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 ...

These four aspects enable the reader to approach the treatise with trust [gzhan dag yid ches pa] and, moreover, with an inquisitiveness that searches for meaning [don ’gyur gyi the tshom].

One can approach a treatise fearing that it might be insignificant or with an inquisitveness into its possible significance. The first is fear concerning its insignificance [don mi ’gyur gyi dogs pa], when one thinks,

“This treatise probably lacks a topic, a purpose, an ultimate purpose and a relation between these.”

The latter is the inquisitiveness concerning its significance [don ’gyur gyi the tshom], when one thinks,

“This treatise probably has a topic, a purpose, an ultimate purpose and a relation between these.”

In other words, you could think,

“I wonder if reading this text might really be meaningful and beneficial for me. Maybe I will find some answers to my personal questions in this text.”

You should have an open and critical frame of mind, one searching for meaning. Inquisitiveness that seaches for meaning cuts through doubts [the tshom chod] and leads to a state free from any doubts. The Buddha always invited everyone to scrutinize his teachings. Only through addressing one’s problems and analyzing them will one gain insight. The Bodhisattva-caryāvatāra teaches the methods for doing exactly that.

In this way, the four aspects prevent people from entertaining wrong ideas [gzhan gyi log rtog bzlog pa], such as thinking,

“The Bodhisattva-caryāvatāra might be just a useless treatise [dgos med gyi bstan bcos], like some treatise on the dentistry of crows [bya rog so brtags kyi bstan bcos].”

And finally, these four aspects enhance the beauty of the text [gzhung mdzes par byed pa].

An intelligent person will immediately know if a treatise is endowed with these four aspects. If a treatise should lack them, the reader will recognize it as useless and not even bother to continue reading.

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