༄༅། །ང་བ་མས་དཔ་་ར་ཐར་པ་ས་བ་བ་པ།

The Accomplishment of the Sets of Four

Qualities: The Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa

Bodhisattvaprātimokṣacatuṣkanirhāra
 ང་བ་མས་དཔ་་ར་ཐར་པ་ས་བ་བ་པ་ས་་བ་ག་པ་ན་ ་མ།
byang chub sems dpa’i so sor thar pa chos bzhi sgrub pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo

The Great Vehicle Sūtra “The Accomplishment of the Sets of Four Qualities: The
Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa”

Bodhisattvaprātimokṣacatuṣkanirhāranāmamahāyānasūtra

· Toh 248 ·
Degé Kangyur, vol. 66 (mdo sde, za), folios 46.b–59.a

ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛɪʙᴇᴛᴀɴ ʙʏ

· Dīpaṅkaraśrījñāna · Śākya Lodrö · Gewé Lodrö ·
 First published 2024

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co. TABLE OF CONTENTS
ti. Title
im. Imprint
co. Contents
s. Summary
ac. Acknowledgements
i. Introduction
tr. The Translation
1. The Fourfold Accomplishments: The Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa
c. Colophon
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
· Canonical Sources
· Modern Publications
g. Glossary
s. SUMMARY
s.1 In The Accomplishment of the Sets of Four Qualities: The Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa,
Venerable Śāriputra requests the Buddha Śākyamuni to explain the conduct
of bodhisattvas. The Buddha responds by describing how bodhisattvas train
in many practices and in the cultivation of many qualities, here presented in
sets of four, related to generosity and diligence in particular, and more
broadly to their attitude, conduct, learning, insight, and teaching. In this way
bodhisattvas swiftly progress along the path to buddhahood.
ac. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ac.1 This sūtra was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. Joseph McClellan
produced the translation and wrote the introduction. Benjamin Collet-
Cassart compared the draft translation with the Tibetan and edited the text.
ac.2 The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Nathaniel Rich edited the
translation and the introduction, and Ven. Konchog Norbu copyedited the
text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
i. INTRODUCTION
i.1 The Accomplishment of the Sets of Four Qualities: The Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa is a
sūtra significant for its wide-ranging discussion of the various attitudes,
deeds, pursuits, and insights that constitute the practical discipline —the
prātimokṣa—engaged in by bodhisattvas. The sūtra presents a dialogue
between Śāriputra and the Buddha Śākyamuni at Vulture Peak near
Rājagṛha, the capital of the former kingdom of Magadha (present-day Bihar).
Śāriputra opens the conversation by asking the Buddha, “What are the
deeds related to the aspects of the bodhisattvas’ truth?” The Buddha
responds by expounding on a wide variety of qualities that bodhisattvas
cultivate on their journey to awakening. These include, but are not limited to,
expositions on the importance of generosity and diligence. The qualities are
generally presented in groups of four and relate to vastly different themes.
i.2 One of the sets of four, for example, is patience, unimpeded wisdom and
vision, undivided wisdom and vision, and unattached wisdom and vision,
for which the Buddha says that bodhisattvas will be praised. In another set
of four, the Buddha teaches that bodhisattvas will remember their past lives
once they have perfected their training so that their acts are in accord with
their words, their words are in accord with their acts, they have abandoned
aggression, and they rely on wisdom. The Buddha also teaches that
bodhisattvas will remember their past lives when they transcend and
acquire virtuous qualities, establish others in virtue, seek the Dharma
devotedly, and teach the Dharma extensively. Bodhisattvas will be joyful, the
Buddha explains, when their search is meaningful, they have the treasure of
learning, they possess insight based on that learning, and they give the gift
of the Dharma. Many other such sets of four qualities are presented with
brief explanations. Thus, The Accomplishment of the Sets of Four Qualities: The
Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa provides a concise synoptic view of the many positive
qualities to be cultivated by bodhisattvas on the path to awakening. The
altruistic motivations, active pursuits, and more subtle insights promoted in
 the sūtra form a mosaic of what it means to train in the prātimokṣa of the
vehicle of the bodhisattvas as opposed to the prātimokṣa of the vehicles of the
śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas.
i.3 It is a common feature of Buddhist canonical literature to organize
doctrinal terms and items in numbered lists. In some cases, those numbered
lists are presented as a series in ascending numerical order. One of the early
scriptural collections (Skt. āgama; Pali nikāya), The Numerical Discourses,
organizes individual discourses in this way.1 The first chapter contains
discourses that focus on a single item, the second chapter discourses that
focus on two items, and so on up to the eleventh chapter, which contains
discourses focused on groups of eleven items. Within the body of Great
Vehicle discourses, there are those that present lists of items in ascending
numerical order2—one item, two items, three items, and so on—as well as
those, such as the present discourse, that contain presentations of multiple
sets of the same number of items. Among discourses in the Ornaments of the
Buddhas (Skt. Buddhāvataṃsaka; Tib. sangs rgyas phal po che) section of the
Kangyur, for example, one typically finds sets of ten items.3 Even more
common, however, are those Great Vehicle discourses that present multiple
sets of four items, often but not always in terms of “four dharmas that
bodhisattvas possess” (Tib. chos bzhi dang ldan).4 In the part of the Degé
Kangyur in which the present discourse has been placed, the four
discourses that follow it are also based on one or more sets of four factors or
qualities and have titles that indicate this central feature, one of them a
variation on The Accomplishment of the Sets of Four Qualities. These are The Sūtra
Teaching the Four Factors (chos bzhi bstan pa’i mdo, Toh 249);5 The Four Factors
(chos bzhi pa’i mdo, Toh 250);6 The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra on the Four Factors (chos
bzhi pa’i mdo, Toh 251);7 and The Fourfold Accomplishment (bzhi pa sgrub pa, Toh
252).8
i.4 The Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa was a sūtra known during the period of the
early diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet, since it is cited on several points, and in
places at considerable length, by Śāntideva in his influential compendium of
the sūtras known as the Śikṣāsamuccaya, which was translated in the early
period.9 However, it seems that the Sanskrit source text of the sūtra was
unavailable in Tibet at that time. The Denkarma (ldan dkar ma) imperial
catalog lists a text with an identical title among the sūtras translated into
Tibetan from Chinese. What appears to be the same text is also listed with
the shorter title Bodhisattvaprātimokṣa (Tib. byang chub sems dpa’i so sor thar pa) in
the Phangthangma (’phang thang ma) catalog.10 However, the Tibetan version
of this discourse as found in the Kangyur is not that text but a later
translation, since the colophon states clearly that it was translated,
presumably from Sanskrit, by the renowned Bengali master Atiśa
 Dīpaṅkaraśrījñāna (982–1054), along with his Tibetan associates Śākya Lodrö
(shAkya blo gros; ca. eleventh century) and Gewé Lodrö (dge ba'i blo gros; ca.
eleventh century). This would date the translation to sometime between
Atiśa’s arrival in Tibet in 1040 and his death there fourteen years later. Atiśa
attested to the text’s importance by quoting it at length seven times in his
Mahāsūtrasamuccaya.11 Since that time, however, the scripture does not seem
to have received much attention.12 No version of the text has survived in
Sanskrit, and although the Denkarma indicates that there was at one time a
version of the text in Chinese, “no trace of the sūtra itself has been identified
in Chinese.”13
i.5 This translation is based on the Tibetan translation of the text as preserved
in the Degé edition of the Kangyur in consultation with the Comparative
Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Kangyur and the Stok Palace Kangyur.
 The Great Vehicle Sūtra
The Fourfold Accomplishments: The Bodhisattvas’
Prātimokṣa
1. The Translation
[F.46.b]

