Profound Reality of Interdependence

The<em> Way of the Bodhisattva</em> composed by the monk and scholar 'S=antideva in eighth-century India is a Buddhist treatise in verse that beautifully and succinctly lays out the theory and practice of the Mahayana path of a bodhisattva. Over one thousand years after 'S=antideva's composition K�nzang S�nam (1823-1905) produced the most extensive commentary on the <em>Way of the Bodhisattva </em>ever written. This book is the first English translation of K�nzang S�nam's overview of 'S=antideva's notoriously difficult ninth chapter on wisdom. <p/>The ninth chapter of the <em>Way of the Bodhisattva</em> is philosophically very rich but forbiddingly technical and can only be read well with a good commentary. K�nzang S�nam's commentary offers a unique and complete introduction to the view of Pr=asa: ngika-Madhyamaka the summit of Buddhist philosophy in Tibet as articulated by Tsongkhapa. It brings 'S=antideva's text and Tsongkhapa's interpretation of Pr=asa: ngika-Madhyamaka into conversation with a vast Buddhist literature from India and Tibet. By articulating the integral relationship between emptiness and interdependence this text formulates a sustained and powerful argument for emptiness as a metaphysical basis of bodhisattva ethics. This volume makes the ninth chapter accessible to English-speaking teachers and students of the <em>Way of the Bodhisattva</em>.<br>