Gyalse Tokme Zangpo wrote these thirty-seven verses in fourteenth-century Tibet. Each page below carries one verse with its commentaries. To read one teacher straight through, or compare them side by side, use the study browser.
About the text
What is the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva?
A fourteenth-century Tibetan Buddhist text by Gyalse Tokme Zangpo (1295–1369). In thirty-seven short verses it lays out the whole path of a bodhisattva, someone who trains to benefit all beings: from valuing this human life, through meeting harm with patience, to dedicating every virtue to others. It belongs to the lojong, or mind-training, tradition. Garchen Rinpoche calls it the heart of his teaching and recommends it to all his students.
Who wrote it, and where?
Gyalse Tokme Zangpo (1295–1369), a Tibetan master who lived for many years in retreat at Ngulchu. The closing verses say it was composed in Jewel Cave (Rinchen Puk) in Ngulchu, “for his own and others’ benefit.”
How is the text organised?
An homage and statement of purpose, 37 verses in seven parts, and closing verses. The parts are The preliminaries (1–7), The three capacities (8–10), Exchanging self and other (11), Transforming adversity (12–21), Ultimate bodhicitta (22–24), The six paramitas (25–30) and Final precepts, daily conduct (31–37).
Which commentaries and translations are gathered here?
Commentary from seven teachers: Garchen Rinpoche, H.H. the Dalai Lama, Dr. Alexander Berzin, Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, Khenpo Sodargye, Ven. Thubten Chodron and Ken McLeod. The root text appears in three translations: Garchen Institute, Adam Pearcey and Ken McLeod. Every entry links to its source.
How can I study it with others?
Start a small peer-led study group. The free facilitator toolkit gives opening prayers, a ten-week format covering three or four verses a session, and guidance for leading without being a teacher. Registered groups are invited to a monthly live Q&A with Olga Kornyushyna, a Ukrainian student of Garchen Rinpoche whose wartime commentary on the text is being brought into English.