Bodhipathapradīpa
Sign in to savethumb | rightBodhipathapradīpa (A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment) is a Buddhist text composed in Sanskrit by the 11th-century teacher Atiśa and widely considered his magnum opus. The text reconciles the doctrines of many various Buddhist schools and philosophies, and is notable for the introduction of the three levels of spiritual aspiration: lesser, middling and superior, which in turn became the foundation for the Lamrim tradition. This text was translated into Tibetan as Byang chub lam gyi sgron ma.
Article
4 sectionsContents
- The Importance of Bodhicitta
- The Generation of Bodhicitta
- References
- Bibliography
thumb | rightBodhipathapradīpa (A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment) is a Buddhist text composed in Sanskrit by the 11th-century teacher Atiśa and widely considered his magnum opus. The text reconciles the doctrines of many various Buddhist schools and philosophies, and is notable for the introduction of the three levels of spiritual aspiration: lesser, middling and superior, which in turn became the foundation for the Lamrim tradition. This text was translated into Tibetan as Byang chub lam gyi sgron ma.
In the text, Atiśa classifies individuals into three different capacities, and writes for those of the final capacity, which he calls "Supreme". "Inferior individuals": those who are still attached to samsaric existence. "Middling individuals": those who have renounced samsara and seek liberation, but only for themselves. "Superior individuals": those who have personally renounced samsara, but are committed to bringing everyone else to enlightenment.