Shantideva (sometimes Śantideva, Zh: 寂天) was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar at Nalanda University and an adherent of the Prasangika Madhyamaka philosophy. A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... Remains at Nalanda Nalanda is a historical place in central Bihar, India, 90 km south-east of the state capital of Patna. ... Prasangika is a sub-school of Madhyamaka Buddhism that holds the method of logical consequence (prasanga) to be the only valid method of demonstrating the nature of the Two Truths to opponents in debate. ... Madhyamaka (Also known as Åšunyavada) is a Buddhist Mahayāna tradition popularized by Nāgārjuna and AÅ›vaghoá¹£a. ...

The Chan Ssu Lun of the Chinese Madhyamika school identifies two different individuals given the name "Shantideva", the founder of the Avaivartika Sangha in the 6th century and a later Shantideva who studied at Nalanda in the 8th century, who appears to be the source of the Tibetan biographies. Citations of archaeological discoveries supporting this thesis may be accessed through Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh, a respected online resource maintained by the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, or through the Bodhicaryavatara Historical Project, an academic research project started by the Mahabodhi Sunyata Seminary in Tarragona, Spain.

Shantideva is particularly renowned as the author of the Bodhicaryavatara (sometimes also called the Bodhisattvacaryavatara). An English translation of the Sanskrit version of the Bodhicaryavatara is available online, as well as in print in a variety of translations, sometimes glossed as A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way Of Life or Entering the Path of Enlightenment. It is a long poem describing the process of enlightenment from the first thought to full buddhahood and is still studied by Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhists today. A commentary by Pema Chodron was published in 2005 as "No Time To Lose". An introduction to and commentary on the Bodhicaryavatara by The Dalai Lama called "A Flash of Lightning in the Dark of Night" was printed in 1994. A commentary on the Patience chapter was provided by the Dalai Lama in "Healing Anger" 1997, and his commentaries on the Wisdom chapter can be found in "Practicing Wisdom" 2004. The Bodhicaryavatara, sometimes glossed as A Guide of to the Bodhisattvas Way of Life, is a famous Buddhist text written by Shantideva, around year 700. ... The Bodhicaryavatara, sometimes glossed as A Guide of to the Bodhisattvas Way of Life, is a famous Buddhist text written by Shantideva, around year 700. ... Media:Example. ... Relief image of the bodhisattva Kuan Yin from Mt. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Pema Chodron portrait Pema Chödrön (formerly Deirdre Blomfield-Brown, born 1936) is a fully ordained Buddhist nun in the Tibetan vajrayana tradition, and a teacher in the lineage of Chögyam Trungpa. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso (1876-1933). ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• Shantideva. The Way of the Bodhisattva. Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group. Boston: Shambala, 1997. ISBN 1-57062-253-1.

External links

• Guide to the Bodhisattvas Way of Life by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
• Engaging in Bodhisattva Behavior, full unpublished translation of the Bodhicaryavatara by Alexander Berzin
• Commentary to Bodhicaryavatara by Patrul Rinpoche (in English )
• Popular Quotations from Shantideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra
• Santideva: a bibliography
• Shantideva Online: Your Guide to the Bodhisattva way of Life