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 ...

(1) The Sanskrit title shows that the text is of authentic origin and inspires trust and faith in the treatise within the reader’s mind. Since all the Buddhist treatises came to Tibet from India, the Sanskrit title written in Tibetan characters authenticates the text. If a canonical Tibetan treatise could not convincingly prove its Indian origin, Tibetan scholars would not accept it. India is considered to be the genuine source of dharma [chos khungs btsun pa / chos khungs dvangs ma].

A famous text called the Guhyagarbhatantra,[1] one of the most important tantras of the Old Translation School, was belittled by scholars from other schools as a fabrication by Old Translation School scholars. Fortunately, an Indian manuscript of this tantra was eventually recovered, and the credibility of the text was finally established beyond any doubt.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

For the critics of the Guhyagarbha-tantra [rgyud gsang snying] see Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, pages 914-917.

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