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Chapter 6: Verses 31-45

Chapter 6: Verses 31-45

Commentary on Chapter 6 of Shantideva’s A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life given at Sravasti Abbey from April 28 to May 6, 2009.

  • Quoting Shantideva, who says that we hold a precious human life in the same way someone holds a precious treasure while being unaware of its value. He warns of the danger of wasting it by acting under the power of delusions which have neither limbs, nor courage, nor intelligence
  • Explanation of the second kind of patience (thinking about reality) with the third subtopic:
    • The purpose of patience: the nature of things being dependent and empty of inherent existence, one becomes at ease with whatever may come
  • The third kind of patience, the patience of not retaliating, with its three subtopics:
    • The method of compassion
    • Overcoming anger
    • Contemplating one’s fault when experiencing undesirable situations

A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life: Patience 04 (download)

Geshe Lhundup Sopa

Geshe Lhundup Sopa is a brilliant scholar and well-loved teacher. Born in 1923, he is one of the last surviving Tibetan teachers originally educated in Tibet prior to 1959. His Holiness the Dalai Lama sent Geshe Sopa to the U.S. in 1962 and he has remained ever since. He is the founder and resident teacher of Deer Park Buddhist Center and Evam Monastery in Madison, Wisconsin. He has also been a professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Wisconsin for over 30 years. (Bio by Sravasti Abbey)