Performing Text as Practice: Rdza Dpal sprul's Practice Manual on the Bodhi(sattva)caryāvatāra
Articles/Performing Text as Practice: Rdza Dpal sprul's Practice Manual on the Bodhi(sattva)caryāvatāra
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Description
For the most part, Dpal sprul's practice manual follows strictly the order of Śāntideva's treatise, but, given its own specific focus, places a different emphasis on individual elements. It opens with a quote of the first verse of the original text, thereby stating its central concern, namely, an explanation of the precepts of a bodhisattva. The main body of the text is then divided into four topics, presented in a logical sequence: First, the prerequisites for entering this practice are laid out. The second topic then leads the adept through a specific ritual for taking the vow of a bodhisattva. Having been prepared in this way, one proceeds to learn about the actual conduct of a bodhisattva in the third chapter. The concluding section describes the benefits of this kind of practice. Among these four topics, the first and the last are treated only marginally, clear emphasis being put on Chapters Two and Three, which can be seen as constituting the main content of Dpal sprul's text. (Viehbeck, "Performing Text as Practice," 558)
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