A Wake-Up Call For Activism

(A short note about Bodhicaryāvatāra by Shāntideva)

A much younger version of me with one of my many Tibetan host families somewhere in Ladakh (1994–95)

[if you are not yet a Medium member, click here to continue]

Back in 1995 I was commissioned by the (now defunct) Dutch publishing house BZZTôH to translate and annotate collaborative work by Tenzin Gyatso (the 14th Dalai Lama) and Geshe Thupten Jinpa. The original “manuscript” of the work consisted of a set of audiotapes, recorded when the Dalai Lama delivered three days of lectures at The Office of Tibet in London, 1988. These London sessions were identified by Geshe Thupten Jinpa as marking an important turning point in (…) teaching Buddhism to a modern audience, (…) beautifully demonstrating how all aspects of the Tibetan Buddhist path must and can be perceived as both emerging from and being firmly rooted in the framework of the original Four Noble Truths. Thupten Jinpa had his hands full as a student at Cambridge at the time : it took him four years to coordinate transcription, editing, and proper translation of the tapes.

The prospect of having a chance to work myself through such a treasure vault of painstaking work and wisdom, both delighted and overwhelmed me. My background hitherto had been Sanskrit and Pāli Studies, directing me into the Theravādin tradition of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia more than the Mahāyāna philosophies and practices common in…