A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva

A fresh translation and commentary to Tibet’s most famous text on living like a bodhisattva

What are bodhisattvas and what do they practice? In the fourteenth century, the Tibetan Buddhist master Gyalse Tokme Zangpo answered these questions in a classic teaching on mind training (lojong) called the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva. This text consists of short slogans outlining the core of the Buddhist path of compassion that continues to inspire modern-day Buddhist masters, including the Dalai Lama and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

The most well-known commentary to the Thirty-Seven Practices is by the twentieth-century master Dzatrul Ngawang Tenzin, which is translated here along with a meditation instruction for the first time. Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, who commissioned this translation, provides an informative overview to the history of the text and commentary, introducing the reader to the world of Tibet’s most widely studied text.