Honors College Thesis
 

Embodied Wisdom in Mahāyāna Buddhism and Orthodox Christianity

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/honors_college_theses/08612w34v

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  • In this thesis, I aim to bring two ancient spiritual guides into dialogue with each other and with modern psychology: the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra by Śāntideva of the Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition and The Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Climacus of the Christian tradition. I draw from Tibetan Buddhist commentaries on the Bodhicaryāvatāra and Orthodox Christian commentaries on The Ladder of Divine Ascent. Despite differing metaphysical assumptions, I find that these authors come to very similar conclusions about the characteristics and goals of the spiritual path. Specifically, they show that we can and should cultivate virtues to develop embodied wisdom, which I define as an idealized state of intuitively understanding reality, naturally acting morally, and experiencing profound wellbeing. I also break down Śāntideva's and St. John's arguments into verifiable and non-verifiable claims, including the major claims that (1) practicing virtues reduces afflictive emotions, and that (2) afflictive emotions impede embodied wisdom.
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