Santideva's eighth-century work, the Guide to Bodhisattva Practice (Bodhicaryavatara), is known for its eminently practical instructions and its psychologically vivid articulations of the Mahayana path. It is a powerful, succinct poem into which are woven diverse Buddhist traditions of moral transformation, meditative cultivation, and philosophical insight. Since its composition, it has seen continuous use as a ritual, contemplative, and philosophical manual, making it one of the crucial texts of the Buddhist ethical and philosophical tradition.

This book serves as a companion to this Indian Buddhist classic. The fifteen essays contained here illuminate the Guide's many philosophical, literary, ritual, and ethical dimensions. Distinguished scholars discuss the historical significance of the text as an innovative piece of Indian literature, illuminate the important roles it played in shaping Buddhism in Tibet, and bring to light its contemporary significance for philosophy and psychology. Whether experienced or first-time students of Buddhist literature, readers will find compelling new approaches to this resonant masterpiece.

Readings of Santideva's Guide to Bodhisattva Practice, Jonathan Gold and Douglas Duckworth (Editors), Columbia University Press, Paperback, 2019, 302 Pages, $30.00

Jonathan Gold (PhD, Philosophy of Religions, Chicago) is Associate Professor of Religion at Princeton University. He is the author of Paving the Great Way: Vasubandhu's Unifying Buddhist Philosophy (Columbia, 2014), which was an AAR First Book Award Honorable Mention, and The Dharma's Gatekeepers: Sakya Pandita on Buddhist Scholarship in Tibet (SUNY, 2007). In 2008 he was named Chair of the Columbia Society for Comparative Philosophy.

Douglas Duckworth (PhD, Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Virginia) is Associate Professor of Religion at Temple University. He is the author of Jamgon Mipam: His Life and Teachings (Shambhala, 2011) and Mipam on Buddha-Nature: The Ground of the Nyingma Tradition (SUNY, 2008) and the translator and editor of Botrul: Distinguishing the Views and Philosophies: Illuminating Emptiness in a Twentieth-Century Tibetan Classic (SUNY, 2011).

CONTENTS: Readings of Santideva's Guide to Bodhisattva Practice
A Note to the Reader		ix
Acknowledgments		xi
Introduction. Participatory Authorship and Communal Interpretation: The Bodhicaryavatara as a "World Classic" Jonathan C. Gold		1
1.	Santideva: The Author and His Project Paul Harrison	27
2.	Reason and Knowledge on the Path: A Protreptic Reading of the Guide Amber Carpenter	45
3.	On Learning to Overhear the "Vanishing Poet" Sonam Kachru	60
4.	An Intoxication of Mouse Venom: Reading the Guide, Chapter 9 Matthew T. Kapstein	84
5.	Seeing from All Sides Janet Gyatso	99
6.	Bodies and Embodiment in the Bodhicaryavatara Reiko Ohnuma	114
7.	Ritual Structure and Material Culture in the Guide to Bodhisattva Practice Eric Huntington	132
8.	Bodhicaryavatara and Tibetan Mind Training ( Lojong) Thupten Jinpa	146
9.	Taming Santideva: Tsongkhapa's Use of the Bodhicaryavatara Roger Jackson	162
10.	The Middle Way of the Bodhisattva Douglas S. Duckworth	180
11.	Seeing Sentient Beings: Santideva's Moral Phenomenology Jay L. Garfield	192
12.	Santideva's Ethics of Impartial Compassion Charles Goodman	209
13.	Santideva and the Moral Psychology of Fear Bronwyn Finnigan	221
14.	Innate Human Connectivity and Santideva's Cultivation of Compassion John Dunne	235
Appendix 1: A Guide to Guide Translations: Advice for Students and Instructors		253
Appendix 2: Index of Guide Verses Cited		257
Bibliography		271
Contributors		285
Index		291