Sutra on Reliance Upon a Spiritual Friend

Sutra on Reliance Upon a Virtuous Spiritual Friend (Skt. kalyāṇamitrasevanasūtra; Tib. དགེ་བའི་བཤེས་གཉེན་བསྟེན་པའི་མདོ་, gewe shé nyen tenpé do, Wyl. dge ba’i bshes gnyen bsten pa’i mdo) — just before he passed away, Buddha Shakyamuni reminded his disciples of the importance of living with a qualified spiritual teacher. Ananda, the Blessed One’s attendant, attempted to confirm his teacher’s statement, saying that a virtuous spiritual friend is indeed half of one’s spiritual life. Correcting his disciple’s understanding, the Buddha explains that a qualified guide is the whole of, rather than half of the holy life, and that by relying upon a spiritual friend, beings will be released from birth and attain liberation from all types of suffering.

Tibetan Text

• Derge Kangyur, General Sutra Section, Toh 300
• Read the Tibetan text online at Tibetan Buddhist Resource Centre
  • English translation: The Sutra on Reliance Upon a Virtuous Spiritual Friend