This thesis is a contribution to the study of the interpretation of the concept of bodhicitta. This concept is a technical term of frequent occurrence in Buddhist Sanskrit literature. Within the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, bodhicitta is closely related to the spiritual practices of the Buddhist aspirant to enlightenment. Specifically researched is Santideva's use of this concept in his Bodhicaryavatara, a text known to have been composed around the 8th century. The form of this study is as follows: first, a survey of the various interpretations of the concept of bodhicitta suggested so far; secondly, an analysis of its possible functions in the context of the spiritual path of the aspirant to enlightenment; thirdly, a discussion of what I believe to be an appropriate understanding of bodhicitta. An argument will be made that the path to realization consists in cultivating an awareness of the reality described by the concept of bodhicitta. Such cultivation should bring one to the realization that what is described by it is indeed the only possible reality. This means that bodhicitta is the means to as well as the description of the goal to attain.

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Le Bodhicaryāvatāra de Śāntideva, rédigé sans doute au début du VIIIe siècle, représente l’un des textes majeurs du bouddhisme indien tardif. Cet ouvrage fondamental présente la voie ou la pratique d’un nouveau type d’être seulement tendu par le souci d’éveil : le bodhisattva. Cette voie ou cette pratique conduit à s’affranchir, via une éthique méditative et réflexive, de la double croyance illusoire en l’identité réelle, personnelle, intérieure et l’identité réelle des « pragmata » extérieurs – autrement dit du sujet, de l’objet et leurs relations. Cependant, l’éthique, comme la morale d’ailleurs, se fonde sur l’idée d’élévation de soi jusqu’à sa pleine essence. Son sol appartient à l’ontologie, c'est-à-dire à l’interprétation de l’être ou de la présence à partir de la notion d’identité. Comment dès lors comprendre la perspective du Bodhicaryāvatāra qui possède à coup sûr une dimension éthique, tout en récusant radicalement la réalité de quelque chose comme une « nature propre » (svabhāva) qui serait ou non à réaliser ou à actualiser ? C’est impossible tant que l’on se place dans l’horizon métaphysique qui pense à partir et en direction de l’ontologie. La première ambition de cette thèse consiste donc à ménager un espace interprétatif à partir duquel le texte de Śāntideva puisse être reçu et entendu. Cela exige une confrontation avec la tradition philosophique occidentale sous-tendue par cette perspective métaphysique ainsi, évidemment, qu’avec la linguistique comparée. Deux courants de pensée nous sont apparus particulièrement propices à la rencontre : la phénoménologie et la systémique. La seconde ambition de cette thèse est de proposer une nouvelle traduction française du texte sanskrit de Śāntideva, qui se fonde sur les avancées interprétatives mentionnées / The Bodhicaryāvatāra of Śāntideva, probably written in the early eighth century, is one of the major texts of late Indian Buddhism. This fundamental work presents the way or practice of a new type of being, only tensioned by the desire for awakening: the bodhisattva. This path or practice leads to a meditative and reflexive ethic able to eliminate the illusory double belief in the real, personal, inner identity and in the real identity of the external "pragmata" - in other words, the subject, the object and their relations. However, ethics, like morality, is based on the idea of elevation of the self to its full essence. Its ground belongs to ontology, that is to say: the interpretation of being or presence from the notion of identity. How then to understand the perspective of the Bodhicaryāvatāra which certainly has an ethical dimension, while radically rejecting the reality of something like a "self-nature" (svabhāva) that would or should not be realized or actualized? It is impossible, as long as one places oneself in the metaphysical horizon; which considers everything from and towards ontology. The first ambition of this thesis is therefore to provide an interpretative space from which the text of Śāntideva can be received and heard. This requires a confrontation with the Western philosophical tradition underpinned by this metaphysical perspective as well as, of course, with comparative linguistics. Two streams of thought appeared to us particularly conducive to the meeting: phenomenology and systemic. The second ambition of this thesis is to propose a new French translation of the Śāntideva’s text from Sanskrit, which is based on the mentioned interpretative advances.