Yogacarabhumi

Yogacarabhumi or the Stages of Spiritual Practice (Skt. Yogācārabhūmi; Tib. རྣལ་འབྱོར་སྤྱོད་པའི་ས་, Wyl. rnal 'byor spyod pa'i sa), also called the Five Sections on the Stages (Tib. ས་སྡེ་ལྔ་, Wyl. sa sde lnga) — a major commentary by Asanga, which includes the famous chapter called the ‘Bodhisattva Bhumis’.

The five sections, from which the text receives its second name, are as follows:

1. The Main Treatise on the Stages (Wyl. sa'i dngos gzhi). This represents the central work of the text and comprises seventeen stages. The remaining four works are considered to be supplementary.
2. A Collection of Determinations (Wyl. rnam par gtan la dbab bdsdu ba), which presents discussions of additional topics that pertain to each of the seventeen sections of the Main Treatise on the Stages.
3. A Collection of Topics (Wyl. gzhi bsdu ba), which contains subject matter related to the Three Pitakas; the Sutras, Vinaya and Matrika or Abhidharma.
4. A Collection of Canonical Expressions (Wyl. rnam grangs bsdud ba ), which contains explanations of a broad range of canonical terms and expressions.
5. A Collection on Exegesis (Wyl. rnam par bshad pa bsdu ba), which addresses a variety of principles that pertain to explaining the Dharma in an effective manner.

Further Reading

• The introduction to The Bodhisattva Path to Unsurpassed Enlightenment: A Complete Translation of Bodhisattvabhumi (Tsadra), translated by Artemus B. Engle (Ithaca: Snow Lion, 2016).