Sutra on Reliance Upon a Spiritual Friend

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Sutra on Reliance Upon a Virtuous Spiritual Friend (Skt. kalyāṇamitrasevanasūtra; Tib. དགེ་བའི་བཤེས་གཉེན་བསྟེན་པའི་མདོ་, gewe shé nyen tenpé do, Wyl. dge ba’i bshes gnyen bsten pa’i mdo) — just before he passed away, Buddha Shakyamuni reminded his disciples of the importance of living with a qualified spiritual teacher. Ananda, the Blessed One’s attendant, attempted to confirm his teacher’s statement, saying that a virtuous spiritual friend is indeed half of one’s spiritual life. Correcting his disciple’s understanding, the Buddha explains that a qualified guide is the whole of, rather than half of the holy life, and that by relying upon a spiritual friend, beings will be released from birth and attain liberation from all types of suffering.[1]

Tibetan Text

References

  1. 84000 Translating the Words of the Buddha.