37 Practices of A Bodhisattva

The thirty-seven practices of a bodhisattva
of Gyalsay Tomay
Namo Lokeshvaraya
With body, speech and mind, I pay constant, devoted homage,

To the supreme guru and the to the lord and protector Chenrezik:
Although they know nothing truly comes into existence nor ceases,
They nonetheless endeavour wholeheartedly to benefit all sentient
beings.
Perfect buddhas, the source of all true good and benefit

Come from the accomplishment of the sublime dharma.
Since this depends on a proper understanding of the ways of the
Bodhisattva, I shall now explain their practice.
1. Use the present freedoms and assets you now enjoy

To study, reflect and meditate, day and night, undistractedly,
So that this very rare vessel of a precious human life
Delivers self and others from samsara’s sea.
That is the bodhisattva practice.
2. In familiar surroundings, desire and attachment to loved ones

Churn like water, when among enemies, hatred and aggression
Blazes like fire and, in confusion’s darkness, one forgets what to
Develop or what to give up. Abandon homeland!
3. Away from harmful places, defilements progressively wane.

With distractions gone, virtuous activity becomes naturally easier.
As awareness becomes limpid, conviction in dharma arises.
Appreciate retreat and solitude. That is the bodhisattva practice.
4. Even long-time friends and relatives one day must part.

Hard-won wealth and possessions must be lost.
The guest, consciousness, from the host body must depart.
Be unconcerned with this life. That is the bodhisattva practice.
5. Bad friends are those whose influence causes the three

Poisons to increase, study, reflection and practice to
Deteriorate, and love and compassion to fade away.
Avoid them! That is the bodhisattva practice.
6. The dharma master is the one whose advice

Causes the unwholesome to be consumed
And qualities to increase like the waxing moon.
Cherish the teacher dearer then life itself:
7. Themselves in samsara’s prison bound,

To whom can worldly deities offer shelter?
Seek refuge in those that are rare and sublime
And which will never let you down.
8. The unbearable sufferings of the lower realms

Result from unwholesome actions, the Buddha taught.
Therefore, even though it may cost life itself,
Never commit an evil deed. That is the bodhisattva practice.
9. Happiness in these three realms disappears in but an instant,

Like dew from the grass tips, for such is its nature.
Strive wholeheartedly for supreme liberation,
For it will never change. That is the bodhisattva practice.
10. If our former mothers, so kind to us since beginningless time,

Are suffering now, what matter our own happiness?
Therefore, develop bodhicitta so as to free limitless beings:
11. All suffering, without exception, arises from seeking pleasure

For oneself whereas perfect enlightenment is born of a mind
Seeking to benefit others. Therefore perfectly exchange your own
Happiness for other’s suffering. That is the bodhisattva practice.
12. Dedicate body, possessions and all the virtue you have gathered
In the three times to the craving person who robs all your wealth
Or who gets someone else to steal it for him.
13. Were someone going to cut off your head, even though you had
Not committed the slightest fault, in return and with great
Compassion, take into yourself that person’s every failing.
14. Even if, without reason, people speak ill of you to the point
Where the entire universe reverberates with their malicious gossip,
Feel only love for them and speak only good of them in return.
15. If, when in public, someone maliciously reveals something you

Would prefer to conceal think of that person as your supreme guru,
Teaching you, and bow to him or her with deep respect.
16. If someone you have cared for and cherished as your own child,
Treats you as an enemy, in return, have even greater love for him
Or her, as a mother would have for a delirious child, raving when
stricken by fever. That is the bodhisattva practice.
17. If someone who is your equal or obviously your inferior

Shows you contempt out of arrogance, look at him or her
With the same devoted respect as you do to your master.
18. When destitute and constantly scorned by all,

Struck by severe illness or inexplicable problems,
Do not become discouraged but take upon yourself
The faults and sufferings of all other sentient beings.
19. Even should you enjoy fame or respect or the prosperity of

Vaishravana, recognise that worldly fortune is without substance
And do not be proud. That is the bodhisattva practice.
20. Until such time as the inner enemy anger is subdued

The external foes and aggression will just multiply, no matter
How many battles one fights or wins. Thus conquer your mind,
Using the forces of love and compassion.
21. Trying to satisfy the senses is like drinking salt water to slake
a thirst: The more one drinks, the more the thirst increases.
Give up immediately those things that provoke desire in you.
22. Whatever appears is one’s very own mind and the true nature of
that mind has been, since time immemorial, free from any extreme the
intellect might imagine. By knowing Suchness, no longer create ideas
of subject or object. That is the bodhisattva practice.
23. When you encounter things you find attractive, know their
Beauty to be ephemeral and illusory, like that of a summer rainbow.
Do not make things real: get rid of craving and attachment.
24. Your various sufferings are like being bereaved of a dreamed child.
How tiresome it is to believe that illusory manifestations are real.
Therefore, when you encounter adverse circumstances,
Consider them as just illusions. That is the bodhisattva practice.
25. If those seeking enlightenment give even their own bodies,

