Course Description

In 8th Century India, after studying and practicing meditation, a young Buddhist named Śāntideva, left the jungle and went to the monastic university Nalanda, where he was ordained as a monk. There, he studied Buddhist and non-Buddhist philosophy, sutras, and tantras. Everyone thought he did nothing but eat, sleep, and go to the toilet. The monastery's monks decided to expel him, as they thought he was useless. As a pretext, they told him he must give a discourse on an original text, thinking he would make a fool of himself. Śāntideva agreed. They set up a very high throne without any stairs, thinking Śāntideva could not reach it. But, when he reached his hand towards it, the throne descended to his level, and he ascended easily. Then he began teaching what has become one of, if not the, most famous text in the history of Buddhism and the current Dalia Lama’s favorite text - the Bodhicaryāvatāra or The Way of the Boddhisatva. When he reached a certain verse in the ninth chapter on the nature of reality, Śāntideva slowly rose into the sky. After that, only his voice was heard, reciting the rest of the text. After which he disappeared completely and transformed into a rainbow. The monks recorded the text from memory.

The Bodhicaryāvatāra contains the “10 perfections,” the 10 forms of practice that constitute the Buddhist path as per the Mahāyāna school - virtues, philosophy, and yoga. The book summarizes many other non-Buddhist and Buddhist traditions and offers an elucidation and defense of the Madhyamaka or middle way school that forms the foundation of Buddhism in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and China, Korea, and Japan alongside other schools also detailed in the text. As such this book provides a comprehensive introduction to Madhyamaka Buddhism, Buddhism in general, as well Indo-Tibetan philosophy. It also models a specific model of pedagogy - many Asian philosophical traditions follow a sequence of education from basic concentration and critical thinking skills to a rigorous and prolonged ethical education, before reaching the “heights” of philosophical discourse. We will follow the Bodhicaryāvatāra as it passes in order through these stages of a Bodhisattva’s education. We will make detailed references to the tradition when elucidating these stages, including meditation and emotional transformation techniques, thus performing the Buddhist pedagogical tradition of root text analysis and commentary, and better situating it in its lived form. We will also make detailed references to the traditions Śāntideva critiques, to test whether his critiques are successful. To ensure the material is accessible and engaging we will relate this material relates to perennial issues and how those issues relate to our lives in our advanced and precarious shared modern world.

Classes will center around research question discussions, with each student preparing one of our 16 classes on a given section of the text, and completing an oral final (as per the pedagogical tradition in which this text is taught)

This course has no prerequisites, but you will be expected to come to class prepared, engaged, and ready to work and help each other learn one of the classics of world culture.

Students can expect to have at least 3-6 hours of homework per week.

Texts

Textbook:The Bodhicaryāvatāra (Oxford World's Classics) by Śāntideva (Author), Kate Crosby (translator), Andrew Skilton (translator), Paul Williams (Introduction). Where possible free digital copies of all readings will be made available.

The Course will be broken into 10 parts corresponding to the 10 chapters, which themselves correspond to the 10 perfections – the virtues of the Bodhisattva:

1. Introduction & perfection 1 The benefits of bodhicitta (the wish to reach full liberation for all) – (week 1)
2. perfection 2 Purifying bad deeds & perfection 3 adopting the spirit of enlightenment (week 2)
3. perfection 4 Using conscientiousness (week 3)
4. perfection 5 Guarding awareness (week 4)
5. perfection 6 The practice of patience (week 5) - Aristotle, Martha Nussbaum, The Ethics of Anger,
6. perfection 7 The practice of joyous effort (week 6) –
7. perfection 8 The practice of meditative concentration (week 7 & 8) –
8. perfection 9 The perfection of wisdom (weeks 9 - 14) - sections from the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā by Nāgārjuna, the Abhidharmakośa, the Viṃśatikāvijñaptimātratāsiddhiḥ by Vasubandhu, and other texts and excerpts from the Indian Buddhist and non-Buddhist traditions.
9. perfection 10 Dedication or merit (week 15)

Readings: The Bodhicaryāvatāra and the Śikṣāsamuccaya by Śāntideva, sections from the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā by Nagarjuna, The Abhidharmakośa and the Viṃśatikāvijñaptimātratāsiddhiḥ by Vasubandhu, The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle, The Ethics of Anger edited by Court Lewis, Buddhism by Rupert Gethin, Mahayana Buddhism by Paul Williams. Students will also be given access to several important Buddhist sutras and non-Buddhist scriptures where and when the root text refers to them.

About the Instructor(s): William Barnes