The Bodhi-caryâvatāra and Its Monastic Aspects: On the Problem of Representation

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Descriptionངོ་སྤྲོད།

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In this paper, I consider how and why the BCA's monastic aspects had been largely neglected until recently and why its monastic characteristics tend to be underrepresented still today. In other words, I address the problem of cultural representation, which has been recently raised in Buddhist Studies—e.g. in Almond (1988), Tuck (1990), Schopen (1991), Lopez (1996)—reflecting the recent development of other fields, notably history and literary studies. Although there have been numerous translations of the BCA, there is no critical research on the interpretations of the BCA as cultural representation. This essay would be the first contribution that links the BCA to a broader discussion about the question of the production of knowledge in Buddhist Studies.

Citation

Onishi, Kaoru. "The Bodhi-caryâvatāra and Its Monastic Aspects: On the Problem of Representation." In Logic and Belief in Indian Philosophy, 2nd rev. ed., edited by Piotr Balcerowicz, 627–54. Warsaw, Poland: Piotr Balcerowicz, 2016. First published 2010 by Motilal Banarsidass (Delhi). https://archive.org/details/logicandbeliefinindianphilosophypiotrbalcerowiczmlbdrevised_202003_327_R/page/n627/mode/2up.

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Bodhicaryāvatāra

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.

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