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

Who are bodhisattvas and what do they practice? In the fourteenth century, the Tibetan Buddhist master Gyalse Tokmé Zangpo answered these questions in a now classic teaching called the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva. This text, consisting of inspiring verses distilling the entire Mahayana path of compassion, continues to inspire modern-day Buddhist masters, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

One of the most important commentaries on the Thirty-Seven Practices is by the twentieth-century master Dzatrul Ngawang Tenzin Norbu, known as the Buddha of Dza Rongphu, and is translated here along with associated meditation instructions for the first time. Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, who requested this translation by Christopher Stagg, provides an informative overview to the history of the text and commentary, introducing the reader to the world of one of Tibet's most widely studied texts.

DZATRUL NGAWANG TENZIN NORBU (1867-1940/42) was an accomplished Tibetan Buddhist master who founded a monastery on the northern slopes of Mount Everest where he lived. He was the primary teacher of the late Trulshik Rinpoche, a teacher of the fourteenth Dalai Lama, and the former head of the Tibetan Nyingma lineage. He is especially known for his insightful commentaries on the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva.

CHRISTOPHER STAGG (1977-2018) trained under the guidance of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche and was a beloved translator and Buddhist teacher for Nalandabodhi International. He previously translated The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa.