The concept of Bodhicitta in Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara / Francis Brassard.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brassard, Francis, 1961-

Series:

McGill studies in the history of religions

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bodhicitta (Buddhism).

Spiritual life--Buddhism.

Spiritual life.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 193 pages)

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c2000.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Intro

The Concept of Bodhicitta in Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara

Contents

Abbreviations

Introduction

1. Bodhicitta and the spiritual pathof the Bodhisattva

Methodological considerations

Santideva's Bodhicaryvatra

i. The text

ii. Santideva

iii. Prajñ¡karamati

Review of literature

i. Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki

ii. Sangharakshita

2. Bodhicitta as a desire for enlightenment

The idea of desire

Criticism of bodhicitta as an act of will

i. Citta (mind)

ii. Citta-utp¡da (arising of the mind)

iii. The two types of bodhicitta

iv. The ethical aspect of bodhicitta

Conclusion

3. Bodhicitta as an object of concentration

Arguments in favor of bodhicittaas an object of concentration

i. Derivatives of the Sanskrit verbal roots √grah (to take) and√dhƒ (to hold)

ii. The practice of meditation

iii. Implications related to the idea of bodhicitta asan object of concentration

Criticism of bodhicitta as an object of concentration

4. Bodhicitta as cultivation of awareness

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

The cultivation of awareness

i. Examples of the cultivation of awareness

ii. The feeling of detachment

iii. The breaking up of distinctions

The practice of devotion

i. Saddha/ sraddha

5. The aspect of renunciation

i. The klesas (mental afflictions) and the cultivation of awareness

ii. Ksantiparamit¡a (the Perfection of patience)

iii. The workings of the mind

6. The aspect of conversion

i. Viryaparamit¡a (the Perfection of endeavor)

7. The aspect of contemplation

Notes

Bibliography

Index

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

P

R.

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Z.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 177-185) and index.

ISBN:

9780791492536

0791492532

OCLC:

50553603