“Venture into the sacred depths of Nāgārjuna’s Precious Garland (Ratnāvalī), where Chapter 5 blossoms as a radiant guide for Bodhisattvas yearning for swift liberation, their hearts alight with the wish to free all beings. Here, the path unfolds like a celestial stairway, each step a virtue to embrace, each defect a shadow to release, leading toward the boundless expanse of enlightenment. With words as tender as a lotus petal and as firm as Mount Meru, Nāgārjuna invites you to cultivate the perfections, ascend the ten grounds, and whisper aspirations that echo through infinite worlds. Join this luminous journey, where every verse kindles the flame of compassion and wisdom, guiding you to become a beacon of awakening for all sentient beings.”

Last update: August 25, 2025

Content:

• • 1. Brief teachings of what is to be adopted and discarded by Bodhisattva householders and monastics 401-402

  • 2. Extensive exposition 403-487

    • a. Forsaking fifty-seven defects 403-34b (2)

      • (1) Extensive explanation of fifty-seven defects to be forsaken [by both householders and monastics] 403-433

        • (a) The first fifteen, anger, etc. 403-412 (2)

          • 1' One through fourteen, anger, etc. 403-406b

          • 2' Pride 406c-412

        • (b) From hypocrisy to the forty-first, not thinking of death 413-425

        • (c) The forty-second, proclaiming one's own good qualities, etc. 426-433

      • (2) Summation 434ab

    • b. Adopting good qualities [paramitas] 434c-487b

      •  (1) Temporary good qualities 434c-61b

        • (a) General teaching [the Six Paramitas] 434c-439

          • 1' Brief description of the entities of good qualities 434c-435

          • 2' Identifying the individual entities of good qualities 436-437

          • 3' Individual effects 438

          • 4' General effect 439

        • (b) Good qualities of the Ten Grounds [the Ten Paramitas] 440-460

      • (2) Final good qualities 461c-87

        • (a) Each of a Buddha's good qualities is limitless 46lc-463

          • 1' The Buddhas' limitless good qualities depend on the Ten Powers 461c-462b

          • 2' Examples of the limitlessness of Buddhas' good qualities 462c-463

        • (b) Causes for generating belief and faith in the limitless good qualities of Buddhas [prayers -- generating bodhicitta] 464-487

          • 1' The reason why Buddhas' good qualities are limitless is that the causal merits are limitless 464-468

          • 2' Limitlessness of the causes because of aspiring to help limitless beings 469-485

          • 3' Immeasurability of the merit of those virtues 486

          • 4' Sources 487

  • 3. Conclusion 488-500

    • a. Advice to generate inspiration for the practices and to observe the four practices – 488-490

    • b. Faults of not relying on a teacher and qualifications of a teacher – 491-493ab

    • c. The supreme fruit (enlightenment, omniscience, U2T) is achieved through excellent behavior – 493c-497

      • (1) Achieving the supreme fruit 493cd
        (You will attain the supreme achievement
        By following this excellent system)

      • (2) Advice to perform the special deeds 494-497

        • (a) Extensive mode of behavior 494-97

        • (b) Condensed mode of behavior 496
          (Gentle, lustrous, deep, firm)

        • (c) Very condensed mode of behavior 497
          (Freed from all defects and adorned with all good qualities)

    • d. These doctrines are not just for monarchs but also for all others – 498

    • e. Exhorting the king to heed the advice [keeping this in mind all the time] – 499-500

      • (1) Suitability of continuously thinking of the welfare of others 499

      • (2) Suitability of adopting virtues 500

Chapter 5: Advice for Bodhisattvas wishing quickly to attain liberation – 401-487

1. Brief teachings of what is to be adopted and discarded by Bodhisattva householders and monastics 401-402

401. Then having become a monastic
You should first be intent on the training [in ethics]. 89
You should endeavor at the discipline of individual liberation,
At hearing frequently, a and delineating their meaning.
.
402. Then, you should forsake
These which are called assorted faults. b
With vigor you should definitely realize
Those renowned as the Fifty-Seven [defects]. c

.

