Bodhisattvabhumi (Tsadra) Hardcover – March 8, 2016 by Asanga (Author), Artemus B. Engle (Translator)

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Bodhisattvabhumi (Tsadra) Hardcover – March 8, 2016 by Asanga (Author), Artemus B. Engle (Translator)

Post by Leo Rivers »

With the 1st [mundane] half of the Sravaka Pathalready fully explicated a good snapshot of pre-rupture Buddhism is finally available. It is interesting the whole of the Bodhi Path is slipped conceptually like a note into the pocket of "What does he Buddha know?"

Leo


The Bodhisattva Path to Unsurpassed Enlightenment: A Complete Translation of the Bodhisattvabhumi :reading: :reading: :reading: (Tsadra) Hardcover – March 8, 2016
by Asanga (Author), Artemus B. Engle (Translator)
Arya Asanga, famous for having been the conduit through which the teachings contained in the Five Texts of Maitreya were received and recorded, is also considered to be the author in his own right of several other foundational works of Yogācāra philosophy.
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Art Engle's translation of Asaṇga's monumental Bodhisattva Stage is a major work of excellent scholarship—presented in a way that is also useful to practitioners. It is truly impressive and remarkable, the fine job he has done with this seminal and rather difficult work. Anyone who aspires to follow the way of the bodhisattva, the whole-hearted altruist who undertakes the evolutionary path through countless lives toward the perfectly blissful enlightenment of buddhahood, is well-advised to study this work in all its sparkling detail. I strongly recommend this wonderful jewel of a work." Robert A. F. Thurman Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies, Columbia University President, Tibet House US
About the Author
ASANGA was a fourth-century Indian adept and philosopher, author of the foundational works of the Yogācāra school of Buddhist philosophy. ARTEMUS B. ENGLE received a PhD in Buddhist studies from the University of Wisconsin and has studied Tibetan Buddhism for more than forty years. He teaches Tibetan language and Buddhist doctrine at the Mahayana Sutra and Tantra Center in Howell, New Jersey, and has published numerous translations of works by Indian and Tibetan masters. He has been a Tsadra Foundation Fellow since 2005.

Product Details

Series: Tsadra
Hardcover: 800 pages
Publisher: Snow Lion (March 8, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1559394293
ISBN-13: 978-1559394291
Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.9 x 9.3 inches
Nicholas Weeks
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Re: Bodhisattvabhumi (Tsadra) Hardcover – March 8, 2016 by Asanga (Author), Artemus B. Engle (Translator)

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.
Malcolm
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Re: Bodhisattvabhumi (Tsadra) Hardcover – March 8, 2016 by Asanga (Author), Artemus B. Engle (Translator)

Post by Malcolm »

It's quite good. I have a copy.
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Re: Bodhisattvabhumi (Tsadra) Hardcover – March 8, 2016 by Asanga (Author), Artemus B. Engle (Translator)

Post by WuMing »

Thank you, Malcolm, for your comment! That's very much appreciated!
Life is great and death has to be just as great as life.
- Mike Tyson
People not only don't know what's happening to them, they don't even know that they don't know.
- Noam Chomsky
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Re: Bodhisattvabhumi (Tsadra) Hardcover – March 8, 2016 by Asanga (Author), Artemus B. Engle (Translator)

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

Malcolm,

Have my copy now and already am quibbling. On the page before the Introduction is a Tibetan verse from Je Rinpoche that mentions Buddha, Ajita and Asanga. The last line translates as "I pray for blessings to these three..."

Who or what would send blessings to those three? Should the 'to' be 'of' or 'from'?
May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.
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Re: Bodhisattvabhumi (Tsadra) Hardcover – March 8, 2016 by Asanga (Author), Artemus B. Engle (Translator)

Post by Malcolm »

Nicholas Weeks wrote:Malcolm,

Have my copy now and already am quibbling. On the page before the Introduction is a Tibetan verse from Je Rinpoche that mentions Buddha, Ajita and Asanga. The last line translates as "I pray for blessings to these three..."

Who or what would send blessings to those three? Should the 'to' be 'of' or 'from'?
He might have worded it a little better, "I pray to these three for blessings..."

A seriously minor quibble.
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Re: Bodhisattvabhumi (Tsadra) Hardcover – March 8, 2016 by Asanga (Author), Artemus B. Engle (Translator)

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

Now I get it - thankful bows Malcolm! :bow:
May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.
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Re: Bodhisattvabhumi (Tsadra) Hardcover – March 8, 2016 by Asanga (Author), Artemus B. Engle (Translator)

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

Only finished Engle’s Introduction and dipped a bit into the rest.

