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Revision as of 14:26, 7 November 2024

Practice
Practice wisdom and compassion as a way of life


 
The Textual History of the Bodhicaryāvatāra
This concise essay examines the transmission and manuscript history of the Bodhicaryāvatāra.
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Short Title
This article traces the Bodhicaryāvatāra 's journey from its Mongolian translations in the 17th and 18th centuries to its introduction to Western academia in the late 19th century.
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The Textual History and Reception of Śāntideva's Śikṣāsamuccaya
This article provides a comprehensive overview of the Śikṣāsamuccaya 's origins, spread, and influence. It traces the text's composition in 8th century India, its early translations into Tibetan and Chinese, and subsequent transmission through various Buddhist lineages.
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Influence and Reception of Śāntideva's Works in India and Nepal
This short overview gives an account of the Bodhicaryāvatāra 's history from its origins in India to its transmission in Nepal. It discusses the text's authorship, traditionally attributed to Śāntideva in 7th century India, and explores various commentaries and abbreviated versions produced by Indian scholars.
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Influence and Reception of Śāntideva's Works in China and Central Asia
This essay explores the transmission and influence of Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra in China and Mongolia. He examines the Chinese translation of the text during the Sòng dynasty, and highlights the related political context and translation processes.
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The Transmission of the Bodhicaryāvatāra in Tibet: An Overview
This article provides a detailed account of the Bodhicaryāvatāra 's impact on Tibetan Buddhism.
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Patrul Rinpoche's Tradition

Discover and practice a living spiritual tradition rooted in Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra....Content coming soon. Please be patient.

Introduction

As Śāntideva’s writings focus on and give importance to practice, it is crucial to understand and experience Śāntideva’s writings through practical engagement. One can only fully appreciate Śāntideva’s teachings and their value and purpose as a whole by putting his teachings into practice. In the following passages we provide the most common procedures for the practical application of Śāntideva’s teachings with bodhicitta at their heart.

There is no doubt that Śāntideva’s two works were composed as aids for spiritual practice on the path to enlightenment following the Mahāyāna system. While The Way of the Bodhisattva is an inspirational and poetic exhortation and instruction for practice, The Compendium of Training is a convenient anthology of instructions and rules, which are otherwise dispersed in numerous sūtras. Śāntideva did not write them as philosophical discourses, topical enumerations, or literary compositions, although they contain rich ethical, philosophical, and literary elements. His writings were first and foremost designed as didactic instructions for the practice of the Mahāyāna path, at the heart of which is the cultivation of bodhicitta, or the thought of awakening, and the practice of the six perfections.

It is also for the effectiveness in inspiring and furthering bodhisattva practice that Śāntideva’s works have been valued and widely promoted throughout the centuries after their appearance. From their early days in India and initial propagation in Tibet to their diffusion in numerous countries in our times, Śāntideva’s writings spread across many continents mainly as inspiring and instructive literature for moral and spiritual training and practice. The tradition of the practical application of Śāntideva’s teachings appears to have thrived, particularly in the times of figures such as Dharmakīrti of Suvarṇadvīpa and Atiśa. This continued during the transmission of Buddhism to Tibet, as most leading hierarchs of Tibetan Buddhist schools enthusiastically took up the practice of Śāntideva’s teachings. The tradition of practice reached new heights in the days of Patrul Rinpoche, one of the greatest champions of Śāntideva’s teachings. The legacy continues to this day through strong promoters such as the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso.

As Śāntideva’s writings focus on and give importance to practice, it is crucial to understand and experience Śāntideva’s writings through practical engagement. One can only fully appreciate Śāntideva’s teachings and their value and purpose as a whole by putting his teachings into practice. In the following passages we provide the most common procedures for the practical application of Śāntideva’s teachings with bodhicitta at their heart.

