Shantideva (685-763 AD) was a Buddhist monk. At the Nalanda monastery, he had the reputation of being lazy, other monks saying he just ate, slept, and went to the bathroom. One day he was summoned to give a talk to the monastery, where he was required to stand at an exaggeratedly high podium. The intent of his being summoned to give a talk was to ridicule him, then expel him from the monastery. Shantideva presented some works he had composed in secret, which stupefied the audience with their brilliance. One of those works was The Way of the Bodhisattva. Part of the work is still missing. The Way of the Bodhisattva is the most commented on work in the Tibetan Buddhist Mahayana tradition–a key text in Buddhism worldwide. (Commentaries on key works by spiritual masters is a Buddhist tradition.) There are many translations. The meaning of passages often varies slightly from one translation to another. The quote below is a sample of Shantideva’s wisdom:
All whosoever who are happy in the world are so through the wish for the happiness of others; while all whosoever who are miserable in the world are so through the wish for the happiness of themselves.