The role of Bodhicitta in Buddhist enlightenment, including a translation into English of Bodhicitta-śāstra, Benkemmitsu-nikyōron, and Sammaya-kaijo

White (history, Brigham Young U., Utah) investigates bodhicitta (enlightenment-mind), its history as a functional soteriological element, the methods by which it is cultivated in practice, and the application and description of that cultivation within the context of Japanese Shingon Buddhism as developed by Kukai (774-835 CE). The concept is definitively Mahayana in nature, he says, but the notion of some sort of essence to be recognized, coaxed, cultivated, or enlightened seems to be at odds with the early Buddhist concepts of anatman (no-self) and pratitya-samutpada (dependent co-arising). Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)