Teaching the Practice of a Bodhisattva

This sutra, Teaching the Practice of a Bodhisattva (Skt. Bodhisattvacaryānirdeśa; Tib. བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་སྤྱོད་པ་བསྟན་པ།, Wyl. byang chub sems dpa’i spyod pa bstan pa) takes place in the city of Vaishali, where the Buddha Shakyamuni and his retinue of monks have gone to gather alms. When the Buddha enters Vaishali a number of miracles occur in the city, and these draw the attention of a three-year-old boy named Ratnadatta. As the child encounters the Buddha, a dialogue ensues with the monks Maudgalyayana and Shariputra and the bodhisattva Manjushri, in which the boy delivers a teaching on the practice of bodhisattvas and a critique of those who fail to take up such practices.

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The Tibetan translation of this sutra can be found in the General Sutra section of the Tibetan Kangyur, Toh 184

• English translation: Teaching the Practice of a Bodhisattva