Shantideva

Shantideva was an influential eighth-century Indian Buddhist monk, philosopher and poet associated with the monastic university of Nalanda. Revered for his contributions to Mahāyāna thought, he is credited with two major works that continue to shape Buddhist scholastic and contemplative traditions. His writings emphasise the cultivation of bodhicitta, ethical conduct, and the philosophical outlook of Madhyamaka, which he inherited from the teachings of Nāgārjuna. Over time, Indian, Tibetan and global audiences have engaged extensively with his texts, ensuring his enduring prominence within Buddhist intellectual history.

Background and Early Life

Sources on Shantideva’s life vary considerably, reflecting the hagiographical tendencies of Buddhist biography. Tibetan historians such as Buton Rinchen Drub and Tāranātha offer detailed accounts, supplemented by a later Sanskrit biography found in a fourteenth-century Nepalese manuscript. One tradition holds that he was born in Saurashtra in present-day Gujarat as the son of King Kalyanavarman and was originally named Shantivarman. Another early biography by the scholar Vibhūticandra places his birth in South India, in the city of Śṛṅgāra, identifying his father as King Māñjūravarman.
According to these accounts, Shantideva left home on the advice of his mother, journeying first to Bengal and then to the Magadha region, where he briefly served in the court of a local ruler. Subsequently, he travelled to Nalanda, the renowned Mahāvihāra, to continue his spiritual and scholastic development. At Nalanda he received the nickname Bhusuku, a term associated with his meditative lifestyle. Although later commentators such as Pema Chödrön suggest he was considered idle by some monastic peers, this perception stands in contrast to the depth and rigour of his surviving works.

Legends and Monastic Career

One of the most enduring narratives from Shantideva’s life depicts the scepticism of his fellow monks at Nalanda. According to legend, they attempted to expose his supposed lack of learning by compelling him to deliver a public discourse from an elevated lion throne. Contrary to expectations, he effortlessly mounted the throne and recited verses from what is now known as the Bodhisattvācaryāvatāra. At a climactic moment, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī is said to have appeared, after which Shantideva and the deity miraculously vanished. When the monks inspected his quarters, they reputedly found manuscripts of his three works: the Śikṣāsamuccaya, the Ślokasamuccaya, and the completed Bodhicaryāvatāra.
Tales of his later activity describe his role in converting large communities within Magadha. One story recounts his ability to sustain five hundred starving inhabitants with a single bowl of rice, an episode interpreted in Buddhist tradition as evidence of spiritual accomplishment. Comparable stories highlight his compassion and miraculous generosity in feeding numerous beggars, reinforcing his reputation as a mahāsiddha, one of the eighty-four great accomplished masters recognised in later Indian and Tibetan Buddhism.

Works and Literary Contributions

Shantideva’s two extant works stand as major achievements in Buddhist doctrinal literature. His Śikṣāsamuccaya, or “Training Anthology”, is structured around twenty-seven mnemonic verses and elaborated across nineteen chapters. This text largely comprises quotations from authoritative Mahāyāna sūtras, including the Samādhirāja Sūtra, and serves as a compendium on bodhisattva ethical discipline. It offers insight into the interpretation and pedagogical use of scriptural sources in monastic settings during the early medieval period.
His most celebrated work, the Bodhisattvācaryāvatāra, is a poetic treatise outlining the path of the bodhisattva from the first arousal of bodhicitta to the attainment of enlightenment. Noted for its philosophical depth and lyrical quality, it has inspired extensive commentarial traditions in India and Tibet. Modern English translations frequently render the title as A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life or Entering the Path of Enlightenment. The text continues to be central to Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna education, with contemporary commentaries by eminent figures such as the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and the renowned Tibetan scholar-practitioner Patrul Rinpoche.

Philosophical Views: Personal Identity and Free Will

Shantideva’s philosophical orientation derives from Madhyamaka metaphysics, which maintains that all phenomena lack inherent existence. In line with this view, he argues that belief in a permanent personal self is unfounded and generates suffering. His critique of essentialism aligns with the broader Buddhist teaching of anātman, or non-self.
Some modern interpreters observe that Shantideva touches implicitly on questions related to free will. He suggests that misconduct and harmful actions arise from conditioning factors rather than from an autonomous agent. This perspective foregrounds the causal processes that shape behaviour, reflecting the Buddhist emphasis on dependent origination.

Ethical Thought and Altruism

Shantideva’s ethics emphasise universal compassion and the eradication of suffering for all sentient beings. He presents one of the earliest robust philosophical arguments for altruism, predating comparable Western formulations by centuries. Rejecting the notion of a fixed self, he reasons that personal suffering and the suffering of others are not meaningfully distinct; thus moral concern should extend impartially across beings.
His argument also draws on metaphors illustrating the composite and impermanent nature of persons, such as the likening of consciousness to a queue or the assemblage of bodily constituents to an army. These analogies are employed to dismantle the assumption that any individual has a special claim to happiness over others.

Bodhicitta and Its Significance

The cultivation of bodhicitta, the aspiration to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, forms the central theme of Shantideva’s work. The early chapters of the Bodhisattvācaryāvatāra extol its virtues and outline practical methods for sustaining it. He maintains that bodhicitta not only supports progress along the bodhisattva path but also brings immediate psychological benefits, protecting the mind from destructive states known as kleśas, such as craving and anger.
In this framework, bodhicitta functions both as an ethical orientation and a transformative mental quality. Its development marks a profound shift from self-centred concerns to universal benevolence, aligning practitioners with the ideal of compassionate wisdom embodied by bodhisattvas.

The Concept of Generosity

Generosity (dāna) features prominently in Shantideva’s writings and is presented as a foundational virtue of the bodhisattva path. He defines generosity not merely as the giving of material goods but as a mental disposition characterised by the renunciation of attachment to the body, possessions and accumulated merit. Through complete relinquishment, the bodhisattva attains a state of freedom equated with liberation.
This twofold conception of generosity holds that giving benefits both the donor and the recipient. It diminishes self-centred clinging while simultaneously relieving others’ suffering. Shantideva draws a parallel between perfect generosity and the attainment of nirvāṇa, underscoring its transformative potential.