Sanskrit: Bodhisattvacharyavatara
Tibetan : Byang. chub. sems. dpai’. spyod. pa. la. jug. pa
by ACHARYA SHANTIDEVA
Translated into English by Stephen Batchelor
LIBRARY OF TIBETAN WORKS & ARCHIVES, Dharmasala, India
Table of Contents
Publisher’s Note
Translatorʹs Introduction
Chapter I – The Benefit of the Awakening Mind
Chapter II – Disclosure of Evil
Chapter III – Full Acceptance of the Awakening Mind
Chapter IV – Conscientiousness
Chapter V – Guarding Alertness
Chapter VI – Patience
Chapter VII – Enthusiasm
Chapter VIII – Meditation
Chapter IX – Wisdom
Chapter X – Dedication
Publisher’s Note
The Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, Dharamsala, is happy to bring out this English translation of the Bodhisattvacharyavatara—A Guide to the Bodhisattvtʹs Way of Life (Tib: Byang. chub. sems. dpaʹi spyod. pa. la.ʹ jug.pa.) by Shantideva, an eighth century Buddhist master from the monastic university of Nalanda, India—as a continuation of our programme to present, in English translation, works of Buddhist philosophy from Tibetan sources. Translated into English by Stephen Batchelor in accordance with an oral teaching of Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey on the commentary The Ocean of Good Explanation by Tʹogme Zang‐po, Shantidevaʹs A Guide to the Bodhisattvaʹs way of Life will inspire readers with the higher ideals of Bodhisattvas and will infuse their practical application into everyday life.
Gyatso Tsering
(Director)
Library of Tibetan Works & Archives,
Dharamsala, H.P. (ʺIndia)
April 1979.
Translator’s Introduction
Shantideva, a Buddhist master from the monastic university of Nalanda, India, composed his work A Guide to the Bodhisattvaʹs Way of Life (Bodhisattvachary avatar a) in the eighth century of the Christian era. In India at that lime Mahayana Buddhism was well established and in the thousand or so stanzas of this text we find a concise yet comprehensive account of the principal features of this doctrine.
In contrast with the Arhat of Hinayana Buddhism—the being who has secured his own liberation from the misery of cyclic existence—Mahayana Buddhism has as its ideal the Bodhisattva who, uninterested in his liberation alone, strives for the well being of all living creatures.
The Bodhisattva comes into being with the development of the Awakening Mind, the purely altruistic wish to achieve the state of a Buddha, and with this motivation he then proceeds to engage in a way of life that is conducive to the realization of his goal. In the first chapter of this work we shall see how Shantideva introduces the aspirant to the Awakening Mind and inspires him to develop it; in the second, how the mind is prepared; and in the third chapter how the Bodhisattvaʹs vow itself is finally taken; From this point onward the author continues to elucidate the means whereby to fulfill this commitment, namely through the practices of Moral Discipline, (chapters 4‐5), Patience (Chapter 6), Enthusiasm (chapter 7), Meditation (chapter8), and Wisdom (chapter 9 ) . In the final chapter, the merits gained from the composition of the work are dedicated to the welfare of all beings in the form of a prayer. Hence this short but significant work contains the essential points of Mahayana Buddhist practice and for over a thousand years has acted as a guide for people throughout India, Tibet, China and Mongolia who have wished to follow this path.
In the autumn of 1974, in response to the request of several Western Buddhists studying in Dharamsala, India, His Holiness the Dalai Lama encouraged and gave his blessing to the undertaking at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives of a project to translate Shantidevaʹs Bodhisattvacharyavatara. In order to do this, he suggested that the Ocean o f Good Explanation, a commentary to the Bodhisattvacharyavatara by the 12th century Tibetan Lama Tʹog‐me Zang‐po, be used as the basis for the translation. For the following year Geshe Ngawang Dargyey, proceeded to give a word by word explanation of this text translated by Sherpa Tulku. It is on the basis of that teaching that this translation has been completed.
Chapters 1‐8 and chapter 10 have been translated in verse form, corresponding to the stanzas of the root text. Where necessary, words have been added in brackets from the commentary. The ninth chapter, however, is presented in prose, frequently in the form of a dialogue between the Madhyamika school and other Buddhist and non‐Buddhist traditions. Here, most of the commentary of Tʹog‐me Zang‐po has been included for the sake of clarifying the often cryptic style of the root text.
Stephen Batchelor (Gelong Jhampa Thabkay) Switzerland 1979
Homage to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
Scanned by: Smile~
Released on: September/02/2009; Originally translated in 1979.
Email: Mahayanist@gmx.com
Special thanks to the University of Calgary for allowing me access to such a rare text.
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Other Translations:
A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life, translated by Vesna and Alan Wallace in 1997, from Sanskrit but with reference to the Tibetan and with the Tibetan variants given in footnotes.
The Way of the Bodhisattva, Revision published in 2006 of a 1997 translation by Padmakara Translation Group; based on Tibetan sources and commentary by Nyingma master Khenpo Kunzang Pelden (1872-1943).
The Bodhicaryavatara, translated by Kate Crosby and Andrew Skilton (Oxford University) from surviving Sanskrit text in 2008.
Bodhicaryavatara with Commentary by Sakya Patriarch Sonam Tsemo (1142-1182), translated by Adrian O’Sullivan, the director of the Sakya Samten Ling Buddhist center in Santa Monica, CA, in 2019.
Entering the Way of the Bodhisattva: A New Translation and Contemporary Guide, translated with commentary by Khenpo David Karma Choephel, main English translator for Venerable Kenchen Thrangu Rinpoche in 2021; based on Tibetan sources.
NOTE: The translation provided above has been edited to add in missing letters and the like and remove footnotes, as the translation of the footnote sources is not available on line and the book itself is out of print. Not corrected is the English spelling of many words as the translator is British.