The concept of Bodhicitta in Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The concept of Bodhicitta in Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra
（McGill studies in the history of religions）
State University of New York Press, c2000
- : hc
- : pbk
Available at / 8 libraries
-
No Libraries matched.
- Remove all filters.
Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
This book explores an important concept within the Buddhist Mahāyāna tradition, bodhicitta. This term appears frequently in Sanskrit literature relating to the spiritual practices of the bodhisattva in Mahāyāna Buddhism and has been variously translated as "thought of enlightenment" or "desire of enlightenment." Francis Brassard offers a contextual analysis of bodhicitta based on the presuppositions underlying the spiritual practice of the bodhisattva. Since the understanding that emerges involves how one ought to view the process of spiritual transformation, this work contributes to Buddhist psychology and soteriology in particular, and to comparative religions in general. The book surveys the various interpretations of the concept of bodhicitta, analyzes its possible functions in the context of the spiritual path of the aspirant to enlightenment, and discusses an understanding of bodhicitta in the context of the Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra.
Table of Contents
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Bodhicitta and the spiritual path of the Bodhisattva
1. Methodological considerations
2. Santideva’s Bodhicaryavatara
i. The text
ii. Santideva
iii. Prajñakaramati
3. Review of literature
i. Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki
ii. Sangharakshita
2. Bodhicitta as a desire for enlightenment
1. The idea of desire
2. Criticism of bodhicitta as an act of will
i. Citta (mind)
ii. Citta-utpada (arising of the mind)
iii. The two types of bodhicitta
iv. The ethical aspect of bodhicitta
3. Conclusion
3. Bodhicitta as an object of concentration
1. Arguments in favor of bodhicitta as an object of concentration
i. Derivatives of the Sanskrit verbal roots √grah (to take) and √dhr (to hold)
ii. The practice of meditation
iii. Implications related to the idea of bodhicitta as an object of concentration
2. Criticism of bodhicitta as an object of concentration
4. Bodhicitta as cultivation of awareness
1. The nature of religious language
i. The functional aspect of religious language
ii. The metaphysical aspect of religious language
iii. The ethical aspect of religious language
2. The cultivation of awareness
i. Examples of the cultivation of awareness
ii. The feeling of detachment
iii. The breaking up of distinctions
3. The practice of devotion
i. Saddha/sraddha
4. Conclusion
5. The aspect of renunciation
i. The klesas (mental afflictions) and the cultivation of awareness
ii. Ksantiparamita (the Perfection of patience)
iii. The workings of the mind
6. The aspect of conversion
i. Viryaparamita (the Perfection of endeavor)
7. The aspect of contemplation
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
by "Nielsen BookData"
