The 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva
The 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva ( རྒྱལ་སྲས་ལག་ལེན་སོ་བདུན་མ་) is a vital Lojong (Mind Training) text composed by Gyalsé Tokmé Zangpo (རྒྱལ་སྲས་དངུལ་ཆུ་ཐོགས་མེད་ or ཐོགས་མེད་བཟང་པོ་) 1297-1371: an extremely learned scholar of teachings from all traditions; who, as well as being able to teach with total confidence on a multitide of subjects and texts, also had the ability to fully to take upon himself the suffering of others and to give them his wellbeing. During his lifetime he served as Abbott of Bodong E Monastery.
In 37 verses, this text advises us how we can travel the Path of the Bodhisattva.
The 2006 Lotsawa House translation by Adam Pearcey can be found here:
https://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/gyalse-thogme-zangpo/37-practices-all-bodhisattvas
The Nyingma master Kyabjé Trulshik Rinpoche explains that:
- The Eight Verses of Training the Mind represents the short version of Lojong;
- The 37 Practices provides us with a medium version;
- and Shantideva’s Bodhicharyavatara is the extensive version
The latter is taught by Ringu Tulku here:
Ringu Tulku’s Daring Steps Towards Fearlessness: The Three Vehicles of Buddhism, Snow Lion, 2005 includes a commentary on these 37 Practices; but here at Glasgow Samye Dzong in May of 2008, Rinpoche provides a commentary over 4 x hourly sessions.
Rinpoche previously taught this text in at Todtmoos Au in Germany in 1995 and at Samye Dzong Barcelona in 1996 and 1997, all three of which can be found here:
Rinpoche later taught the text in Halscheid in Germany in 2023:
For more information, visit: https://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/gyalse-thogme-zangpo/37-practices-all-bodhisattvas
