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See Braarvig 1994 for a more detailed exploration of Teaching the Practice of a Bodhisattva as a Mahāyāna critique, and its place among other texts that employ a young child as its main protagonist.
Braarvig (1994), p. 125. The Tibetan translation of this title is mdo kun las btus pa (“Compendium of Sūtras”), Toh 3934, Degé Tengyur vol. 110 (dbu ma, ki), folios 148.b–215.a.
The Denkarma inventory is dated to ca. 812
Lewis R. Lancaster, “K 532,” The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue, accessed October 19, 2018, http://www.acmuller.net/descriptive_catalogue/files/k0532.html.
Lewis R. Lancaster, “K 1227,” The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue, accessed October 19, 2018, http://www.acmuller.net/descriptive_catalogue/files/k1227.html.
The translation follows the reading ’od ni shel dag zla ba yi found in Y, J, K, N, C, H, and S. D and T read ’od ni shel dang zla ba yi.
This translation follows the variant ’di dang reported in Y, J, K, N, H, and S. D reads ’di dag.
The meaning of this verse is a bit obscure, but it is likely a reference to the role that maintaining the pratimokṣa vows of a fully ordained monastic plays in the purification of gifts that are offered to the saṅgha and the resulting merit that accrues to the donor. Here Ratnadatta is challenging Maudgalyāyana’s ability to perform one of the primary soteriological functions that the monastic saṅgha can perform for the lay donors who are their support by suggesting that Maudgalyāyana is unable to purify the gifts given in support of the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha because his understanding of the process of making offerings is tainted by apprehending/referentiality.
chos dang / chos ma yin pa; Skt.: dharmādharma. This phrase is translated here according to its more generalized connotations of what is right (dharma) and what is wrong (adharma), but might also be taken in a more exclusively Buddhist context to signify what is and is not accepted as “Dharma,” or the “fundamental truth” that the Buddha taught.
Here Ratnadatta likely refers to the known set of twelve links of causality that begin with ignorance.
D and S insert bdag cag here (i.e., “my prophecy”), which Braarvig’s edition does not do. C and N do not insert bdag cag. We have followed C, N, and Braarvig’s edition here. See Braarvig (1994), p. 154.
The stage of acceptance that is associated with the realization of an eighth bhūmi bodhisattva.
The essentially pure nature of mind is obscured and afflicted by various psychological defilements, which destroy the mind’s peace and composure and lead to unwholesome deeds of body, speech, and mind, acting as causes for continued existence in saṃsāra. Included among them are the primary afflictions of desire (rāga), anger (dveṣa), and ignorance (moha). It is said that there are eighty-four thousand of these negative mental qualities, for which the eighty-four thousand categories of the Buddha’s teachings serve as the antidote.
Kleśa is also commonly translated as “negative emotions,” “disturbing emotions,” and so on. The Pāli kilesa, Middle Indic kileśa, and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit kleśa all primarily mean “stain” or “defilement.” The translation “affliction” is a secondary development that derives from the more general (non-Buddhist) classical understanding of √kliś (“to harm,“ “to afflict”). Both meanings are noted by Buddhist commentators.
The name that the Buddha Śākyamuni gives in his prophecy of the boy Ratnadatta’s attainment of Buddhahood.
A major śrāvaka disciple and personal attendant of the Buddha Śākyamuni during the last twenty-five years of his life. He was a cousin of the Buddha (according to the Mahāvastu, he was a son of Śuklodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana, which means he was a brother of Devadatta; other sources say he was a son of Amṛtodana, another brother of King Śuddhodana, which means he would have been a brother of Aniruddha).
Ānanda, having always been in the Buddha’s presence, is said to have memorized all the teachings he heard and is celebrated for having recited all the Buddha’s teachings by memory at the first council of the Buddhist saṅgha, thus preserving the teachings after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa. The phrase “Thus did I hear at one time,” found at the beginning of the sūtras, usually stands for his recitation of the teachings. He became a patriarch after the passing of Mahākāśyapa.
The name of a bodhisattva. “Accomplished Limitless Intellect.”
The name of a bodhisattva. “Infinite Radiant Intellect.”
The name of a bodhisattva.
The name of a bodhisattva.
The name of a bodhisattva.
A term for the apprehending of a subject, an object, and the relationships that exist between subjects and objects. The term might also be translated as “referentiality,” meaning a system based on the existence of referent objects, referent subjects, and the referential relationships that exist between them. As part of their doctrine of “threefold non-apprehending/non-referentiality” (’khor gsum mi dmigs pa), Mahāyāna Buddhists famously assert that all three categories of apprehending lack substantiality.
The name of a bodhisattva.
The name of a bodhisattva. “Instantly Fragrant Blooming Flower.”
One of the “eight close sons of the Buddha,” he is also known as the bodhisattva who embodies compassion. In certain tantras, he is also the lord of the three families, where he embodies the compassion of the buddhas. In Tibet, he attained great significance as a special protector of Tibet, and in China, in female form, as Guanyin, the most important bodhisattva in all of East Asia.
The name of a bodhisattva. “Unerring Power.”
Momordica monadelpha, which has a bright red fruit.
In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).
An epistemological term that signifies the mental content that results from sensory contact, which is often understood as a kind of “image” that presents itself before the mind.
A single curled hair or tuft of hair located between the eyebrows of a buddha.
A thus-gone one of a previous eon who is famous for having issued the prophecy of Śākyamuni’s awakening as a Buddha.
One way of describing experience and the world in terms of eighteen elements (eye, form, and eye consciousness; ear, sound, and ear consciousness; nose, odor, and nose consciousness; tongue, taste, and tongue consciousness; body, touch, and body consciousness; mind, mental objects, and mind consciousness). It can also refer to the six elements of earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness.
An auspicious sign found on the chest of the Buddha. In non-Buddhist traditions it is also found on the chest of certain deities, such as Viṣṇu.
Teaching the Practice of the Bodhisattva lists these four as 1) knowing the Dharma; 2) awakening; 3) the Thus-Gone One; and 4) liberation.
The name of a bodhisattva.
The name of a bodhisattva. “Fragrant Sovereign King.”
The name of a hell realm. One of the eight hot hells.
The name of a bodhisattva.
A term for someone who follows the Vehicle of the Hearers or those who “hear” the teachings from a Buddha.
Tuṣita (or sometimes Saṃtuṣita), literally “Joyous” or “Contented,” is one of the six heavens of the desire realm (kāmadhātu). In standard classifications, such as the one in the Abhidharmakośa, it is ranked as the fourth of the six counting from below. This god realm is where all future buddhas are said to dwell before taking on their final rebirth prior to awakening. There, the Buddha Śākyamuni lived his preceding life as the bodhisattva Śvetaketu. When departing to take birth in this world, he appointed the bodhisattva Maitreya, who will be the next buddha of this eon, as his Dharma regent in Tuṣita. For an account of the Buddha’s previous life in Tuṣita, see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 2.12, and for an account of Maitreya’s birth in Tuṣita and a description of this realm, see The Sūtra on Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy, (Toh 199).
The lowest hell; the eighth of the eight hot hells.
The highest heaven of the form realm.
The mental factor responsible for ascertaining the specific qualities of a given object, such as its specific qualities or whether or not it should be taken up or rejected.
Jinamitra was invited to Tibet during the reign of King Tri Songdetsen (khri srong lde btsan, r. 742–98 ᴄᴇ) and was involved with the translation of nearly two hundred texts, continuing into the reign of King Ralpachen (ral pa can, r. 815–38 ᴄᴇ). He was one of the small group of paṇḍitas responsible for the Mahāvyutpatti Sanskrit–Tibetan dictionary.
The name of a bodhisattva. “Highest Summit.”
An important early monastery outside of Vaiśālī. The name Kūṭāgāraśālā means “hall with an upper chamber.” It refers to a temple with one ground-floor room and at least one additional upper room within the structure.
The name of a people that inhabited the Licchavi republican state located in present-day north India.
See “Maudgalyāyana.”
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.”
The bodhisattva Maitreya is an important figure in many Buddhist traditions, where he is unanimously regarded as the buddha of the future era. He is said to currently reside in the heaven of Tuṣita, as Śākyamuni’s regent, where he awaits the proper time to take his final rebirth and become the fifth buddha in the Fortunate Eon, reestablishing the Dharma in this world after the teachings of the current buddha have disappeared. Within the Mahāyāna sūtras, Maitreya is elevated to the same status as other central bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrī and Avalokiteśvara, and his name appears frequently in sūtras, either as the Buddha’s interlocutor or as a teacher of the Dharma. Maitreya literally means “Loving One.” He is also known as Ajita, meaning “Invincible.”
For more information on Maitreya, see, for example, the introduction to Maitreya’s Setting Out (Toh 198).
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.
Also called here Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta, literally “Youthful Mañjuśrī.”
See “Mañjuśrī.”
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.
Also called here Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta, literally “Youthful Mañjuśrī.”
See “Mañjuśrī.”
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.
See “Maudgalyāyana.”
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.”
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.
The name of a bodhisattva. “Meru’s Inner Chamber.”
This is an honorific term describing the Buddha Śākyamuni’s speech that invokes the use of sgra rgyan (śabdālaṁkāra), a term that signifies the use of various aspects of poetic speech.
An Indian Bengali paṇḍita resident in Tibet during the late eighth/early ninth centuries. Arriving in Tibet on an invitation from the Tibetan king, he assisted in the translation of numerous canonical scriptures. He is also the author of a few philosophical commentaries contained in the Tibetan Tengyur (bstan ’gyur) collection.
The name of a bodhisattva.
The name of a bodhisattva.
A three-year-old boy who plays the role of interlocutor in Teaching the Practice of a Bodhisattva.
The name of a bodhisattva.
The name of a bodhisattva.
byang chub sems dpa’i so sor thar pa chos bzhi sgrub pa zhes bya ba’i theg pa chen po’i mdo (Bodhisattvapratimokṣacatuṣkanirhāranāmamahāyānasūtra). Toh 248, Degé Kangyur vol. 66 (mdo sde, za), folios 46.b–59.a. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2024.
chos bzhi pa’i mdo (Caturdharmakasūtra). Toh 250, Degé Kangyur vol. 66 (mdo sde, za), folios 59.b–60.a. English translation in Pearcey 2023.
’phags pa byang chub sems dpa’i spyod pa bstan pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Bodhisattvacaryānirdeśasūtra). Toh 184, Degé Kangyur vol. 61 (mdo sde, tsa), folios 96.b–105.b.
’phags pa byang chub sems dpa’i spyod pa bstan pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Bodhisattvacaryānirdeśasūtra). bka’ ’gyur (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), 2006–2009, vol. 61, 263–87.
’phags pa byang chub sems dpa’i spyod pa bstan pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 60 (mdo sde, ta), folios 330.a–343.a.
’phags pa bzhi pa sgrub pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Āryacatuṣkanirhāranāmahāyānasūtra). Toh 252, Degé Kangyur vol. 66 (mdo sde, za), folios 61.a–69.b. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee (2020). [Full citation listed under works cited]
’phags pa chos bzhi bstan pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Āryacaturdharmanirdeśanāmamahāyānasūtra). Toh 249, Degé Kangyur vol. 66 (mdo sde, za), folios 59.a–59.b. English translation in Pearcey, Adam (2019). [Full citation listed under works cited]
’phags pa chos bzhi pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Āryacaturdharmakanāmamahāyānasūtra). Toh 251, Degé Kangyur vol. 66 (mdo sde, za), folios 60.b–61.a. English translation in Pearcey 2023.
pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos kyi ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag [Denkarma]. Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2004.
Monier-Williams, Sir Monier. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2005.
Negi, J.S. Tibetan-Sanskrit Dictionary (bod skad dang legs sbyar gyi tshig mdzod chen mo). 16 vols. Sarnath: Central Institute of higher Tibetan Studies, 1993.
Pearcey, Adam. trans. (2023). The Four Factors (Toh 250). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.
Pearcey, Adam. trans. (2023). The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra on the Four Factors (Toh 251). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Braarvig, Jens. “The Practice of the Bodhisattvas: Negative Dialectics and Provocative Arguments: Edition of the Tibetan text of the Bodhisattvacaryānirdeśa with a translation and introduction.” Acta Orientalia 55 (1994): 113–60.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. (2020). The Fourfold Accomplishment (Catuṣkanirhāra, Toh 252). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. (2024). The Accomplishment of the Sets of Four Qualities: The Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa (Bodhisattvaprātimokṣacatuṣkanirhāra, Toh 248). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.
dkar chag ’phang thang ma. Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Lancaster, Lewis R. The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue. Accessed October 19, 2018. http://www.acmuller.net/descriptive_catalogue/index.html.
Pearcey, Adam, trans. The Sūtra Teaching the Four Factors (Caturdharmanirdeśasūtra, Toh 249). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2019.
C Choné
D Degé
H Lhasa
J Lithang
K Kangxi
L London
N Narthang
S Stok
T Tokyo
Y Yongle
This sūtra takes place in the city of Vaiśālī, where the Buddha Śākyamuni and his retinue of monks have gone to gather alms. When the Buddha enters Vaiśālī a number of miracles occur in the city, and these draw the attention of a three-year-old boy named Ratnadatta. As the child encounters the Buddha, a dialogue ensues with the monks Maudgalyāyana and Śāriputra and the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, in which the boy delivers a teaching on the practice of bodhisattvas and a critique of those who fail to take up such practices.
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Anna Zilman and Adam Krug and edited by Andreas Doctor.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Teaching the Practice of a Bodhisattva opens in a forest on the outskirts of the city of Vaiśālī, where the Buddha Śākyamuni has been living with a great assembly of worthy ones and bodhisattvas. One morning the Buddha and his assembly proceed to Vaiśālī to beg for alms, and as Śākyamuni crosses the threshold of the city a number of miracles take place. Suddenly blind people can see, deaf people can hear, and all beings in all realms of existence are filled with joy. A three-year-old boy named Ratnadatta witnesses these miracles and asks his mother how they have come to pass, and his mother responds with a set of verses that outline the precious qualities, inconceivable realization, and physical marks of the Buddha.
This piques the boy Ratnadatta’s sense of devotion and adoration toward the Buddha, so he asks his mother to place him in the window so he might see the Thus-Gone One himself. As Śākyamuni and his assembly make their way to Ratnadatta’s door, he devises a plan to make an offering to the Buddha. Ratnadatta holds his toy, a thousand-petal golden lotus, in his hand and throws himself out of the window. Using his miraculous power, the Buddha halts Ratnadatta in midair, and, hovering there, the child tosses his golden lotus as an offering. The Buddha then performs another miracle by transforming it into a jeweled lotus parasol as Ratnadatta recites a short set of verses explaining his offering.
This opening narrative sets the stage for a sequence of dialogues between the three-year-old Ratnadatta and the Buddha’s close disciples Maudgalyāyana and Śāriputra as well as the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. Much in the same way that famous works such as the Vimalakīrtinirdeśasūtra and Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra frame Mahāyāna doctrine within an inversion of traditional hierarchies of authority, Teaching the Practice of a Bodhisattva places such esteemed elders as Maudgalyāyana and Śāriputra on the receiving end of a critique delivered by a three-year-old boy. This is a startling inversion and can be interpreted as a bodhisattva’s critique of the path leading to the attainment of a worthy one. Additionally, with its primary interlocutor being a small child, Teaching the Practice of a Bodhisattva can be classified together with a number of other works in which a young boy (dāraka) or girl (dārikā) boldly challenges one or more of the elder disciples of the Buddha and defeats them in philosophical debate.
The dialogues that unfold between Ratnadatta, Maudgalyāyana, Śāriputra, Mañjuśrī, and the Buddha Śākyamuni proceed through a series of critiques of the ābhidharmika theory of phenomena and the assumption that any object of apprehending can be the foundation for the attainment of unsurpassed and perfect awakening. At the center of this critique is Ratnadatta’s assertion that the true practice of a bodhisattva rejects any religious view or practice that involves grasping founded upon the mental activity of apprehending (dmigs pa, ālambana). Those who continue to engage in such grasping, the child Ratnadatta tells us, are nothing but “childish beings.” Ratnadatta delivers a critique of Buddhists who reject the doctrine of emptiness, construct a distinction between saṃsāra and nirvāṇa by imputing entities and their cessation, and mischaracterize insight (prajñā) as a “seed.” Ratnadatta’s teaching then concludes with a final bit of advice to Mañjuśrī on how to teach beginner bodhisattvas. This final teaching constitutes a complete inversion of the foundational elements of the cultivation of virtue in traditional Buddhism.
Teaching the Practice of a Bodhisattva appears to have been cited only once in the extant Indian commentarial literature, in the Sūtrasamuccaya attributed to Nāgārjuna. It appears in both the Denkarma and Phangthangma royal Tibetan inventories of translated works, indicating that the first Tibetan translation of the text was completed by the early ninth century. The translators’ colophon to the text tells us it was translated by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra (ca. eighth century) and Prajñāvarman (ca. eighth century) along with the chief editor-translator Yeshé Dé (ca. eighth century) and others, which pushes the date of the Tibetan translation back to the late eighth century. The text was translated into Chinese twice; the first translation (T. 1583) was produced by the Kaśmīri monk Guṇavarman in 431
This translation was prepared based on the Tibetan translation in the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the Comparative Edition (Tib. dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur. The translators and editors also benefited from consulting Jens Braarvig’s, edition, study, and translation of this text.
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling at the Kūṭāgāraśālā in the forest outside Vaiśālī together with a great assembly of one thousand monks. All of them were worthy ones whose defilements were exhausted. They were without afflictions and in control. Their minds were perfectly free, and their insight was perfectly liberated. They were of noble birth. They were great elephants who had completed their objectives and done what must be done. They had laid down their burdens and fulfilled their aims. They had eliminated that which binds to existence. Their minds had been perfectly liberated by correct knowledge. They had obtained supreme perfection in mastering all mental states. Their behavior was peaceful, disciplined, free, and natural. The only exception was Venerable Ānanda, but the Blessed One had instructed him in the practice as well, and he had been prophesied to become a worthy one in this life.
Also present were one thousand bodhisattvas. All of them had attained the stage free from regression. All of them had obtained retention. All of them possessed the patience of equanimity. All of them had reached the stage where one practices exactly what has been proclaimed. They were wise, honest, and faithful. They were extremely confident and exceedingly graceful. They always smiled and never frowned angrily. They were steadfast and successful. They had realized the nature of phenomena and never tired of teaching the Dharma. They had encountered the wisdom of a buddha and were bringing it to full maturity. They possessed unerring patience regarding allusive speech. They had attained the stage of being unmistaken regarding all objects. They knew the right time, season, occasion, and moment. They were free from agitation and arrogance. Their behavior was natural and perfect. They were skilled in the meditative absorption on emptiness. They had relinquished arising and disintegration. They possessed the meditative absorption on wishlessness. They had practiced bodhisattva conduct in cyclic existence for a long time. They possessed the meditative absorption on signlessness. They correctly understood the characteristics of all the content of mental constructs. They were skilled in maturing beings. They were free from ideation. They were skilled in the presentation of the Hearer Vehicle. They engaged in properly distinguishing the teachings of the Dharma. They taught the Solitary Buddha Vehicle. They praised tranquility. They inspired beings to become bodhisattvas. They behaved appropriately, teaching the Dharma without hatred or animosity.
Among them were the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta, Pratibhānakūṭa, Ratnapāṇi, Gandhaprabha, Anantaprabhāsamati, Apāyajaha, Siddhārthacintin, Guṇarājaprabhāsa, Sarvaśokāndhakārāpohamati, Sarvaviṣamadarśin, Tatsvabhāvāpratiṣṭhita, Anantamati, Vīrya, Vikramasaṃdarśakacintin, Ratnākara, Vyūharāja, Vikurvāṇarāja, Avyabhicāraprabhāva, Viśeṣamati, Samantaprāsādika, Anāvaraṇadarśin, Vikrīḍamāna, Suvarṇottamaprabhāśrī, Sarvadharmanityadarśanadhīmat, Āśugandhadānakusumita, Jyeṣṭhakūṭa, Aśokaśrī, Merudāra, Avalokiteśvara, Gandheśvararāja, Prāmodyarāja, Anantamatipratipatti, Sarvasaddharmāvismaraṇasthita, and the bodhisattva great being Siṃhanādābhinādin. Also dwelling with them were many thousands of other bodhisattvas.
One morning the Blessed One donned his lower and upper robes, took up his alms bowl, and went to collect alms in the city of Vaiśālī accompanied and attended by two thousand monks. As soon as the Blessed One placed his foot at the threshold of the city gates, the following wondrous miracles occurred, miracles that occur whenever the blessed buddhas enter a city: blind people gained sight, deaf people gained hearing, and the insane regained their senses. A rain of divine flowers fell, a bright light shone, and the roads became free of filth. The enchanting musical instruments of the gods resounded even without being played. All beings, from the Hell of Uninterrupted Torment up to the Highest Heaven, became completely happy.
At that time in the city of Vaiśālī there was a boy named Ratnadatta who had been born as the son of a Licchavi man named Siṃha. The three-year-old was sitting on his mother’s lap on the top floor of their house, and when he witnessed these miraculous signs, the boy Ratnadatta spoke the following verses to his mother:
Ratnadatta’s mother answered him in the following verses:
Then the boy Ratnadatta said to his mother, “Mother, put me in the window so I can see the Thus-Gone One,” so his mother sat him in the window. The Blessed One knew what Ratnadatta was thinking, so he walked right down his street. When the boy saw the Blessed One walking he thought, “Whoever sees the Thus-Gone One, who possesses all good qualities, and does not generate the mind of awakening is indeed unfortunate.” The Blessed One proceeded right up to Ratnadatta’s door and the boy thought, “Since it is difficult to meet such an extraordinary being even in a trillion eons, I should jump down from this house.”
With that thought, Ratnadatta placed his toy, a golden lotus with a hundred thousand petals, in the palm of his hand and jumped off the house. However, due to the Buddha’s power, he remained floating in midair. Ratnadatta then offered the golden lotus with a hundred thousand petals to the Blessed One. As soon as Ratnadatta let go of the lotus, the Blessed One transformed it into a lotus parasol adorned with a net of jewels, and it hovered in the sky directly above the Blessed One’s head. When that happened, the boy Ratnadatta recited the following verses:
Then, Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana recited the following verse to the boy Ratnadatta:
Ratnadatta replied to Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana with the following verses:
Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana replied to Ratnadatta, saying, “Child, tell me, has the Thus-Gone One not become a complete buddha who has manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening? Furthermore, has he not taught the Dharma?”
“Maudgalyāyana,” Ratnadatta replied, “a wise person should not conceptualize awakening or formulate opinions about the Thus-Gone One. They should not impute concepts such as the thought that phenomena do not arise, the thought that all phenomena are conditioned, or the thought that all phenomena are unconditioned. They should not impute concepts such as ‘all phenomena arise, do not arise, are existent, or are nonexistent,’ ‘grasping and letting go,’ ‘meeting and separating,’ ‘going, coming, remaining, transmigrating, phenomena associated with attachment, hatred, and delusion, and right and wrong.’ They should not impute the concept that ‘ignorance and the like up to and including the qualities of hearers, the qualities of solitary buddhas, the qualities of the buddhas, the factors of pollution, the factors of purification, the physical and nonphysical, perception and lack of perception, marks and lack of marks, pure conduct, sameness, difference, body, mind, and all correct and incorrect qualities arise.’ So you tell me, Maudgalyāyana—do you think the thus-gone ones are complete buddhas who manifest unsurpassed and perfect awakening?”
Maudgalyāyana replied, “That is not the case.”
The boy said, “Do you assert that the thus-gone ones are not included in suchness, that awakening is not included in suchness, or that ordinary beings are not included in suchness?”
Maudgalyāyana said, “That is not the case.”
“Maudgalyāyana,” the boy responded, “do you conceptualize the lack of conceptualization?”
“I teach by means of the conventions of the world,” Maudgalyāyana replied.
The boy continued, “Maudgalyāyana, the world is a fake, deceptive, and illusory appearance that tricks childish beings.”
“If the world is a fake and deceptive phenomenon,” said Maudgalyāyana, “then this teaching is also a fake and deceptive phenomenon. Why, then, do you teach it?”
“Maudgalyāyana,” answered the boy, “phenomena cannot be demonstrated. They cannot be demonstrated, attained, actualized, abandoned, understood, or meditated upon.”
Maudgalyāyana replied, “If that is the case, what is the point of you making an offering to the Thus-Gone One?”
“Maudgalyāyana,” the boy asked, “do you apprehend a Thus-Gone One, someone who gives a gift, or an act of giving?”
Venerable Maudgalyāyana remained silent, so the boy Ratnadatta continued, “Maudgalyāyana, with this in mind, I have given up becoming a thus-gone one and say those who form the resolve set on the vehicle of the hearers ‘are indeed unfortunate.’ ”
Maudgalyāyana replied,
Ratnadatta replied with the following verses:
Venerable Śāriputra then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, how long has this boy Ratnadatta practiced this teaching?”
The Blessed One replied, “When the thus-gone one Dīpaṁkara gave his prophecy that I would attain acceptance of the nonarising of phenomena, at that point he was foremost among those bodhisattvas who abided in emptiness according to Dīpaṁkara’s teachings. At the moment when I first generated the mind set on unsurpassed and perfect awakening, three hundred thousand eons had passed since he attained acceptance.”
“Blessed One,” asked Śāriputra, “what cause and what conditions are responsible for the boy Ratnadatta not becoming a complete buddha who has manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening?”
“You should ask Ratnadatta himself this question. He will tell you,” the Blessed One responded.
So Venerable Śāriputra asked the boy Ratnadatta, “Why have you not become a complete buddha who has manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening?”
“The reason I do not become a complete manifest buddha,” Ratnadatta replied, “is that I do not apprehend unsurpassed and perfect awakening.”
“If that is so,” Śāriputra asked, “since this thus-gone one is a complete manifest buddha, do you apprehend him?”
Ratnadatta replied, “If someone grasps at the Thus-Gone One as a complete manifest buddha, and if he becomes the referent object of that grasping, then the Dharma he teaches will not cause that person to become a complete manifest buddha, and it will not even bring about renunciation.”
“Since you equate complete maturation with accomplishing the four factors, what is your acceptance based on?” Śāriputra asked.
The boy Ratnadatta replied, “I do not perceive even a single phenomenon that is truly established, much less four. What is there truly established in them? ‘Knowing the Dharma’ is apprehending. ‘Awakening’ is apprehending. ‘The Thus-Gone One’ is grasping. ‘Liberation’ is a mental construct.”
“Son of the lineage,” Śāriputra replied, “what a wonder that you experience things in this way and that you have attained such a miraculous birth whereby you were born in the presence of the buddhas and will always go forth!”
Ratnadatta then replied with the following verses:
This sūtra takes place in the city of Vaiśālī, where the Buddha Śākyamuni and his retinue of monks have gone to gather alms. When the Buddha enters Vaiśālī a number of miracles occur in the city, and these draw the attention of a three-year-old boy named Ratnadatta. As the child encounters the Buddha, a dialogue ensues with the monks Maudgalyāyana and Śāriputra and the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, in which the boy delivers a teaching on the practice of bodhisattvas and a critique of those who fail to take up such practices.
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Anna Zilman and Adam Krug and edited by Andreas Doctor.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Teaching the Practice of a Bodhisattva opens in a forest on the outskirts of the city of Vaiśālī, where the Buddha Śākyamuni has been living with a great assembly of worthy ones and bodhisattvas. One morning the Buddha and his assembly proceed to Vaiśālī to beg for alms, and as Śākyamuni crosses the threshold of the city a number of miracles take place. Suddenly blind people can see, deaf people can hear, and all beings in all realms of existence are filled with joy. A three-year-old boy named Ratnadatta witnesses these miracles and asks his mother how they have come to pass, and his mother responds with a set of verses that outline the precious qualities, inconceivable realization, and physical marks of the Buddha.
This piques the boy Ratnadatta’s sense of devotion and adoration toward the Buddha, so he asks his mother to place him in the window so he might see the Thus-Gone One himself. As Śākyamuni and his assembly make their way to Ratnadatta’s door, he devises a plan to make an offering to the Buddha. Ratnadatta holds his toy, a thousand-petal golden lotus, in his hand and throws himself out of the window. Using his miraculous power, the Buddha halts Ratnadatta in midair, and, hovering there, the child tosses his golden lotus as an offering. The Buddha then performs another miracle by transforming it into a jeweled lotus parasol as Ratnadatta recites a short set of verses explaining his offering.
This opening narrative sets the stage for a sequence of dialogues between the three-year-old Ratnadatta and the Buddha’s close disciples Maudgalyāyana and Śāriputra as well as the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. Much in the same way that famous works such as the Vimalakīrtinirdeśasūtra and Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra frame Mahāyāna doctrine within an inversion of traditional hierarchies of authority, Teaching the Practice of a Bodhisattva places such esteemed elders as Maudgalyāyana and Śāriputra on the receiving end of a critique delivered by a three-year-old boy. This is a startling inversion and can be interpreted as a bodhisattva’s critique of the path leading to the attainment of a worthy one. Additionally, with its primary interlocutor being a small child, Teaching the Practice of a Bodhisattva can be classified together with a number of other works in which a young boy (dāraka) or girl (dārikā) boldly challenges one or more of the elder disciples of the Buddha and defeats them in philosophical debate.
The dialogues that unfold between Ratnadatta, Maudgalyāyana, Śāriputra, Mañjuśrī, and the Buddha Śākyamuni proceed through a series of critiques of the ābhidharmika theory of phenomena and the assumption that any object of apprehending can be the foundation for the attainment of unsurpassed and perfect awakening. At the center of this critique is Ratnadatta’s assertion that the true practice of a bodhisattva rejects any religious view or practice that involves grasping founded upon the mental activity of apprehending (dmigs pa, ālambana). Those who continue to engage in such grasping, the child Ratnadatta tells us, are nothing but “childish beings.” Ratnadatta delivers a critique of Buddhists who reject the doctrine of emptiness, construct a distinction between saṃsāra and nirvāṇa by imputing entities and their cessation, and mischaracterize insight (prajñā) as a “seed.” Ratnadatta’s teaching then concludes with a final bit of advice to Mañjuśrī on how to teach beginner bodhisattvas. This final teaching constitutes a complete inversion of the foundational elements of the cultivation of virtue in traditional Buddhism.
