Bodhisattvacharyavatara

by Andreas Kretschmar | 246,740 words

The English translation of the Bodhisattvacharyavatara (“entering the conduct of the bodhisattvas”), a Sanskrit text with Tibetan commentary. This book explains the bodhisattva concept and gives guidance to the Buddhist practitioner following the Mahāyāna path towards the attainment of enlightenment. The text was written in Sanskrit by Shantideva ...

The third through sixth episodes in Śāntideva’s biography are more or less self explanatory. However, a few comments can be added. In the fourth episode, Śāntideva tames those who hold strange views [ya mtshan gyi lta ba; skr. pāṣaṇḍika], alluding to various groups of spiritual seekers of that time. People held certain odd beliefs. Some thought it virtuous to live a life free from wearing clothes; others believed it virtuous to consort with dogs. Some considered that committing suicide would somehow lead to liberation from suffering, and so on.

In the sixth episode, describing how Śāntideva tamed the king [rgyal po btul ba], the phrase harm from Macala [ma tsa la’i gnod pa] could refer to a country that was threatening the king, or it could refer to a person named ’Macala’.[1]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

In History of Buddhism, page 164, Obermiller translates the phrase with ’troubled by riots’.

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