The Bodhisattva Path to Unsurpassed Enlightenment
By Asanga
Translated by Artemus B. Engle
Ārya Asanga’s Bodhisattvabhūmi, or The Stage of a Bodhisattva, is the Mahāyāna tradition’s most comprehensive manual on the practice and training of bodhisattvas—by the author’s own account, a compilation of the full range of instructions contained in the entire collection of Mahāyāna sutras. A classic work of the Yogācāra school, it has been cherished in Tibet by all the historical Buddhist lineages as a primary source of instruction on bodhisattva ethics, vows, and practices, as well as for its summary of the ultimate goal of the bodhisattva path—supreme enlightenment.
Despite the text’s seminal importance in the Tibetan traditions, it has remained unavailable in English except in fragments. Engle’s translation, made from the Sanskrit original with reference to the Tibetan translation and commentaries, will enable English readers to understand more fully and clearly what it means to be a bodhisattva and practitioner of the Mahāyāna tradition.
"Asanga’s Stage of a Bodhisattva (Bodhisattvabhūmi) is the most systematic and influential Indian presentation of the ideal practitioner of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It has shaped ethics and psychology throughout Asia for centuries and inspired many a Buddhist to emulate the altruistic spirit and actions of the bodhisattva. With the publication of Artemus Engle’s superb, scholarly, and readable translation, this Great Vehicle classic at last is available to readers of English. It belongs on the shelf—and in the hands—of anyone interested in a classic Buddhist account of how to live in the world with wisdom, compassion, and joy." —Roger R. Jackson, John W. Nason Professor of Asian Studies and Religion, Carleton College
"Art Engle’s translation of Asanga’s monumental Bodhisattva Stage is a major work of excellent scholarship—presented in a way that is also useful to practitioners. It is truly impressive and remarkable, the fine job he has done with this seminal and rather difficult work. Anyone who aspires to follow the way of the bodhisattva, the wholehearted altruist who undertakes the evolutionary path through countless lives toward the perfectly blissful enlightenment of buddhahood, is well-advised to study this work in all its sparkling detail. I strongly recommend this wonderful jewel of a work." —Robert A. F. Thurman, Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies, Columbia University