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Introduction To Khenpo Kunpal's Commentary To The Bodhicharyavatara
Introduction To Khenpo Kunpal's Commentary To The Bodhicharyavatara
Introduction to the Bodhisattva-caryvatra translations on our web-site The Bodhisattva-caryvatra is without doubt one of the most significant works in Mahyna Buddhist literature. Written entirely in verse, the text is a remarkable piece of didactic Sanskrit poetry, extolling the bodhisattva ideal and guiding a Buddhist practitioner along the complete Mahyna path, culminating in the attainment of enlightenment. The text is generally thought to have been written in the 8th century at the Buddhist university of Nland by the Indian master and monk ntideva. The text soon acquired great popularity, and a rich tradition of commentarial writing on the Bodhisattva-caryvatra developed. This, however, ended with the decline of Buddhism in India. As part of establishing Indian Buddhism in Tibet, an enormous project of translating Buddhist texts was carried out by Tibetan translators assisted by Indian paitas, yogin-scholars. Of the many texts that were translated into Tibetan, the Bodhisattvacaryvatra rapidly gained a prominent position. Many Tibetan explanation lineages [bshad brgyud] of the Bodhisattva-caryvatra came into existence then and have been preserved in Buddhist monasteries and philosophical colleges up to the present day. All the main schools of Tibetan BuddhismNyingma, Kagy, Sakya, the Old Kadampa, and the New Kadampa School, also known as the Gelukpa School maintained their own explanation lineages of this revered text. This work focuses on the explanation lineage of the Bodhisattva-caryvatra according to the Nyingma School as taught by the East Tibetan master Paltrl Rinpoche Orgyen Jigme Chkyi Wangpo (1808-1887). Paltrl Rinpoche, one of the greatest Nyingma scholars and practitioners of the 19th century, is reputed to have taught the entire text more than one hundred times during his life. Although he was a prolific writer, he left us no written commentaries on the Bodhisattva-caryvatra. However, the Nyingma interpretation he gave orally was preserved in writing by a few of his main students, especially Khenpo Kunpal (1862-1943), who studied for many years with Paltrl Rinpoche and wrote a comprehensive commentary on the Bodhisattva-caryvatra. Khenpo Kunpals commentary is entitled, A Word-by-Word Commentary on the Bodhisattva-caryvatra, called Drops of Nectar, according to the Personal Statement of the Majughoa-like Teacher [byang chub sems dpai spyod pa la jug pai tshig grel jam dbyangs bla mai zhal lung bdud rtsii thig pa]. This commentary, specifically designed for practitioners of Buddhist meditation, has gained wide acceptance among followers of the Nyingma School and is highly respected by the Sakya and Kagy Schools as well. Even now, Khenpo Kunpals commentary is studied and practiced in Buddhist monasteries, universities, and dharma centers throughout the world. On this site, we present the first few chapters of the Bodhisattva-caryvatra together with Khenpo Kunpals commentary, both in transliteration and translation. Khenpo Kunpals teachings are based on Paltrl Rinpoches oral lineage. At present, Paltrl Rinpoches explanation lineage of the Bodhisattva-caryvatra is taught and
maintained at many monasteries in East Tibet, particularly at r Siha University of Dzogchen Monastery. We have added to Khenpo Kunpals written commentary the oral explanations given by a modern scholar from that university, Dzogchen Khenpo Chga. Following the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), Khenpo Chga studied with qualified masters and began teaching in the late 1980s at r Siha University. Throughout his commentary, Khenpo Chga, in keeping with traditional Tibetan Buddhist didacticism, often reiterates key points, a method designed to reinforce the texts crucial messages in the mind of the student. We felt it important to retain this element of repetition in order to present the total work in the manner of a classical oral commentary. We have divided the root text and both commentaries into small sections and numbered each section. This offers the reader an easy way to work with both commentaries. This present commentary on the Bodhisattva-caryvatra by Khenpo Kunpal is suitable for all readers who are interested in studying a classical presentation of Mahyna Buddhism. Because of the Bodhisattva-caryvatras importance in the Buddhist world, we have translated this commentary to make it available to the nonTibetan reader, thus introducing a small part of Tibets rich oral and written explanation lineages on this text. We suggest that the reader moves between Khenpo Kunpals commentary and Khenpo Chgas explanation of the commentary. Since each section of Khenpo Kunpals commentary is numbered, reference to Khenpo Chgas explanation of the text section bearing the same number is easy. The first volume of our work contains the translators introduction that may be of interest to the academic reader who wishes to understand the details of the translation and lineage history of the Bodhisattva-caryvatra thoroughly. An introduction by Khenpo Chga is presented from the viewpoint of a highly trained scholar of the Nyingma tradition and establishes the Bodhisattva-caryvatra within the context of the study and practice of Mahyna Buddhism. Tsoknyi Rinpoche approaches the Bodhisattva-caryvatra from the perspective of a well-known and accomplished meditation master, explaining how to use the text for personal meditation practice. Furthermore, we have included interviews with the eminent Sakya master Khenpo Ape as well as with the Kagy-Nyingma scholar Khyabche Khenpo on the study of Bodhisattva-charyavatara.