Many people have the compassionate wish to benefit others, but few understand how to accomplish this successfully in daily life. Bodhisattvas are friends of the world, who have such strong compassion that they are able to transform all their daily activities into ways of benefiting others. The path of the Bodhisattva was exquisitely explained in the universally loved poem Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life by the 8th century master Shantideva. With this commentary, the full effectiveness and profundity of this wonderful poem are revealed in full and made applicable for our time. This practical handbook is essential for those wishing to follow a way of life characterised by greater empathy and compassion for others.
This highly acclaimed work is based on the great Indian Buddhist Master Shantideva’s famous spiritual poem Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, one of the best loved and most important Mahayana Buddhist texts, which reveals with poetic beauty and deep spiritual insight how to enter, make progress on, and complete the Buddhist path to enlightenment.
Shortly after he arrived at Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Centre in 1977, at the request of his root Spiritual Guide, Vajradhara Trijang Rinpoche, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche gave a detailed verse-by-verse commentary to Shantideva’s Guide. Teaching twice a day for over three months, Venerable Geshe-la revealed the full effectiveness and profundity of the Guide, and showed in a practical and inspiring way how in the midst of modern busy daily life we can follow the path of a Bodhisattva – someone who out of compassion dedicates his or her life to attaining enlightenment.
It is these early teachings that became Meaningful to Behold, the first of Venerable Geshe-la’s many books to be published.

"Our present situation can be understood in terms of the following analogy. If a person comes across a nugget of gold but does not recognize its rarity and worth, he may easily throw it away. At this moment we have attained a precious human life far more valuable than gold, but if we do not recognize its worth we are apt to squander it in meaningless and purposeless pursuits."
-Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche