ASANGA was a fourth-century Indian adept and philosopher, author of the foundational works of the Yogacara school of Buddhist philosophy. ARTEMUS B. ENGLE received a PhD in Buddhist studies from the University of Wisconsin and has studied Tibetan Buddhism for more than forty years. He teaches Tibetan language and Buddhist doctrine at the Mahayana Sutra and Tantra Center in Howell, New Jersey, and has published numerous translations of works by Indian and Tibetan masters. He has been a Tsadra Foundation Fellow since 2005.

Arya Asanga's Bodhisattvabhumi, or The Stage of a Bodhisattva, is the Mahayana tradition's most comprehensive manual on the practice and training of bodhisattvas-by the author's own account, a compilation of the full range of instructions contained in the entire collection of Mahayana sutras. A classic work of the Yogacara school, it has been cherished in Tibet by all the historical Buddhist lineages as a primary source of instruction on bodhisattva ethics, vows, and practices, as well as for its summary of the ultimate goal of the bodhisattva path-supreme enlightenment.
Despite the text's seminal importance in the Tibetan traditions, it has remained unavailable in English except in fragments. Engle's translation, made from the Sanskrit original with reference to the Tibetan translation and commentaries, will enable English readers to understand more fully and clearly what it means to be a bodhisattva and practitioner of the Mahayana tradition.