An essential work. It is almost a ‘meaning commentary’ on the ‘root text’ of Ajita’s Mahayanasutralamkara. Often covering the same topics in the same order, but more thoroughly and clearly. The Ten Grounds Sutra is summarized in Book II, ch. 4, the ‘Pleasurable States’. That section plus many other places the Grounds are explicated.
May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.
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Re: Bodhisattvabhumi (Tsadra) Hardcover – March 8, 2016 by Asanga (Author), Artemus B. Engle (Translator)

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

A splendid work and essential for seeing the breadth and depth of living as a bodhisattva.

No PDF or e-book versions yet, so if anyone knows of a source let us all know.
May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.
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Re: Bodhisattvabhumi (Tsadra) Hardcover – March 8, 2016 by Asanga (Author), Artemus B. Engle (Translator)

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

Here is Robert Thurman in his Intro to the sutralamkara (xxii-xxiii) giving the parallels between the two texts:
??

The Mahayana portion of the YBh, the Stages of Bodhisattva Practice
(Bodhisattvabhümi
— BBh), closely parallels the structure of the MSA and can
very plausibly be considered Asanga's own "meaning commentary" (Tib. don grel)
on the MSA. In fact, the Bodhisattva Stages follows the Literature so closely that it
was considered by Chinese Buddhist scholars to have been authored by Maitreya
himself. These parallels are shown in the following table:

MSA Udhikära) BBh (patala)
1. Authenticity of Mahayana -----
2. Taking Refuge -----
3. Gene 1. Gene
4. Spiritual Conception 2. Spiritual Conception
5. Practice 3. Self-interest and Altruism
6. Truth 4. Meaning of Truth
7. Power 5. Power
8. Maturity 6. Maturity
9. Enlightenment 7. Enlightenment
10. Faith 8. Faith
11. Dharma Quest Dharma Quest
12. Teaching Teaching
13. Practice Practice
14. Advice and Instruction Genuine Instruction
15. Artful Evolutionary Action Artfulness
16. Transcendences [1-17] 9. Generosity
Justice 10. Justice
Patience 11. Patience
Enterprise 12. Enterprise
Contemplation 13. Contemplation
Wisdom 14. Wisdom
Social Graces [72-79] 15. Social Graces
17. Measure of Worship and Service 16. Measure of Worship and Service
18. Enlightenment Accessory 17. Enlightenment Accessory
19. Excellence 18. Excellence
20-21. Signs of Practice and Attainment 19. Bodhisattva signs
May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.
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Re: Bodhisattvabhumi (Tsadra) Hardcover – March 8, 2016 by Asanga (Author), Artemus B. Engle (Translator)

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

Engle's Introduction devotes a few pages to summarizing a great work that one hopes will be translated!!

Wonder how large a text it is?

Thuken Losang Chokyi Nyima (1737-1802) (aka Thuken Dharma Vajra) wrote The Sun That Illuminates the Excellent Path of the Great Vehicle. It explains how to carry out the combined study and practice of the bodhisattvabhumi and the mahayanasutralamkara.
May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.
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Re: Bodhisattvabhumi (Tsadra) Hardcover – March 8, 2016 by Asanga (Author), Artemus B. Engle (Translator)

Post by ratna »

Nicholas Weeks wrote: Wonder how large a text it is?
About sixty pages.
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Re: Bodhisattvabhumi (Tsadra) Hardcover – March 8, 2016 by Asanga (Author), Artemus B. Engle (Translator)

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

ratna wrote:
Nicholas Weeks wrote: Wonder how large a text it is?
About sixty pages.
A snap for you to translate into English, by next week, eh? :applause:
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Re: Bodhisattvabhumi (Tsadra) Hardcover – March 8, 2016 by Asanga (Author), Artemus B. Engle (Translator)

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

Only about 100 pages into it, but do have one grumble. Engle has many bracketed words intended to clarify a passage, which many of them do. But just as many seem unneeded and clutter up clear parts of the root text.
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Re: Bodhisattvabhumi (Tsadra) Hardcover – March 8, 2016 by Asanga (Author), Artemus B. Engle (Translator)

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

Regarding this [topic], what is a bodhisattva’s knowledge of the world? Here a bodhisattva gains, in relation to the world that consists of sentient beings, the following type of true realization.

“Alas, this world is in a state of calamity! That is to say, although they take birth, age, die, fall [from a higher state to a lower one] and enter [states of misfortune], sentient beings still do not correctly discover the deliverance that lies beyond old age and death.”

