Bodhisattvacharyavatara, by Acharya Shantideva

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The Colophon:

This concludes A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life composed by the Acharya Shantideva. It was translated (from the Sranskrit into Tibetan), edited and settled upon
from a Kashmiri edition by the Indian scholar Sarvajna-deva and the editor-translator monk Pal-tzeg. It was then collected in accordance with a Magadha edition and commentary, translated and settled upon by the Indian scholar Dhatmashribhadra and the editor-ranslator monk Rin-ch'en Zang-po and Shakya Lo-dr'o. Then once more, at a later time, it was further corrected, retranslated and finalised by the Indian scholar Sumartikirti and the editor-translator monk Lodan Sherab.

It was translated from Tibetan into English by the Buddhist monk Stephen Batchelor in accordance with an oral teaching of Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, translated by Sherpa Tulku, on the commentary The Ocean of Good Explanation by T'og-me Zang-po. The translator acknowledges the work of Dr Alexander Berzin, who kindly corrected the entire manuscript and made many valuable improvements; and also of Brian Beresford and Glenn Mullin for their helpful suggestions in the editing and presentation of the text.

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Glossary.

Awakening Mind; See note 1.
Bodhisattva: ( b.y~ng. chub. sems. dpa. ) A being who, having developed the Awakening Mind, devotes his life to the task of achieving Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings.
Brahma: ( tshangs. pa. ) A powerful deity residing in the realm of form.
Brahmin: (bram. ze.) A person belonging to the highest social caste in India.
Akashagarbha: ( nam. 'kha' i. snying po. ) lit: 'the heart of
space', the name of a Bodhisattva.
Arhat: ( dgra. bcom. pa. ) lit: 'one who has overcome the foe', namely one who has overcome the foe of disturbing conceptions: and has attained liberation from cyclic existence. In chapter nine this term refers specifically to the Hinayana Arhat.
Arya: ('phags. pa.) lit: 'a superior being', one who has attained a direct perception of Ultimate Truth.
Avalokiteshvara :' ( 'jig.rten.dbang,phyug. ) lit: 'the Lord of the world' the name of the Bodhisattva of Compassion.
( byang.chub.kyi,sems. Skt: bodhicitta )
Buddha: ( sangs. rgyas. ) One who is totally purified from all defilements (sangs) and who has realised all that can be known (rgyas).
Calm abiding: ( zhi. gnas. Ski: shamatha) A state of concentration in which the mind can one-pointedly and effortlessly abide on the object of meditation.
Chakra King: ('khor, lo. bsgyur. pa'i. rgyal. po. ;1 A celestial being endowed with tremendous power and wealth.
Charvaka: ( rgyang : 'phan. pa. ) A follower of a non-Buddhist materialist philosophy current in Ancient India. See note 55.
Chittamatrin: See note 36.
Conditioned existence: ( srid. pa. Skt: bhav;a) Existence conditioned by disturbing conceptions and tainted actions; the same as cyclic existence.
Conqueror: (rgyal. ba. Skt: jina) An epithet for a Buddha, so called because he has overcome the four devils.
Cyclic existence: ('khor. ba. Skt: sam sara) The continued experience of unsatisfactory states of existence resulting from actions produced by disturbing conceptions.
Dakini: ( 'kha.' gro. ma. ) A form of being somewhat similar to a fairy or nymph. Some exist within cylclic existence, others are free from it.
Deceptive truth: ( kun. rdzob. bden. pa. Skt: $1Jlmvrtisatya ) This term refers to all existent phenomena other than emptinesses, i.e. everything apprehended by the valid
cognitions of ordinary beings. They are (ceceptive because the way in which they appear and the way in which they exist do not correspond: they appear as truly existent whereas in reality they are found to be empty of true existence.
Devil: ( 'dud. Skt: mara) There are four kinds of devils or demonic forces: death, disturbing conceptions, the aggregates of body and mind, and the evil celestial
Devaputra.
Dharma: (chos.) Generally religion, here the doctrine of Buddha.
Dharmakaya: ( chos. sku. ) The fully realised and Awakened mind of Buddha.
Disturbing conception: ( nyon. mong. Skt: kles[;ta) See note 7.
Emptiness: ( stong pa nyid. Skt: shunyata) The Ultimate nature of all phenomena, their lack of true existence. See note 34.
