The Bodhisattva Ideal: The Path of Service and Self-Transcendence

The ideal of the Bodhisattva is one of the most sublime and elevating conceptions of human capacity handed down to modern culture by the sages of antiquity.  In this seminar, a panel of three speakers will explore the concept of the Bodhisattva from diverse viewpoints. This will include an introduction to one of the most revered texts of Mahayana Buddhism, The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicaryavatara), by the eighth-century Indian scholar Shantideva, first translated into English from the Tibetan in 1997. The seminar will explore how this lofty conception has parallels in other philosophical and religious traditions and how the ideal has been depicted in monumental sculpture and painting as found in the Ajanta and Ellora caves, at Borobudur, in Tibetan monasteries and elsewhere. Finally, the speakers will explore the many ways in which the ideal is inspirational to diverse non-Buddhist seekers in the modern world. In what way does the Bodhisattva ideal provide salutary guidance in the re-education of thought, will and feeling in everyday life?

Suggested donation of $2 per person.