General Spiritual Director
Celebrating Turning the Wheel of Dharma Day and the Birthday of our Spiritual Guide
Jun 4, 2026
Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life
How to enjoy a life of great meaning and altruism
Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche
Through sincerely practising these instructions we can transform our ordinary, self-centred intentions into the supreme good heart, our ordinary, confused view into profound wisdom, and our ordinary way of life into a Bodhisattva’s way of life. In this way, we shall attain the supreme inner peace of enlightenment, which is the real meaning of our human life.
- Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche
Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life is a famous and universally loved poem for daily living that has inspired many generations of Buddhists and non-Buddhists. It reveals with poetic beauty and deep spiritual insight how to enter, make progress on, and complete the Buddhist path to enlightenment.
Composed in the 8th century by the famous Indian Buddhist master Shantideva, this new translation, made under the guidance of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, conveys the great lucidity and poetic beauty of the original, while preserving its full impact and spiritual insight.
Reading these verses slowly, while contemplating their meaning, has a profoundly liberating effect on the mind. The poem invokes special positive states of mind, moves us from suffering and conflict to happiness and peace, and gradually introduces us to the entire Mahayana Buddhist path to enlightenment.
To explore the full effectiveness and profundity of this wonderful poem be sure to read Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche's detailed commentary, Meaningful to Behold.
Available online
Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life is available in different languages and multiple formats from Tharpa Publications.
For more information and online purchases visit the Tharpa International website and select your region.
Purchase from the following Tharpa stores:
- Tharpa UK
- Tharpa US
- Tharpa Canada
- Tharpa Australia
- Tharpa New Zealand
- Other language editions available from Tharpa.com
book finder
Use the links below to go to other book pages. Please note the books are listed in the recommended sequence for studying and reading Venerable Geshe-la’s books:
