Gayashirsa Hill

This sutra, Gayashirsa Hill, (Skt. Gayāśīrṣa; Tib. ག་ཡཱ་མགོའི་རི།, Wyl. ga yA mgo’i ri), is a pithy Buddhist scripture that describes various aspects of the Mahayana Buddhist path. Set on Gayashirsa, the hill near Bodhgaya from which its title is derived, the sutra presents its teaching in the form of the Buddha’s inward examination, a conversation between the Buddha and the bodhisattva Manjushri, and dialogues between Manjushri and three interlocutors—two gods and a bodhisattva. It provides a sustained but concise treatment of the progress toward awakening, the stages of aspiration for complete awakening, method and wisdom as the two broad principles of the bodhisattva path, and various classifications of bodhisattva practices. Multiple translations, commentaries, and citations of passages from Gayashirsa Hill attest to its wide influence in the Mahayana Buddhist communities of India, China, and Tibet.

Text

The Tibetan translation of this sutra can be found in the General Sutra section of the Tibetan Dergé Kangyur, Toh 109

• English translation: Gayāśīrṣa Hill