1.1 Homage to the Blessed Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta!

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying at Vulture Peak
near Rājagṛha together with a great saṅgha of 1,250 monks —Venerable
Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, and others —who were all worthy ones, whose
defilements were exhausted, who were without afflictions, and who had
gained mastery. A great many bodhisattva great beings were also present.
1.2 Then it happened that Venerable Śāriputra went before the Blessed One,
bowed down at his feet, and sat to one side. While seated to one side,
Venerable Śāriputra asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, what are the
deeds related to the aspects of the bodhisattvas’ truth? Blessed One, how do
bodhisattvas speak truthfully and genuinely, thereby quickly awakening in
a perfect manner to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood?”
1.3 The Blessed One replied to Venerable Śāriputra, “Śāriputra, when
bodhisattvas have four qualities they speak truthfully and genuinely, and
will quickly awaken in a perfect manner to unexcelled and perfect
buddhahood. What are these four?
1.4 “Śāriputra, in their pursuit of all virtuous qualities, noble sons or noble
daughters generate the mind set on unexcelled and perfect buddhahood,
and then practice the application of diligence. [F.47.a] Śāriputra, as an
analogy, when a man wishes to survey a city, he first generates effort
regarding what is to be done for the city. Śāriputra, he then hopes that the
city will develop, and that people will come to live there. Wishing to settle in
that city, he comes to know all its places based on genuine insight.14
Similarly, Śāriputra, in their pursuit of all virtuous qualities, bodhisattvas
practice the application of diligence and comprehend all qualities.15
Śāriputra, this way of quickly awakening in a perfect manner to unexcelled
and perfect buddhahood is the first aspect of the bodhisattvas’ truth.
1.5 “Furthermore, Śāriputra, bodhisattvas who study the Dharma with earnest
application will quickly ripen virtuous qualities. As an analogy, Śāriputra,
when a doctor prescribes medicine to someone suffering from an illness, the
person who carefully follows the doctor’s instructions will quickly recover
from that illness. Why? Because that person has properly and carefully
followed the doctor’s prescription. Similarly, Śāriputra, the virtuous qualities
of bodhisattvas who study the Dharma with earnest application will quickly
ripen. Śāriputra, this way of quickly awakening in a perfect manner to
unexcelled and perfect buddhahood is the second aspect of the
bodhisattvas’ truth.
1.6 “Furthermore, Śāriputra, bodhisattvas do not cling to any phenomenon in
the slightest while they perceive all phenomena as being alien.16 Why?
Because they seek out the path while thinking, ‘Since danger arises from
appropriation, I perceive danger in all phenomena. Perceiving danger, I do
not rely on them. If they are unreliable, how will I be free? [F.47.b] How will I
be happy?’
1.7 “Furthermore, Śāriputra, bodhisattvas seek out the path and seek out the
well-spoken teachings in the four directions while thinking, ‘If one is
completely enveloped by birth, aging, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation,
suffering, unhappiness, and distress, how will there be freedom in
unexcelled and perfect buddhahood? How will there be happiness?’
Śāriputra, this way of quickly awakening in a perfect manner to unexcelled
and perfect buddhahood is the third aspect of the bodhisattvas’ truth.
1.8 “Furthermore, Śāriputra, bodhisattvas become benefactors, and since they
are totally unafraid of and untainted by the phenomena of suffering, they
maintain constant diligence. They set their intentions with the thought, ‘I
will clear away whatever suffering, unhappiness, and distress that arises in
sentient beings in order to bring them to peace.’ They practice the
application of diligence while thinking, ‘I will induce in all sentient beings
the same experience of uncontaminated bliss that has arisen in me.’
1.9 “When they apply diligence, they do not conceive of profit. As an analogy,
Śāriputra, consider people traveling through a wasteland in the middle of
the summer, where there are no humans passing through, no trees or water,
and the sun shines down, scorching and burning the ground. If a great river
were to appear, flowing in front of those people, it would be a marvelous
sight for them. Similarly, Śāriputra, for the sake of all sentient beings,
bodhisattvas follow such a path that brings an end to suffering. Even if, after
ten million eons, bodhisattvas who follow that path [F.48.a] give rise to a
single thought of desire for the relief of a bit of rest, they should encourage
themselves, saying, ‘There are many in my care; I will acknowledge my
 faults for the sake of all sentient beings.’17 Śāriputra, this way of quickly
awakening in a perfect manner to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood is the
fourth aspect of the bodhisattvas’ truth.
1.10 “Śāriputra, what is meant by awakening in a perfect manner? It is said to
be awakening in a perfect manner since it is the knowledge of what has not
been known, and being intent on the phenomena that are known.18 It is also
said to be unexcelled, since not even the slightest particle of any
phenomenon is left out or passed over by the thus-gone ones. Therefore,
they are said to have gone thus and to have reached the other shore.
1.11 “Śāriputra, what is meant by perfect buddhahood? Phenomena are known
by a mind that is balanced, clear, and undisturbed. The knowledge of the
sameness of all phenomena and of the lack of difference in all phenomena is
said to be perfect buddhahood.
1.12 “Śāriputra, the diligence of bodhisattvas endowed with those four
qualities is insuperable. Untainted by any affliction, they will awaken in a
perfect manner to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood.
1.13 “Śāriputra, because this fourfold accomplishment of the bodhisattvas’
qualities is known, seen, realized, attained, and actualized by the thus-gone
ones, it is awakening in a perfect manner. Because bodhisattvas do not fall
from those states and perfect all aspects of accomplishment, they will
awaken in a perfect manner to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood. [F.48.b]
1.14 “Śāriputra, bodhisattvas who have four qualities will be praised.19 What
are these four? Śāriputra, bodhisattvas are not excessively proud—they have
set out to annihilate pride. They have no attachments —they have set out to
abandon attachment. They have no anger—they delight in cultivating
loving-kindness. They are without delusion—they possess the strength of
insight. They hew closely to insight. They act insightfully. They are masters
of insight. Insight motivates their renunciation. They have set out to
abandon the web of delusion. They have set out to overcome darkness and
gloom. They are powerful and dedicated to the causes of insight. They are
certain to achieve insight. Śāriputra, bodhisattvas who have these first
qualities will be praised.
1.15 “Furthermore, Śāriputra, bodhisattvas strive to liberate sentient beings. As
an analogy, Śāriputra, if parents were to see their beloved, attractive, and
pleasing only son sent by the king to the place of his execution, they would
wail and lament, ‘Oh no! Our only son! Alas! Our only son! How can we
abandon him?’ Similarly, Śāriputra, when bodhisattvas with perfect
intentions see any sentient beings engaged in negative actions, compassion
will be born in them, and they will exclaim, ‘Oh no! Here are sentient beings
whose distorted understanding has led to their proper way of life being
spoiled!’ Śāriputra, those who think about guarding others should guard
 themselves. Śāriputra, because bodhisattvas have such a desire to benefit,
they will not commit a single negative action, even to save their life.
Śāriputra, [F.49.a] bodhisattvas who have these two qualities will be praised.
1.16 “Furthermore, Śāriputra, bodhisattvas devotedly seek out the Dharma,
devotedly uphold the Dharma, and devotedly practice giving the gift of the
Dharma. Śāriputra, how do bodhisattvas devotedly seek out the Dharma?
Śāriputra, bodhisattvas who wish for the Dharma pay respect to preceptors
and teachers while thinking, ‘There is no jewel in the world I would not give
away for it! There is nothing I would not do to honor it with my body! There
is no distance I would not walk for it! There is no verbal act I would not
perform for it! Why? Because the jewel of Dharma is the most precious jewel
of all, so I will abandon all other jewels to seek out the jewel of Dharma and
uphold it. Why? Because the Dharma severs all fetters; it severs birth, aging,
sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, and unhappiness!’ Thinking
in this way, they arouse the thought that it is precious. They arouse the
thought that it is difficult to find. They arouse the thought that it is medicine.
Śāriputra, bodhisattvas seek out the Dharma while thinking, ‘Because this
Dharma cures the ills of all sentient beings, I should seek this Dharma so as
to cure the ills of all sentient beings.’
1.17 “Śāriputra, how do bodhisattvas arouse the thought that Dharma is
priceless and devotedly uphold it? As a measure of how hard they see it to
acquire a single four-line verse, for the sake of such a single four-line verse
they would not see it as being hard to give away heaps of jewels even the
size of Mount Meru. [F.49.b] As a measure of how hard they see it to acquire
a single word of the Dharma, for the sake of such a single word of the
Dharma they would not see it as being hard to give away the whole
trichiliocosm filled up to the pinnacle of existence with the seven types of
jewels. Śāriputra, bodhisattvas uphold the Dharma with this kind of respect
and honor. This, Śāriputra, is a marvel of the bodhisattvas.
1.18 “Śāriputra, what do you think—is it out of concern for their life, for the
sake of their life, that they would give away those heaps of jewels?”
“No, Blessed One.”
1.19 “Śāriputra,” continued the Blessed One, “as a measure of how hard they
see it to acquire a single word of the Dharma, for the sake of a single word of
the Dharma bodhisattva great beings who wish for the Dharma would not
see it as being hard even to cast themselves down from the world of Brahmā,
or to enter the trichiliocosm when it is completely filled with fire. Śāriputra,
this is how bodhisattvas devotedly uphold the Dharma.
1.20 “Śāriputra, how do bodhisattvas devotedly practice giving the gift of the
Dharma? Śāriputra, when bodhisattvas practice giving the gift of the
Dharma, they are not concerned with material things. Holy beings do not
 practice giving the gift of the Dharma while thinking, ‘Through my
generosity, I will acquire robes, alms, bedding, medicine, or goods,’ or ‘I will
at least be complimented for my generosity.’ Rather, they practice generosity
while thinking, ‘I practice generosity to free sentient beings from birth,
aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, unhappiness, and distress.’
[F.50.a] Śāriputra, holy beings practice giving the gift of the Dharma with
such thoughts and in such a manner.
1.21 “Śāriputra, if someone said to a bodhisattva,20 ‘If you offered me your
body, I would accept it from you as a Dharma gift,’ Śāriputra, bodhisattvas
who have such a wish to benefit would reply, ‘Partake of the flesh of the best
parts of my limbs and body parts! Uphold this Dharma which brings an end
to desire!’ Śāriputra, as a measure of how hard they see it to be in a position
to give the Dharma, bodhisattvas would not see it as being hard to act in this
manner. Śāriputra, bodhisattvas practice giving the gift of the Dharma with
this kind of devotion, they uphold the Dharma with this kind of devotion,
and they seek out the Dharma with this kind of devotion.
1.22 “Śāriputra, sentient beings who pursue the Dharma with such devotion
are rare indeed. Śāriputra, sentient beings who uphold the Dharma with such
devotion are rare indeed. Śāriputra, sentient beings who practice giving the
Dharma with such devotion are rare indeed. Such a rarity is a marvel, and
those bodhisattvas are to be praised by the world with its gods. Śāriputra,
bodhisattvas who have these three qualities will be praised.
1.23 “Furthermore, Śāriputra, when bodhisattvas observe in themselves the
arising of desire, they look for the ground from which this desire has arisen.
When they look carefully, they cannot find that ground. They cannot find the
place whence that desire has arisen, whose desire has arisen, the means by
which that desire has arisen,21 for whom it has arisen, [F.50.b] or how it has
arisen. As that desire cannot be found, they do not engage in negative
actions motivated by desire. Rather, their positive qualities increase, and
they are not criticized—they are praised. Consequently, they are praised by
gods, nāgas, yakṣas, humans, nonhumans, buddhas, and śrāvakas. They do
not affirm, and they do not observe, any phenomenon. They see that all
phenomena are empty like space, and they become intensely dedicated to
the awakening of the blessed buddhas.
1.24 “When they see worldly people fixated on wrong views, they are without
anger and ill will. Established in supreme patience, they endeavor in
generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, and insight, and
they bring sentient beings to maturity. Why? Because, when ill will is
present, aggression increases. When aggression increases, angry words are
spoken to others, and this creates nonvirtuous karma. As a result,
unfortunate existences will come to be.
1.25 “Śāriputra, patient bodhisattvas act with endurance. Why? Because by not
apprehending any difference whatsoever between endurable and
unendurable phenomena, they have compassion for sentient beings who do
not know otherwise. They have compassion for sentient beings who
completely criticize them, who completely abuse them, and who completely
deprecate them. This shows that they have cultivated great love and
virtuous qualities. This kind of patience —the attainment of supreme
patience —is known as the concordant patience. Through their great
compassion, [F.51.a] bodhisattvas awaken in a perfect manner to unexcelled
and perfect buddhahood, and they then teach the Dharma to sentient beings.
Undertaking difficulties and hardships, they attain supreme patience,
unimpeded wisdom and vision, undivided wisdom and vision, and
unattached wisdom and vision. Śāriputra, when bodhisattvas have these
four qualities they will be praised.
1.26 “Furthermore, Śāriputra, bodhisattvas who have four qualities will
remember their past lives. What are these four? Śāriputra, bodhisattvas’ acts
accord with their words, and their words accord with their acts. They
abandon, renounce, and rid themselves of aggression, and they rely on
wisdom. As an analogy, Śāriputra, a pit filled with burning embers is
extinguished by a great mass of water. Similarly, Śāriputra, bodhisattvas
abandon and rid themselves of aggression, and they rely on wisdom.
Śāriputra, bodhisattvas who have this first quality will remember their past
lives.
1.27 “Furthermore, Śāriputra, bodhisattvas who pursue learning and all
virtuous qualities never forsake what is essential. They possess masterful,
extensive learning.22 Wherever they go, their wishes are fulfilled.23 They
establish others at the level of extensive learning, and they cause them to
understand the Dharma correctly. At the time of death, they will remain
mindful of the Dharma.
1.28 “As an analogy, Śāriputra, when people set out traveling with an attitude
of playfulness and delight, they may get hungry later. [F.51.b] However, if
they remind themselves of their playfulness and delight, this thought of
their prior state will dispel their hunger. Similarly, Śāriputra, when
bodhisattvas are pressed by the feeling of impending death, they readily
accept it with a mind turned toward the Dharma, and they become alert. If
they enter a mother’s womb and remain there with this alertness, they will
retain their memory. Śāriputra, bodhisattvas who have these two qualities
will remember their past lives.
1.29 “Furthermore, Śāriputra, bodhisattvas guard their speech carefully. They
do not criticize others. They do not behave aggressively toward others,
calling them ‘ignorant,’ ‘deluded,’ ‘conceited,’ ‘blind,’ or ‘crippled.’ Instead,
 they provide aggressive beings with relief, patience, and harmony. They
delight them with the Dharma, they establish them in mindfulness, and they
speak to them sincerely. They give them the gift of fearlessness, saying,
‘Please come, you are welcome here. Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid!’ They
bring relief to those beings, and they instill confidence, patience, and
harmony in them. They are motivated to act when they see sentient beings’
confused behavior. Śāriputra, bodhisattvas who have these three qualities
will remember their past lives.
1.30 “Furthermore, Śāriputra, such bodhisattvas, while thoroughly
transcending virtuous qualities, will possess virtuous qualities. They dwell
in them, and also firmly establish others in them. With devotion they seek
out the Dharma and teach it extensively to others. Śāriputra, bodhisattvas
who have these four qualities will remember their past lives.
1.31 “By remembering their past lives, bodhisattvas will attain five qualities.
[F.52.a] What are these five? Adherence to and perfect memory of the
teachings they have heard previously, sharp insight, supreme recollection,
insight, and avoidance of negative actions —even at the cost of their life. As
soon as they are born, they will attain these five qualities.
1.32 “Śāriputra, four qualities are not present in bodhisattvas. What are these
four? Bodhisattvas are without deceit. Bodhisattvas are without miserliness.
Bodhisattvas are without jealousy and slander. Bodhisattvas never lose
heart, thinking, ‘I am unable to awaken in a perfect manner to unexcelled
and perfect buddhahood.’ Śāriputra, concerning those people in whom these
four qualities are present, wise ones will know, ‘Oh! These people are
frauds! They are flatterers! They waste the Dharma! They are wracked by
afflictions! They are obsessed with worldly things! They just want more and
more food and clothes! They are thieves within the world!’ Why? Because,
Śāriputra, such people lack four things, and what are the four signs of this?
Partaking of increasing amounts of food, perceiving themselves as supreme,
teaching ostentatiously, and when it comes to undertaking the deeds of a
bodhisattva, not applying themselves to develop a single bodhisattva
quality.
1.33 “Śāriputra, what are the qualities in which bodhisattvas should exert
themselves? They are perfect discipline, unbroken discipline, unspoiled
mindfulness, liberality, the strength of patience, the lack of aggression, the
absence of harm, [F.52.b] extensive learning, generosity, self-control,
restraint, never indulging in sensual pleasures, never indulging in any kind
of ill will, swift renunciation, the absence of slander, the lack of aggression,24
the adoption of what is virtuous, behaving wisely, love for all sentient
beings, reconciling those in conflict, acting as bridges over saṃsāra’s mire,
giving Dharma discourses, knowing the particular strengths of patience, and
 relying on the ripening of actions. Śāriputra, those who exert themselves in
these qualities will certainly become bodhisattvas. Śāriputra, these are the
qualities in which bodhisattvas exert themselves. Śāriputra, you should
know that those who lack the qualities in which bodhisattvas exert
themselves are frauds destined for the lower realms.
1.34 “Śāriputra, four qualities lead bodhisattvas to the accomplishment of
unexcelled and perfect buddhahood. What are these four? They are the
Dharma and knowing the Dharma, generosity and knowing how to be
generous, knowing the duties of a caretaker,25 and knowing how to seek out
extensive learning.
1.35 “Śāriputra, what are the Dharma teachings of the bodhisattvas? The
Dharma teachings of the bodhisattvas are the four applications of
mindfulness, the four correct exertions, the four bases of miracles, the five
powers, the five strengths, the seven factors of awakening, the eightfold
path of the noble ones,26 the absence of attachment, the absence of anger,
the absence of ignorance, and the path of the ten virtuous actions.
1.36 “What is knowing the Dharma? Knowing the Dharma consists in
practicing those teachings properly—not incorrectly—with generosity, self-
control, and restraint. [F.53.a]
1.37 “What is generosity? Śāriputra, bodhisattvas give away everything they
have. They give away their arms, their legs, their hands and feet, their nose,
their head, their limbs and body parts, their sons, their daughters, their
spouses, their lives, their wealth, their happiness, their body, their material
possessions, their lands, their jewels, and all their belongings. Śāriputra,
bodhisattvas who give such gifts approach unexcelled and perfect
buddhahood.
1.38 “What is knowing how to be generous? It consists in giving alms at the
appropriate time and giving appropriate offerings. It consists in giving
donations of robes, alms, bedding, medicine, and requisites to monks.
Śāriputra, wise bodhisattvas always turn away from inferior forms of
generosity such as giving at inappropriate times, giving what is not suitable,
giving liquor, giving poison, giving what is harmful, giving what is
regrettable, giving weapons, giving what has been stolen, giving
contemptuously, refusing to give with one’s own hands, giving while
averting one’s face, giving motivated by desire, giving unpleasant gifts,
improper gifts, inferior gifts, or gifts mixed with poison, giving in ways that
lead to harm, giving in order to profit, giving in order to inspire lasting fear,
[F.53.b] giving in ways that jeopardize awakening, giving a hangman’s
noose, giving deludedly, giving in order to be served, and giving with fear.
1.39 “Śāriputra, under no circumstances do the wise practice or involve
themselves with those inferior forms of generosity. Bodhisattvas who
practice or involve themselves with them should not be called bodhisattvas.
Bodhisattvas who are endowed with bodhisattva qualities but who have
spoiled their generosity are actually bereft of bodhisattva qualities.
1.40 “Śāriputra, how should bodhisattvas who strive in the factors of
awakening after having renounced their homes practice generosity? What
should they give? How much should they give? Śāriputra, bodhisattvas who
strive in the factors of awakening after having renounced their homes
should remain bound by the prātimokṣa vows. Their conduct, personal
associations, and behavior should be perfect. They should train by seeing
danger in even the subtlest misdeeds, by engaging in pure physical, verbal,
and mental actions, and by adopting a pure livelihood. They should
earnestly apply themselves to the instructions they receive, to the practice of
recitation, and to dwelling in remote places. They should teach extensively
what they have learned and understood to others. They should be
propagators and benefactors of the Dharma.
1.41 “Śāriputra, compared to householder bodhisattvas who fill buddhafields
as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges with the seven types of
jewels and then offer these to the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddhas,
[F.54.a] renunciant bodhisattvas who teach a single four-line verse produce
much more merit. Śāriputra, the Thus-Gone One did not authorize
renunciants to practice the giving of material things. Why? Because,
Śāriputra, after having gone forth, for inconceivably countless eons they
should not think about being invited to feasts where one is offered
householders’ or renunciants’ robes or alms. Instead, they should maintain
devotion and admiration for the Dharma alone. Why? Because, Śāriputra, my
disciples 27 should be rich in Dharma, not rich in material things.
1.42 “Śāriputra, if whatever alms placed in their alms bowls are received in
accord with the Dharma and by means of the Dharma, they should share
them with their fellow practitioners of pure conduct. If someone comes along
and asks for alms bowls or for robes, if they possess more than the three
robes prescribed by the Buddha, they should give them away. If they have
fewer than the three robes, they should not give away those robes that they
rely upon to maintain pure conduct. Why? Because the Thus-Gone One has
said that the three robes should not be given away. Śāriputra, if bodhisattvas
prioritize the one who asks by giving away the three robes, they do not keep
the practice of having few desires. Therefore, Śāriputra, bodhisattvas who
renounce their homes should immerse themselves in the Dharma and exert
 themselves in it. Śāriputra, bodhisattvas should cultivate love for all sentient
beings at every single moment. This is what is meant by knowing how to be
generous.
1.43 “To what extent, Śāriputra, should one be known as a caretaker
bodhisattva? Bodhisattvas should be caretakers in accord with the Dharma
and caretakers of the thus-gone ones’ stūpas. They should be respectful
toward preceptors and teachers. [F.54.b] They should practice the application
of diligence in such a way that, until the very end of their life, they dispel
sloth and torpor. Śāriputra, these are the duties of caretaker bodhisattvas.
1.44 “Śāriputra, what is knowing how to seek out extensive learning?
Śāriputra, you should know that those who do not strive for extensive
learning after having set their minds on the awakening of the buddhas are
not bodhisattvas who speak truthfully. Śāriputra, one cannot awaken in a
perfect manner to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood through mere words.
Rather, it is through understanding that one can awaken in a perfect manner
to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood.
1.45 “Where does understanding come from? Understanding comes from
extensive learning. Śāriputra, this is why you must gain direct experience
and knowledge. Seeking to sow doubts in learned beings who follow the
Bodhisattva Vehicle, wicked māras will create obstacles to the awakening of
bodhisattvas who benefit sentient beings. Śāriputra, when bodhisattvas do
not strive for extensive learning after having set their minds on awakening,
this is the doing of wicked māras. Therefore, Śāriputra, those who wish to
know all the deeds of the māras should practice the application of diligence.
They should not prioritize words. They should understand the ways of the
wise, and the ways that are renowned within the entire world. Thus
Śāriputra, through diligence and discipline that rise above all worlds, they
will awaken in a perfect manner to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood .
1.46 “Śāriputra, [F.55.a] those who do not establish these states with great
striving and perseverance will drift away from the ten powers of a thus-gone
one, from the wisdom that rises above all worlds, and from their aspirations.
Therefore, Śāriputra, bodhisattvas should speak words that please all
sentient beings —they should not speak for their own benefit. Bodhisattvas
should not practice inferior types of diligence.
1.47 “Śāriputra, out of a thousand, one may be accomplished, or none.
Śāriputra, out of ten thousand, twenty thousand, thirty thousand, forty
thousand, fifty thousand, or ten billion, one may be accomplished, or none.
Why? Because, Śāriputra, it is difficult for those who abide by this
bodhisattva conduct to reach emancipation.
1.48 “Therefore, Śāriputra, those who strive for unexcelled and perfect
buddhahood should form this resolve: ‘For the sake of all sentient beings, I
will endure what is hard to endure and bear what is hard to bear. I will
joyfully exert myself to seek out the Dharma—not to seek out pleasure.’
Why? Because those who seek out the Dharma seek out wisdom. When they
acquire what they wished for, they do not become conceited or pompous.
Therefore, sentient beings who follow the Bodhisattva Vehicle should
prioritize insight, not pleasure. Śāriputra, this is how bodhisattvas should
exert themselves in giving the Dharma.
1.49 “Śāriputra, how should bodhisattvas seek knowledge of extensive
learning? Śāriputra, bodhisattvas should send four persons in the four
directions, telling them, ‘Go, and bring back excellent teachings that you
hear.’ They should also send four other persons by telling them, [F.55.b] ‘You
should go forth and act as caretakers and nurses for them.’ Śāriputra,
bodhisattvas should pervade the four directions with thoughts of love and
focus their minds on pursuing the Dharma. In whichever direction the
Dharma can be heard, they should go there. Śāriputra, this is how
bodhisattvas should seek out the Dharma. This is knowing how to seek out
extensive learning. Śāriputra, these four qualities lead bodhisattvas to the
accomplishment of unexcelled and perfect buddhahood.

1.50 “Śāriputra, in ancient times, there was a bodhisattva named Wise Diligence.
At that time, there was a thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha named Sujāta.
After he had passed into parinirvāṇa, but while his teachings remained, the
bodhisattva Wise Diligence was traveling by means of prostration to his
stūpa, when he arrived before the Bodhi tree. When he saw the Bodhi tree,
he wept uncontrollably and exclaimed, ‘The blessed, thus-gone, worthy,
perfect Buddha awakened in a perfect manner to unexcelled and perfect
buddhahood while staying here. In this place, that blessed, thus-gone,
worthy, perfect Buddha subdued Māra, his armies, and their mounts. For the
sake of this lion’s throne, the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha
underwent hardships for many hundreds of thousands of eons. The blessed,
thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha sat here cross-legged for seven days.
While the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha was seated here,
[F.56.a] many trillions of gods prostrated to the Blessed One upon seeing
him; this was truly an excellent attainment for them. Someday, I too will
awaken in a perfect manner to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood!’
1.51 “For eight days and nights, he wept uncontrollably at the foot of the Bodhi
tree. As he did not partake of food or drink during that time, the gods of the
pure abodes approached him and said, ‘Do not torment yourself like this.
Instead, seek out the qualities of the Buddha.’
1.52 “He asked, ‘Do you know the qualities of the Buddha?’
 “ ‘We do not know them,’ they replied. ‘However, we know that this body
has been sustained by rice and gruel; make some effort to feed yourself! Do
not hasten your own death!’
1.53 “ ‘My body is weak and I lack higher perception,’ he said. ‘Yet where
should I go? This is the very place where I should die!’ He then wept for
seven days and nights, shouting, ‘Let death come!’ Śāriputra, he then
maintained that diligence for six hundred million eons. Śāriputra, after
another two hundred fifty million eons, that bodhisattva awakened in a
perfect manner to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood. After he awakened in
a perfect manner to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood, he ripened a trillion
sentient beings to the level where their progress toward unexcelled and
perfect buddhahood was irreversible. The span of time this took place is
unfathomable, and his community of śrāvakas was also immeasurable and
unfathomable.
1.54 “Śāriputra, why was he called Wise Diligence? Because he always exerted
himself for emancipation. He always exerted himself in the application of
diligence. He always exerted himself in learning. Śāriputra, [F.56.b] through
such diligence, the bodhisattva Wise Diligence awakened in a perfect
manner to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood.

1.55 “Śāriputra, bodhisattvas who have four qualities will be endowed with
insight, and they will quickly awaken in a perfect manner to unexcelled and
perfect buddhahood. What are these four? Śāriputra, bodhisattvas receive
many teachings. They retain and accumulate teachings. They respect
practitioners of pure conduct who are elders, those who are novices, and
those in between. When asked, they indicate the path with the right hand,
saying, ‘This is the path. This is the path,’ and they exert themselves in
teaching the Dharma. Śāriputra, bodhisattvas who have these four qualities
will be endowed with insight, and they will quickly awaken in a perfect
manner to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood.
1.56 “How should they seek out learning? They should renounce their own
desires, abide by the scriptures of their preceptors and teachers, and pay
respect to them.
1.57 “They should abandon four qualities. What are these four? Sloth and
torpor, useless chatter, aggression, and arrogance. They should abandon
these four qualities.
1.58 “They should cultivate four qualities. What are these four? They should
habituate themselves to not lying down to sleep. They should apply
themselves diligently and maintain the habit of walking in meditation.28
Without arrogance, they should respectfully serve preceptors and teachers.
 Arousing respect for others, they should uphold what they have learned,
and, keeping it in mind, they should master its words. Those who possess
these four qualities seek out learning.
1.59 “Through four qualities, teachers will be pleased. What are these four?
Gentleness and affability, friendliness, abiding by the Dharma, and the
ability to provide excellent explanations.29 [F.57.a] Those who possess those
four qualities will please teachers.
1.60 “Those who possess four qualities will be joyful. What are these four?
Those whose search is meaningful will be joyful. Those who have the
treasure of learning, those who possess the component of insight based on
it, and those who give the gift of the Dharma to others will feel joy and
delight. Bodhisattvas who have these four qualities will be joyful themselves.
1.61 “Respecting, venerating, and revering those who seek out learning in that
way, bodhisattvas do not glorify themselves. Instead, just as they tame
themselves, put themselves at peace, and pass into parinirvāṇa, they also
tame others, put others at peace, and cause others to pass into parinirvāṇa.
They do not act for their own benefit alone.
1.62 “Those who seek out and pursue learning in that way expand the insight
related to their present life, so what need is there to mention the insight
related to their next life? Insight is achieved through perseverance in
learning. Bodhisattvas who do not persevere in learning should remember
their yellow-colored robes. Thus, they should show respect to practitioners
of pure conduct. When in their presence, they should not disparage them,
speak, wash their own feet, use their tooth sticks, or spit. They should not
make loud noises, speak without being asked, interrupt them, or leave
without being bidden. They should not think about the past or future, they
should not say a word, they should not engage in random discussions, and
they should not engage in base talk. When they are questioned, others
should not answer for them—those who are questioned must answer for
themselves.30 They should not tell tales about thieves. Instead, they should
rely on the sūtras. [F.57.b] They should protect their own minds and the
minds of others, and they should rely on the roots of virtue that are in
harmony with that. They should help those who follow the genuine path
leading to the awakening of the buddhas, without harming those who are
not following it—they should never harm anyone of either sort. They should
be wary or respectful of those who are angry at them, who accuse them of
being wrong, who pose threats to their life, or create hindrances to their
observance of pure conduct. They should even befriend them with fond
words. They should perceive those from whom they receive instructions and
 those who engage in recitation as their teachers, and they should respect
them. This is how bodhisattvas should show respect to practitioners of pure
conduct.
1.63 “How should they teach the path? They should explain the path with an
even mind, with a mind that is pure, with correct perception, and with a
mind free from hesitation. If they are not without doubt, they should first
learn from those who know the path, and then teach it to others.
Bodhisattvas who have these four qualities will quickly awaken in a perfect
manner to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood.

“It is said:

1.64 “Those who show proper reverence,

Who listen to the Dharma properly,
And who properly focus on what is meaningful
Perfect all qualities.

1.65 “While they seek out the Dharma

For the benefit of living beings,
They attend the preceptors
And serve them respectfully.

1.66 “Always loving,

Thankful, filled with gratitude,
With a perfect sense of shame and decency,
They abandon jealousy and hypocrisy.

1.67 “Recognizing the preciousness

Of that which heals the sick and is hard to find,
They rest in that recognition
And seek out the excellent teachings.

1.68 “While learning, they become happy,

And sharp insight arises in them. [F.58.a]
From desire, anger, and ignorance
They are set at peace by their love.

1.69 “When someone who has bathed

Joyfully receives a garland,
That person accepts this gift with both hands
And places it on their crown.

1.70 “Similarly, the joy one might feel

From becoming the ruler of a kingdom
 Is nothing compared to the joy
Born from hearing the excellent teachings.

1.71 “They always venerate as supreme

Those who propound the Dharma.
The Dharma is the banner of the perfect buddhas;
The Dharma is the banner of the worthy ones.

1.72 “After hearing the teachings of the buddhas,

They abide in their accomplishment.
When they hear about discipline,
Their renunciation grows like the waxing moon.

1.73 “Undeluded and free of anger,

They follow the supreme paths
And relinquish that which immature beings
Keep regarding with respect.

1.74 “Like a lion overcomes a fox,

They expound the teachings with overwhelming splendor.
Like wind buffeting banks of clouds,
They outshine the tīrthikas.

1.75 “Like rainclouds above the earth,

They bring satisfaction to beings through the Dharma,
Like the King of Physicians
Who quells the suffering of beings.

1.76 “Settled in one-pointed equipoise,

Their minds are not involved in discursive thinking.
They never indulge in anger,
And they never glorify themselves.

1.77 “They guide others while knowing

What is timely, what is untimely, and what is meaningful.
Ever delighting in the strength of patience
They engage in the activity of knowledge.

1.78 “Firm in their mastery and power,

Learned in the knowledge of the Dharma,
Heroic and with vast strength of mind,
Like wind scattering dust
They overpower the wicked ones.

1.79 “Just as it is that the rising sun

 Shines brightly out in all directions,
So too it is not for their own sake
That the wise ones choose to speak.

1.80 “In order to benefit the people of the world,

They master the concentrations and the higher perceptions.
With such a mastery, [F.58.b]
They dwell above the māras.

1.81 “Out of affection for sentient beings

They act as lanterns as they move about in the world.

1.82 “Furthermore, Śāriputra, bodhisattvas who have four qualities will

accomplish patience. What are these four? Guarding one’s discipline
respectfully and not disparaging the prātimokṣa, cultivating love with
respect and renouncing ill will, arousing fervent longing for omniscience,
and never ceasing to treasure virtuous qualities. Śāriputra, bodhisattvas who
have these four qualities will accomplish patience.”
1.83 After the Blessed One had said these words, after the Well-Gone One had
spoken thus, the Teacher said further:

1.84 “They maintain the uncorrupted, unbroken discipline

That is praised by the buddhas,
And they take delight
In the pure component of discipline.

1.85 “They seek out many teachings

And are well established in extensive learning.
Thereby they eliminate their doubts
And their insight expands.

1.86 “They teach the holy Dharma

With unremitting benevolence, wondering,
‘How can I liberate beings
From the rivers of birth and death?’

1.87 “Turning away from ill will,

They cultivate love.
Fearless and benevolent,
They regard themselves and others as equal.

1.88 “They fully apply themselves

With surpassing diligence aimed at awakening,
And they seek out virtuous qualities
 That are aimed at awakening.

1.89 “They cultivate what must be cultivated,

And abandon what must be abandoned.
As they abandon what must be abandoned,
They will quickly attain nirvāṇa.

1.90 “Facing the wilderness,

They turn their back on troubles.
Those who strive to seek out learning
Will realize the supreme state.

1.91 “Monks, nuns, [F.59.a]

Laymen, and laywomen—
Everyone should give up
What they are familiar with.

1.92 “All the fools who follow the path of the immature
Are without a refuge,
While those who follow the Dharma
Dedicate themselves to supreme buddhahood.

1.93 “Those who delight in the welfare of sentient beings

Are the fathers and mothers of the buddhas.
Those who wish for the Dharma without deceit
Have the utmost faith in awakening.

1.94 “Those who do not see the buddhas purely

Are said to have three characteristics:
Deceit, wishing for what is not the Dharma,
And constantly reveling in indolence.

1.95 “Having abandoned

Desire, anger, pride, and harmful actions,
The wise ones endowed with diligence
Will be fully devoted to awakening.”

1.96 When the Blessed One finished speaking, Venerable Śāriputra and the world
with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised what
the Blessed One had said.

1.97 This concludes the Mahāyāna sūtra “The Accomplishment of the Sets of Four
Qualities: The Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa.”
c. Colophon
c.1 Translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptor Dīpaṅkaraśrījñāna,
together with the chief editors and translators, the monks Śākya Lodrö and
Gewé Lodrö.
n. NOTES

n.1 For an English translation of this collection by Bhikkhu Bodhi, see The
Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Aṅguttara Nikāya, Boston:
Wisdom Publications, 2012.

n.2 See, for example, The Question of Maitreya (1) (Toh 85), beginning at 1.7.

n.3 For a brief discussion of this, see the introduction to The Ten Bhūmis (Toh 44-
31), i.7.

n.4 See, for example, chapter 14 of Upholding the Roots of Virtue (Toh 101); The
Questions of the Kinnara King Druma (Toh 157), beginning at 1.29; and The
Questions of Sāgaramati (Toh 152), beginning at 10.28. Note that in these three
sūtras, dharma is rendered “qualities.” In other sūtras such as The Sūtra
Teaching the Four Factors (Toh 249), The Four Factors
(http://read.84000.co/translation/toh250.html) (Toh 250), and The Sūtra on Four
Factors (2) (Toh 251), the same term is rendered “factors.”

Pearcey, Adam. trans., The Sūtra Teaching the Four Factors

n.5
(http://read.84000.co/translation/toh249.html), Toh 249 (84000: Translating the
Words of the Buddha, 2019).

n.6 Pearcey, Adam. trans., The Four Factors

(http://read.84000.co/translation/toh250.html) Toh 250 (84000: Translating the
Words of the Buddha, 2023).

n.7 Pearcey, Adam. trans., The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra on the Four Factors
(http://read.84000.co/translation/toh251.html), Toh 251 (84000: Translating the
Words of the Buddha, 2023).

n.8 Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., The Fourfold Accomplishment

(http://read.84000.co/translation/toh252.html), Toh 252 (84000: Translating the
 Words of the Buddha, 2020).

n.9 Śāntideva’s Śikṣāsamuccaya was translated into Tibetan by Jinamitra,

Dānaśīla, and Yeshé Dé during the height of Tibetan imperial sponsorship of
Buddhism only some decades after it was composed. In it Śāntideva cites the
Bodhisattvaprātimokṣa on ten occasions. See Silk 2008, p. 60 n. 86, also Bendall
(trans.) 1922, p. 322.

n.10 Denkarma folio 300.b; see also Herrmann-Pfandt, pp. 142–43. Phangthangma
2003, p. 11.

n.11 Silk 2008, p. 60 n. 86–89, affirms that the sūtra is cited as the bden pa’i rnam pa’i
mdo in the Mahāsūtrasamuccaya and the Śikṣāsamuccaya. For a romanized
critical edition of the Mahāsūtrasamuccaya, see Mochizuki 2004.

n.12 We have only found a brief mention of the text by the contemporary master
Kangyur Rinpoche, Longchen Yeshe Dorje (1887–1975), in Longchen 2001, p.
208. Interestingly, the passage Kangyur Rinpoche cites is not one of the
passages included in the Mahāsūtrasamuccaya.

n.13 Silk 2008, p. 61 n. 87.

n.14 Our translation of this analogy is tentative.

n.15 Tib. chos thams cad. Alternatively, this could be rendered “all phenomena.”

n.16 Here “alien” renders the Tib. gzhan.

n.17 Tib. sems can thams cad la gnong bskur ro. This might also be read to mean “to all
sentient beings” rather than “for the sake of all sentient beings.”

n.18 Translation tentative. Tib. ma mkhyen pa’i mkhyen pa mkhyen pas mngon par
mkhyen pa dang/ mkhyen pa’i chos de la rab tu gnas pas spyod pa des na mngon par
sangs rgyas pa zhes bya’o.

n.19 Tib. bsngags pa’i bya ba rjes su ’thob par ’gyur. This particular turn of phrase in
Tibetan does not appear to occur anywhere else in the Kangyur.

n.20 Translation tentative. Tib. byang chub sems dpa’ la la zhig ’di skad du. We would
expect a particle after byang chub sems dpa’ indicating the dative case, such as
la, but this may have been elided either due to eye-skip or because it
appeared redundant to a scribe, since it would have been followed by la la
zhig. This is only speculative, however, since there are no variants recorded
in the Comparative Edition here, and the reading in the Stok Palace version
of the text is the same.
 The reading in Degé is ji ltar ’dod chags de skye ba de ltar gang gi skye ba de mi
n.21
dmigs. This translation follows the reading in Stok Palace, which is ji ltar ’dod
chags skye ba de ltar gang gis skye ba de mi dmigs.

n.22 Translation tentative. Tib. nyams ’og tu chud pa’i thos pa mang po dang ldan pa
yin.

n.23 Translation tentative. Tib. de gang dang gang du ’gro ba thams cad du ’dod pa’i bya
ba rjes su ’thob par ’gyur la.

n.24 The repetition of “the lack of aggression” (Tib. khro ba med pa nyid) is found in
all the Tibetan versions consulted.

n.25 Translation tentative. Tib. zhal ta byed pa’i shes pa. This term (“caretaker”)
occurs again below.

n.26 These constitute the thirty-seven factors of awakening (Tib. byang chub kyi
phyogs kyi chos).

n.27 Tib. nyan thos rnams.

n.28 Translation tentative. Tib. ’chag pa’i rang bzhin can du bya ba.

n.29 Translation tentative. Tib. nges pa’i tshig bzang po dang ldan pa.

n.30 Translation tentative. Tib. gzhan dris pa na gzhan gyis brda sprad par mi bya/ gang
dris pa de nyid brda sprad par bya.
b. BIBLIOGRAPHY
· Canonical Sources ·

byang chub sems dpa’i so sor thar pa chos bzhi sgrub pa (Bodhisattvaprātimokṣa-
catuṣkanirhāra). Toh 248, Degé Kangyur vol. 66 (mdo sde, za), folios 46.b–
59.a.

byang chub sems dpa’i so sor thar pa chos bzhi sgrub pa. (dpe bsdur ma)
[Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste
gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation
Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing:
krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing
House), 2006–9, vol. 66, pp. 128–58.

byang chub sems dpa’i so sor thar pa chos bzhi sgrub pa. Stok Palace Kangyur vol.
63 (mdo sde, na), folios 394.b–413.a.

Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos kyi ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag).
Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a

· Modern Publications ·

Bendall, Cecil, and W. H. D. Rouse, trans.Śikshā-Samuccaya: A Compendium of

Buddhist Doctrine, Compiled by Śāntideva Chiefly from Earlier Mahāyāna Sūtras.
London: John Murray, 1922.

Fujita, Kokan. “ ‘ Bodhisattvaprātimoksacatuskanirhara’ ni tsuite” [“On the

Bodhisattvaprātimoksa-catuskanirhara”]. Mikkyo Bunka 163 (1988): 132–117.

Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische
übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen
Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Longchen Yeshe Dorje, Kangyur Rinpoche. Treasury of Precious Qualities: A
Commentary on the Root Text of Jigme Lingpa. Book One. Boston: Shambhala,
2001.

