Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text, attributed to Nāgārjuna, presents a synthesis of emptiness (śūnyatā) and compassion (karuṇā) as the foundation of bodhicitta. The author argues that the perceived self and external phenomena are illusory, comparing the aggregates to mirages and illusions to dismantle the grasper and the grasped. By employing a Mind-Only framework, the text explains the function of the ālaya-vijñāna as a non-real entity that sustains existence through dependence on the body. The argument moves from the ontological negation of inherent existence—asserting that the nature of mind is eternally non-existent—to the ethical necessity of the bodhisattva path. The reader is committed to a practice of diligent meditation on emptiness, balanced with a profound gratitude and commitment to liberate all sentient beings from the prison of existence. The work concludes that the realization of emptiness is not an end in itself but the catalyst for the Great Vehicle's mission of universal welfare.
Provenance
About this text
A commentary on the nature of bodhicitta, the Bodhicittavivaraṇa is attributed to the Indian author Nāgārjuna. The work entered the Tibetan tradition through the efforts of the translators Guṇākara and lo tsa ba rab zhi bshes gnyen. It is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ངི, where it comprises ten pages and is situated within the collection of the Guhyasamāja and Related Tantras. The text argues for the primordial unborn nature of the mind and the equality of the selflessness of phenomena, urging the practitioner to maintain the characteristic of emptiness while remaining moistened by compassion. By analyzing the aggregates, elements, and sense bases, the author dismantles the distinction between the grasper and the grasped, comparing perceptions to mirages and consciousness to illusions to demonstrate that the self is not found within the aggregates. A scholar or serious reader consults this classical Tibetan work to examine the synthesis of emptiness and compassion, and to study the reasoning used to negate inherent existence in favor of a diligent meditation on the bodhicitta of the Buddhas.
The work is significant for its integration of Madhyamaka-style negation of essence with Yogācāra concepts like the ālaya-vijñāna. It demonstrates how the philosophical realization of emptiness is intended to logically necessitate the altruistic motivation of the bodhisattva. For the modern reader, it provides a concise example of the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist effort to reconcile absolute voidness with relative compassion.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-8
Ontology of Emptiness
Analysis of the aggregates, the illusory nature of perception, the role of the ālaya-vijñāna, and the negation of inherent existence in mind and external objects.
9-11
Ethics of Compassion
The transition from philosophical negation to the practice of gratitude and the commitment to liberate sentient beings from suffering.
12-13
Conclusion and Dedication
Final exhortations on the welfare of others and the formal closing of the work attributed to Nāgārjuna.
Themes
The Illusory Nature of the Self (2-4)
Mind-Only and the Storehouse Consciousness (4-5)
Conceptual Construction vs. Emptiness (6-8)
Bodhicitta and Universal Compassion (9-11)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Bodhicittavivaraṇa-nāma. In the language of Tibet: Byang chub sems kyi ’grel pa zhes bya ba (The Commentary on Bodhicitta). Homage to the glorious Vajrasattva.
"Free from all entities,
Abandoning the grasped and the grasper
Of the aggregates, elements, and sense bases,
Through the equality of the selflessness of phenomena,
One’s own mind is primordially unborn,
The nature of emptiness." Thus it is said.
Just as the Buddhas, the Blessed Ones, and those great Bodhisattvas generated the mind of great enlightenment, so too, in order to liberate those sentient beings not yet liberated, to release those not yet released, to give breath to those who have not found breath, and to lead to parinirvāṇa those who have not passed beyond sorrow, I shall generate the mind of great enlightenment from this moment until I reach the heart of enlightenment.
Bodhisattvas who practice the way of the Secret Mantra, having thus generated the conventional bodhicitta characterized by aspiration, must then generate the ultimate bodhicitta through the power of meditation. Therefore, its nature shall be explained.
"Bowing to the glorious Vajrasattvas,
The very essence of bodhicitta,
I shall explain the meditation on bodhicitta
For the sake of destroying worldly existence."
The bodhicitta of the Buddhas is not obscured by the conceptualizations of a self or the perceptions of the aggregates and so forth.
Always maintain the characteristic of emptiness; with a mind moistened by compassion, one should meditate with diligence. This bodhicitta of the Buddhas, whose very nature is compassion, should be meditated upon constantly. When that self imagined by the non-Buddhists is analyzed through reasoning, it is not found to exist anywhere within the aggregates. The aggregates exist, but they are not permanent; furthermore, they are not the essence of a self. Since there is no entity of either permanence or impermanence that exists in the relationship of support and supported, if that which is called "self" does not exist, how could there be a permanent "agent"? If a substratum existed, then the engagement with phenomena would occur in the world; however, because a permanent thing cannot perform a function either successively or simultaneously, such a permanent entity does not exist externally or internally. If it were capable, why would it depend on anything? It would then produce its effects all at once. That which depends on other entities is neither permanent nor capable. If it were an entity, it would not be permanent, because all entities are momentary. Since the status of being an agent is not negated for impermanent entities, this world, which is devoid of a self and so forth, is dismantled by the intellect through the aggregates, elements, sense bases, and the duality of subject and object. Those who intend to be of benefit have taught the five aggregates—form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness—to the Śrāvakas. The Supreme among Bipeds has also always taught that form appears like a mass of foam, and feeling is like a bubble on the water.
