ntidevas Bodhicaryvatra:A Mahyna Path to Altered States of Consciousness

Randall Studstill

Question:

How might the bodhisattva path as presented in theBodhicaryvatra1 transform the consciousness ofthe practitioner and create altered states ofconsciousness?

Method:

Assessing the potential psychological effects of the texts teachings using a systems-based model of mind.

ContentsPreliminaries and BackgroundMind as a Systemntideva on ForbearanceConclusionsAppendix 1: Tibetan HagiographyAppendix 2: Themes and Topics in the Bodhicaryvatra Organized by Chapter

Preliminaries

and

Background

Who was ntideva?8th century Indian, Mahyna Buddhist monkAffiliated with the Madhyamaka schoolResident of NlandIn addition to the Bodhicaryvatra (Introduction to the Conduct that Leads to Enlightenment or Undertaking the Way to Awakening), author of the iksamuccaya (Compendium of Doctrines or Compendium of the Training)Beyond these few details, no historically reliable information

An overview of the textPart of the text used in Mahyna ritual (anuttara-pj)Primarily, the text is a guide for contemplative reflection aimed at cultivating the pramit (generosity, morality, forbearance, diligence, meditation, wisdom) and the altruistic motivation for enlightenment (bodhicitta)Key themes:Relentless negation of the self (renunciation; abandoning any tendency to protect the self)The rewards of virtue and merit The suffering (now and/or in future hell realms) of cyclic existence, the defilements (greed, anger, and delusion), and selfish thought and action in generalDeveloping compassion and bodhicitta by extending ones locus of concern to include all beings

The texts significancethe single greatest Indian poem1 about cultivating the Mahyna spiritual life2the most widely read, cited, and practiced text in the whole of the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist tradition3the primary source of most of the Tibetan Buddhist literature on the cultivation of altruism and bodhicitta49th chapter on emptiness one of the principal sources for Mahyna philosophy5One of the Dalai Lamas principal sources of religious inspiration (specifically, Bodhicaryvatra 10.55: As long as space abides, so long may I abide, destroying the sufferings of the world)6

The organization of the Bodhicryavatra1

Canonical, Sanskrit text912 verses (at least some of this extra material is derived from the iksamuccaya)10 chaptersDunhuang, Tibetan text(s)Bodhisattvacaryvatra (Undertaking the Way of the Bodhisattva)attributed to Akayamati701 verses9 chaptersNarrative StructureCh. 1 Praise of bodhicitta(36 verses)= Ch. 1 (untitled)Part of the Supreme Worship (anuttarapja)?Cultivating the altruistic motivation for enlightenment

bodhicitta, stage 1:the Mind resolved on Awakening (1:15)a person who desires to go (1:16)

Ch. 2 Confession of Faults(66 verses)= Ch. 2 Adopting (or Seizing) bodhicittaSupreme Worship (anuttarapj)Generating merit2Cultivating bodhicitta

Ch. 3 Adopting (or Seizing) bodhicitta(33 verses)Ch. 4 Vigilance Regarding bodhicitta(48 verses)= Ch. 3 Selflessness (nairtmya)strengthening the aspiring Bodhisattvas resolve (p. 11)

Ch. 5 Guarding of Awareness(109 verses)= Ch. 4Bodhisattva training proper;cultivating the pramitGenerosityMoralityPutting the altruistic motivation for enlightenment into practice

bodhicitta, stage 2the Mind proceeding toward Awakening (1:15)a person . . . who is going (1:16)

Ch. 6 Forbearance (134 verses)= Ch. 5Cultivating the pramit (Forbearance, etc.)Ch. 7 Vigor (75 verses)= Ch. 6Ch. 8 Meditative Absorption (dhyna)(186 verses)= Ch. 7Ch. 9 Understanding (167 verses)= Ch. 8Ch. 10 Dedication (58 verses)= Ch. 9Vows (praidhna)

Notable passages1This world is a confusion of insane people striving to delude themselves. (8:69b)

Those who have developed the continuum of their mind . . . , to whom the suffering of others is as important as the things they themselves hold dear, plunge down into the Avci hell as geese into a cluster of lotus blossoms. (8:107)

All those who suffer in the world do so because of their desire for their own happiness. All those happy in the world are so because of their desire for the happiness of others. Why say more? Observe this distinction: between the fool who longs for his own advantage and the sage who acts for the advantage of others. (8:129-130)

