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The Bodhisattva Ideal: Selected Key Texts
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Description
A selection of key texts on the "Bodhisattva Ideal", collected, edited, and arranged by Thupten Jinpa. The collection includes an important commentary on the Bodhicaryāvatāra (སྤྱོད་འཇུག་འགྲེལ་པ་ལེགས་པར་བཤད་པའི་རྒྱ་མཚོ།, translated by Julia Stenzel) and the famous The Thirty Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva (རྒྱལ་སྲས་ལག་ལེན་སོ་བདུན་མ།) by Tokmé Zangpo; Notes on the Śikṣāsamuccaya (བསླབ་བཏུས་ཟིན་བྲིས།) by Tsongkhapa; and seven other texts. The Tibetan text was edited and published in 2006 as in the Tibetan Classics Series number 11: bod kyi gtsug lag gces btus. Translation work began in 2021 with funding from Tsadra Foundation, with publication in 2026.
“This remarkable book is a carefully curated collection of the very best Tibetan writing on the awakening mind, the bodhisattva path, and Mahayana ethics. Beautifully translated with a very useful introduction to the literature, this latest volume of the Library of Tibetan Classics will be essential reading for anyone interested in the theory and practice of the bodhisattva ideal.” —José Ignacio Cabezón, Dalai Lama Professor Emeritus, University of California, Santa Barbara
Citation
Jinpa, Thupten, and Julia Stenzel, trans. The Bodhisattva Ideal: Selected Key Texts. Library of Tibetan Classics 11. New York: Wisdom Publications, 2026.
Publisher Link
Table of contents
- Preface xiii
- Translator’s Introduction 1
- Technical Note 37
- Melodies of Mahayana Teaching Verses Distilling Thirty-Four Birth Stories of the Compassionate Teacher - Yongzin Yeshé
Gyaltsen 41 - An Ocean of Excellent Discourses: A Commentary on Guide to the Bodhisattva Way Thokmé Sangpo - Translation by
Julia Stenzel 51- 1. The Benefits of the Awakening Mind 55
- 2. The Confession of Negative Actions 73
- 3. Upholding the Awakening Mind 93
- 4. Conscientiousness 99
- 5. Guarding Awareness 109
- 6. Forbearance 131
- 7. Diligence 153
- 8. Meditation 167
- 9. Wisdom (translated by Thupten Jinpa) 197
- 10. Dedication 239
- A Concise Summary of the Compendium of Training by Tsongkhapa Losang Drakpa 249
- Illuminating the Essential Meaning of the Madhyamaka Text Precious Garland - Gyaltsab Darma Rinchen 285
- 1. Separate Presentations of Higher Rebirth and the Highest Good 293
- 2. Alternating Explanations of Higher Rebirth and the Highest Good 339
- 3. The Collections for Awakening 375
- 4. On Royal Policy 407
- 5. The Trainings for Both Monastics and the Laity 447
- Sun Illuminating the Mahayana Path: A Brief Explanation of How to Practice the Bodhisattva Path Based on Combining the
Topics of Ornament of Mahayana Sutras and the Bodhisattva Ground - Thuken Chökyi Nyima 483 - Thirty-Seven Practices of the Bodhisattva - Thokmé Sangpo 535
- Mahayana Mind Training Aspiring for Others’ Welfare - Chenga Lodrö Gyaltsen 545
- Garland of Ambrosial Rays of Altruism: A Concise Presentation of the Bodhisattva Precepts - Changkya Rölpai Dorjé 555
- A Brief Presentation of Essential Practice of the Bodhisattva Precepts - Dza Paltrul Rinpoché 591
- Appendix 1. Ārya Maitreya’s Aspirational Prayer 603
- Appendix 2. Table of Tibetan Transliteration 607
- Notes 611
- Glossary 677
- Bibliography 689
- Index 707
- About the Contributors 721
Interconnections
7 Full translation of
Gyalse Tokme Zangpo's (1295–1369) highly influential work on Mind Training (blo sbyong) that outlines the training of a bodhisattva in a series of thirty-seven verses is still very popular today with Buddhist practitioners around the world. The colophon states: "This was composed at the Jewel Cave of Ngulchu by the monk Tokme [Zangpo], expounder of scripture and reasoning, for the benefit of myself and others." Since he gathered together all the paths of the bodhisattvas and composed them in the form of thirty-seven verses, the title is clearly fitting.
This is mainly a word commentary (tshig 'grel) with an elaborate topical outline (sa bcad). Occasionally, the author also mentions how early Indian commentators interpreted certain points or words differently.
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"Notes taken by Jamyang Chöje during the extensive teachings on the Compendium of Training by Je Rinpoche [Tsongkhapa] at Reting Monastery."
Garland of Ambrosial Rays of Altruism is a condensed practical guide by Changkya Rölpai Dorje to the bodhisattva vow, composed in accordance with Tsongkhapa's teachings. Structured in four parts, it covers how to properly take the vow, how to guard it once taken, how to restore it if transgressed, and the benefits of upholding it. The bulk of the text is a detailed enumeration of the vow's infractions — nineteen root infractions (defeats) drawn from Maitreya's Bodhisattva Ground and Śāntideva's Compendium of Training, and forty-five or forty-six secondary misdeeds — explaining for each what mental states and actions constitute a violation, what factors make it more or less serious, and what circumstances exempt a practitioner from fault. The overall intent is practical and ethical: to give bodhisattvas a clear and actionable map of the precepts so they can uphold them carefully, purify transgressions when they occur, and thereby progress toward enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.
In The Sun That Illuminates the Excellent Path of the Great Vehicle, Thüken identifies Asaṅga's Bodhisattvabhūmi as the highest form of a "meaning commentary" (don 'grel). He argues that its primary function is not to be read in isolation, but to be studied as an essential companion to foundational texts like the Ornament of Mahāyāna Sūtras. According to Thüken, the Bodhisattvabhūmi brilliantly supplements these other works by expanding on abbreviated topics, clarifying difficult points, and, most importantly, reframing abstract concepts from the direct perspective of a practitioner.
Basic advice on mental training in Mahāyāna. (BDRC). Focuses on how to strengthen altruism. (Jinpa 2026)
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A Brief Presentation of Essential Practice of the Bodhisattva Precepts is a concise verse text presenting the complete framework of the bodhisattva path and vow in seven topics: the lineage and origin of the teachings, the benefits of bodhicitta, its essence and etymology, its divisions, how to receive the vow, and the actual precepts. The heart of the text is a detailed but compact treatment of the precepts themselves, organized around the threefold ethics of restraint (avoiding root infractions), gathering virtue (the six perfections and mind training practices including the four immeasurables, equalizing and exchanging self and others, and the four dark and light factors), and working for the welfare of others. Throughout, the text emphasizes mindfulness and meta-awareness as the essential tools for upholding the vow, and grounds the entire practice in the motivation of bodhicitta — the wish to attain buddhahood for the benefit of all beings. The tone is systematic and practical, drawing on Maitreya, Asaṅga, Śāntideva, and the lamrim tradition, and concluding with aspirational verses dedicating the merit to all beings.
