FULL TEXT
Description
Letter to a Friend (Skt. Suhṛllekha; Tib. བཤེས་པའི་སྤྲིང་ཡིག་, shepé tring yik, Wyl. bshes pa'i spring yig) — a śāstra by Nāgārjuna, which belongs to his Collection of Advice.
Nāgārjuna (1st-2nd century A.D.) wrote this celebrated poem as a letter of advice to his friend King Gautamiputra/Satavahana.
This advice gives a concise and comprehensive introduction to the entire path and practice of Buddhism. It guides both householders and the ordained onto the path leading to liberation and enlightenment. The instructions are of special interest to those who wish to take up spiritual activity while continuing to live and work in society; they are meant to convey the whole meaning of the Dharma to the ordinary person in a language and style that are easy to understand.
Despite its short length (123 verses), it covers the whole Mahāyāna path with unusual clarity and memorable imagery; thus it is widely quoted by Tibet's great masters and scholars in the many commentaries they have written on the Buddhist path. (Source Accessed Feb 13, 2026)| Reference | Nāgārjuna. suhṛllekha [सुहृल्लेख]. bshes pa'i spring yig [བཤེས་པའི་སྤྲིང་ཡིག]. [Letter to a Friend (84000)]. Translated by Ska ba dpal brtsegs. Tengyur, RKTST 3520 http://www.rkts.org/cat.php?id=3520&typ=2. |
|---|---|
| People | Nāgārjuna, Kawa Paltsek, Sarvajñādeva |
