“At that time, I was intoxicated”: Buddhist emotion and the cultivation of Bodhicitta in the first four chapters of the Bodhicaryāvatāra

Thesis

Although the Bodhicaryāvatāra is one of the most influential works of Sanskrit Buddhist literature, central to Tibetan Buddhist thought and widely translated into modern languages, analysis of it has been largely limited to philosophical approaches. The methods of religious studies, particularly current scholarly concerns with religious emotion and the interpretation of text, illuminate not only the Bodhicaryāvatāra's particular project but also wider issues in Mahayana Buddhism. By focusing on the early chapters, I demonstrate that bodhicitta, the central motivation and defining feature of a bodhisattva, is built up through a series of emotional and imaginative turns prompted and performed by the text.

Authors: McLaughlin, P

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-y5p2qqvz7
• Type of award: MPhil
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford