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The Bodhisattva Path: Commentary on the Vimalakirti and Ugrapariprccha Sutras
Learn about the bodhisattva ideal—the capacity to see the potential for awakening in everyone and aspire to help them along their path—with new commentaries on early Mahayana sutras from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, the monk Time magazine calls "the father of mindfulness."
Based on a three-month retreat given by Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh in the winter of 1991, this book gives an historical account of the emergence of the bodhisattva ideal during the first century CE, together with Thich Nhat Hanh's previously unpublished commentaries on two early Mahayana sutras—the Ugraparipṛccha Sutra (The Questions of the Householder Ugra) and the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa Sutra (The Instructions of Vimalakīrti).
About 150 years after the death of the historical Buddha, Buddhism had begun to develop into many separate schools, in which many monks came to prioritize their own personal liberation in their teaching and practice, while making Buddhism into a series of doctrines that served their own school. They came to live in a way that was cut off from other schools and from laypeople and saw laypeople as there primarily to make offerings and support the monks, not as practitioners who could also benefit fully from the Buddha’s teachings.
Consequently, around the first century CE, there arose among lay and monastic practitioners the desire to popularize Buddhism and bring it out of the ivory tower and back in touch with life in the world, as it had been in the time of the Buddha. From this movement sprang the Mahayana path, which aimed to provide the deepest wellsprings of Buddhist thought to all people, regardless of their social background. Central to the Mahayana teachings is the idea of bodhicitta (the mind of love), which was personified in the bodhisattva , who sees the potential for enlightenment in everyone and vows to help them on their path to awakening.
Soon Mahayana sutras began to appear, encouraging practitioners to develop the qualities of a bodhisattva in themselves. The Ugraparipṛccha Sutra counsels students on the bodhisattva path, giving practical instructions on how to help others suffer less. The Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa Sutra focuses on bringing the deepest teachings of Buddhism to ordinary people, with teachings on the ultimate dimension and Buddhist ethics. With his insightful commentary on these two important sutras, Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh continues the inclusive spirit of the early Mahayana practitioners.
Based on a three-month retreat given by Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh in the winter of 1991, this book gives an historical account of the emergence of the bodhisattva ideal during the first century CE, together with Thich Nhat Hanh's previously unpublished commentaries on two early Mahayana sutras—the Ugraparipṛccha Sutra (The Questions of the Householder Ugra) and the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa Sutra (The Instructions of Vimalakīrti).
About 150 years after the death of the historical Buddha, Buddhism had begun to develop into many separate schools, in which many monks came to prioritize their own personal liberation in their teaching and practice, while making Buddhism into a series of doctrines that served their own school. They came to live in a way that was cut off from other schools and from laypeople and saw laypeople as there primarily to make offerings and support the monks, not as practitioners who could also benefit fully from the Buddha’s teachings.
Consequently, around the first century CE, there arose among lay and monastic practitioners the desire to popularize Buddhism and bring it out of the ivory tower and back in touch with life in the world, as it had been in the time of the Buddha. From this movement sprang the Mahayana path, which aimed to provide the deepest wellsprings of Buddhist thought to all people, regardless of their social background. Central to the Mahayana teachings is the idea of bodhicitta (the mind of love), which was personified in the bodhisattva , who sees the potential for enlightenment in everyone and vows to help them on their path to awakening.
Soon Mahayana sutras began to appear, encouraging practitioners to develop the qualities of a bodhisattva in themselves. The Ugraparipṛccha Sutra counsels students on the bodhisattva path, giving practical instructions on how to help others suffer less. The Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa Sutra focuses on bringing the deepest teachings of Buddhism to ordinary people, with teachings on the ultimate dimension and Buddhist ethics. With his insightful commentary on these two important sutras, Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh continues the inclusive spirit of the early Mahayana practitioners.
288 pages, Paperback
Published November 29, 2022
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About the author
Thich Nhat Hanh
988 books12.9k followersThích Nhất Hạnh was a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist who then lived in southwest France where he was in exile for many years. Born Nguyễn Xuân Bảo, Thích Nhất Hạnh joined a Zen (Vietnamese: Thiền) monastery at the age of 16, and studied Buddhism as a novitiate. Upon his ordination as a monk in 1949, he assumed the Dharma name Thích Nhất Hạnh. Thích is an honorary family name used by all Vietnamese monks and nuns, meaning that they are part of the Shakya (Shakyamuni Buddha) clan. He was often considered the most influential living figure in the lineage of Lâm Tế (Vietnamese Rinzai) Thiền, and perhaps also in Zen Buddhism as a whole.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 26, 2024
After getting 50 pages into this book, I realized that it is written primarily for aspiring monks, which I am not. It is also supposed to be used as a study guide for those who have read the Vimalakirti Stura, which I had not. So I paused, ordered the Vimalakirti, read it, didn't really care much for it, and then continued to read The Bodhisattva Path.
What happened next was similar to my experiences in advanced poetry courses in college. Something that I read that seemed pretty straightforward and 'ok' opened up to me in ways that I had not thought about while I was reading it. Ancient Buddhist texts are written with very perverse language, are repetitive, and especially in the case of the Vimalakirti, have an explicit religious agenda that is not subtle. However, reading Thay's commentary and walkthrough of the sutra gave me the lessons and wisdom that I generally come to Mahayana and Zen texts for. There's nothing new here, and no incredible insights, but for people like myself who have to constantly remember the lessons of self awareness, presence in the moment, and the nature of non-duality, this was the mental workout I needed.
What happened next was similar to my experiences in advanced poetry courses in college. Something that I read that seemed pretty straightforward and 'ok' opened up to me in ways that I had not thought about while I was reading it. Ancient Buddhist texts are written with very perverse language, are repetitive, and especially in the case of the Vimalakirti, have an explicit religious agenda that is not subtle. However, reading Thay's commentary and walkthrough of the sutra gave me the lessons and wisdom that I generally come to Mahayana and Zen texts for. There's nothing new here, and no incredible insights, but for people like myself who have to constantly remember the lessons of self awareness, presence in the moment, and the nature of non-duality, this was the mental workout I needed.
January 31, 2026
"Although someone is a layperson it does not stop them from making a significant contribution to the transformation and liberation of living beings."
This book contains the commentary of the venerable Thich Nhat Hanh on two classic sutras of Mahayana Buddhism. I previously read his commentary on Nagarjuna's writings ("Cracking the Walnut") which was excellent and mind-bending, coming here expecting more of the same but focused more on the concept of bodhisattvas. (A bodhisattva is, roughly speaking, a practitioner who doesn't search for liberation or enlightenment for their own sake but instead aim to reduce the suffering of others and help them to attain liberation). Having finished it, I found *some* of that but much less than I expected, though I did learn some unexpected historical tidbits.
The two sutras under discussion are less works of philosophy and more pieces of propaganda for the Mahajana branch of Buddhism, which was still quite young at the time of writing. The main new idea of the Mahajana was that you should not just practice mindfulness for the sake of yourself but for the sake of all living beings, hence the ideal of the bodhisattva.
The two sutras themselves are "stories" full of paper-thin characters, nonsensical events, magical powers granted by "deep insight", strangely large numbers of people expressing their awe at the genius of Vimalakirti (the main character and propaganda mouthpiece), and straight-up jabs at political enemies. You'd think that that might be entertaining, but honestly I found much of it rather repetitive and boring. Still, from a historical perspective it is rather interesting to see the arguments and rhetorical devices that were used. It shows that being a Buddhist does not put you above delivering sick burns to your enemies (and ones that are still being read over two thousand years later, no less!) But in the end, much of the weight of the text seems to come not from the texts themselves, but from many centuries of commentaries and reinterpretations by Buddhist scholars.
At the very end of the book, the author summarizes the main teachings of the book in about 15 pages, and honestly, except for the historical perspective this summary was clearer and more useful to me than the rest of the book combined. In the end, these sutras might have played an important historical role but nowadays there are much better sources to learn their lessons from.
This book contains the commentary of the venerable Thich Nhat Hanh on two classic sutras of Mahayana Buddhism. I previously read his commentary on Nagarjuna's writings ("Cracking the Walnut") which was excellent and mind-bending, coming here expecting more of the same but focused more on the concept of bodhisattvas. (A bodhisattva is, roughly speaking, a practitioner who doesn't search for liberation or enlightenment for their own sake but instead aim to reduce the suffering of others and help them to attain liberation). Having finished it, I found *some* of that but much less than I expected, though I did learn some unexpected historical tidbits.
The two sutras under discussion are less works of philosophy and more pieces of propaganda for the Mahajana branch of Buddhism, which was still quite young at the time of writing. The main new idea of the Mahajana was that you should not just practice mindfulness for the sake of yourself but for the sake of all living beings, hence the ideal of the bodhisattva.
