Introduction

i.1Proper Dharma Conduct takes place in the Jeta’s Grove at Śrāvastī, where the Buddha resides with a great gathering of bodhisattvas. Knowing that these bodhisattvas have questions regarding proper Dharma conduct, the Buddha decides to teach on this topic. The Buddha first makes a short cryptic statement that seems to go against the conventions of proper behavior for bodhisattvas. For example, at one point the Buddha says, “Noble sons, be terrified, be without joy, be without love, and be without compassion.” When the bodhisattvas inquire as to the meaning of this statement, the Buddha elaborates, “ ‘Terrified’ means being terrified by the levels of the hearers and the solitary buddhas. ‘Without joy’ means not finding any joy in the formless attainments. ‘Without love’ means relinquishing outer phenomena. ‘Without compassion’ means giving away personal body parts, such as the head. That is the proper conduct.” These statements are followed by explanations of their underlying meaning that, it becomes apparent, fully agree with the central conventions of the Bodhisattva Vehicle. As a result of listening to his teaching, many gods and bodhisattvas are able to progress on the path.

i.2Very little is known about the literary history of this text. A Sanskrit version of this sūtra is no longer extant, and it appears that it was never translated into Chinese. Hence, the only witness of this sūtra available is the Tibetan translation included in the Kangyur. In the absence of any Sanskrit witness or Chinese translation, it is difficult to determine much about the history of this scripture in India and East Asia, apart from noting the fact that its absence in the Chinese canon may indicate a relatively narrow circulation in India. The colophon of the Tibetan translation states that it was produced by Prajñāvarman and Yeshé Dé, thus locating its translation in the late eighth or early ninth century. This dating is also confirmed by the text’s inclusion in the Denkarma Catalog of the early ninth century ᴄᴇ. The translation presented here was based primarily on the Degé edition, in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace manuscript edition.