Śāntideva presents the way of the bodhisattva as a path of mental transformation. His understanding and analysis of the perfections that constitute the path of the bodhisattva—the perfections of generosity (dānapâramitā 施波羅蜜), moral discipline (śīlapâramitā 尸羅波羅蜜), forbearance (kṣāntipāramitā 羼提波羅蜜), vigor (vīryapâramitā 精進波羅蜜), meditative absorption (dhyānapâramitā 靜慮波羅蜜), and wisdom (prajñāpāramitā 般若波羅蜜)—emphasize the inextricable relationship between wisdom (prajñā) and compassion (karuṇā). For Śāntideva, ethics and wisdom are always intertwined.

Wisdom, as Śāntideva presents it, is the proper understanding of lack of inherent existence, lack of essence, emptiness (śūnyatā 空), or nonsubstantiality (niḥsvabhāvatā 無性). Emptiness itself, Śāntideva argues, together with Nāgârjuna 龍樹 and Candrakīrti 月稱 , is empty (śūnya) because it is dependent on the conventional construction of entities. Thus, Śāntideva argues that wisdom is insight into the emptiness of emptiness (śūnyatāśūnyatā).

Many Tibetan schools employed the famous Prajñāpāramitā-Pariccheda (Perfection of Wisdom Chapter), chapter nine of the Bodhicaryâvatāra, as a philosophy textbook. Tibetans considered it to be one of the best presentations of what they termed the Prâsaṅgika Madhyamaka, that branch of the Madhyamaka school which relied primarily on reductio ad absurdum arguments, or drawing absurd consequences (prasaṅga 思量) from the positions of the opponent.

Śāntidevaʼs understanding of the bodhisattva path is often cited as a primary inspiration for the Tibetan genres of mind training (blo sbyong) and stages of the path (lam rim). Outside scholastic institutions, the Bodhicaryâvatāra has been appreciated for its insight into psychology, its moral inspiration, and its exquisite poetry. In 1305 Tibetans chose the Bodhicaryâvatāra as the first Buddhist text to translate into Mongolian, reflecting a consistent high regard in Tibetan Buddhist traditions for Śāntidevaʼs text.