The Bodhisattva and the Space Age

Adapted from its original format, published here for the first time, Roger Weir's The Bodhisattva and the Space Age: The Great Idea in Our Time, which blends the ancient Buddhist writings with a modern cosmic understanding, guiding the learner on a journey through time and space.

In The Bodhisattva and the Space Age, you'll explore:

The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana (Shraddhotpada Mahayana Sutra) - Learn the eight reasons for the creation of the revolutionary text and the shift in Buddhist consciousness from a personal liberation to a universal liberation through the introduction of the goddess Kuan Yin, the bodhisattva of compassion.

The Teaching of Vimalakirti (Vimalakirtinirdesa Sutra) - Discover one of the most famous of the Mahayana Sutras, which tells the story of Yuima (also known as Vimalakirti), a layman whose wisdom surprised and amazed even some of the most famous Buddhas and bodhisattvas in history.

The Accumulation of Precious Qualities (Prajna Paramita Ratna Guna Samcaya Gatha) - The paradise of the Amitabha Buddha is not one of just singing and mindlessness, but one of study and great erudition because the bodhisattva ideal includes omniscience-one must know it all-every bit of it, in all of its ramifications, for all beings to learn.

The Space Age - The modern scientific worldview reveals that there are infinite galaxies in all directions around ours, and from a Buddhist perspective, they are peopled with infinite beings in need of liberation from the cycle of samsara.