The Bodhisattva Ideal

"One of the most revolutionary aspects of Mahayana Buddhism is what many contemporary writers on Buddhism call the "bodhisattva ideal." This refers to a spiritual outlook and a way of life that is rooted in a resolute vow and dedicated to the welfare of all sentient beings. This volume features authoritative Tibetan presentations of the ideal based on key Indian Buddhist treatises, especially Nåagåarjuna‘s Precious Garland, âSåantideva‘s Guide to the Bodhisattva Way and Compendium of Training, Maitreya‘s Ornament of Mahayana Sutras, and Asaçnga‘s Bodhisattva Ground. Together, the nine Tibetan texts translated here embrace the complete spectrum of the bodhisattva ideal as understood, taught, and practiced in Tibetan Buddhism. From first generating the faith of admiration toward the compassionate teacher, the Buddha, by recollecting his altruistic deeds in former births ( jåatakas) to generating the awakening mind (bodhicitta) followed by the solemn act of taking the bodhisattva vow, from cultivating oneself through everyday mindfulness rooted in an altruistic outlook to the specifics of living life according to the bodhisattva‘s moral precepts, and from the initial stages of training in the six perfections to the full flowering of the union of awakening mind with the wisdom seeing things as they are, this volume offers a comprehensive roadmap to making the bodhisattva ideal an animating reality in the practitioner‘s own life"--