What need to mention giving material possessions?
Be truly generous, without expectation either of return
Or of a good future rebirth: such is the bodhisattva practice.
26. It is a joke to aspire to helping others if your self-discipline

Is not even sufficient for achieving your own welfare.
Therefore carefully nurture the right conduct that craves not the
Things of this world. That is the bodhisattva practice.
27. For those desiring the wealth of virtue every source of harm
Becomes a treasure house of precious things.
Thus practice forbearance towards all, without animosity and resent.
28. Since some can be seen striving just for their own liberation,
As urgently as someone extinguishing their hair on fire, with the
Intention to help everyone, enthusiastically foster diligence,
The source of all good qualities. That is the bodhisattva practice.
29. Knowing that profound insight, perfectly based in calm stability,

Completely vanquishes all defilements, cultivate a meditative stability
That far transcends the four formless absorptions.
30. The other five transcendent perfections, without wisdom,
Can never alone bring enlightenment. Develop deep wisdom,
Which is supported by skilful means and which does not
Project the three spheres of subject, object and interaction.
31. Without a careful examination of delusions, it could well happen

That actions seem like dharma but are actually non-dharma.
Therefore always investigate your own illusions and get rid of them.
32. Talk, provoked by defilement, about the faults of other

bodhisattvas only leads to deterioration.
Therefore never speak ill of other Mahayana followers.
33. Since quarreling for the sake of riches and honour will spoil
The work of study, contemplation and meditation, let go of
Attachment to friends, family, donors and their kin.
34. The words of aggressive speech disturb other beings’ minds

And furthermore damage the bodhisattva conduct.
Give up rough words, unpleasant for others to hear.
35. Through becoming habits, defilements become hard to counter.

Therefore, be someone who is mindful, aware and armed with the
right remedies. Crush defilements the moment they arise
36. In brief, at all times whatever you are doing, achieve benefit for
Others through being continually mindful and aware, knowing what
Your mind is doing just at that time. That is the bodhisattva practice.
37. Dedicate all virtue achieved by such striving to enlightenment

To the elimination of suffering in endless beings, in the deep
Knowledge that the three spheres of subject, action and object
Are totally and primordially pure. That is the bodhisattva practice.
For the sake of those wishing to train in the ways of the bodhisattva,
I have presented these thirty-seven bodhisattva practices
Based on the meaning related in the sutras, tantras, and treatises
And following the classical teachings of holy masters.
Although through my own limited training and low intellect

This composition may not bring joy to gifted scholars,
I do think these bodhisattva practices are unmistaken
Since they rely on the sutras and sacred teachings.
However, since it is hard for a person of lesser intelligence like myself

To fathom the depths of the vast wave of bodhisattva conduct,
I beg forbearance of the enlightened ones for all errors such as
Misinterpretation, inconsistency and so forth.
By this merit may all sentient beings, by means of the supreme

Bodhicitta, both relative and absolute, become like the lord and
Protector Avalokitesvara who abides beyond the extremes of
Samsara and nirvana.
Translated and adapted from the Tibetan by Ken Holmes

37 Practices of A Bodhisattva

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The thirty-seven practices of a bodhisattva

With body, speech and mind, I pay constant, devoted homage,

Perfect buddhas, the source of all true good and benefit

1. Use the present freedoms and assets you now enjoy

2. In familiar surroundings, desire and attachment to loved ones

3. Away from harmful places, defilements progressively wane.

4. Even long-time friends and relatives one day must part.

5. Bad friends are those whose influence causes the three

6. The dharma master is the one whose advice

7. Themselves in samsara’s prison bound,

8. The unbearable sufferings of the lower realms

9. Happiness in these three realms disappears in but an instant,

10. If our former mothers, so kind to us since beginningless time,

11. All suffering, without exception, arises from seeking pleasure

15. If, when in public, someone maliciously reveals something you

17. If someone who is your equal or obviously your inferior

18. When destitute and constantly scorned by all,

19. Even should you enjoy fame or respect or the prosperity of

20. Until such time as the inner enemy anger is subdued

25. If those seeking enlightenment give even their own bodies,

26. It is a joke to aspire to helping others if your self-discipline

29. Knowing that profound insight, perfectly based in calm stability,

31. Without a careful examination of delusions, it could well happen

32. Talk, provoked by defilement, about the faults of other

34. The words of aggressive speech disturb other beings’ minds

35. Through becoming habits, defilements become hard to counter.

37. Dedicate all virtue achieved by such striving to enlightenment

Although through my own limited training and low intellect

However, since it is hard for a person of lesser intelligence like myself

By this merit may all sentient beings, by means of the supreme

Translated and adapted from the Tibetan by Ken Holmes

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