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& Bodhisattva Vow CeremonyDzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
April 3-5, 1999
Masonic Temple, Vancouver, BC Canada
This is the second year of a four year program of annual teachings on Shantideva's great Mahayana classic, the Bodhicharyavatara.
The concern of the mahayana Buddhist is the relative happiness and ultimate liberation of all sentient beings. An individual practicing Buddhism with such a motivation may be termed a bodhisattva.
The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara) is a pragmatic and straightforward guide for this path, revered because of it's lucidity, profundity, and humor. All ten chapters are in verse, and are a vivid and extremely inspiring exposition of the practice of the mahayana path. With brilliance and force, it challenges the habitual thought patterns that bind us to suffering, while presenting the liberating bodhisattva path of selflessness. The initial chapters present the bodhisattva's understanding and practice within the relative truth that constitute our present reality, while the ninth chapter on wisdom is a presentation of ultimate truth.
This teaching was composed in the eighth century A.D., by the great sage Shantideva [685-763], who was both a scholar-monk at the great Buddhist university of Nalanda, and one of the famous eighty-four mahasiddhas - great accomplished masters.
Suggested reading:
"The Way of the Bodhisattva" by Shantideva, Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group (Shambhala Publications)Audio or video tape sets of the first year's teachings are available on the Vancouver Audio and Video Tapes page of this website.
