'Bodhipathapradipa' is unanimously construed as the magnum opus among the compositions of Dipankara Srijnana (Atisa). As a religious text composed by a Buddhist mendicant of India as-well as Tibet, it reconciles the doctrines of the different schools of Buddhism (Madhyamika Sunyavada, Vijnanavada of Yogacharins and the doctrines of Mahayanic Sutras) in its tenets towards the realisation of Bodhi or Perfect Enlightenments. But as Rgveda being a; book of hymns of Brahmanism, entertains universal-appeal in its doctrines of philanthropical dynamism, as several Mahayanic texts- while : professing Mahayanic doctrines profess cosmopolitan appeal in its dynamic ; principle of universal emancipation and as ';Stuti Chintamani' of the tribal poet Bhima Bhoi fof Orissa while advocating the theology of Mahimaism preaches for a better world-order even at the cost of the distress of Mahimaites, Bodhipathapradipa epitomises in the midst- of Buddhist theology the basic principle of Humanism and the ideal of human civilization. This text embodies critical and intellectual discourses on Buddhism and Bodhipathapradlpa, life of Dipankara Srijnana, Sanskrit. text of Bodhipathapradipa, its translation in English and the ideology of Bodhipathapradipa in critical and comparative studies. It also highlights: the ideology of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism.
Bodhipradapadipa, Atisa, Kant Publications, 220 pages, $18.00
Atisha Dipamkara Shrijnana (982-1055 CE) was a renowned Buddhist scholar and teacher at the monastic university, Vikramashila, in India. He was born in a royal family in Bengal. He was invited to Tibet in 1043 (1042?) by the Kings Yeshe O (ye she 'od) and Jang Chub O (byang chub 'od), where he founded the kadampa school and wrote his most influential work, The Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (Bodhipathapradipa), which teaches the gradual path to enlightenment. He introduced the cult of Tara, who was his tutelary deity (yidam), in Tibet. He is also known by the name of Jowo Je. His main disciple was Drom Tonpa ('drom ston pa). Another chief disciple was the translator Ngog Legpa Sherab (sngog legs pa'i shes rab). He died at Nyethang (nye thang).
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