Mochizuki, Kaie. A Study of the Mahāsūtrasamuccaya of Dipaṃkaraśrījñāna II:

Tibetan Text. Minobu: Minobusan University, 2004.

Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang,
2003.

Silk, Jonathan A. Managing Monks: Administrators and Administrative Roles in

Indian Buddhist Monasticism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
g. GLOSSARY

· Types of attestation for names and terms of the corresponding ·

source language

AS Attested in source text

This term is attested in a manuscript used as a source for this translation.

AO Attested in other text

This term is attested in other manuscripts with a parallel or similar context.

AD Attested in dictionary
This term is attested in dictionaries matching Tibetan to the corresponding
language.

AA Approximate attestation
The attestation of this name is approximate. It is based on other names
where the relationship between the Tibetan and source language is attested
in dictionaries or other manuscripts.

RP Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the Tibetan phonetic rendering of the
term.

RS Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the semantics of the Tibetan
translation.

SU Source unspecified
This term has been supplied from an unspecified source, which most often
is a widely trusted dictionary.

g.1 asura
lha ma yin

་མ་ན།
asura
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
 A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views,
but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification
of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said
to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the
pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature
prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in
the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as
being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas (gods).

g.2 caretaker
zhal ta byed pa

ཞལ་ཏ་ད་པ།
vaiyāpṛtyakara
A monk in charge of providing for monastery residents and visitors. One of
several official administrative or managerial positions at a monastery.

g.3 concentration
bsam gtan

བསམ་གཏན།
dhyāna
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
Dhyāna is defined as one-pointed abiding in an undistracted state of mind,
free from afflicted mental states. Four states of dhyāna are identified as being
conducive to birth within the form realm. In the context of the Mahāyāna, it
is the fifth of the six perfections. It is commonly translated as
“concentration,” “meditative concentration,” and so on.

g.4 diligence
brtson ’grus

བན་འས།
vīrya
Diligence, perseverance, or joyful effort is the fourth of the six perfections.

g.5 Dīpaṅkaraśrījñāna
dI paM ka ra shrI dz+nyA na

་་ཀ་ར་ི་་ན།
dīpaṅkaraśrījñāna

g.6 discipline
 tshul khrims

ལ་མས།
śīla
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
Morally virtuous or disciplined conduct and the abandonment of morally
undisciplined conduct of body, speech, and mind. In a general sense, moral
discipline is the cause for rebirth in higher, more favorable states, but it is
also foundational to Buddhist practice as one of the three trainings (triśikṣā)
and one of the six perfections of a bodhisattva. Often rendered as “ethics,”
“discipline,” and “morality.”

g.7 eightfold path of the noble ones

’phags pa’i lam yan lag brgyad pa

འཕགས་པ་ལམ་ཡན་ལག་བད་པ།
āryāṣṭāṅgamārga
Right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right
effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

g.8 gandharva
dri za

་ཟ།
gandharva
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies,
sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically
to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the
Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who
serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the
mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state
between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances
(gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning
“scent eater.”

g.9 generosity
sbyin pa

ན་པ།
dāna
Generosity or giving is the first of the six perfections.
g.10 Gewé Lodrö
dge ba'i blo gros

ད་བ་་ོས།
—
One of the Tibetan translators of this sūtra.

g.11 insight
shes rab

ས་རབ།
prajñā
Insight or wisdom, understanding the nature of all compounded things as
emptiness, is the sixth of the six perfections.

g.12 Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta

’jam dpal gzhon nur gyur pa

འཇམ་དཔལ་གན་ར་ར་པ།
mañjuśrīkumārabhūta
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
Mañjuśrī is one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha” and a bodhisattva
who embodies wisdom. He is a major figure in the Mahāyāna sūtras,
appearing often as an interlocutor of the Buddha. In his most well-known
iconographic form, he is portrayed bearing the sword of wisdom in his right
hand and a volume of the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra in his left. To his name,
Mañjuśrī, meaning “Gentle and Glorious One,” is often added the epithet
Kumārabhūta, “having a youthful form.” He is also called Mañjughoṣa,
Mañjusvara, and Pañcaśikha.

g.13 Māra
bdud

བད།
māra
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
Māra, literally “death” or “maker of death,” is the name of the deva who tried
to prevent the Buddha from achieving awakening, the name given to the
class of beings he leads, and also an impersonal term for the destructive
forces that keep beings imprisoned in saṃsāra:
 (1) As a deva, Māra is said to be the principal deity in the Heaven of Making
Use of Others’ Emanations (paranirmitavaśavartin), the highest paradise in the
desire realm. He famously attempted to prevent the Buddha’s awakening
under the Bodhi tree —see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.1—and later sought
many times to thwart the Buddha’s activity. In the sūtras, he often also
creates obstacles to the progress of śrāvakas and bodhisattvas. (2) The devas
ruled over by Māra are collectively called mārakāyika or mārakāyikadevatā, the
“deities of Māra’s family or class.” In general, these māras too do not wish
any being to escape from saṃsāra, but can also change their ways and even
end up developing faith in the Buddha, as exemplified by Sārthavāha; see
The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.14 and 21.43. (3) The term māra can also be
understood as personifying four defects that prevent awakening, called (i)
the divine māra (devaputramāra), which is the distraction of pleasures; (ii) the
māra of Death (mṛtyumāra), which is having one’s life interrupted; (iii) the
māra of the aggregates (skandhamāra), which is identifying with the five
aggregates; and (iv) the māra of the afflictions (kleśamāra), which is being
under the sway of the negative emotions of desire, hatred, and ignorance.

g.14 Maudgalyāyana
maud gal gyi bu

ད་གལ་ི་།
maudgalyāyana
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
One of the principal śrāvaka disciples of the Buddha, paired with Śāriputra.
He was renowned for his miraculous powers. His family clan was
descended from Mudgala, hence his name Maudgalyāyana, “the son of
Mudgala’s descendants.” Respectfully referred to as Mahāmaudgalyāyana,
“Great Maudgalyāyana.”

g.15 Mount Meru

ri rab

་རབ།
meru
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
According to ancient Buddhist cosmology, this is the great mountain
forming the axis of the universe. At its summit is Sudarśana, home of Śakra
and his thirty-two gods, and on its flanks live the asuras. The mount has four
sides facing the cardinal directions, each of which is made of a different
precious stone. Surrounding it are several mountain ranges and the great
ocean where the four principal island continents lie: in the south,
 Jambudvīpa (our world); in the west, Godānīya; in the north, Uttarakuru; and
in the east, Pūrvavideha. Above it are the abodes of the desire realm gods. It
is variously referred to as Meru, Mount Meru, Sumeru, and Mount Sumeru.

g.16 nāga
klu

།
nāga
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments,
where they guard wealth and sometimes also teachings. Nāgas are
associated with serpents and have a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art
and in written accounts, they are regularly portrayed as half human and half
snake, and they are also said to have the ability to change into human form.
Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they
are disturbed. They may likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy
the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.

g.17 parinirvāṇa
yongs su mya ngan las ’das pa

ངས་་་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ།
parinirvāṇa
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
This refers to what occurs at the end of an arhat’s or a buddha’s life. When
nirvāṇa is attained at awakening, whether as an arhat or buddha, all
suffering, afflicted mental states (kleśa), and causal processes (karman) that
lead to rebirth and suffering in cyclic existence have ceased, but due to
previously accumulated karma, the aggregates of that life remain and must
still exhaust themselves. It is only at the end of life that these cease, and
since no new aggregates arise, the arhat or buddha is said to attain
parinirvāṇa, meaning “complete” or “final” nirvāṇa. This is synonymous with
the attainment of nirvāṇa without remainder (anupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa).