I make over this body to all embodied beings to do with as they please. Let them continually beat it, insult it, and splatter it with filth. Let them play with my body; let them be derisive and amuse themselves. I have given this body to them. What point has this concern of mine? (3:12-13)

Whatever suffering is in store for the world, may it all ripen in me. (10:56a)

Mindas aSystem1

The mind viewed as an interdependent network of variables/eventsThese variables/events function together to maintain the integrity of the system as a wholeThese variables/events include:Concepts/schema/beliefsInternal narrativeAttention (selective; self-referentially oriented on the internal narrative)Defense mechanisms (e.g., denial, distortion, projection, displacement)Distraction-seeking; addiction

System functionsConstrain awareness within a dualistic frame of referencePerceptual dualism: a self situated in a world of spatially removed and distinct objectsEvaluative dualism: the reflexive evaluation of things, persons, conditions, events, etc. as either attractive (good) or repellant (bad)Maintain that state of reference in response to perturbing influences

Constructive processesPerceptual and evaluative dualism based on two types of mutually-reinforcing concepts/schema/beliefsPerceptual concepts that organize and interpret sensory data, establishing the background and focal dimensions of the perceptual field with reference to a substance-based, intuitive ontology and the objectification and reification of ordinary appearancesEvaluative concepts that assign positive or negative associations to particular things, situations, conditions, etc. (and thereby prompt positive or negative emotional responses)

Homeostatic processesHomeostasis or self-stabilization is maintained through negative feedbackThe content of the experiential stream (a blur of thought and sensation) is monitored by the system in terms of its correspondence with system constructs (i.e., its confirmation of positive evaluative associations)Inputs that contradict evaluative constructs initiate processes to adjust the content of the input so that it matches those constructs

HomeostasisInputs regulated in two ways:acting to change the self and/or environmentregulating the experiential stream (independent of the environment)Active shaping (fantasy)Inhibition of inputs (distraction; drugs)

The minds transformative potential Disruption of cognitive variables / boundary conditions may initiate the transformation of the cognitive systemThis transformation is associated with a qualitative shift in experience that has both epistemological and affective implications

Key pointsPerceptual and evaluative concepts fuel an uninterrupted internal narrative characterized by obsessive self-monitoring and self-concern and manipulation of the experiential stream (often in the service of protecting the self-image) These factors help maintain a persons ordinary (and, from a Buddhist point of view, unsatisfactory) state of consciousnessUndermining these concepts may help pacify the internal narrative and play a role in eliciting a shift in a persons state of consciousness, associated with altered states of consciousness

ntidevaonForbearanceBodhicaryvatra, Ch. 6

OverviewForbearance (knti): the 3rd pramitA means of integrating suffering into the spiritual path1Forbearance described as the highest spiritual practice (6:102) (perhaps because it is an antidote to anger, one of the most problematic emotions for an aspiring bodhisattva)General concern: developing a non-defensive, open, emotionally positive attitude in response to suffering, attacks from others, and threats to ones social status and self-imageThe ideal state is a 180 degree shift from ordinary concerns oriented around self-protection, e.g., suffering is good and should be welcomed, enemies are good and should be honored, public humiliation is good and should be embracedKey ideas: the negative consequences of anger and hatred (suffering and hell), the rewards of patience (happiness and buddhahood), cultivating sympathetic joy, giving oneself over to all beings, self-castigation (observing ones own egotism)

Undermining evaluative associations: responding to suffering in generalAs aspiring bodhisattvas, we are at war with the defilements; suffering is a necessary and inevitable part of war (6:19) suffering overcomes complacency, awakens compassion, and supports resolve to follow the path (6:21)

Undermining evaluative associations: responding to offensive or malicious behaviorOffensive behaviors arise through conditioning factors (6: 22-33); they are not willed into being (there is no way to intelligibly conceive a relationship between an unchanging Self and changing mental events)Since, like a magical display, phenomena do not initiate activity, at what does one get angry like this? (6:31)

Undermining evaluative associations: responding to offensive or malicious behaviorAnger towards others is unjustified because others are deluded:If others cause themselves great suffering, how can I expect them not to cause me suffering?If it is their very nature to cause others distress, my anger towards those fools is as inappropriate as it would be towards fire for its nature to burn. (6:39)But in fact, this tendency to cause others distress is adventitious. Beings are by nature pleasant. So anger towards them is as inappropriate as it would be towards the sky if full of acrid smoke. (6:40)

