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<h3>Introductory Essay</h3> | <h3>Introductory Essay</h3> | ||
The first chapter of the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'' deals with the qualities of bodhicitta, the mind intent on enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings, and aims to inspire us to wish to develop such a mind. The second chapter then deals with the practices of confession and purification, and the third chapter deals with taking hold of this awakening mind of bodhicitta. These earlier chapters address the first of three major topics through which the complete text is explained. That topic is the cultivation of bodhicitta where it has not previously arisen. The next three chapters, 4 through 6, introduce the process of how to prevent that bodhicitta from weakening once it has been cultivated. These chapters also have a flow which follows the main practices of a Mahāyāna practitioner, that of the six ''pāramitās'', or perfections. Khenpo Kunpal [LINK to text] sets this scene for the next series of chapters in terms of these six ''pāramitās'': | The first chapter of the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'' deals with the qualities of bodhicitta, the mind intent on enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings, and aims to inspire us to wish to develop such a mind. The second chapter then deals with the practices of confession and purification, and the third chapter deals with taking hold of this awakening mind of bodhicitta. These earlier chapters address the first of three major topics through which the complete text is explained. That first topic is the cultivation of bodhicitta where it has not previously arisen. The next three chapters, 4 through 6, introduce the process of how to prevent that bodhicitta from weakening once it has been cultivated. These chapters also have a flow which follows the main practices of a Mahāyāna practitioner, that of the six ''pāramitās'', or perfections. Khenpo Kunpal [LINK to text] sets this scene for the next series of chapters in terms of these six ''pāramitās'': | ||
{{QuoteCite | {{QuoteCite | ||
|quote-text=The whole of the Mahayana path may be summarized under two headings: motivation (the generation of the attitude of supreme bodhichitta) and application (the practice of the six paramitas or transcendent perfections). The development of bodhichitta and the practice of the perfection of generosity have already been explained in the foregoing chapters. Shantideva was himself a yogi of extremely simple practice. He therefore did not speak extensively about the practice of giving but did so only from the point of view of a monk staying in retreat. His teaching on the perfection of ethical discipline is to be found in the two chapters that deal with carefulness and vigilant introspection, whereas the four remaining paramitas are explained in the chapters that follow.<ref>Wulstan Fletcher and Helena Blankleder (Padmakara Translation Group), trans., ''The Nectar of Manjushri’s Speech: A Detailed Commentary on Shantideva's Way of the Bodhisattva'', by Kunzang Pelden (Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2010), 139.</ref> | |quote-text=The whole of the Mahayana path may be summarized under two headings: motivation (the generation of the attitude of supreme bodhichitta) and application (the practice of the six paramitas or transcendent perfections). The development of bodhichitta and the practice of the perfection of generosity have already been explained in the foregoing chapters. Shantideva was himself a yogi of extremely simple practice. He therefore did not speak extensively about the practice of giving but did so only from the point of view of a monk staying in retreat. His teaching on the perfection of ethical discipline is to be found in the two chapters that deal with carefulness and vigilant introspection, whereas the four remaining paramitas are explained in the chapters that follow.<ref>Wulstan Fletcher and Helena Blankleder (Padmakara Translation Group), trans., ''The Nectar of Manjushri’s Speech: A Detailed Commentary on Shantideva's Way of the Bodhisattva'', by Kunzang Pelden (Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2010), 139.</ref> | ||
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