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Wisdom: Two Buddhist Commentaries: On the Ninth Chapter of Shantideva's Bodhicharyavatara
Book
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Description
One of the most intriguing and challenging aspects of Buddhism is the idea of Emptiness. This is the subject of the ninth chapter of the Bodhicharyavatara (The Way of the Bodhisattva), one of the great classics of Mahayana Buddhist literature. The author, Shantideva, introduces the philosophical view of the Madhyamika school and describes the development of Transcendent Wisdom, the heart and life of Buddhist practice.
Numerous commentaries have been written by great Buddhist masters to explain Shantideva's somewhat cryptic poetry and subtle philosophical arguments. Two such commentaries, translated from Tibetan at the request of H.H the Dalai Lama, are presented in this book, along with a new translation of the original text. While both are highly respected within the explanatory tradition, their striking differences, in both emphasis and style, provide a rare depth of perspective on this essential subject. (Source: back cover)
Citation
Blankleder, Helena, Wulstan Fletcher, and Stephen Gethin (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. Wisdom: Two Buddhist Commentaries on the Ninth Chapter of Shantideva's Bodhicharyavatara. Khenchen Kunzang Palden's The Nectar of Mañjushri's Speech and Minyak Kunzang Sönam's The Brilliant Torch. Saint Léon sur Vézère, France: Editions Padmakara, 1999.
Interconnections
1 Full translation of
This commentary incorporates Gyaltsap Dharma Rinchen's explanations of the 9th chapter in his Spyod 'jug dar tik and his concise and extensive note-commentaries. It is summarized into three key points: the objective of cultivating the wisdom of realizing emptiness, the methods for cultivating it, and an appeal to endeavor to cultivate it.
2 Partial translation of
An "Introduction to Bodhisattva Practice," the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra is a poem about the path of a bodhisattva, in ten chapters, written by the Indian Buddhist Śāntideva (fl. c. 685–763). One of the masterpieces of world literature, it is a core text of Mahāyāna Buddhism and continues to be taught, studied, and commented upon in many languages and by many traditions around the world. The main subject of the text is bodhicitta, the altruistic aspiration for enlightenment, and the path and practices of the bodhisattva, the six perfections (pāramitās). The text forms the basis of many contemporary discussions of Buddhist ethics and philosophy.
Khenpo Kunpal (1862-1943), student of Patrul Rinpoche and Mipham the Great, wrote this famous extensive word and meaning commentary (tshig don gyi 'grel pa) with a topical outline (sa bcad) to Śāntideva's Chonjuk (Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra).
1 Contains chapter or part
Blankleder, Helena, Wulstan Fletcher, and Stephen Gethin (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. "Historical Note." In Wisdom: Two Buddhist Commentaries on the Ninth Chapter of Shantideva's Bodhicharyavatara. Khenchen Kunzang Palden, The Nectar of Mañjushri's Speech, Minyak Kunzang Sönam, The Brilliant Torch, xv–xvi. Saint Léon sur Vézère, France: Editions Padmakara, 1999.
