A Flash of Lightning in the Dark of Night: A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life (Paperback)

By Dalai Lama, Padmakara Translation Group, Bstan-
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Description

Compassion is the guiding principle of the bodhisattvas, those who vow to attain enlightenment in order to liberate all sentient beings from the suffering and confusion of imperfect existence. To this end, they must renounce all self-centered goals and consider only the well-being of others. The bodhisattvas' enemies are the ego, passion, and hatred; their weapons are generosity, patience, perseverance, and wisdom.

In Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama is considered to be a living embodiment of this spiritual ideal. His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama presents here a detailed manual of practical philosophy, based on The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara), a well-known text of Mahayana Buddhism written by Shantideva. The Dalai Lama explains and amplifies the text, alluding throughout to the experience of daily life and showing how anyone can develop bodhichitta, the wish for perfect enlightenment for the sake of others. This book will surely become a standard manual for all those who wish to make the bodhisattva ideal a living experience.

About the Author

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was born in 1935 in the province of Amdo in eastern Tibet. When he was two years old he was recognized as the fourteenth in the line of Dalai Lamas, the spiritual masters who for three centuries had governed the country. After China invaded Tibet, the Dalai Lama took refuge in Northern India, where he has led and inspired the Tibetan community in exile.

Praise for A Flash of Lightning in the Dark of Night: A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life…

"On many levels, the book is splendid as both an introduction to Buddhist spirituality and an explication of Shantideva for contemporary Westerners."— Library Journal



"If everyone considered only the well-being of others as the bodhisattva's way of life directs, the world would be a much better place. As it is, those who dream of such a society need both mystical and practical advice regarding what they can do to further the effort. They'll find it here. . . . One does not have to be a Buddhist to appreciate the beauty of the teachings and the simplicity of the life presented here. Indeed, non-Buddhists may discover a refreshing new approach to the doctrines of 'love your neighbor,' and 'do unto others'."— Booklist



"A very readable work, A Flash of Lightning reveals the Dalai Lama's breadth of erudition coupled with his incisive practical advice."
—Inquiring Mind

Product Details ISBN-10: 0877739714
ISBN-13: 9780877739715
Published: Shambhala, 03/22/1994
Pages: 141
Language: English