The Seal of Engagement in Awakening the Power of Faith

The Seal of Engagement in Awakening the Power of Faith (Skt. Śraddhābalādhānāvatāramudrā; Tib. དད་པའི་སྟོབས་བསྐྱེད་པ་ལ་འཇུག་པའི་ཕྱག་རྒྱ།, Wyl. dad pa’i stobs bskyed pa la ’jug pa’i phyag rgya) is a sutra made up of two lengthy orations—one by the Buddha, and one by the bodhisattva Samantabhadra—delivered in response to questions by the bodhisattva Manjushri. The Buddha’s teaching consists of instructions in sets of five principles related to the practice of a bodhisattva. These come together to teach Manjushri how bodhisattvas can be inspired and thereby prepare themselves for the first bodhisattva level. In the latter part of the sutra Samantabhadra teaches on the topic of buddha activity with a rich account of the expansive ways in which buddhas act to benefit beings.

Text

No complete Sanskrit manuscript of the sūtra remains, but the text is cited several times in Indian works.

Tibetan Translation

The Tibetan translation of this sutra can be found in the General Sutra section of the Tibetan Dergé Kangyur, Toh 201. The Tibetan translation is attributed to the Indian preceptor Surendrabodhi and the prolific translator Yeshé Dé.

• English translation: The Seal of Engagement in Awakening the Power of Faith