The Way of the Bodhisattva

A verse guide to the bodhisattva path by Śāntideva, traditionally a monk at the monastic university of Nālandā. Its ten chapters move from praise of the awakening mind (bodhicitta), the resolve to attain awakening for the sake of all beings, through confession, vigilance and mindfulness, to the perfections. The chapter on patience analyses anger and argues that it makes no sense to hate an attacker who is driven by causes beyond his control, any more than one hates the stick he strikes with. The meditation chapter develops the equality and exchange of self and other: suffering is to be removed simply because it is suffering, whoever's it is, since the self that would make it 'mine' is a construction. The wisdom chapter defends Madhyamaka emptiness against other Buddhist schools. It closes with a long dedication of merit to the welfare of all.

Few texts join argument and devotion so tightly, and its case for impartial concern, built on the unreality of the self, is a striking counterpart to Western arguments about egoism and altruism.