Perception is like a mirage,
Formations are like a plantain tree,
And consciousness is like an illusion—
Thus were the aggregates taught
To the Bodhisattvas.
That which is of the nature of the four great elements
Is explained as the aggregate of form.
The remaining [aggregates] are formless;
They are established because they do not occur without [form].
The eyes, forms, and so forth,
Which are explained as the elements,
Should be understood as the sense bases
In terms of the apprehended and the apprehender.
A single particle of form does not produce a sensory consciousness,
For it is beyond the reach of the senses.
If it is argued that their collection produces it,
That collection is also not accepted.
When analyzed by way of directional parts,
Even a particle is seen to be divisible.
How can a particle be tenable
In that which is analyzed into parts?
Regarding a single external object,
Diverse cognitions arise.
That very form which is attractive to one
Becomes something else for another.
Regarding the single form of a woman,
There are three conceptualizations:
As a corpse, as an object of desire, and as food—
Just as for a wandering ascetic, a lustful person, and a dog.
Does not the performance of a function
By things that are similar in meaning
Occur, just as in the harm [caused] in a dream?
There is no difference in the performance of a function
Between the states of dreaming and waking.
Whatever appearance of consciousness
Arises in the form of apprehended and apprehender,
There is no external object at all
Distinct from that consciousness.
Therefore, in terms of the nature of things,
An external object does not exist in any way.
This appearance of consciousness as distinct [objects]...
Forms appear in various ways, just as beings with deluded minds perceive illusions, mirages, and the cities of gandharvas; so too do forms and the rest appear. To reverse the grasping at a self, the aggregates, elements, and so forth were taught. By abiding in Mind-Only, those of great fortune abandon even that. For the Proponents of Consciousness, this manifold variety is established as mind. What is the nature of consciousness? That shall now be explained. That which the Sage taught as "all these are Mind-Only" was for the sake of removing the fear of the childish, but it is not the ultimate reality. The imputed, the dependent, and the thoroughly established—these are the single essence of emptiness, analyzed as the nature of mind. For those who delight in the Mahāyāna, the equality of the selflessness of phenomena is taught: the mind is primordially unborn, as the Buddha summarized. The Yogācāras, having gained mastery over their own minds, describe the pure mind of the transformed basis as the domain of individual self-reflexive awareness. That which is past does not exist; that which is future has not yet been attained. Since the basis has been transformed, how could the present exist? It does not appear in the way it is; it does not exist in the way it appears. Consciousness is of a selfless nature; there is no consciousness without a support. Just as iron quickly revolves when near a magnet, the mind does not exist within it.
It possesses mind and becomes manifest; likewise, the ālaya-vijñāna, though not real, appears as if real, and when it moves in coming and going, it then sustains existence. Just as the ocean and the trees move even though they have no mind, so too the ālaya-vijñāna moves in dependence upon the body. If one thoroughly investigates that consciousness does not exist when the body is absent, then one must also explain what its individual self-cognition is like. By speaking of "individual self-cognition," it is described as a functional entity. To say "this is it" is impossible; it is also said to be inexpressible. In order to generate certainty in others just as one is certain oneself, the wise always engage without error. Through cognition, the object of cognition is realized; without an object of cognition, there is no cognition. If that is so, why not accept that there is neither the object of awareness nor the subject of awareness? Mind is a mere name; other than the name, nothing exists at all. One should view cognition as a mere name, and even the name is without intrinsic nature. Whether internally, externally, or in between the two, the Victors have not found the mind. Therefore, the mind is illusory by nature. Whether by distinctions of color and shape, or as the grasped and the grasper, or as male, female, neuter, and so forth, the essence of the mind does not abide. In brief, the Buddhas have not seen it, nor will they see it; it is of a nature that lacks intrinsic nature.
