative practices, from strict Prāsaṅgika philosophy to mahāmudrā and mind training (lojong), making it an essential text for both monastic and lay bodhisattvas throughout the history of Mahāyāna Buddhism.
