The Bodhicaryāvatāra of Śāntideva is one of the most influential Buddhist texts of all time. It describes the approach of what has been called, “The Golden Age of Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism”, and its teachings form the basis for much of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama says that it is his main inspiration, and that he reads it every day. The Bodhicaryāvatāra was the first text on which Sangharakshita led study after founding the Western Buddhist Order, and he has always held it up as one of Triratna’s core texts.

It will be an eight week course. We’ll follow the standard mitra study module with an extra week at the start. In the first week we will explore our own practice of the Six Paramitas (the Six Perfections – Generosity, Ethics, Patience, Energy, Meditation, Wisdom). This is a good way into the material. Then we’ll launch into the study material the following week.