 
A Short Account of Patrul Rinpoche's Life
Wulstan Fletcher and Helena Blankleder, in the introduction to their translation of The Nectar of Manjushri's Speech, provide a brief biography of Patrul Rinpoche, explaining how he popularized Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra, a text that was his constant companion.
Patrul Rinpoche's Life
 
Patrul Rinpoche's Way of Teaching the Bodhicaryāvatāra
Alak Zenkar Rinpoche explains Patrul Rinpoche's extraordinary approach in the way he teaches Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra. This excerpt has been translated by Adam Pearcey for Lotsawa House.
Patrul Rinpoche's Way of Teaching the Bodhicaryāvatāra
Ultimate and Relative Bodhicitta
Content coming soon. Please be patient.
The Path
The Six Perfections
The six perfections, or pāramitā—generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom—are the primary constituents that make up the path in the Mahāyāna tradition based on the sūtras. They represent the different facets of the bodhisattva conduct, as specific areas of attention that are initially practiced in succession, yet are structured in order to produce a cumulative effect. Once the bodhisattva has reached the point of proficiency in all of the perfections they are then meant to function collectively and, together, they become the vehicle by which a bodhisattva is conveyed toward the complete awakening of buddhahood.
The Path
The Two Truths
The Two Truths (satyadvaya) are one of the hallmarks of Buddhist philosophy, in which they reference the two modes of reality, ultimate and relative. Though they are represented in all four of the tenet systems, each of which have their own positions on these, they are an especially prominent theme in the Mahāyāna. And, perhaps nowhere more so than in the Middle Way, or Madhyamaka, school of thought introduced by Nāgārjuna.
The Path
The Bodhisattva Ideal
Content coming soon. Please be patient.
The Path

Patrul Rinpoche's Tradition

Discover and practice a living spiritual tradition rooted in Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra....Content coming soon. Please be patient.

KUNU LAMA CONTENT?

Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen ཁུ་ནུ་བླ་མ་བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱལ་མཚན་ (1894/1895 - 1977).


GENERATING BODHICITTA / ENTERING THE PATH

Preparatory Stage Physical support (meditation on the precious human body, refer book, audio, etc.) Mental support (faith, compassion, think of benefit of Bodhicitta) The seven limbs of worship Brief instructions on Prostration, offering, confession, rejoicing, entreaties, dedication Mind Training – four immeasurables, sense of giving Actual Stage Taking refuge Taking Bodhisattva vow Concluding Stage Rejoicing oneself Asking others to rejoice

PROTECTING BODHICITTA / TRAINING ON THE PATH

Precepts (list root vows, dos and don’ts from SSC mainly) Four trainings from SSC Vigilance, mindfulness, introspection Tolerance and patience Reasons for respecting sentient beings


{{Panel |bg-image-class=locked-door-faded-bg |image-side=40-50 |bg-size=cover |bg-offwhite-fade=right |classes=tsdwiki-border-tb-redfade |header=ENHANCING BODHICITTA / PROGRESSING ON THE PATH |text=Four forces and two powers Reflecting on karma / virtues, sins and their results Meditation – shamatha Cultivating Relative Bodhicitta Equality between self and others Exchange between self and others Seven Instructions on Cause and Effect Four Immeasurables Four modes of cultivation

Cultivating Ultimate Bodhicitta Mindfulness of body Mindfulness of sensation Mindfulness of mind Mindfulness of phenomena

Explore the Themes

 
The Practices of the Bodhisattva
Explore the practices of the bodhisattva expounded by Śāntideva.
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Generating Bodhicitta
Protecting Bodhicitta
Perfecting Bodhicitta
Dedication of Merit
 
Patrul Rinpoche's Tradition
Discover and practice a living spiritual tradition rooted in Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra.
Click to expand
 
The Training of the Bodhisattva
Explore the training of the Bodhisattva path as laid out by Śāntideva in the Śikṣāsamuccaya.
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Śāntideva
Śāntideva lived in the first half of the eighth century in Northern India. Accounts of his life are very scarce. According to the Buddhist tradition, he was born the son of King Kalyāṇavarman of Saurāṣṭra. After having a vision of the deity of wisdom, Mañjuśrī, he gave up his right to the throne and became a monk at the great monastic university of Nalanda in present day Bihar. Śāntideva was in appearance a lazy practitioner who did not spend much time studying. As he was about to be expelled from Nalanda, he was asked to give a public teaching by some monks who wanted to ridicule him, as they asked him to teach an original composition. Śāntideva spontaneously expounded the Bodhicaryāvatāra, a poem of 913 verses, without any hesitation. As he reached the end of his recitation, he rose into the sky and disappeared. The Bodhicaryāvatāra is a detailed presentation of the path of the bodhisattvas in which all aspects of practice are explained in detail. Śāntideva composed a companion work on the topic of the bodhisattva's training, the Śikṣāsamuccaya, which is a compendium of Mahāyāna sūtras.
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