The two sutras themselves are "stories" full of paper-thin characters, nonsensical events, magical powers granted by "deep insight", strangely large numbers of people expressing their awe at the genius of Vimalakirti (the main character and propaganda mouthpiece), and straight-up jabs at political enemies. You'd think that that might be entertaining, but honestly I found much of it rather repetitive and boring. Still, from a historical perspective it is rather interesting to see the arguments and rhetorical devices that were used. It shows that being a Buddhist does not put you above delivering sick burns to your enemies (and ones that are still being read over two thousand years later, no less!) But in the end, much of the weight of the text seems to come not from the texts themselves, but from many centuries of commentaries and reinterpretations by Buddhist scholars.
At the very end of the book, the author summarizes the main teachings of the book in about 15 pages, and honestly, except for the historical perspective this summary was clearer and more useful to me than the rest of the book combined. In the end, these sutras might have played an important historical role but nowadays there are much better sources to learn their lessons from.
August 1, 2025
This book contains Thich Nhat Hanh’s commentaries to essential Mahayana Sutras -- the Vimalakirti Sutra and its predecessor, the Ugrapariprccha. It’s precious to have Thich Nhat Hanh’s commentaries, evidently much as he spoke them. Prospective readers should know that, unlike the volumes published during his lifetime, this is clearly a transcript and rough in places. But polished or unpolished, a jewel remains a jewel.
As ever, Thich Nhat Hanh reveres the sutras without being awed or cowed by them. When a sutra appears to err, or convey less than the highest understanding, he says so. In particular, he never quite forgives the Vimalakirti Sutra for the way it disdains and makes comic the doctrines and personages of what he refers to as Original Buddhism -- the shravaka, or Theravada. As far as I can tell, the inclusion of the Ugrapariprccha Sutra is meant as a counterweight, a more respectful view.
I came to this book as I imagine most readers would -- anxious to hear Thich Nhat Hanh’s take on the subject, revering his perspective as the highest and the best, the last word! But Thich Nhat Hanh disagrees with me:
“If we think that without reading the commentary first we shall never understand the sutra, we have underestimated our capacity to understand or, in other words, our Buddha nature.”
He goes further: “We do not need to understand the sutra in exactly the same way our teacher does. If it was like that there could never be any progress. . . Because how can we understand our teacher’s way of understanding 100 percent? At the most we shall understand 99 percent, and our own disciples at the most will understand 98 percent and over successive generations the understanding will continue to decrease. He have to have our own understanding, and that understanding will be our root teacher.”
As ever, Thich Nhat Hanh reveres the sutras without being awed or cowed by them. When a sutra appears to err, or convey less than the highest understanding, he says so. In particular, he never quite forgives the Vimalakirti Sutra for the way it disdains and makes comic the doctrines and personages of what he refers to as Original Buddhism -- the shravaka, or Theravada. As far as I can tell, the inclusion of the Ugrapariprccha Sutra is meant as a counterweight, a more respectful view.
I came to this book as I imagine most readers would -- anxious to hear Thich Nhat Hanh’s take on the subject, revering his perspective as the highest and the best, the last word! But Thich Nhat Hanh disagrees with me:
“If we think that without reading the commentary first we shall never understand the sutra, we have underestimated our capacity to understand or, in other words, our Buddha nature.”
He goes further: “We do not need to understand the sutra in exactly the same way our teacher does. If it was like that there could never be any progress. . . Because how can we understand our teacher’s way of understanding 100 percent? At the most we shall understand 99 percent, and our own disciples at the most will understand 98 percent and over successive generations the understanding will continue to decrease. He have to have our own understanding, and that understanding will be our root teacher.”
June 24, 2025
This book has largely clarified my view on the bodhisattva concept. If you are interested in expanding your understanding of Buddhism and related topics, I would highly suggest reading this.
I've been interested in the bodhisattva path within the last few months after having come across the term mentioned in my studies, as well as watching a few short videos on Youtube with regard to Alan Watts.
After struggling with my own enlightenment path, specifically with my relationship to other living beings, I felt that the answers I needed might lie within the sutras and teachings related to the bodhisattva. I felt called to understand more about this vehicle.
This book provided an incredible base understanding about many of the topics related to the Mahayana vehicle. Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings are easy to understand and there is great explanation and examples given to help clarify the teachings within the text. I am very thankful for having read this book.
This book has only fed my hunger and interest in learning more about the bodhisattva and Buddhism as a whole as I continue my practice and learning and for that I am eternally grateful.