How could there be seeing? That which is called a "thing" is conceptual construction. That which is without conceptual construction is emptiness. Wherever conceptual construction appears, how could emptiness exist there? The Tathāgatas have not seen a mind characterized by the object of thought and the subject that thinks. Wherever the object of thought and the subject that thinks exist, there is no awakening. Without characteristics and without arising, not existing and beyond the path of speech, space and the mind of awakening are characterized by non-duality. The Buddhas, the great beings seated at the heart of awakening, and all those endowed with compassion, know at all times that emptiness is equal to space. Therefore, one should always meditate on this emptiness, the ground of all phenomena, peaceful and like an illusion, which destroys existence that is without foundation. Emptiness is called non-arising, emptiness, and selflessness. Those of inferior nature who meditate on it are not truly meditating on it. The Buddha taught that emptiness is characterized by the cessation of the stream of virtuous and non-virtuous conceptualizations; he did not intend for those other things to be emptiness. The state of the mind being without an object of observation is the characteristic of space. To meditate on those is intended as meditating on space. With the lion’s roar of emptiness, he strikes terror into all proponents. Wherever and whenever they reside, there and then emptiness prevails. Since consciousness is momentary, it is not permanent. If the mind is impermanent, [how could it be the Buddha?]
How could it be contradictory to emptiness? In brief, if the Buddhas maintain that the mind is impermanent, why would they not also maintain that the mind is emptiness? From the very beginning, the nature of the mind is eternally non-existent. It is not that an entity established by way of its own nature is said to be without nature. If one were to speak in that way, the mind’s own abiding would be abandoned. That which has transcended its own nature is neither a phenomenon nor a non-phenomenon. Just as molasses is sweet and the nature of fire is heat, likewise, the nature of all phenomena is asserted to be emptiness. By describing emptiness as the nature, one is not a proponent of nihilism; nor, by that, is anything asserted to be eternal. From ignorance up to old age, the activity of the twelve links of dependent origination is asserted by me to be like a dream or an illusion. This wheel of twelve links revolves upon the path of existence; other than that, there is no sentient being asserted to experience the results of karma. Just as the reflection of a face appears in dependence upon a mirror, yet it does not transfer there, and without it, that reflection does not exist, likewise, the wise should always ascertain that the linking of the aggregates and birth in another existence occurs without any transfer. In brief, from empty phenomena, empty phenomena arise. The Victorious One taught that the agent, the karma, and the experience of the result exist conventionally.
Just as the sound of a drum, and likewise a sprout, are produced by an assembly [of causes], external dependent origination is held to be similar to a dream or an illusion. That phenomena arise from causes is never contradictory; however, because a cause is empty of being a cause, it is realized to be without arising. The non-arising of phenomena is explained as emptiness. In brief, the five aggregates are explained as "all phenomena." By explaining that very reality as it is, the conventional continuum is not severed. Reality is not perceived as something separate from the conventional; the conventional is explained as emptiness, and emptiness alone is the conventional. Because they are certain not to occur without one another, they are like "produced" and "impermanent." The conventional arises from afflictions and karma; karma arises from the mind; the mind is accumulated by habitual tendencies. When free from habitual tendencies, there is bliss; the blissful mind is peace itself. When the mind is peaceful, one does not become deluded. Without delusion, there is the realization of reality; through the realization of reality, liberation is attained. Suchness, the limit of reality, the signless, the ultimate itself, the supreme bodhicitta, and emptiness are also explained as that very reality. Those who do not know emptiness are not the basis for liberation. Those deluded ones will wander in the prison of existence within the six realms. If a yogi meditates on this emptiness in such a way, there is no doubt that a mind attached to the welfare of others will arise.
Those who were my father and mother,
And those who were my kinsmen and friends
Who previously performed benefits for me—
Toward those sentient beings, I shall be grateful.
For sentient beings in the prison of existence,
Tormented by the fire of the afflictions,
Just as I have given them suffering,
So too is it right to bestow happiness.
The desirable and undesirable fruits
Of the world’s higher and lower realms
Arise from benefiting or harming
Sentient beings.
If by relying on sentient beings
The unsurpassed state of Buddhahood is attained,
Then what need is there to wonder
That the enjoyments of gods and humans—
Those enjoyed by Brahmā, Indra, Rudra,
And the World Protectors—
Were not brought about by merely benefiting
Sentient beings in these three realms?
The various forms of suffering
That sentient beings experience in the hells,
As animals, and as hungry ghosts,
Arise from harming sentient beings.
The suffering of hunger, thirst,
Mutual striking, and oppression,
Which is difficult to avert and inexhaustible,
Is the fruit of harming sentient beings.
The state of a Buddha and the mind of enlightenment,
As well as the higher and lower realms—
Know that the ripening of sentient beings
Is of two such natures.
One should serve all beings
And protect them like one’s own body.
One should strive to abandon attachment to sentient beings
As if it were poison.
Do the Śrāvakas, through their detachment,
Not attain a lesser enlightenment?
By not completely abandoning sentient beings, [one attains the supreme].
