Evaluating Whether Progress is Certain or Uncertain

In this sutra, Evaluating Whether Progress is Certain or Uncertain, (Skt. Niyatāniyatagatimudrāvatāra Tib. ངེས་པ་དང་མ་ངེས་པར་འགྲོ་བའི་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ལ་འཇུག་པ།, Wyl. nges pa dang ma nges par ‘gro ba’i phyag rgya la ‘jug pa) Manjushri asks the Buddha about the factors that make it either certain or not certain that a bodhisattva will attain unsurpassable, perfect awakening. In response, the Buddha describes five ways in which bodhisattvas may or may not make progress on the path. As an analogy for different ways of making progress, he compares five different ways of travelling a very great distance: using a cattle cart, using an elephant chariot, using the moon and sun, using the magical power of the shravakas, and using the magical power of the Tathagata.

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The Tibetan translation of this sutra can be found in the General Sutra section of the Tibetan Dergé Kangyur, Toh 202

• English translation: Evaluating Whether Progress is Certain or Uncertain