This book analyzes the moral theory of the seventh-century Indian Mahayana master, Shantideva. Santideva is the author of the well-known religious poem, the Bodhicaryavatara (Entering the Path of Enlightenment) as well as the significant - but relatively overlooked Siksasamuccaya (Compendium of Teachings). Both of these works describe the nature and path of the bodhisattva,Ithe altruistic spiritual ideal especially exalted in the Mahayana literature.
With particular focus on the Siksasamuccaya, this book offers a response to the question: How would Santideva’s ethics be understood in terms of Western moral theory? An exegetical account of the bodhisattva path as outline in the Siksasamuccaya is provided by textual analysis and original translations. Santideva;s ethical presuppositions and moral reasoning are illuninated by analyzying his key moral terms and comparing then to other Buddhist principles.
By focusing on a neglected Buddhist Sanskirt text by a major Mahayaha figure, Barbara R. CLayton helps to redress a significant imbalance in the scholarship on Buddist ethiscs, which has -up to now- focused primarily on the ethics of the Pali literature and as interpreted in the Theravada tradition. This book makes a vial contribution to our understanding of Mahayana ethics.

Moral Theory in Santideva's Siksasamuccaya, Cultivating the Fruits of Virtue, Barbara R. Clayton, RoutledgeCurzon, Hardcover, 2006, 165 Pages, $80.00