The Perfect Buddha attained enlightenment. Thus, when one examines how the results of benefit and harm arise, how could those [bodhisattvas] remain attached to their own interests for even a single moment? With compassion as their firm root, arising from the sprout of the awakening mind, the Sons of the Conquerors cultivate that enlightenment which has the sole result of benefiting others.
Those who, through such cultivation, become steadfast, are terrified by the suffering of others; even casting aside the bliss of meditative concentration, they enter even the Avīci hell. This is marvelous; this is worthy of praise; this is the supreme way of the sublime ones. It is not marvelous that they give away their own bodies and wealth. But to know that all phenomena are empty and yet to rely upon karma and its results—that is marvelous beyond marvel, wondrous beyond wonder.
Those whose intention is to protect sentient beings, though born from the mud of existence, are unsullied by the faults arising from it, like a lotus leaf in water. Although the Sons of the Conquerors, such as Samantabhadra, have burned the firewood of the afflictions, they are moistened by compassion in that way; being under the power of compassion, they display the descent, birth, and playful sports; the departure from the palace and the practice of austerities; the great enlightenment and the subduing of the hosts of Māra; the turning of the wheel of Dharma and the entering of all the gods; and likewise, they display the passing into parinirvāṇa.
Having emanated in the forms of Brahmā, Indra, Viṣṇu, Rudra, and so forth, through the application of taming migratory beings, they act.
The one whose nature is compassion performs the dance. For those weary of the path of existence, the Great Vehicle is taught for the sake of rest. Even the two types of wisdom that arise are taught, yet they are not the ultimate. As long as they are not exhorted by the Buddha, those śrāvakas, possessing a body of wisdom, will remain intoxicated by meditative absorption. Once exhorted, they become attached to the welfare of sentient beings through various forms; having accumulated the collections of merit and wisdom, they will attain the enlightenment of a Buddha. Because the latencies of duality still exist, they are said to have the seeds of latency. When those seeds and the collections come together, they produce the sprout of existence. The teachings of the Protectors of the World follow the inclinations and powers of sentient beings; thus, in the world, many methods appear in many different ways. Although the distinctions between the profound and the vast, or that which possesses the characteristics of both, are taught as different, emptiness and non-duality are not distinct. The dhāraṇīs, the stages, and the perfections of a Buddha—all these are taught by the Omniscient Ones as portions of the mind of enlightenment. Always acting for the benefit of sentient beings through body, speech, and mind, for those who speak of emptiness as a subject of dispute, there is no dispute of nihilism. Since that Great Being does not abide in either saṃsāra or nirvāṇa, the Buddhas have explained this as non-abiding nirvāṇa. It becomes merit of a single flavor with compassion, and emptiness becomes the supreme flavor.
For the sake of accomplishing the welfare of oneself and others, whoever drinks [this] is a child of the Conquerors. All things bow down to them; they are worthy of constant worship throughout the three realms of existence. To sustain the lineage of the Buddhas, those guides of the world remain. This bodhicitta is explained to be the supreme vehicle of the Mahāyāna. Through the effort of meditative equipoise, you must generate the bodhicitta. For the sake of accomplishing the welfare of oneself and others, there is no other means in existence. Apart from bodhicitta, the Buddha did not previously perceive any other method. The mass of merit obtained merely by generating bodhicitta—if it were to have a physical form—would exceed the fullness of space. If any person meditates on bodhicitta for even a single moment, the mass of their merit cannot be calculated even by the Victors. This jewel-like mind, free from afflictions, is the sole supreme wealth; it cannot be harmed or stolen by the thieves of the afflictions, Māra, and the like. Just as the aspirations of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas within saṃsāra are unwavering, so too should the minds of those intent on bodhicitta be made to incline toward it. With wonder, you should strive in what has been explained; thereafter, you will personally realize the conduct of Samantabhadra. Whatever incomparable merit I have today obtained by praising the bodhicitta praised by the supreme Victors—
By this, may sentient beings who have sunk into the turbulent waves of the ocean of existence proceed upon the path relied upon by the Lord of Bipeds. The Commentary on the Spirit of Enlightenment, composed by the great master, the noble Nāgārjuna, is complete. It was translated and edited by the Indian abbot Guṇākara and the translator Rabzhi Shényen. Later, it was revised by the Indian abbot Kanakavarma and the Tibetan translator Patsab Nyima Drak.
Translation status: Not among 84000's published translations. A bibliography of the canon lists 6 English-language publication(s) on this text, e.g. Lindtner, Christian, ″[Bodhicittavivarana]″ (1982). in Nagarjuniana. Copenhagen — these may include a full or partial translation. (source: 84000 catalogue + registry; checked 2026-11-10).
Set in Newsreader and EB Garamond; Tibetan in Noto Serif Tibetan; Chinese in Noto Serif SC.