Property:GregNotes
From Bodhicitta
This is a property of type Text.
B
Main Topics include the following points:
*The worth and worthlessness of the body
*The paradigmatic bodhisattva deed of bodily self-sacrifice
*The transformation of the minimal worth of the human body as a necessary evil into the maximal "worth" of "a priceless wish-fulfilling jewel, "an unimaginably great body, a body that satisfies everyone, the very best body ever
*The self's relationship to the body
*The entire material world as a shimmering illusion
*The transformation of mind and body in mutual dependence and the notion of embodied wisdom
*The bodhisattva's practice of placing one's self in the bodies of others
*The merging of wisdom and compassion as self-interest and other-interest become the same, in which the worthlessness and worth of the body are perfectly balanced
*Śāntideva insists on the primacy of the mind in the BCA but the body is a crucial concern in this text
*The notion of the body in the BCA is multifarious and constantly shifting +
D
Topics include:
*According to the author of the review, Williams understands that Śāntideva establishes the bodhisattva ideal on a reductive conception of the person, and this is destroying the bodhisattva path
*Importance to distinguish various definitions of altruism
*"Williams draws a parallel between the reductive conceptions of the person in Abhidharma Buddhism and in Hume's chapter "Of Personal Identity" in the Treatise (1739-1740)"
*Williams: The subject is eliminated through reductive analysis so there is no point in the bodhisattva's vow
*The author believes there are various ways to interpret BCA 8.101-103
*The article explores the relation between selflessness and altruism +
S
The book seems to be a retelling of the BCA for a modern (secular?) audience. +
Paul Williams approaches '''selected''' verses from the Bodhicaryāvatāra in the light of all the extant Indian commentaries available as well as many indigenous Tibetan commentaries from all Tibetan traditions. +
T
Introduction by Paul Williams:
*Presentation of Śāntideva
*Introduction to Mahāyāna
*The concept of bodhisattva
*Note on "wisdom" and ultimate truth
Translators' introduction includes the following points:
*Historical note on Nālandā
*Meaning of bodhicitta
*Tibetan recensions of the text
*Note on the Śikṣāsamuccaya
*Structure of the text (comparison with Dunhuang recension)
*Translation issues
*Sanskrit text +
Includes a translation of '''selected''' verses. +
'''Partial''' translation of the BCA +
This book contains '''extracts''' of the sutra. +
The Reality of Altruism: Reconstructing Śāntideva, A Review of Altruism and Reality: Studies in the Philosophy of the Bodhicāryāvatāra, by Paul Williams +
Main ideas:
*"In two key passages Śāntideva argues that, given that the person is a mere conceptual fiction, it follows that one should be equally concerned for the well-being of all, that is, that self-interested concern for one's own welfare to the exclusion of that of others is the product of ignorance."
*Williams is not convinced that such this entailment makes sense
*In addition, Williams takes issue with the Reductionist view of persons itself
*In this article, Siderits aims to defend Śāntideva's position
*"The argument is that since one does have self-interested concern for one's future births, even though the person who is reborn is numerically distinct from the present person, one is shown to be inconsistent in not exhibiting equal concern for contemporary others."
*According to Williams, this argument creates a dilemma for Śāntideva: The Buddhist tradition accepts that personal identity extends over rebirth. If Śāntideva denies this, he falls into annihilationism (ucchedavāda)
*Williams stresses the point that Śāntideva's argument is based on negation of the existence of persons not only ultimately but also conventionally
*Siderits disagrees with Williams on th point just mentioned
*The teachings in Chapter 8 might be provisional
*Siderits makes the following counter-argument:
**If realizing emptiness involves understanding that things only exist as conceptual fictions, then the bodhisattva's practice of helping others may reflect greater attentiveness to the concrete individuality of the persons involved, because personhood is seen as a fiction as everything is equally empty.
**Although one should help others because suffering is bad regardless of location, taking location into account will no longer appear to the bodhisattva as sheer ignorance. +
Focuses on verses 9:21 and 9:26. +
Z
'''Fragments''' of the BCA in Mongolian. +
Ś
We need a PDF of this book. +
