Gyalse Tokme Zangpo · 1295–1369

The 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva

The Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas is a Tibetan poem of thirty-seven short verses, composed by Gyalse Tokme Zangpo in the fourteenth century at the Jewel Cave (Rinchen Puk) at Ngulchu, Tibet. Each verse names one practice and ends with the refrain "this is the practice of a bodhisattva." The text moves from the value of a human life, through refuge and the three capacities, to exchanging self and others, working with adversity, the six perfections, and daily conduct.

Each page below gives the verse in three English translations and a summary of what seven teachers, from Garchen Rinpoche to the Dalai Lama, say about it.