Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life How to Enjoy a Life of Great Meaning and Altruism
An ancient poem for modern times
- Transform ordinary self-centeredness into loving kindness and altruism
- Transform ordinary confused views into profound wisdom
- Become a friend of the world who, motivated by compassion, seeks enlightenment to benefit all living beings
This famous and universally loved poem for daily living has inspired generations of Buddhists and non-Buddhists since it was first composed in the 8th century by the great Buddhist Master, Shantideva. This new translation, made under the guidance of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, conveys the great lucidity and poetic beauty of the original, while preserving its full impact and spiritual insight.
Reading the verses slowly, while contemplating their meaning, has a profoundly liberating effect on the mind. The poem invokes special positive states of mind, moving us from suffering and conflict to happiness and peace, and gradually introduces us to the entire path to attaining the supreme inner peace of enlightenment, the real meaning of our human life.
PoetrySubjects & ThemesInspirational & ReligiousReligionBuddhismSacred Writings
RELEASED2018
PUBLISHERTharpa Publications
LENGTH263
LANGUAGEEN
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Shantideva (Sk: Śāntideva; Zh: 寂天; Tib: ཞི་བ་ལྷ། (Shyiwa Lha, Wylie: zhi ba lha); Mn: Шантидэва гэгээн) was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar at Nalanda University and an adherent of the Madhyamaka philosophy of Nagarjuna. The Chan Ssu Lun of the Chinese Madhyamika school identifies two different individuals given the name "Shantideva": the founder of the Avaivartika Sangha in the 6th century, and a later Shantideva who studied at Nalanda in the 8th century who appears to be the source of the Tibetan biographies. Archaeological discoveries support this thesis. Two Tibetan sources of the life of Shantideva are the historians Butön and Jetsun Tāranātha. Recent scholarship has brought to light a short Sanscrit life of Shantideva in a 14th century Nepalise manuscript. An accessible account that follows the Butön closely can be found in Kunzang Pelden, The Nectar of Manjushri's speech. Shantideva was born as a Brahmin in the southern country of Saurastra (in modern Gujarat), the son of the King Kalyanavarman and he went by the name Shantivarman.
Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life How to Enjoy a Life of Great Meaning and Altruism
An ancient poem for modern times
- Transform ordinary self-centeredness into loving kindness and altruism
- Transform ordinary confused views into profound wisdom
- Become a friend of the world who, motivated by compassion, seeks enlightenment to benefit all living beings
This famous and universally loved poem for daily living has inspired generations of Buddhists and non-Buddhists since it was first composed in the 8th century by the great Buddhist Master, Shantideva. This new translation, made under the guidance of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, conveys the great lucidity and poetic beauty of the original, while preserving its full impact and spiritual insight.
Reading the verses slowly, while contemplating their meaning, has a profoundly liberating effect on the mind. The poem invokes special positive states of mind, moving us from suffering and conflict to happiness and peace, and gradually introduces us to the entire path to attaining the supreme inner peace of enlightenment, the real meaning of our human life.
PoetrySubjects & ThemesInspirational & ReligiousReligionBuddhismSacred Writings
RELEASED2018
PUBLISHERTharpa Publications
LENGTH263
LANGUAGEEN
Shantideva (Sk: Śāntideva; Zh: 寂天; Tib: ཞི་བ་ལྷ། (Shyiwa Lha, Wylie: zhi ba lha); Mn: Шантидэва гэгээн) was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar at Nalanda University and an adherent of the Madhyamaka philosophy of Nagarjuna. The Chan Ssu Lun of the Chinese Madhyamika school identifies two different individuals given the name "Shantideva": the founder of the Avaivartika Sangha in the 6th century, and a later Shantideva who studied at Nalanda in the 8th century who appears to be the source of the Tibetan biographies. Archaeological discoveries support this thesis. Two Tibetan sources of the life of Shantideva are the historians Butön and Jetsun Tāranātha. Recent scholarship has brought to light a short Sanscrit life of Shantideva in a 14th century Nepalise manuscript. An accessible account that follows the Butön closely can be found in Kunzang Pelden, The Nectar of Manjushri's speech. Shantideva was born as a Brahmin in the southern country of Saurastra (in modern Gujarat), the son of the King Kalyanavarman and he went by the name Shantivarman.