Teaching the Practice of a Bodhisattva appears to have been cited only once in the extant Indian commentarial literature, in the Sūtrasamuccaya attributed to Nāgārjuna. It appears in both the Denkarma and Phangthangma royal Tibetan inventories of translated works, indicating that the first Tibetan translation of the text was completed by the early ninth century. The translators’ colophon to the text tells us it was translated by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra (ca. eighth century) and Prajñāvarman (ca. eighth century) along with the chief editor-translator Yeshé Dé (ca. eighth century) and others, which pushes the date of the Tibetan translation back to the late eighth century. The text was translated into Chinese twice; the first translation (T. 1583) was produced by the Kaśmīri monk Guṇavarman in 431
This translation was prepared based on the Tibetan translation in the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the Comparative Edition (Tib. dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur. The translators and editors also benefited from consulting Jens Braarvig’s, edition, study, and translation of this text.
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling at the Kūṭāgāraśālā in the forest outside Vaiśālī together with a great assembly of one thousand monks. All of them were worthy ones whose defilements were exhausted. They were without afflictions and in control. Their minds were perfectly free, and their insight was perfectly liberated. They were of noble birth. They were great elephants who had completed their objectives and done what must be done. They had laid down their burdens and fulfilled their aims. They had eliminated that which binds to existence. Their minds had been perfectly liberated by correct knowledge. They had obtained supreme perfection in mastering all mental states. Their behavior was peaceful, disciplined, free, and natural. The only exception was Venerable Ānanda, but the Blessed One had instructed him in the practice as well, and he had been prophesied to become a worthy one in this life.
Also present were one thousand bodhisattvas. All of them had attained the stage free from regression. All of them had obtained retention. All of them possessed the patience of equanimity. All of them had reached the stage where one practices exactly what has been proclaimed. They were wise, honest, and faithful. They were extremely confident and exceedingly graceful. They always smiled and never frowned angrily. They were steadfast and successful. They had realized the nature of phenomena and never tired of teaching the Dharma. They had encountered the wisdom of a buddha and were bringing it to full maturity. They possessed unerring patience regarding allusive speech. They had attained the stage of being unmistaken regarding all objects. They knew the right time, season, occasion, and moment. They were free from agitation and arrogance. Their behavior was natural and perfect. They were skilled in the meditative absorption on emptiness. They had relinquished arising and disintegration. They possessed the meditative absorption on wishlessness. They had practiced bodhisattva conduct in cyclic existence for a long time. They possessed the meditative absorption on signlessness. They correctly understood the characteristics of all the content of mental constructs. They were skilled in maturing beings. They were free from ideation. They were skilled in the presentation of the Hearer Vehicle. They engaged in properly distinguishing the teachings of the Dharma. They taught the Solitary Buddha Vehicle. They praised tranquility. They inspired beings to become bodhisattvas. They behaved appropriately, teaching the Dharma without hatred or animosity.
Among them were the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta, Pratibhānakūṭa, Ratnapāṇi, Gandhaprabha, Anantaprabhāsamati, Apāyajaha, Siddhārthacintin, Guṇarājaprabhāsa, Sarvaśokāndhakārāpohamati, Sarvaviṣamadarśin, Tatsvabhāvāpratiṣṭhita, Anantamati, Vīrya, Vikramasaṃdarśakacintin, Ratnākara, Vyūharāja, Vikurvāṇarāja, Avyabhicāraprabhāva, Viśeṣamati, Samantaprāsādika, Anāvaraṇadarśin, Vikrīḍamāna, Suvarṇottamaprabhāśrī, Sarvadharmanityadarśanadhīmat, Āśugandhadānakusumita, Jyeṣṭhakūṭa, Aśokaśrī, Merudāra, Avalokiteśvara, Gandheśvararāja, Prāmodyarāja, Anantamatipratipatti, Sarvasaddharmāvismaraṇasthita, and the bodhisattva great being Siṃhanādābhinādin. Also dwelling with them were many thousands of other bodhisattvas.
One morning the Blessed One donned his lower and upper robes, took up his alms bowl, and went to collect alms in the city of Vaiśālī accompanied and attended by two thousand monks. As soon as the Blessed One placed his foot at the threshold of the city gates, the following wondrous miracles occurred, miracles that occur whenever the blessed buddhas enter a city: blind people gained sight, deaf people gained hearing, and the insane regained their senses. A rain of divine flowers fell, a bright light shone, and the roads became free of filth. The enchanting musical instruments of the gods resounded even without being played. All beings, from the Hell of Uninterrupted Torment up to the Highest Heaven, became completely happy.
At that time in the city of Vaiśālī there was a boy named Ratnadatta who had been born as the son of a Licchavi man named Siṃha. The three-year-old was sitting on his mother’s lap on the top floor of their house, and when he witnessed these miraculous signs, the boy Ratnadatta spoke the following verses to his mother:
Ratnadatta’s mother answered him in the following verses:
Then the boy Ratnadatta said to his mother, “Mother, put me in the window so I can see the Thus-Gone One,” so his mother sat him in the window. The Blessed One knew what Ratnadatta was thinking, so he walked right down his street. When the boy saw the Blessed One walking he thought, “Whoever sees the Thus-Gone One, who possesses all good qualities, and does not generate the mind of awakening is indeed unfortunate.” The Blessed One proceeded right up to Ratnadatta’s door and the boy thought, “Since it is difficult to meet such an extraordinary being even in a trillion eons, I should jump down from this house.”
