Book night resources - Auckland Zen Centre

Shantideva's The Way of the Bodhisattva

During 2020 we will be exploring Shantideva's classic text on the Bodhisattva path on Wednesday evenings. The book nights will be held on Zoom, hosted by Hanya, Sensei and senior students, and will be a chance to explore this text among Dharma friends. All are welcome - just join the Zoom meeting any Wednesday you choose. You can join us for all the evenings, or just one or two, as your time allows.

Check out this useful Reader's Guide if The Way of the Bodhisattva is new to you. There are many translations, but two that are available as eBooks from the Auckland Public Library are

The Way of the Bodhisattva by the Padmakara Translation Group

and

No Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva by Pema Chodron (this has text from the the Padmakara Translation Group and a warm-hearted and accessible commentary by Pema Chodron. It is also available as an audio book from the library).

Here are some of the other translations that we are using in the book group:

K. Crosby; A. Skilton (1996), The Bodhicaryāvatāra, Oxford: Oxford University Press
S. Batchelor (1979), A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life, Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives.
Batchelor's translation is available as a PDF from the Tibet House website (https://www.tibethouse.jp/about/buddhism/text/pdfs/Bodhisattvas_way_English.pdf).

Format:

Wednesdays, 7 - 8 p.m. by Zoom.
Check the weekly email update for the Zoom link or email Robin (info@aucklandzen.org.nz).

The format for each night will be roughly the same: time to catch-up with each other, a short talk from whoever is leading the night, small group discussion and then a wrap-up all together again. We won't have time to explore the whole text, but we will look into 5 of the 10 chapters:

May 20: Led by Hanya. Introduction to Shantideva and the book. Focus will be on Chapter 1: "The Excellence of Bodhicitta"
May 27: Led by Robin. Exploration of Chapters 2 & 3: "Confession" and "Taking Hold of Bodhicitta"
June 3: Led by Sensei. Exploration of Chapter 6: "Patience".
June 10: Led by Hanya. Exploration of Chapter 10: "Dedication".
Spring dates TBA (September or October): Exploration of Chapter 8: "Meditation" and the Lojong tradition. We will be using Norman Fischer's book "Training in Compassion: Zen teachings on the practice of Lojong" . There are three copies of this available at the Auckland Public Library and one copy in the AZC library.

Ideas for reading:

The text isn't always immediately accessible (but it is worth the effort!). Here are some ideas that might help, adapted from Pema Chodron's study guidelines in No Time to Lose.

Read out loud. Traditionally The Way of the Bodhisattva is read aloud, and it is an excellent way of hearing the poetry in the text.
Choose a stanza. After you have read a chapter, go back and select a stanza that really stands out for you. Write it down on a card and put it somewhere you can see it. You may want to memorise it and repeat it while out walking or just let it be with you through your week.
Record your responses. It can be helpful to keep a notebook and record your responses to each chapter you read, along with any other notes you want to make from the commentaries you might be reading too. Your might want to record your chosen stanza too and record what it means to you.
Keep a sense of enquiry. Approach with curiosity and a lightness of touch. You don't have to believe everything (or anything!) in the text.

Links to other resources:

First Book night: Overview and Chapter 1.

Nurturing the Intelligent Heart. A recent Tricycle article, well worth a read, especially for anyone joining our Book Nights.

Second Book Night: Chapters 2 & 3 and the 7-Fold Puja.

Wulstan Fletcher, from the Padmakara Translation Group, gave a workshop on our text. The youtube recording of his introduction and overview of the text is long (90 minutes) but rewarding.
For anyone interested in a modern version of the 7-Fold Puja, this is the one used at the Auckland Buddhist Centre.

Third book night: Chapter 6 and working with anger

An appropriate response, by Christina Feldman and Chris Cullen. An other great Tricycle article.

Fourth book night: Chapter 10 and dedication of merit

A wide ranging discussion on this night, including the idea of "the four tasks". Here are three teachers exploring the idea of the Buddha's "four tasks".
And another useful Tricycle article, on the bodhisattvas and boundaries.

Spring book nights (September or October; TBA): Chapter 8 and the Lojong tradition

For a introduction to the Lojong tradition (and Shantideva's link to Lojong), see this Reader's Guide
For talks on Shantideva and the Bodhisattva Practice from a Zen perspective, you may want to explore this series of talks from the Upaya Zen Center.
For the Spring book nights we will be using Norman Fischer's book "Training in Compassion: Zen teachings on the practice of Lojong" . There are three copies of this available at the Auckland Public Library and one copy in the AZC library.
Pema Chodron's book on Lojong is called "Start where you are". First published in 1994, it remains a classic well worth reading too.