According to the Mahāyāna view of a single vehicle (ekayāna), the arhat’s

parinirvāṇa at death, despite being so called, is not final. The arhat must still
enter the bodhisattva path and reach buddhahood (see Unraveling the Intent,
Toh 106, 7.14.) On the other hand, the parinirvāṇa of a buddha, ultimately
speaking, should be understood as a display manifested for the benefit of
beings; see The Teaching on the Extraordinary Transformation That Is the Miracle of
Attaining the Buddha’s Powers (Toh 186), 1.32.
 The term parinirvāṇa is also associated specifically with the passing away of
the Buddha Śākyamuni, in Kuśinagara, in northern India.

g.18 path of the ten virtuous actions

dge ba bcu’i las kyi lam

ད་བ་བ་ལས་་ལམ།
daśakuśalakarmapatha
Not engaging in the paths of the ten nonvirtuous actions: killing, stealing,
sexual misconduct, lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, gossip,
covetousness, ill will, and wrong views.

g.19 patience
bzod pa

བད་པ།
kṣānti.
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
A term meaning acceptance, forbearance, or patience. As the third of the six
perfections, patience is classified into three kinds: the capacity to tolerate
abuse from sentient beings, to tolerate the hardships of the path to
buddhahood, and to tolerate the profound nature of reality. As a term
referring to a bodhisattva’s realization, dharmakṣānti (chos la bzod pa) can refer
to the ways one becomes “receptive” to the nature of Dharma, and it can be
an abbreviation of anutpattikadharmakṣānti, “forbearance for the unborn
nature, or nonproduction, of dharmas.”

g.20 prātimokṣa
so sor thar pa

་ར་ཐར་པ།
prātimokṣa
Prātimokṣa is the name given to the code of conduct binding on monks and
nuns. The term can be used to refer both to the disciplinary rules themselves
and to the texts from the Vinaya that contain them. There are multiple
recensions of the Prātimokṣa, each transmitted by a different monastic
fraternity in ancient and medieval India. Three remain living traditions, one
of them the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya of Tibetan Buddhism. Though the
numbers of rules vary across the different recensions, they are all organized
according to the same principles and with the same disciplinary categories.
It is customary for monastics to recite the Prātimokṣa Sūtra fortnightly.

g.21 Rājagṛha
 rgyal po’i khab

ལ་ ་ཁབ།
rājagṛha
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
The ancient capital of Magadha prior to its relocation to Pāṭaliputra during
the Mauryan dynasty, Rājagṛha is one of the most important locations in
Buddhist history. The literature tells us that the Buddha and his saṅgha
spent a considerable amount of time in residence in and around Rājagṛha—
in nearby places, such as the Vulture Peak Mountain (Gṛdhrakūṭaparvata), a
major site of the Mahāyāna sūtras, and the Bamboo Grove (Veṇuvana)—
enjoying the patronage of King Bimbisāra and then of his son King
Ajātaśatru. Rājagṛha is also remembered as the location where the first
Buddhist monastic council was held after the Buddha Śākyamuni passed
into parinirvāṇa. Now known as Rajgir and located in the modern Indian
state of Bihar.

g.22 Śākya Lodrö

shAkya blo gros

་་ོས།
—
One of the Tibetan translators of this sūtra.

g.23 Śāriputra
shA ri’i bu

་་།
śāriputra
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
One of the principal śrāvaka disciples of the Buddha, he was renowned for
his discipline and for having been praised by the Buddha as foremost of the
wise (often paired with Maudgalyāyana, who was praised as foremost in the
capacity for miraculous powers). His father, Tiṣya, to honor Śāriputra’s
mother, Śārikā, named him Śāradvatīputra, or, in its contracted form,
Śāriputra, meaning “Śārikā’s Son.”

g.24 śrāvaka
nyan thos

ཉན་ས།
śrāvaka
 Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
The Sanskrit term śrāvaka, and the Tibetan nyan thos, both derived from the
verb “to hear,” are usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the
Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily this refers to those disciples of
the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat seeking their own
liberation and nirvāṇa. They are the practitioners of the first turning of the
wheel of the Dharma on the four noble truths, who realize the suffering
inherent in saṃsāra and focus on understanding that there is no
independent self. By conquering afflicted mental states (kleśa), they liberate
themselves, attaining first the stage of stream enterers at the path of seeing,
followed by the stage of once-returners who will be reborn only one more
time, and then the stage of non-returners who will no longer be reborn into
the desire realm. The final goal is to become an arhat. These four stages are
also known as the “four results of spiritual practice.”

g.25 stūpa
mchod rten

མད་ན།
stūpa
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
The Tibetan translates both stūpa and caitya with the same word, mchod rten,
meaning “basis” or “recipient” of “offerings” or “veneration.” Pali: cetiya.

A caitya, although often synonymous with stūpa, can also refer to any site,
sanctuary or shrine that is made for veneration, and may or may not contain
relics.

A stūpa, literally “heap” or “mound,” is a mounded or circular structure

usually containing relics of the Buddha or the masters of the past. It is
considered to be a sacred object representing the awakened mind of a
buddha, but the symbolism of the stūpa is complex, and its design varies
throughout the Buddhist world. Stūpas continue to be erected today as
objects of veneration and merit making.

g.26 Sujāta
legs skyes

གས་ས།
sujāta
A past buddha.

g.27 thus-gone one

 de bzhin gshegs pa

་བན་གགས་པ།
tathāgata
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
A frequently used synonym for buddha. According to different explanations,
it can be read as tathā-gata, literally meaning “one who has thus gone,” or as
tathā-āgata, “one who has thus come.” Gata, though literally meaning “gone,”
is a past passive participle used to describe a state or condition of existence.
Tatha(tā), often rendered as “suchness” or “thusness,” is the quality or
condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in
conceptual, dualistic terms. Therefore, this epithet is interpreted in different
ways, but in general it implies one who has departed in the wake of the
buddhas of the past, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening
dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence
and quiescence. It is also often used as a specific epithet of the Buddha
Śākyamuni.

g.28 tīrthika
mu stegs can

་གས་ཅན།
tīrthika
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
Those of other religious or philosophical orders, contemporary with the early
Buddhist order, including Jains, Jaṭilas, Ājīvikas, and Cārvākas. Tīrthika
(“forder”) literally translates as “one belonging to or associated with
(possessive suffix –ika) stairs for landing or for descent into a river,” or “a
bathing place,” or “a place of pilgrimage on the banks of sacred streams”
(Monier-Williams). The term may have originally referred to temple priests at
river crossings or fords where travelers propitiated a deity before crossing.
The Sanskrit term seems to have undergone metonymic transfer in referring
to those able to ford the turbulent river of saṃsāra (as in the Jain
tīrthaṅkaras, “ford makers”), and it came to be used in Buddhist sources to
refer to teachers of rival religious traditions. The Sanskrit term is closely
rendered by the Tibetan mu stegs pa: “those on the steps (stegs pa) at the edge
(mu).”

g.29 trichiliocosm
stong gsum gyi ’jig rten gyi khams

ང་གམ་ི་འག་ན་ི་ཁམས།
 trisāhasralokadhātu
A universe containing one billion worlds.

g.30 Vulture Peak

bya rgod phung po’i ri

་ད་ང་ ་།
gṛdhrakūṭaparvata
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
The Gṛdhrakūṭa, literally Vulture Peak, was a hill located in the kingdom of
Magadha, in the vicinity of the ancient city of Rājagṛha (modern-day Rajgir,
in the state of Bihar, India), where the Buddha bestowed many sūtras,
especially the Great Vehicle teachings, such as the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras. It
continues to be a sacred pilgrimage site for Buddhists to this day.

g.31 Well-Gone One

bde bar gshegs pa

བ་བར་གགས་པ།
sugata
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
One of the standard epithets of the buddhas. A recurrent explanation offers
three different meanings for su- that are meant to show the special qualities
of “accomplishment of one’s own purpose” (svārthasampad) for a complete
buddha. Thus, the Sugata is “well” gone, as in the expression su-rūpa
(“having a good form”); he is gone “in a way that he shall not come back,” as
in the expression su-naṣṭa-jvara (“a fever that has utterly gone”); and he has
gone “without any remainder” as in the expression su-pūrṇa-ghaṭa (“a pot
that is completely full”). According to Buddhaghoṣa, the term means that the
way the Buddha went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su) and where he went (Skt.
gata) is good (Skt. su).

g.32 Wise Diligence

mkhas pa’i brtson ’grus

མཁས་པ་བན་འས།
—
A past bodhisattva.

g.33 worthy one

dgra bcom pa

ད་བམ་པ།
 arhat
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
According to Buddhist tradition, one who is worthy of worship (pūjām arhati),
or one who has conquered the enemies, the mental afflictions (kleśa-ari-hata-
vat), and reached liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. It is the
fourth and highest of the four fruits attainable by śrāvakas. Also used as an
epithet of the Buddha.

g.34 yakṣa
gnod sbyin

གད་ན།
yakṣa
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
A class of nonhuman beings who inhabit forests, mountainous areas, and
other natural spaces, or serve as guardians of villages and towns, and may
be propitiated for health, wealth, protection, and other boons, or controlled
through magic. According to tradition, their homeland is in the north, where
they live under the rule of the Great King Vaiśravaṇa.

Several members of this class have been deified as gods of wealth (these
include the just-mentioned Vaiśravaṇa) or as bodhisattva generals of yakṣa
armies, and have entered the Buddhist pantheon in a variety of forms,
including, in tantric Buddhism, those of wrathful deities.