Śikṣāsamuccaya — Compendium of Training
Śāntideva's anthology of bodhisattva training.
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Exposition of the Śikṣāsamuccaya — Compendium of Training
Background
The Compendium of Training (Śikṣāsamuccaya) is a precious scholastic treatise by Śāntideva, the great eighth-century master of the Madhyamaka school of Mahayana Buddhism. This work is not an independent scripture, but a systematic anthology of teachings from many Mahayana sutras, compiled by Śāntideva in order to provide a complete path of practice for those who aspire to the bodhisattva way.
The text was composed as an ordered work, reflecting the Northern Tibetan tradition, in which the union of scripture, treatise, and meditative practice is regarded as inseparable. Śāntideva selected, cited, and explained the most essential passages of scripture, creating a comprehensive guide to the bodhisattva path.
Main Contents
The Compendium of Training explores three pillars of the bodhisattva path: bodhicitta, bodhisattva conduct, and prajnaparamita.
The first part focuses on the arising and nurturing of bodhicitta: the wish that all beings be liberated. This is not a fleeting decision, but a profound commitment, compared to golden kings in a retinue; this mind must be protected and developed continuously. Śāntideva emphasizes that bodhicitta is the foundation of all true action.
The second part concerns the six paramitas (ṣaḍ-pāramitā): generosity, ethical discipline, patience, diligence, meditative concentration, and wisdom. Each paramita is not an isolated practice, but a different expression of practice with a single mind: the mind that loves all beings. Added to this are the bodhisattva precepts, a complete ethical system distinct from the bhikshu precepts of the Lesser Vehicle.
The third part teaches prajnaparamita: the supreme perfection of wisdom, the capacity to penetrate the emptiness (śūnyatā) of all phenomena.
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