Undermining evaluative associations: responding to offensive or malicious behaviorAnger towards others is nonsensical because it is mistakenly directedThe other person is impelled by hatred, so hatred itself is the proper object of anger (if there were a proper object) (6:41)Emotional upset is ultimately caused by my own attachment to my body and personal well being (6:43-44); if the cause of the problem is my own attachment, anger at others makes no sense (6:45)Some commit offenses out of delusion. Others, deluded, grow angry. Who among them should we say is free from blame, or who should we say is guilty? (6:67)

Undermining evaluative associations: responding to offensive or malicious behaviorAnger towards other is nonsensical because it is often inconsistent with the actual offense: Humiliation, harsh speech, and disgrace . . . does not oppress the body (6:53)The Buddhist version of Sticks and stones . . .

Undermining evaluative associations: responding to offensive or malicious behaviorExposing self-deceptive justification for anger: I become angry at someone speaking ill of me because they are causing harm to living beings (see 6:62)But if thats the case . . .why . . . do you feel no anger when he defames others in the same way? (6:62) You tolerate those showing disfavor when others are the subject of it, but you show no tolerance toward someone speaking ill of you . . . . (6:63)

Undermining evaluative associations: responding to offensive or malicious behaviorExposing self-deceptive justification for anger: I hate those who desecrate sacred images or teachings (see 6:64)Why should you hate them when the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are not distressed? (6:64)

Undermining evaluative associations: responding to offensive or malicious behaviorAll unpleasant experiences are karmic: the result of the pain I have caused others (6:42)Why did you behave before in such a way that others now trouble you in this way? Everybody is subject to the force of prior actions. Who am I to change this? (6:68)

Undermining evaluative associations: responding to offensive or malicious behaviorRecognizing the negative consequences associated with anger/hatred (and, therefore, the need to suppress it the moment it arises). . . when the mind is catching alight with the fire of hatred . . . , [hatred] must be cast aside immediately for fear that ones body of merit might go up in flames (6:71)

Undermining evaluative associations: responding to suffering occasioned by the pathThe path is the means of avoiding hell; the path involves suffering; therefore, suffering on the path is the means of avoiding hell; therefore, suffering is good (6:72)The path is a means of becoming a buddha and benefiting other beings; the path involves suffering; therefore, suffering on the path is a means of becoming a Buddha and benefiting others; therefore Delight is the only appropriate response to suffering which takes away the suffering of the universe (6:75)Any difficulty you may have enduring suffering now is all the more reason to restrain anger and hatred, since these will cause much greater suffering in hell (6:73)

Undermining evaluative associations: responding to praise and blamePraise has doubtful tangible benefits (6:90-91)Concern with social status causes suffering : Like a child that howls a wail of distress when his sandcastle is broken, so my own mind appears to me at the loss of praise or renown. (6:93)Encouraging sympathetic joy: Another persons delight should cause me to feel delight, regardless of whether or not that person is delighted with me or someone else (6:94-96)Praise is actually bad (and blame is actually good) for anyone serious about the path: Praise and so on give me security. They destroy my sense of urgency. They create jealousy towards those who possess virtue, and anger at success. (6:98)Attachment to praise is an impediment on the path; so anyone conspiring to . . . destroy my praise is helping me (6:100-101)

Undermining evaluative associations: responding to offensive or malicious behaviorForbearance is transformative; an enemy is an occasion for the practice of forbearance; therefore enemies are goodLonging for an enemy: since he helps me on the path to Awakening, I should long for an enemy like a treasure discovered in the home, acquired without effort (6:107)Honoring enemies: When the transmission of Buddha-qualities comes equally from both ordinary beings and from the Conquerors, what logic is there in not paying that respect to ordinary beings which one pays to the Conquerors? (6:113)

Conclusions

ntidevas teachings on forbearance comprise a set of concepts that conflict with the evaluative associations that help maintain a persons ordinary state of consciousness by fueling self-concern and the internal narrativeSustained reflection on (and internalization of) those teachings may undermine evaluative associations and attenuate the internal narrativeIn the short term, this may manifest as the dissipation of emotional upset in the context of daily social interactionsOver the long term, it may aid in pacifying the internal narrative in the context of meditative practiceThis pacification constitutes the disruption of one of the key variables in the cognitive system, creating conditions for possible transformation and the realization of altered states of consciousnessRepeated suspension of the internal narrative may have a cumulative effect on consciousness, eventually crossing a critical threshold and initiating a naturally unfolding transformation with a corresponding qualitative shift in experience

