false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173547570m/301928.jpg 301928 1 Shantideva was an Indian Buddhist while Buddhism still flourished in India. His great work, the <I>Bodhicharyavatara</I>, or "Entrance to the Path of Awakening," became a major text of Tibetan Buddhism long after it went out of circulation in its homeland. It is a handbook on how to realize the nature of existence and of compassion that arises from such realization. The Dalai Lama said of it, "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." Like the <I>Book of Proverbs</I>, the <I>Bodhicharyavatara</I> is a timeless work of wisdom, the longevity of which is due to the quality of its verse as much as to its wisdom. For the first time, an attempt has been made to recover that poetic immediacy by rendering the text in iambic lines. <blockquote> Regard your body as a vessel,<br> A simple boat for going here and there.<br> Make of it a wish-fulfilling gem<br> To bring about the benefit of beings.<br> </blockquote> With this translation, gleaming in its clarity, a Buddhist classic becomes an English classic. Worthy of recitation and committing to memory, Shantideva's words on such topics as doing good, reading sutras, guarding the mind, keeping good company, and on the nature of the mind and reality can take on a life of their own, to grow and blossom in a new native tongue. The text booms, like the voice of a Shakespearean actor, as if it were not the bodhisattva but the book itself that proclaims: <blockquote> And now as long as space endures,<br> As long as there are beings to be found,<br> May I continue likewise to remain<br> To drive away the sorrows of the world.<br> </blockquote> <I>--Brian Bruya</I> 292992 10 6 2003 The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyavatara total:23|5:3|4:0|3:0|2:0|1:0| 23 104 53 4 0 1 false false Sun Jun 29 15:38:17 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 29 15:39:28 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Thu Jan 08 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 09:11:06 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 13 08:23:00 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jun 06 14:50:42 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 06 19:39:41 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Thu Feb 19 14:37:53 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 19 14:38:13 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Nov 29 11:52:58 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 29 11:52:58 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Tue Nov 10 12:45:31 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 10 12:45:31 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Mon Oct 12 17:29:07 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 12 17:29:07 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Oct 11 15:26:27 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 11 15:26:27 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Sep 06 18:44:34 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 06 18:44:34 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Sep 03 15:19:08 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 03 15:19:08 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Aug 15 14:46:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 15 14:46:00 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 15 08:04:35 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 15 08:04:35 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Jul 20 06:28:40 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 06:28:40 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Jul 14 08:07:35 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 14 08:07:40 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Jul 12 23:24:02 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 23:24:02 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Wed Jun 03 18:50:19 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 18:50:19 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Fri May 29 12:47:01 -0700 2009 Fri May 29 12:47:01 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat May 16 11:54:11 -0700 2009 Sat May 16 11:54:11 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed May 13 20:54:13 -0700 2009 Wed May 13 20:54:13 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu May 07 12:19:26 -0700 2009 Thu May 07 12:19:26 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=301928