The Bodhicaryavatara
A Guide to the Buddhist Path to Awakening
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from Wish List failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
The Bodhicaryavatara
Buy Now for $28.99
-
Narrated by:
-
William Hope
-
By:
-
Śāntideva
About this listen
Written in India in the early eighth century CE, Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara 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.
Santideva 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 lives from his time to the present.
Important as a manual of training among Mahayana Buddhists, especially in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, The Bodhicaryavatara 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 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.
©1995 Kate Crosby and Andrew Skilton (P)2016 Ukemi Productions LtdWould you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
No, purely because of the awful narration.Would you be willing to try another one of William Hope’s performances?
NoAny additional comments?
This is a classic of Mahayana Buddhism. The text is beautiful, and is meant to be a peaceful internal reflection. Instead, it was read as if the author was in torment, struggling with internal demons. It would have been appropriate for some self-flagellating medieval Christian monk, aggressively battling the desires of the flesh, not one of the great Buddhist saints of compassion and peace. The narrator totally misunderstands this text and spoils the whole experience. The producers of such spiritual classics should make sure that they employ narrators who actually have some understanding of, and feeling for, the text they are reading.Terrible narration, totally spoils this book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.