Appendix 1:Tibetan hagiographya prince from North India who fled royal consecration for fear of implication in the evils of kingship1Became a monk; he was a highly advanced practitioner, though his advanced level of realization was unrecognized by his fellow monks (His fellow monks said that his three realizations were eating, sleeping, and shitting2)His spiritual stature was only recognized when he was asked in an attempt to humiliate this lazy monk to give a recitation before the monasteryThe Bodhicaryvatra is believed to be the record of that recitationToward the end of his recitation he levitated into the air and vanished, though his voice was still audible

Appendix 2:

Themes and Topics in theBodhicaryvatraOrganized by Chapter

Ch. 1Praise of bodhicittaCh. 2 Confession of Faults1Ch. 3 Adopting bodhicittaCh. 4 Vigilance Regarding bodhicittaCh. 5 Guarding of Awareness

Preciousness of a human birth (dont waste it) (4)

Reflecting on the incomparable value of bodhicitta

Bodhicitta defined (15-16, 18):

Seeking enlightenment motivated by a longing to remove the suffering of all beings

Going for refuge to those who have perfected bodhicittaHaving reflected on the value of bodhicitta (in Ch. 1), worshipping the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas (making offerings) (1-25)

Going for refuge (26, 46-54)

Confession of faults and the horrific consequences of evil (27-45, 55-66)

The horror of imminent death (32-34, 40-45, 59-60)Rejoicing in merit (1-3)

Requesting the teaching (4)

Begging the Buddhas not to abandon beings (5)

Affirming ones resolve to relieve others suffering; giving oneself over to other beings (6-21)

Arousal of bodhicitta (22-33) ; prayer affirming the incomparable value of bodhicitta (25-33)The consequences of evil and failing in ones bodhisattva aspirations: bad rebirths and hell; recognizing and taking advantage of the precious opportunity of a human birth, etc. (4-26)

Encouraging a resolve to destroy the defilements and endure whatever suffering that may entail (27-48)Practicing mindfulness (smti) and awareness (samprajanya) as a means cultivating the pramit of generosity and moral discipline

The pramit generosity and morality defined as mental attitudes (10-11) (the chapter therefore focuses on guarding mindfulness and awareness )

The necessity to restrain the wandering mind (1)

The negative consequences of an undisciplined mind (e.g., hell, suffering) (2, 17-18, 20, 24-29, 44)

The benefits of a disciplined mind (3-5, 12-16, 21, 33, 44, 100)

The mind as the root cause of suffering (6-8)

Encouraging resolve (19, 22-23, 43, 99)

Recollecting the Buddhas (31-32)

Being like a block of wood; behavioral observances; rules taken from the prtimoka (34-39, 45, 48-53, 71-98, 102-107)

Mindfulness; the ideal state of mind (40-41, 47, 54-58)

Self-castigation (59-61)

Reflecting on the foulness of the body (60-70, 86)

Awareness defined: the observation at every moment of the state of ones body and ones mind (108)

Ch. 6 Forbearance (knti)Ch. 7 Vigor (vrya)1Teachings aimed at pacifying emotional reactivity and upset in response to suffering, offensive and malicious behavior from others, and threats to social status and self-image

The negative consequences of anger and hatred; reasons to restrain anger (1-5, 8-9, 70-71, 128-132)

Description of the ideal state; encouraging resolve (9-10; 125-127)

Self-examination; self-castigation at ones own egoism (7, 11, 76, 79, 82, 93)

The value of patience (kam) and forbearance (2, 6, 102, 128-134)

Rejecting religious motives for anger (e.g., blasphemy) (62-65, 102-)

Overcoming envy (76-86)

Praise and blame (90-101)

The value of enemies (99-108)

Honoring ones enemies (109-118)

Quotation from the Tathgataguhya Stra; honoring the Buddhas by treating others with the same regard that the Buddhas have shown toward others (119-134)Part 1: explaining the opposites of vigor and how to overcome them; Part 2: the means for increasing the vigor with which one practices2

The importance of effort/vigor (1)

