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

Who is a bodhisattva 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.
Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, Ngawang Tenzin Norbu, Snow Lion Publications, Hardcover, 312 pp, $29.95

DZATRUL NGAWANG TENZIN NORBU (1867-1940/42), author, 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), translator, 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.

CONTENTS: Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva
Foreword by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche		ix
Editors' Preface		xiii
Translator's Acknowledgments		xv
Translator's Introduction		xvii
Part One: The Root Text
The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva		1
Part Two: The Commentary
The Excellent Nectar: The Union of Scripture and Oral Instructions		11
Homage		13
Introduction		15
1.	Precious Human Birth	19
2.	Abandoning One's Homeland	27
3.	Relying on Solitary Places	31
4.	Remembering Impermanence	33
5.	Abandoning Bad Friends	39
6.	Relying on Good Friends	43
7.	Going for Refuge	53
8.	Lesser Beings	59
9.	Middling Beings	71
10.	Giving Rise to the Supreme Intention of Bodhichitta	77
11.	Meditation of Exchanging Self and Others	85
12.	Taking to the Path Not Getting What You Want	89
13.	Taking Suffering to the Path	91
14.	Taking Blame to the Path	93
15.	Taking Denigration to the Path	95
16.	Taking Ingratitude to the Path	97
17.	Taking Others' Contempt to the Path	99
18.	Taking Loss to the Path	101
19.	Taking Gain to the Path	105
20.	Taking Objects of Aggression to the Path	109
21.	Taking Objects of Attachment to the Path	113
22.	Meditative Equipoise Free from Clinging to Elaborations	121
23.	Abandoning Taking Objects of Attachment as Truly Existent	125
24.	Abandoning Taking Objects of Aversion as Truly Existent	127
25.	The Means of Generosity	131
26.	The Means of Discipline	137
27.	The Means of Patience	143
28.	The Means of Diligence	149
29.	The Means of Meditative Concentration	155
30.	The Wisdom of Prajna	175
31.	Examining and Abandoning One's Confusion	189
32.	Abandoning Speaking of the Faults of Bodhisattvas	193
33.	Abandoning Attachment to the Homes of Patrons	197
34.	Abandoning Harsh Speech	199
35.	The Trainings for Abandoning the Mental Afflictions	203
36.	Training in Accomplishing Others' Benefit through Mindfulness and Attentiveness	207
37.	Training in Dedicating Virtue to Perfect Enlightenment	211
Summary		215
Part Three: The Sadhana
The Swift Path to Awakening: A Supplementary Practice That Breaks "The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva" into Sessions		221
Appendix 1: Outline of the Commentary		243
Appendix 2: Lineage Chart of the Kadampa Teachings		247
Notes		249
Selected Bibliography		265
Index		267
About the Translator		275