A Few Good Men: The Bodhisattva Path according to The Inquiry of Ugra (Ugraparipṛcchā)

Studies in the Buddhist Traditions

by Jan Nattier

A Few Good Men is a study and translation of The Inquiry of Ugra (Ugraparipṛcchâ), one of the most influential Mahayana sutras on the bodhisattva path, but also one of the most neglected texts in Western treatments of Buddhism. To achieve a better understanding of the universe of ideas, activities, and institutional structures within which early self-proclaimed bodhisattvas lived, the author first considers the Ugra as a literary document, employing new methodological tools to examine the genre to which it belongs, the age of its extant versions, and their relationships to one another. She goes on to challenge the dominant notions that the Mahayana emerged as a reform of earlier Buddhism and offered lay people an easier option.

A Few Good Men will be compelling reading for scholars and practitioners alike and others interested in the history of Indian Buddhism and the formation of Mahayana.

Genres: Buddhism, Academic

408 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

Reviews

[Sparrow Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Translation that incorporates 4 extant versions, with extensive footnotes. First half of the book is a scholarly analysis of the text(s), its historical/sociological context, its relationship to later developments of the Mahayana. Recommended if you’re a Dharma nerd, fascinating material.

The sutra itself is the most misogynist I’ve read so far, just be warned. Nevertheless, there are some excellent passages from a practice stand point. How does one take refuge in the Buddha? By aspiring to become a buddha oneself. Not worshipping the reified ideal, as later Mahayana would have it.

[Jessica Zu · Rating 5 out of 5]

re-reading this classic. simply awesome