The classic Buddhist text and "essential guidebook" on the ideal of
compassion and the methods of attaining it (Pema Chödrön, author of
When Things Fall Apart)
Treasured by Buddhists of all traditions, The Way of the Bodhisattva
(Bodhicharyavatara) is a guide to cultivating the mind of
enlightenment, and to generating the qualities of love, compassion,
generosity, and patience. This text has been studied, practiced, and
expounded upon in an unbroken tradition for centuries, first in India,
and later in Tibet. Presented in the form of a personal meditation in
verse, it outlines the path of the Bodhisattvas--those who renounce the
peace of individual enlightenment and vow to work for the liberation of
all beings and to attain buddhahood for their sake.
This version, translated from the Tibetan, is a revision by the
translators of the 1997 edition. Included are a foreword by His Holiness
the Dalai Lama, a new translator's preface, a thorough introduction, a
note on the translation, and three appendices of commentary by the
Nyingma master Kunzang Pelden.