I will be returning to this book in the near future to refresh my mind on key concepts and continue to feed my spirit with right teachings and dharma to guide me and help keep me on the eightfold path.
I've been interested in the bodhisattva path within the last few months after having come across the term mentioned in my studies, as well as watching a few short videos on Youtube with regard to Alan Watts.
After struggling with my own enlightenment path, specifically with my relationship to other living beings, I felt that the answers I needed might lie within the sutras and teachings related to the bodhisattva. I felt called to understand more about this vehicle.
This book provided an incredible base understanding about many of the topics related to the Mahayana vehicle. Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings are easy to understand and there is great explanation and examples given to help clarify the teachings within the text. I am very thankful for having read this book.
This book has only fed my hunger and interest in learning more about the bodhisattva and Buddhism as a whole as I continue my practice and learning and for that I am eternally grateful.
I will be returning to this book in the near future to refresh my mind on key concepts and continue to feed my spirit with right teachings and dharma to guide me and help keep me on the eightfold path.
July 14, 2025
This book is a compilation of Dharma Talks given by the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh. Therefore, only in quoted passages does it contain his mastery of communication. Nevertheless, the content is engaging and very helpful to the understanding of the Bodhisattva tradition.
Both the Ugrapariprccha and Vimalakirtidesa Sutras try to steer us clear of the path of the sages or sravaka path. The Ugrapariprccha does not try to discredit the sravakas practice; rather, it shows the greater effectiveness of the bodhisattva tradition with an example of the life of Ugra, the Householder.
The Vimalakirtidesa is more direct in its criticism in the path of sages.
Personally, I found the section on the Vimalakirtidesa easier to understand and follow. But the message here is that Buddhism is a path for everyone. Not just monks and nuns, not just scholars, but everyone in every walk of life. That is what I find most refreshing about this text.
If you are already a student of Buddhism, this book will have treasures for you. If you are new to Buddhism, this book will open up a whole new world for you. It is not, in my opinion, the book to start with as you enter the Buddhist world for the first time, but it is useful even to the newcomer.
Both the Ugrapariprccha and Vimalakirtidesa Sutras try to steer us clear of the path of the sages or sravaka path. The Ugrapariprccha does not try to discredit the sravakas practice; rather, it shows the greater effectiveness of the bodhisattva tradition with an example of the life of Ugra, the Householder.
The Vimalakirtidesa is more direct in its criticism in the path of sages.
Personally, I found the section on the Vimalakirtidesa easier to understand and follow. But the message here is that Buddhism is a path for everyone. Not just monks and nuns, not just scholars, but everyone in every walk of life. That is what I find most refreshing about this text.
If you are already a student of Buddhism, this book will have treasures for you. If you are new to Buddhism, this book will open up a whole new world for you. It is not, in my opinion, the book to start with as you enter the Buddhist world for the first time, but it is useful even to the newcomer.
April 8, 2023
Thich Nhat Hanh wrote over 100 books. Some of them mention the same ideas and examples, which doesn't bother me much--I read his books not so much for new information as for inspiration or guidance. But this book (on of four in a series) is interesting in that it comments on the Vimalakirti Sutra. This is an important sutra for Mahayana Buddhisn, and parts are difficult for me to relate to. I enjoyed the commentary and was inspired by this great teacher's understandind and approach.
March 15, 2024
Many of Thich Nhat Hanh's books were for the general public, but this is otherwise. This is one of the more scholarly contributions and an excellent one. The work is based on oral teaching, so it flows in that fashion. I highly recommend this to persons already somewhat conversant with the teachings of Zen Buddhism, Buddhism in general, or the author's teachings. I found reading this both informative and inspiring.
July 29, 2024
Amazing commentary. Prob my favorite Mahayana sutra (I don’t really like the translations of the lotus sutras I’ve come across nor have I read avatamsaka) and the commentary from venerable Thay leads to a better sense of understanding the dense concepts (or lack thereof) in this influential scripture.
August 25, 2023
Wonderful commentary on the Vimalakirtinirdesa. Makes Mahayana Buddhism’s central tenets understandable. A must read for anyone practicing Zen. Poor Sariputra though!
February 6, 2026
File under: talk about feeling the beginners mind
February 26, 2023
excellent commentary on two important sutras, but with emphasis on how the teaching can positively affect our own practice, and daily life.
November 11, 2024
Thich Nhat Hanh provides an enlightening commentary to the Vimalakirti and Ugrapariprccha Sutras, while providing ample historical context. Would highly recommend if you're looking into Mahayana thought.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews