Four of Cups

Shanti Deva

Origin: Mahayana Buddhist

Outside their university monastery or Nalanda, India, three monks speak about the sleeping Shantideva. They deride him, calling him lazy and a waste of space. All he does is eat, sleep, and defaecate, taking up precious space in the monastery. But whilst they are focussing on planning ways to humiliate him, Shantideva himself is moving ever closer to Enlightenment, and the composition of his inspirational work, the Bodhicaryavatara - the text that will become a cornerstone of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy. His fellow monks do not see the jewel they are sharing their monastery with.