THE BODHICARYĀVATĀRA
A Guide to the Buddhist Path to Awakening
Translated by Kate Crosby and Andrew Skilton
Read by William Hope
10 hours 11minutes
Written in India in the early eighth century CE, Śāntideva Bodhicaryāvatāra takes as its subject the profound desire to become a Buddha and save all beings from suffering. The person who enacts such a desire is a Bodhisattva. Śāntideva not only sets out what the Bodhisattva must do and become, he also invokes the intense feelings of aspiration which underlie such a commitment, using language which has inspired Buddhists in their religious life from his time to the present. Important as a manual of training among Mahayana Buddhists, especially in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the Bodhicaryāvatāra continues to be used as a basis for teaching by modern Buddhist teachers. His Holiness the Dalai Lama frequently cites passages as his highest inspiration. In this recording, William Hope first of all reads the work in its entirety so that the listener can gain an overall perspective and and emotional engagement with the text; and then embarks on the ‘study’ section where the Translators’ introduce each chapter making crucial helpful points. Translated with introductions and notes by Kate Crosby and Andrew Skilton. With a General Introduction by Paul Williams
