The Great Hum, by Minyak Kunsang Sönam, Douglas Duckworth

Śāntideva’s Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicaryāvatāra) is without a doubt one of the greatest masterpieces of Indian Buddhism and the single most influential text on Mahāyāna ethical theory. Since it was composed in around the eighth century, it has continuously animated the living tradition, especially in Tibet but now in the West as well, as more translations have become available. Its poetic evocations of the spirit of awakening allow readers to enter the mind of the bodhisattva. 

Its longest commentary in any language is the one translated here, by the nineteenth-century master Minyak Kunzang Sönam. It came to be known as the Great Hūṃ because it fills the entirety of the third or hūṃ volume of the author’s collected works. Citing hundreds of sūtras, he shows how Śāntideva’s verses are beautifully integrated within, and express, the Buddhist textual universe. In particular, he ties Śāntideva’s verses with the Anthology of Training, the thematic collection of scriptural citations also compiled by Śāntideva, creating a detailed tapestry of Mahāyāna thought and practice. This volume presents Kunzang Sönam’s commentary on the first eight chapters, detailing the generation of the spirit of awakening, the cultivation of positive qualities, and the practice of meditation. Embedded in the commentary is a fresh translation of Śāntideva’s verses, making this an unparalleled guide to appreciating their layers of meaning and applying them in one’s practice and life.