Moreover, [a bodhisattva] gains a true realization of an era in which the degeneracies possessed by the world of beings are exceedingly great, as well as an era that is free of the degeneracies and one in which the degeneracies are not exceedingly great...

For instance, nowadays the life spans of humans are short; an individual who lives a long time lives for [at most around] a hundred years. For instance, nowadays beings to a large extent do not honor their mothers, do not honor their fathers, do not honor spiritual asceticism, do not honor the position of brahmins, do not respect family elders, do not do what is advantageous, do not do what ought to be done, are not fearful of what is objectionable in relation to this world or the next world, do not practice generosity, do not carry out meritorious acts, do not observe the [one-day] fasting observance, and do not abide in morality after having accepted it. For instance, nowadays it is evident that [beings] are attached to wickedness and attached to dishonest ways, and they become acquainted with many kinds of evil, nonvirtuous activities related to such improper conduct as taking up a weapon, taking up a staff, strife, quarreling, discord, arguing, guile, deception, dishonesty, and lying.
[pp 419-20]

Asanga tightly weaves the links of karma, so this quote is not just 'evil will always be with us'. It shows the web of self-induced obstacles that keep us from 'correctly discovering' the way to liberation.
May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.
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Re: Bodhisattvabhumi (Tsadra) Hardcover – March 8, 2016 by Asanga (Author), Artemus B. Engle (Translator)

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

The Dalai Lama's Foreword:
This book, The Bodhisattva Path to Unsurpassed Enlightenment (Bodhisattvabhūmi), is a key work of
Sanskrit Buddhist literature. It was composed by Ārya Asaṅga (fourth century C.E.), who along with Ārya
Nāgārjuna is remembered as one of the trailblazing charioteers of the Mahāyāna tradition.

The Buddha’s teachings and subsequent Buddhist literature can be appraised in several different ways.
If we consider the three turnings of the wheel of Dharma, the first deals with the Four Noble Truths, the
foundation of all Buddhist doctrine. The second comprises the Perfection of Wisdom teachings and the
third explains the nature of the mind. A bodhisattva makes him- or herself familiar with all these
teachings. The Perfection of Wisdom teachings can be explained in terms of their view, which Nāgārjuna
expounded in his writings on the Middle Way (Madhyamaka), or in terms of the stages of the path of
training, which Asaṅga expounded in his encyclopedic Treatise on the Stages of the Practice of Yoga
(Yogācārabhūmiśāstra).


The fifteenth volume of this extensive treatise is the work translated here, The Bodhisattva Path to
Unsurpassed Enlightenment (Bodhisattvabhūmi)
. It deals, as the title suggests, with the stages of the
path, the training, and education of a bodhisattva. The text was taught and studied at the great Nalanda
University. It not only outlines the practice of meditation and cultivation of the six perfections—
generosity, ethics, patience, effort, meditation, and wisdom—but encourages the acquisition of broad
knowledge and general education in the pursuit of enlightenment. The focus of that education is the five
sciences, which include study of Buddhist and non-Buddhist philosophical views, grammar, logic,
medicine, and crafts.

The comprehensive Buddhist traditions brought from India to Tibet followed this approach. This text
was among the six principal texts of the Kadampa tradition that, following Atīśa, was founded in the
eleventh century C.E. by Dromtonpa. These included the Garland of Birth Stories (Jātakamālā), the
Collection of Utterances (Udānavarga), Śāntideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life
(Bodhicaryāvatāra)
and Compendium of Training (Śikṣāsamuccaya), as well as Maitreya’s Ornament
of Mahāyāna Sutras (Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra).


The author of this text, Ārya Asaṅga, propounded the Yogācāra school of thought, sometimes referred to
as the Mind Only school. This text is composed from that point of view. This means there are places
where its assertion of which teachings are “definitive” and which are “provisional” differs from what is
asserted from Nāgārjuna’s Middle Way (Madhyamaka) point of view. Nevertheless, Ārya Asaṅga is
widely accepted to have been a third-ground bodhisattva, which means he had a perfect realization of
emptiness.

I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation of the skill and effort Artemus Engle has brought to
the work of translating this important work into English. These days I regularly encourage followers of the
Buddha to be twenty-first-century Buddhists, to make themselves fully acquainted with what kind of
person the Buddha was and what he taught. I urge them wherever possible to consult and study the great
Indian texts. This translation of Asaṅga’s Bodhisattva Path to Unsurpassed Enlightenment provides a
significant opportunity for readers of English to do just that.
May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.
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