Vigor defined, and its opposites (sloth, etc.) listed (2)

The causes of sloth (3)

The imminence of death/hell as an antidote to sloth (4-13)

The preciousness of a human birth (14)

Encouraging resolve in the face of despondency and defeatism (16-19, 53)

Overcoming fear of suffering caused by the path (20-27)

The pleasure of the path (28-30, 62-66)

Increasing vigor through desire, pride, delight, giving up, dedication, and control (32)

Self-castigation at ones own laziness(34, 36-38)

The urgency of overcoming faults and cultivating virtue (33)

The importance of righteous desire; the blissful consequences of virtue, the horrific consequences of evil (39-46)

Cultivating spiritual pride (a fierce determination to overcome obstacles and suffering )(46-61, 67)

Mindfulness (68-71, 73)

Remorse (72)

Ch. 8Meditative Absorption (dhyna)1Renunciation (to calm the mind); self-negation and exchanging self and other as a means of developing compassion (i.e., the extension of self-concern to include all beings) and bodhicitta

The importance of meditative absorption as a means of overcoming distractions and the defilements (1)

Renunciation is the means of calming the mind, which is in turn the basis of insight that destroys the defilements (4)

Renunciation/social isolation to reduce distractions [and therefore support meditative stabilization] (2-38) (p. 79)

Renunciation of persons; the pain and complacency caused by attachment to or association with persons (5-16)

Detachment from alms gifts and popularity; praise and blame (17-24)

Social isolation (26-38, 70, 85-88)

Contemplating death (30-31)

Developing meditative concentration (39) (p. 79) [this leads directly into verses on renunciation: lust, other persons, worldly life, and a renewed resolve to live in isolation]

Encouraging resolve to restrain the mind by reflecting on the negative consequences of the passions (40, 84)

Overcoming lust ; contemplating the foulness of the body (aubha-bhvan) (41-69) (p. 79)

Attachment to one's own body and its safety/well-being; the suffering of worldly life (71-83, 173-182, 185)

Meditative contemplation aimed at developing compassion and bodhicitta (89-186); eradicating self-concern; exchanging self and other; extending concern beyond the self to include all beings; giving oneself over to others out of compassion (p. 80) (some of this from the Tathgataguhya Stra)

Viewing the self and self-concern as enemies; the negative and positive consequences of selfishness and altruism respectively (121-135, 138-139, 155-156, 171)

Treating yourself as a despised "other" or as a new bride (p. 81)(159-167); inspired by a fierce indignation at all the trouble and suffering caused by self-concern, encouraging a relentless assault on the self (168-176)

Ch. 9Understanding1Ch. 10DedicationAll the other pramit just preparation for this pramit the perfection of understanding or wisdom (i.e., emptiness2) (1)

A critique of the philosophical views of other Buddhist and non-Buddhist philosophical schools (Nikya, Cittamtra, Skhya , Nyya-vaieika) a demonstration of the inconsistencies or contradictions in any view (p. 106)

Emptiness implied based on the incoherence of positing intrinsic existence about anything

Two-truths (savtisatya and paramrthasatya) (2-8, 106-111) (p. 111)

Ordinary appearances are illusory (5, 87); Reality is beyond the scope of intellection (2)

Emptiness as a means of pacifying the mind (34)

Appeal to scriptural authority and the authenticity of Mahyna scriptures (40-51)

True non-grasping depends on emptiness (45-48)

The urgent need to meditate on emptiness (54)

Comments on the fear of emptiness; the non-existence of the I and the body (55-59, 74, 78-85 )

The interdependence (and therefore, emptiness) of phenomena (60-74)

If everything is empty, who has compassion for whom? (75-76)

Critique of atoms (86, 94-95), sensations (88-91, 98-101, 129-137), contact (93-97), mind , consciousness, and the object of cognition (102-105, 111-115), cause and effect (116-117), God (118-125), primal matter (126-128)

Emptiness and causation (141-154)

A description of the misery of cyclic existence (155-165)Affirmations in which [ntideva] dedicates to the benefit of all beings the merit that he has generated through the training. (p. 133)

Affirmations for those in hell (4, 6-16)

Affirmations for animals, hungry ghosts, the blind, the deaf , the fearful, etc.(17ff)

Affirmations that all beings encounter the Dharma (37-38)

Affirmations for the Sangha (42-46)

Affirmations that all attain buddhahood (47)

