Of the progresse of the bodhisattva : the bodhisattvamārga in the Śikṣāsamuccaya

Human language is unfit to describe the content of mystical experience; the conditions necessary to attain the desired goal, on the contrary, are much more easily susceptible to linguistic expression. This is the principal reason why mystics always deal at greater length with the via mystica than with the unio mystica Therefore the specific nature of Buddhism can only become clear through an examination of its mystic way. During the whole history of Buddhism the way to Nirvana has been the core of the doctrine. The Buddha is credited with clearly and succinctly expounding the Buddhist path (marga). Despite the eloquence and brevity of the Buddha's exposition, the corpus of Buddhist scriptures explaining the path is prolix. It is generally thought that the moral precepts (śikṣāpadas), correct practices (samudācāras) and restraints (saṃvaras) for a bodhisattva are to be found in Mahāyāna sutras. Yet it seems that the most likely outcome of reading these sutras is not enlightenment, but confusion. Mahayana sutras appear too extensive and complex to be of much practical benefit to an incipient bodhisattva. This paper asserts that the Śikṣāsamuccaya (Śs) and Śikṣāsamuccayakārikā (ŚSKĀ) are composed by SĀNTIDEVA (Ś) to counter the bewilderment which results from reading Mahayana sutras. Both works explicate the essential principles (marmasthānas) of these sūtras for the benefit of a bodhisattva new to the way. Further, this paper asserts that of all the various practices described in Mahayana sūtras, Ś believes that the practice of giving (dāna = utsarjana) is fundamental. In the Śs and ŚSKĀ the way of the bodhisattva (bodhisattvamārga) is essentially the way of giving (dānamārga). In short, Ś expects a bodhisattva: i.) to give everything (sarva + √dā = sarva + ut + √sṛj) in order to attain perfect enlightenment ( samyaksaṃbodhi) ; ii.) to make a worthy gift of his person (ātmabhāva), enjoyments (bhogas) and merit (puṇya) in order to give everything; iii.) to preserve (√ rakṣ), purify (√ śudh), and increase (√ vṛdh) his gift in order to make a worthy gift ; and iv.) to practice the four right strivings (samyakpradhānas) in order to preserve, purify and increase his gift. It is asserted in this paper, then, that Ś considers the unsurpassed and perfect enlightenment of the Buddha attained by the practice of complete giving (sarvadāna = sarvotsarjana) and complete giving attained by the practice of the right strivings. This conception of the way of the bodhisattva is represented in Figure 7.1 and in more detail in Figure 7.2. Overall, this paper attempts to provide a comprehensive analysis of the content, structure, theme and meaning of the Śs and ŚSKĀ. To the knowledge of the present writer, it is the first of its kind. Although the notion of the path is central to Buddhist thought, it seems to be a fact that the scholarly world has been rather slow in coming forth with attempts at straightforward exposition of the notion of the spiritual path and practice especially as presented in the Pāli Nikāyas and Abhidhamma. Indeed a plain and descriptive scholarly account of just what the Nikayas and Abhidhamma have to say on so many of the fundamental topics of ancient Buddhism is simply not to be found. tatra katamo bodhisattvānaṃ mārga