The Bodhisattvabhūmi: A Brief Bibliographical Survey

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The Bodhisattvabhūmi: A Brief Bibliographical Survey
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Description

An abridged version of this contribution was published in 2018

online in the Oxford Bibliographies in Buddhism (https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195393521/obo-9780195393521-0254.xml) as the entry dedicated to the ‘Bodhisattvabhūmi’ bibliographical survey. This version represents the preprint initially submitted to the editors, and later abridged due to exceeding the allowed length. Posting this complete version on such platforms as the Academia and ResearchGate makes, I believe, more sense since the deleted materials (see mainly end of the paper) can hopefully provide ampler information to the interested readers.

Citation
Deleanu, Florin. "The Bodhisattvabhūmi: A Brief Bibliographical Survey." Online version of an abridged version published in 2018 by the Oxford Bibliographies in Buddhism. N.P.: N.D.


Scholarship on

 
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.
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