With that thought, Ratnadatta placed his toy, a golden lotus with a hundred thousand petals, in the palm of his hand and jumped off the house. However, due to the Buddha’s power, he remained floating in midair. Ratnadatta then offered the golden lotus with a hundred thousand petals to the Blessed One. As soon as Ratnadatta let go of the lotus, the Blessed One transformed it into a lotus parasol adorned with a net of jewels, and it hovered in the sky directly above the Blessed One’s head. When that happened, the boy Ratnadatta recited the following verses:
Then, Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana recited the following verse to the boy Ratnadatta:
Ratnadatta replied to Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana with the following verses:
Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana replied to Ratnadatta, saying, “Child, tell me, has the Thus-Gone One not become a complete buddha who has manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening? Furthermore, has he not taught the Dharma?”
“Maudgalyāyana,” Ratnadatta replied, “a wise person should not conceptualize awakening or formulate opinions about the Thus-Gone One. They should not impute concepts such as the thought that phenomena do not arise, the thought that all phenomena are conditioned, or the thought that all phenomena are unconditioned. They should not impute concepts such as ‘all phenomena arise, do not arise, are existent, or are nonexistent,’ ‘grasping and letting go,’ ‘meeting and separating,’ ‘going, coming, remaining, transmigrating, phenomena associated with attachment, hatred, and delusion, and right and wrong.’ They should not impute the concept that ‘ignorance and the like up to and including the qualities of hearers, the qualities of solitary buddhas, the qualities of the buddhas, the factors of pollution, the factors of purification, the physical and nonphysical, perception and lack of perception, marks and lack of marks, pure conduct, sameness, difference, body, mind, and all correct and incorrect qualities arise.’ So you tell me, Maudgalyāyana—do you think the thus-gone ones are complete buddhas who manifest unsurpassed and perfect awakening?”
Maudgalyāyana replied, “That is not the case.”
The boy said, “Do you assert that the thus-gone ones are not included in suchness, that awakening is not included in suchness, or that ordinary beings are not included in suchness?”
Maudgalyāyana said, “That is not the case.”
“Maudgalyāyana,” the boy responded, “do you conceptualize the lack of conceptualization?”
“I teach by means of the conventions of the world,” Maudgalyāyana replied.
The boy continued, “Maudgalyāyana, the world is a fake, deceptive, and illusory appearance that tricks childish beings.”
“If the world is a fake and deceptive phenomenon,” said Maudgalyāyana, “then this teaching is also a fake and deceptive phenomenon. Why, then, do you teach it?”
“Maudgalyāyana,” answered the boy, “phenomena cannot be demonstrated. They cannot be demonstrated, attained, actualized, abandoned, understood, or meditated upon.”
Maudgalyāyana replied, “If that is the case, what is the point of you making an offering to the Thus-Gone One?”
“Maudgalyāyana,” the boy asked, “do you apprehend a Thus-Gone One, someone who gives a gift, or an act of giving?”
Venerable Maudgalyāyana remained silent, so the boy Ratnadatta continued, “Maudgalyāyana, with this in mind, I have given up becoming a thus-gone one and say those who form the resolve set on the vehicle of the hearers ‘are indeed unfortunate.’ ”
Maudgalyāyana replied,
Ratnadatta replied with the following verses:
Venerable Śāriputra then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, how long has this boy Ratnadatta practiced this teaching?”
The Blessed One replied, “When the thus-gone one Dīpaṁkara gave his prophecy that I would attain acceptance of the nonarising of phenomena, at that point he was foremost among those bodhisattvas who abided in emptiness according to Dīpaṁkara’s teachings. At the moment when I first generated the mind set on unsurpassed and perfect awakening, three hundred thousand eons had passed since he attained acceptance.”
“Blessed One,” asked Śāriputra, “what cause and what conditions are responsible for the boy Ratnadatta not becoming a complete buddha who has manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening?”
“You should ask Ratnadatta himself this question. He will tell you,” the Blessed One responded.
So Venerable Śāriputra asked the boy Ratnadatta, “Why have you not become a complete buddha who has manifested unsurpassed and perfect awakening?”
“The reason I do not become a complete manifest buddha,” Ratnadatta replied, “is that I do not apprehend unsurpassed and perfect awakening.”
“If that is so,” Śāriputra asked, “since this thus-gone one is a complete manifest buddha, do you apprehend him?”
Ratnadatta replied, “If someone grasps at the Thus-Gone One as a complete manifest buddha, and if he becomes the referent object of that grasping, then the Dharma he teaches will not cause that person to become a complete manifest buddha, and it will not even bring about renunciation.”
“Since you equate complete maturation with accomplishing the four factors, what is your acceptance based on?” Śāriputra asked.
The boy Ratnadatta replied, “I do not perceive even a single phenomenon that is truly established, much less four. What is there truly established in them? ‘Knowing the Dharma’ is apprehending. ‘Awakening’ is apprehending. ‘The Thus-Gone One’ is grasping. ‘Liberation’ is a mental construct.”
“Son of the lineage,” Śāriputra replied, “what a wonder that you experience things in this way and that you have attained such a miraculous birth whereby you were born in the presence of the buddhas and will always go forth!”
Ratnadatta then replied with the following verses: