Main Page

 

Discover

What is bodhicitta and why should we learn about it? Discover the basics of bodhicitta.

Doorway

 

Explore

The understanding and practice of bodhicitta depends on the knowledge of the stories, key concepts, texts, and people associated with it.

Doorway

Bodhicitta

Wisdom and Compassion as a Way of Life

བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་མཆོག་རིན་པོ་ཆེ།།

May bodhicitta, precious and sublime,

མ་སྐྱེས་པ་རྣམས་སྐྱེ་གྱུར་ཅིག།

Arise where it has not yet come to be;

སྐྱེས་པ་ཉམས་པ་མེད་པར་ཡང་།།

And where it has arisen may it never fail

གོང་ནས་གོང་དུ་འཕེལ་བར་ཤོག།

But grow and flourish ever more and more.

 

Defining Bodhicitta

Bodhicitta, the mind of enlightenment or awakening (byang chub kyi sems), is an altruistic intention, suffused with compassion, that aspires to free all beings from suffering and is motivated by the determination to work toward the attainment of complete enlightenment in order to help others reach that same state.

The Path

 

Types of Bodhicitta

The altruistic thought of enlightenment is presented in different types based on their nature, function, and stages.

The Path

Search this website

 

Join us on social media

 

Events & Mailing List

View Bodhicitta events and sign up for our mailing list

skip down

 

Reading Room

Portal to our multilingual verses and their commentaries.

enter the multiverse

 

Doorways

Explore Bodhicitta through our four doorways

keep reading

Discover Bodhicitta

The Buddhist path of wisdom and compassion is often presented through the single concept of bodhicitta. What is bodhicitta and why should we learn about it? Discover the basics of bodhicitta, considered to be the highest virtue in Buddhism.

open the doorway

Explore

The understanding and practice of bodhicitta depends on the knowledge of the stories, key concepts, texts, and people associated with it. Explore these various aspects to gain a better understanding of bodhicitta, the desire to seek the ultimate happiness for all sentient beings.

open the doorway

Study

Delve deeper into the study of bodhicitta and its associated theory, practice, and traditions by reading the core texts, the most popular of which is The Way of the Bodhisattva by Śāntideva, one of the greatest promoters of bodhicitta.

open the doorway

Practice

What use is a powerful medicine if one does not take it to cure the illness? say Buddhist masters. Learn how to put bodhicitta into practice in order to bring the highest good – perfect enlightenment – to all sentient beings.

open the doorway

Shantideva

Śāntideva is undoubtedly one of the most inspiring monk-authors in the history of Buddhism. A philosopher-poet in the ranks of Dante, Rumi, and William Blake, his writings on the cultivation of compassion and wisdom capture the highest human spirit and have influenced millions through the centuries. Śāntideva's most important work, The Way of the Bodhisattva, is a world classic and is read as part of the core curriculum in many Indo-Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Śāntideva's presentation of bodhicitta is essential reading for Buddhists and has influenced contemporary presentations of the concept profoundly even today. This website presents information and texts about bodhicitta in general but begins with a study of Shantideva's life and works.

Learn more about Śāntideva here

Join our mailing list to receive updates on events and new resources

My Signup Form

Subscribe

Recent & Upcoming events

 

Some event #1

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

go to recent event

 

Some event #2

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

go to recent event

 

Some event #3

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

go to upcoming event

Reading Room

Pull up a chair and start reading here. This is the portal to the main texts presented on this website, along with our multi-lingual presentations and special comparative versions.

enter the multiverse

Library

Complete listing of library items we have cataloged related to Bodhicitta and Śāntideva. Sort and search for books, articles, media and all kinds of content, as in a library database.

explore the catalog

Multimedia

Watch discussions, listen to interviews, experience teaching series from learned masters and translators of all Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

watch and listen