Affirmations for Buddhas and Bodhisattvas (48-49)

Affirmations for non-Mahyna practitioners (50)

Affirmations for himself, to progress on the path (51-56)

ReferencesChdrn, P., & Berliner, H. (2005). No time to lose: A timely guide to the way of the Bodhisattva. Boston, Mass: Shambhala Publications.Cozort, D. (2010). Suffering made sufferable: ntideva, Dzongkaba, and modern therapeutic approaches to sufferings silver lining. In J. Powers & C. S. Prebish (Eds.), Destroying Mara forever: Buddhist ethics essays in honor of Damien Keown (pp. 207-220). Ithaca, N.Y: Snow Lion Publications.Sntideva, Crosby, K., & Skilton, A. (1996). The Bodhicaryavatara. Oxford: Oxford University PressSntideva, Wallace, V. A., & Wallace, B. A. (1997). A guide to the Bodhisattva way of life: Bodhicaryavatara. Ithaca, N.Y., USA: Snow Lion Publications.Studstill, R. (2005). The unity of mystical traditions: The transformation of consciousness in Tibetan and German mysticism. Leiden: Brill.Tanabe, G., Jr. (2004). Merit and Merit-Making. In R. E. Buswell, Jr. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Buddhism, (Vol. 2). (pp. 532-534) New York: Macmillan Reference USA Retrieved June 15, 2011, from Gale Virtual Reference Library via Gale: http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=ucsantacruzWilliams, P. (2004). Bodhicaryvatra. In R. E. Buswell, Jr. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Buddhism Vol. 1 (pp. 53-54). New York: Macmillan Reference USA. Retrieved June 5, 2011, from Gale Virtual Reference Library via Gale: http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=ucsantacruzWilliams, P. (2004). ntideva. In R. E. Buswell, Jr. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Vol. 2 (p. 749). New York: Macmillan Reference USA. Retrieved June 5, 2011, from Gale Virtual Reference Library via Gale: http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=ucsantacruz

*1. All translations are from ntideva, Crosby, & Skilton, 1996. The translation is based on Louis de la Valle Poussins critical edition of the Sanskrit text of Prajkaramatis [8th-9th centuries] commentary on the Bodhicaryvatar, the Bodhicaryvatar-pajik (ntideva et al., 1996, p. xl).

***

1. On the poetic form of the Bodhicaryvatar (anuubh), see ntideva et al., 1996, p. xxxviii.2. Williams, 2004, ntideva, p. 749.3. Sntideva, Wallace, & Wallace, 1997, p. 7.4. Vesna and Allan Wallace, reporting on a view expressed by the Dalai Lama (ntideva et al., 1997, p. 7).5. Paul Williams, in ntideva et al., 1996, p. viii.6. Paul Williams, in ntideva et al., 1996, p. ix.

1. Quotations and other information in this table from ntideva et al, 1996, pp. xxx-xxxiv, 9-13.2. Merit (puya . . .) is karmic virtue acquired through moral and ritual actions; it is widely regarded as the foundation of Buddhist ethics and salvation (Tanabe, 2003, p. 532).1. See also 5:40, 5:61, 4:44, 6:21, 8:49, 8:80, 8:165, 8:170. On emptiness, see 9:103, 9:110, 9:139, 9:149-154a.

*1. For a more detailed description of a systems-based model of mind, see Studstill, 2005, Ch. 3.*1. See Cozort, 2010, p. 209.*1. Paul Williams, in ntideva et al., 1996, p. viii.2. Chdrn, 2005, p. xi.

*1. Comments on Chapters 2 and 3 based in part on ntideva et al., 1996, pp. 12-13.1. According to Crosby and Skilton, in this chapter ntideva follows the traditional teaching on the four correct efforts (ntideva et al., 1996, p. 63):Avoiding unskillful mental statesOvercoming unskillful statesDeveloping skillful statesSustaining skillful states

2. ntideva et al., 1996, p. 63

1. All page references from ntideva et al., 1996.1. All page references in this table are from ntideva et al., 1996. For another topical overview of the chapter by verse, see ntideva et al., 1996, pp. 111-112.

2. Emptiness is generally defined as the absence of intrinsic or inherent existence (svabhva) in all phenomena. The Madhyamika claim is that nothing is permanent, unchanging, or exists in independence from other factors (see ntideva et al., 1996, p. 106).