I just finished a really interesting book. Alone with Others, by Stephen Batchelor. It's an approach to Buddhism that is based in existential philosophy, thus he strips away all of the poetic language we are used to and replaces it with a philosophical argument format. I've outlined the contents below for a couple reasons. One, it's a dense read, so I needed to cut through all that to try and understand it better. Two, I thought his condensation of the Bodhisattva path was worth sharing.

I. Having and Being: the two basic attitudes toward life
a. Having: the horizontal existence we have
i. The acquisition of “stuff,” not just the secular or material things, but also spiritual things such as heaven, kensho, or enlightenment
ii. Since we can never have enough, having inevitably leads to anxiety, so we therefore turn to being
b. Being: the vertical existence we have
i. This is a radical reorientation; “instead of living to have more abundantly, it is necessary to live in order to be more abundantly” (p. 29)
ii. The story of Shakyamuni becoming the Buddha is the story of a person moving from a having orientation to life to a being orientation to life, thus it can also be our story
II. Being-alone
a. Inevitably, inescapably, we are born alone and we die alone
b. In between birth and death, life is contained within the polarity of facticity (what we are) and possibility (what we might become)
c. Taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha means fully accepting what we are and hoping to fully realize all that we might become
d. The meaning or purpose of life is thus “fulfilling the possibilities of the totality of one’s being in the actualization of Buddhahood” (p. 71)
III. Being-with
a. Inevitably, inescapably, our lives are bound together with others
b. There are two types of being-with
i. Inauthentic being-with-others is based on a predominant attitude of self-concern, which consists of:
1. Desirous attachment: getting others to submit to our desires
2. Aversion: removing others seen as obstacles to our desires
3. Indifference: disregarding others
4. Pride: elevating ourselves above others
ii. Authentic being-with-others is a developmental process
1. It begins with the development of equanimity that breaks down the boundary between self and other as characterized in inauthentic being-with
2. The flowering of equanimity leads us from being-with-others to being-for-others
3. Having concern for others eventually leads to doing for others
IV. Wisdom (being-alone)
a. Concentration (i.e., zazen, though never mentioned by name in the book)
b. Insight into the impermanence and emptiness of all things
V. Method (being-with-others)
a. Giving to others freely what one has; not just stuff, but anything and everything
b. Following the precepts; both what not to do and what to do instead
c. Acceptance without acceptance (though never said this way in the book)
d. Enthusiasm: having joyful energy to propel us along the Path
i. The aspiration to realize life’s possibilities
ii. The self-confidence that acknowledges your freedom and ability to realize life’s possibilities
All of the above (being alone with others via method and wisdom) adds up to being a Bodhisattva. “The Bodhisattva should be characterized by an open, outgoing generosity, tempered by mindfulness and ethical restraint. He should be accepting and submissive, yet fired by a natural, joyous enthusiasm. His mind should be discerning and critical, yet rooted in a deep inner calm. This is the model upon which we strive to pattern our lives as we engage in the actualization of the path.” (p. 114)