37 Practices of a Bodhisattva – Text

Translations | Training, Life, Traditional

A Summary of How an Awakening Being Behaves

by Tokmé Zong-po (Thogs.med bzang.po, 1245-1369)

Namo Lokesvaraya

You who see that experience has no coming or going,Yet pour your energy solely into helping beings,My excellent teachers and Lord All Seeing,I humbly and constantly honor with my body, speech, and mind.

The fully awake, the buddhas, source of joy and well-being,All come from integrating the noble Way.Because integration depends on your knowing how to practice,I will explain the practice of all bodhisattvas.

Right now, you have a good boat, fully equipped and available — hard to find.To free others and you from the sea of samsara,Day and night, fully alert and present,Study, reflect, and meditate — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

Attraction to those close to you catches you in its currents;Aversion to those who oppose you burns inside;Indifference that ignores what needs to be done is a black hole.Leave your homeland — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

Don’t engage disturbances and reactive emotions gradually fade away;Don’t engage distractions and spiritual practice naturally grows;Keep awareness clear and vivid and confidence in the way arises.Rely on silence — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

You will separate from long-time friends and relatives;You will leave behind the wealth you worked to build up;The guest, your consciousness, will move from the inn, your body.Forget the conventional concerns — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

With some friends, the three poisons keep growing,Study, reflection, and meditation weaken,And loving kindness and compassion fall away.Give up bad friends — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

With some teachers, your shortcomings fade away andAbilities grow like the waxing moon.Hold such teachers dear to you,Dearer than your own body — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

Locked up in the prison of their own patterningWhom can ordinary gods protect?Who can you count on for refuge?Go for refuge in the Three Jewels — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

The suffering in the lower realms is really hard to endure.The Sage says it is the result of destructive actions.For that reason, even if your life is at risk,Don’t engage in destructive actions — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

The happiness of the three worlds disappears in a moment,Like a dewdrop on a blade of grass.The highest level of freedom is one that never changes.Aim for this — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

10If all your mothers, who love you,Suffer for time without beginning, how can you be happy?To free limitless sentient beings,Give rise to awakening mind — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

11All suffering comes from wanting your own happiness.Complete awakening arises from the intention to help others.So, exchange completely your happinessFor the suffering of others — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

12Even if someone, driven by desperate want,Steals, or makes someone else steal, everything you own,Dedicate to him your body, your wealth, andAll the good you’ve ever done or will do — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

13Even if you have done nothing wrong at allAnd someone still tries to take your head off,Spurred by compassion,Take all his or her evil into you — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

14Even if someone broadcasts to the whole universeSlanderous and ugly rumors about you,In return, with an open and caring heart,Praise his or her abilities — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

15Even if someone humiliates you and denounces youIn front of a crowd of people,Think of this person as your teacherAnd humbly honor him — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

16Even if a person you have cared for as your own childTreats you as his or her worst enemy,Lavish him or her with loving attentionLike a mother caring for her ill child — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

17Even if your peers or subordinates,Put you down to make themselves look better,Treat them respectfully as you would your teacher:Put them above you — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

18When you are down and out, held in contempt,Desperately ill, and emotionally crazed,Don’t lose heart. Take into youThe suffering and negativity of all beings — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

19Even when you are famous, honored by all,And as rich as the god of wealth himself,Don’t be pompous. Know that the magnificence of existenceHas no substance — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

20If you don’t subdue the opponent inside, your own anger,Although you subdue opponents outside, they just keep coming.Muster the forces of loving kindness and compassionAnd subdue your own mind — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

21Sensual pleasures are like salty water:The deeper you drink, the thirstier you become.Any object that you attach to,Right away, let it go — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

22Whatever arises in experience is your own mind.Mind itself is free of any conceptual limitations.Know that and don’t generateSubject-object fixations — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

23When you come across something you enjoy,Though beautiful to experience, like a summer rainbow,Don’t take it as real.Let go of attachment — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

24All forms of suffering are like dreaming that your child has died.Taking confusion as real wears you out.When you run into misfortune,Look at it as confusion — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

25If those who want to be awake have to give even their bodies,What need is there to talk about things that you simply own.Be generous, not lookingFor any return or result — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

26If you can’t tend to your needs because you have no moral discipline,Then intending to take care of the needs of others is simply a joke.Observe ethical behavior without concernFor conventional existence — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

27For bodhisattvas who want to be rich in virtueA person who hurts you is a precious treasure.Cultivate patience for everyone,Completely free of irritation or resentment — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

28Listeners and solitary buddhas, working only for their own welfare,Are seen to practice as if their heads were on fire.To help all beings, pour your energy into practice:It’s the source of all abilities — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

29Understanding that emotional reactions are dismantledBy insight supported by stillness,Cultivate meditative stability that passes right byThe four formless states — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

30Without wisdom, the five perfectionsAre not enough to attain full awakening.Cultivate wisdom, endowed with skillAnd free from the three domains — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

31If you don’t go into your own confusion,You may just be a materialist in practitioner’s clothing.Constantly go into your own confusionAnd put an end to it — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

32You undermine yourself when you react emotionally andGrumble about the imperfections of other bodhisattvas.Of the imperfections of those who have entered the Great Way,Don’t say anything — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

33When you squabble with others about status and rewards,You undermine learning, reflection, and meditation.Let go of any investment in your family circleOr the circle of those who support you — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

34Abusive language upsets othersAnd undermines the ethics of a bodhisattva.So, don’t upset people orSpeak abusively — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

35When reactive emotions acquire momentum, it’s hard to make remedies work.A person in attention wields remedies like weapons,Crushing reactive emotions such as cravingAs soon as they arise — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

36In short, in everything you do,Know what is happening in your mind.By being constantly present and awareYou bring about what helps others — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

37To dispel the suffering of beings without limit,With wisdom freed from the three spheresDirect all the goodness generated by these effortsTo awakening — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

Following the teachings of the holy onesOn what is written in the sutras, tantras, and commentaries,I set out these thirty-seven practices of a bodhisattvaFor those who intend to train in this path.

Because I have limited intelligence and little education,These verses are not the kind of poetry that delights the learned.But because I relied on the teachings of the sutras and the reveredI am confident that The Practices of a Bodhisattva is sound.

However, because it’s hard for a person with limited intelligence like meTo fathom the depths of the great waves of the activity of bodhisattvas,I ask the revered to tolerateAny mistakes — contradictions, non sequiturs, and such.

From the goodness of this work, may all beings,Through the supreme mind that is awake to what is ultimately and apparently true,Not rest in any limiting position — existence or peace:May they be like Lord All Seeing.

Tokmé, the monk, a teacher of scripture and logic, composed this text in a cave near the town of Ngülchu Rinchen for his own and others’ benefit.