Shantideva

Shantideva

Eighth-century Indian Mahayana Buddhist monk-scholar at the great university of Nalanda and author of the Bodhicaryavatara (The Way of the Bodhisattva), the most widely-studied text on the bodhisattva path in Tibetan Buddhism. The traditional account holds that Shantideva appeared lazy and ordinary at Nalanda — eating, sleeping, defecating, and seeming to do little else — until challenged to recite teachings before the assembly, at which point he composed the Bodhicaryavatara extemporaneously, rising into the air as he reached the final chapter on emptiness, his voice growing more distant until it could no longer be heard. The Dalai Lama has called the Bodhicaryavatara the most important book on the bodhisattva path ever written.

107

quotes in library

Quotes by Shantideva

107 quotes

“To free oneself from the cycle of birth and death, freed all beings.”

liberationThe Way of the Bodhisattva

“In the absence of attachment, awakening is no further than the next breath.”

awakeningThe Way of the Bodhisattva

“The mark of a bodhisattva is not absence of suffering, but transformation of suffering into compassion.”

transformationThe Way of the Bodhisattva

“In the perfection of wisdom, all dharmas dissolve into emptiness.”

perfectionThe Way of the Bodhisattva

“The four immeasurables — loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, equanimity — are the four legs of the bodhisattva's seat.”

foundationsThe Way of the Bodhisattva

“Resentment is a fire that consumes the one who holds it.”

resentmentThe Way of the Bodhisattva

“In the moment you see your enemy as a teacher, the path opens.”

enemyThe Way of the Bodhisattva

“The bodhisattva sees all beings as having been kind in past lives.”

perspectiveThe Way of the Bodhisattva

“Practice patience with the easy. Practice patience with the difficult. The practice is the same.”

patienceThe Way of the Bodhisattva

“In the marriage of wisdom and means, the bodhisattva acts.”

actionThe Way of the Bodhisattva

“The treasure of merit is built one virtuous action at a time.”

meritThe Way of the Bodhisattva

“Do not be impatient with your practice. The fruit ripens in its own time.”

patienceThe Way of the Bodhisattva

“The bodhisattva is never bored. There is always more to attend to.”

engagementThe Way of the Bodhisattva

“In the heart of bodhichitta, no being is excluded.”

bodhichittaThe Way of the Bodhisattva

“What you give in a moment, you receive across lifetimes.”

givingThe Way of the Bodhisattva

“Speak gently. The angry word travels far.”

speechThe Way of the Bodhisattva

“In the bodhisattva's vow, the personal becomes universal.”

vowThe Way of the Bodhisattva

“The path is long. The path is straight. Walk it with bodhichitta.”

pathThe Way of the Bodhisattva

“In the practice of generosity, the giver is purified.”

purificationThe Way of the Bodhisattva

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