New revised edition. A translation from the Tibetan by the Padmakara group of this great classic of Mahayana Buddhism, extolling the Bodhisattva's way of life.
The Bodhicharyavatara is presented in the form of a personal meditation in verse outlining the path of the bodhisattvas - those beings who, turning aside from the sufferings of the world of samsara, nevertheless renounce the peace of individual salvation and vow to work for the deliverance of all beings, and to attain enlightenment for their sake. Originally written in India in Sanskrit, the text first appeared in Tibetan translation soon after its composition in the eighth century. The fact that it has been expounded, studied, and practiced in Tibet since then in an unbroken tradition lends the Tibetan version of this classic a particular authority. The present translation has therefore been rendered from the Tibetan, following a commentary by the Nyingma master Kunzang Palden, renowned for its thoroughness, clarity and accessibility.
"If I have any understanding of compassion and the practice of the bodhisattva path, it is entirely on the basis of this text that I possess it." The Dalai Lama.
