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While Śāntideva's poem about the bodhisattva path is often praised for the accessibility of his writing style | While Śāntideva's poem about the bodhisattva path is often praised for the accessibility of his writing style, the inspiring beauty of his prose, as well as the practicality of his instructions, the text itself is not always easy to understand. Among the more challenging aspects of the text, the Wisdom Chapter of the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'' stands out for being nearly impenetrable without reliance on one of the many commentaries to the chapter. However, even in these works interpretations can vary widely. As Douglas Duckworth explains, | ||
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|quote-text=The ninth chapter of the ''Way of the Bodhisattva'', the Wisdom Chapter, is notoriously difficult, given that it is often cryptic and truncated, and it presumes knowledge of many Buddhist and non-Buddhist systems. It also propounds the view of emptiness and describes emptiness and interdependence as the metaphysical basis of ethics. The ninth chapter is also where we see pronounced differences in the interpretation of the text, as different commentaries on the other chapters for the most part accord with one another. | |quote-text=The ninth chapter of the ''Way of the Bodhisattva'', the Wisdom Chapter, is notoriously difficult, given that it is often cryptic and truncated, and it presumes knowledge of many Buddhist and non-Buddhist systems. It also propounds the view of emptiness and describes emptiness and interdependence as the metaphysical basis of ethics. The ninth chapter is also where we see pronounced differences in the interpretation of the text, as different commentaries on the other chapters for the most part accord with one another. | ||
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As for the four main Buddhist tenet systems, these are divided by vehicle (''yāna''), thus there are the two Śrāvaka Schools, Vaibhaśika (Particularists) and Sautrāntika (Followers of Sūtra) and the two Mahāyāna Schools Cittamatra (Mind Only) and Madhyamaka (Middle Way), the last of which is of course Śāntideva's own tradition and the perspective from which he sets out to refute all the others. | As for the four main Buddhist tenet systems, these are divided by vehicle (''yāna''), thus there are the two Śrāvaka Schools, Vaibhaśika (Particularists) and Sautrāntika (Followers of Sūtra) and the two Mahāyāna Schools Cittamatra (Mind Only) and Madhyamaka (Middle Way), the last of which is of course Śāntideva's own tradition and the perspective from which he sets out to refute all the others. | ||
Furthermore, Śāntideva employs a style of reasoning and argumentation that is typical of the Middle Way school. Often characterized as ''reductio ad absurdum'', this type of analysis aims to deconstruct the positions of opposing schools by demonstrating their untenability when followed to their logical conclusions. The following verses are some prime examples. | |||
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