Santideva and the Dynamics of Tradition: Doctrinal, Social, and Interreligious Contexts

This collection analyses the dynamic role of tradition in understanding the thought and impact of the 8th century Mahayana Buddhist thinker Santideva.

Organised into three interconnected sections, it highlights Santideva’s Guide to the way of life of a Bodhisattva (Bodhicaryavatara) as a product of and major contributor to the 7th and 8th-century Mahayana Buddhist intellectual tradition.

Across a series of cross-cultural case studies, a team of philosophers and scholars of religion demonstrate how the Guide, a religious and philosophical classic, is being taken up into contemporary academic conversations. They analyze key Buddhist concepts developed by Santideva, including effort, compassion, wisdom and the spirit of awakening (bodhicitta), explicating the role they play in his thought and the impact they made on the tradition. Covering his attitude towards woman, they discuss his use of sarcasm revealing his conception of human beings and examine social hierarchy as reflected in his writings and traditional biography.

Unique in the attention it gives to social dynamics, this is the first collection to incorporate interreligious dialogue into its framing of the Guide. This interdisciplinary approach showcases the benefits of employing multiple methodologies in the study of Santideva’s thought. A valuable addition to cross-cultural philosophy, Buddhist ethics, interreligious dialogue and Mahayana Buddhism.

Stephen Harris is Lecturer in the Institute for Philosophy, Leiden University, The Netherlands.

Perry Schmidt-Leukel is Senior Professor of Religious Studies and Intercultural Theology at the University of Münster, Germany.