Energy-winds: (rlung. Skt: prana) The light and mobile elements of the body; ranging from the gross breath to the many subtle currents of energy that, flowing through an intricate network of channels, allow for most physical functions to operate.
Hinayana: ( theg dman. ) The 'lesser spiritual pursuit of the Shravaka and the Pratyekabuddha aimed at one's personal liberation alone.
ldentitylessness: (bdag. med. Skt: anatman) In the Madhyamika system this refers to the emptiness of true existence of either the person (personal identitylessness) or other phenomena ( phenomenal identrtylessness).
Ishvara: (dbang, phyug) A divine being who, according to certain Hindu schools, is said to be the creator of the world and its inhabitants.
Karnapa: The name of a place in ancient India where competitions were held to see who could endure the most pain.
Kashyapa: ( 'od. ;srungs. ) An Arhat who was a personal disciple of Buddha Shakyamuni.
Ksitigarbha: ( sa'i. snying. po. ) lit: 'the heart of earth', the name of a Bodhisattva.
Madhyamika: ( dbu. ma. pa) A follower of the Madhyamaka philosophical school founded by Nagarjuna. See note 34.
Mahayana: ( theg. pa. chen. po. ) The 'great spiritual pursuit' of the Bodhisattva.
Manjughosha: ( 'jam. dbyangs. ) lit: 'the smooth melodious one, the name of the Bodhisattva of Wisdom.
Mayadevi: ( Iha. mo. sgyu.' phrul. ) The mother of Buddha Shakyamuni.
Merit: (bsod. nams. Skt: punya) The wholesome forces and tendencies accumulated from virtuous actions of body, speech and mind.
Mighty One: (thub. pa. Skt muni) An epithet for a Buddha, here specifically for Shakyamuni Buddha.
Nagarjuna: ( klu. sgrub. ) A Buddhist sage who, with Asanga, helped to revive the Mahayana; noted for his elucidation of the Madhyamaka philosophy of emptiness.
Naiyayika: ( rigs. pa. can. ) A follower of a Hindu school of philosophy. See note 52.
Nirvana: (mya. ngan, las.' das. pa,) The state of liberation from the sorrowful condition of cyclic existence. Sometimes this term is used as a synonym for emptiness. See note 39.
Other-cogntion: ( gzhan. rig. ) The aspect of mind that only has phenomena other than itself as its objects.
Padmapani: ( phyag, na. pad. mo. ) lit: 'the lotus holder', another name for Avalokiteshvara.
Pratyekabuddha: ( rang. sangs. rgyas. ) A follower of the Hinayana noted for his living in isolation.
Primal subStance: (spyi. gtso. ho. Skt: prakrti) See note 21.
Realist: ( dngos. smra. ba. Skt: bhutavadin) See note 54.
Samantabha:dra: (kun. tu. bzang. po. ) lit: 'the all good one' the name of a Bodhisattva.
Samkaya: ( granJgs. can. pa. ) A follower of a Hindu school of philosophy. See note 50.
Sangha: ( dge. 'dun. ) lit: 'those who aspire for virtlue,' the realised beings who assist in one's spiritual development.
Self-cognition: ( rang. rig. Skt: svasamvedana) The aspect of mind that only has itself as its object.
Shravaka: ( nyan. thos. ) lit: 'a hearer, ' a follower; of the Hinayana tradition noted for his living in communities.
Special insight: ( hlag. mthong. Skt: vipasyana: The heightened analytical faculty of mind that cognises subtle impermanence and emptiness.
Sugata: ( bde. bar. gshegs. pa. ) lit: 'one who has gone to bliss,' an epithet for a Buddha.
Sukhavati:(bde. ba. can.) The name of a Buddhist heaven or pure land.
Supushpa-chandra: ( me.. tog. zIa. mdzes, ) The namie of a Bodhisattva whose deeds are recounted in the Samadhiraja Sutra. See note 31.
Sutra: ( mdo. ) A discourse preached by Buddha.
Tathagata: ( de. bzhin. gshegs. pa. ) An epithet for the Buddha.
True existence: ( bden. par. grub. pa. Skt: satya sfd (lha ) The object to be negated in the investigation of emptiness. See notes 34 and 37.
True perception: ( mngon. sum. Skt: pratyaksa) See note 38.
Ultimate truth: ( don. dam. bden. pa. Skt: paramartha~iatya) The true nature of all phenomena, i.e. their emptiness and identitylessness.
Vaibashika: ( bye. brag. smra. ba. ) A follower of a Hindu school of philosophy.
Vajradhvaja: ( rdo. rje. rgyal. mtshan. ) The name of a Bodhisattva mentioned in the Avatamsak4i Sutra. See note 28.
Vajrapani: ( phyag. na. rdo. rje. ) lit: 'the holder of the vajra', the name of the Bodhisattva of Power.
Valid cognition: (tshad. ma. Skt: pramana). An infallible state of consciousness that is able to induce certainty about its object. It can be either conceptual or non-conceptual.
Veda: ( rig, byed. ) Ancient Indian hymns believed to have divine origin.
Yama: (gshin. rje.) The lord of death.
Yogi: (rnal. 'byor. pa.) A being who has developed calm abiding and special insight.