2. Extensive exposition 403-487 (2)

a. Forsaking 57 defects 403-34b (2)

(Summary of Nāgārjuna’s Ratnāvalī Chapter 5, Subsection (1): Extensive Explanation of Fifty-Seven Defects to Be Forsaken (Verses 403–434b):
In the subsection "(1) Extensive Explanation of Fifty-Seven Defects to Be Forsaken" (verses 403–434b) within Chapter 5 of Nāgārjuna’s Precious Garland (Ratnāvalī), Nāgārjuna provides a detailed catalog of fifty-seven mental and behavioral defects that Bodhisattvas, whether householders or monastics, must abandon to progress toward liberation. The section is divided into an extensive explanation and a summation.
The extensive explanation (verses 403–433) is structured into three parts, systematically listing the defects.
– The first part (verses 403–412) covers the initial fifteen defects, starting with belligerence (mental disturbance), enmity (clinging to anger), concealment (hiding ill-deeds), malevolence (clinging to ill-deeds), dissimulation (deceptiveness), deceit (crookedness of mind), jealousy (resenting others’ qualities), miserliness (fear of giving), non-shame and non-embarrassment (insensitivity to self and others), inflatedness (disrespect), faulty exertion (belligerence-polluted effort), arrogance (haughtiness), and non-conscientiousness (neglecting virtues) (verses 403–406b).
– The fifteenth defect, pride, is elaborated as seven distinct forms: pride of selfhood (fancying oneself in relation to others), exceeding pride (claiming equality with superiors), pride beyond pride (claiming superiority over the superior), pride of thinking “I” (conceiving an inherent self in the aggregates), pride of conceit (claiming unachieved spiritual fruits), erroneous pride (self-praise for faults), and pride of inferiority (self-derision) (verses 406c–412).
– The second part (verses 413–425) lists defects sixteen through forty-one, including hypocrisy (controlling senses for gain), flattery (pleasant speech for gain), indirect and pressured acquisition (praising or deriding to gain wealth), desiring profit from profit, repeating others’ faults, non-collectedness (irritation from illness), clinging (attachment to bad possessions), discrimination of differences (biased perception), not looking into the mind, degeneration of respect (laziness in practice), pretending to be a spiritual guide, yearning and obsession (lustful desires), avarice (clinging to property), inopportune avarice, irreligious lust, hypocrisy (pretending good qualities), great desire (extreme greed), desire for advantage (seeking recognition), non-endurance (inability to bear suffering), impropriety (disrespecting teachers), not heeding advice, intention to meet relatives (attachment to kin), attachment to objects, and fancying immortality (ignoring death) (verses 413–425).
– The third part (verses 426–433) covers defects forty-two through fifty-seven: conceptuality concerned with approbation (seeking recognition as a guide), conceptuality concerned with attachment to others (biased help or harm), dislike (mental unsteadiness), desiring union (impure mind), indifference (listless laziness), distortion (afflictions affecting body), not wishing for food (sluggishness from overeating), fearful faintheartedness (dejection), longing for desires (chasing sensory attributes), harmful intent (nine causes of intending harm), sluggishness (mental and physical heaviness), drowsiness, excitement (mental disquiet), contrition (regret for bad deeds), and doubt (indecision about truths and jewels).
– The summation (verse 434ab) states that householder Bodhisattvas must abandon these fifty-seven defects, while monastics, diligent in vows, forsake even more.)

.

(1) Extensive explanation of fifty-seven defects to be forsaken [by both householders and monastics] 403-433 (3)

(a) The first fifteen, anger, etc. 403-412 (2)

1' One through fourteen, anger, etc. 403-406b

403.
(1) Belligerence is a disturbance of mind.
(2) Enmity is a [tight] 90 hanging onto that.
(3) Concealment is a hiding of ill-deeds d [when confronted].91
(4) Malevolence is to cling to ill-deeds.
.
404.
(5) Dissimulation is deceptiveness.
(6) Deceit is crookedness of mind.
(7) Jealousy is to be bothered by others' good qualities.
(8) Miserliness is a fear of giving.
.
405.
(9) Non-shame and
(10) non-embarrassment
Are insensibility concerning oneself and others [respectively]. a
(11) Inflatedness is not to pay respect.
(12) Faulty exertion is to be polluted by belligerence.
.
406.
(13) Arrogance is haughtiness [due to wealth, and so forth].92
(14) Non-conscientiousness is non-application at virtues.
(15) Pride has seven forms
Each of which I will explain.

2' Pride 406c-412

406.
(13) Arrogance is haughtiness [due to wealth, and so forth].92
(14) Non-conscientiousness is non-application at virtues.
(15) Pride has seven forms
Each of which I will explain.
.
407. Fancying that one is lower than the lowly,
Or equal with the equal,
Or greater than or equal to the lowly—
All are called the pride of selfhood.
.
408. Boasting that one is equal to those
Who by some good quality are superior to oneself
Is called exceeding pride.
Fancying that one is superior to the superior,
.
409. Thinking that one is higher than the very high,
Is pride beyond pride;
Like sores on an abscess
It is very vicious.
.
410. Conceiving an I through obscuration
In the five empty [aggregates] b
Which are called the appropriation
Is said to be the pride of thinking I.
.
411. Thinking one has won fruits [of the spiritual path]
Not yet attained is the pride of conceit.
Praising oneself for faulty deeds
Is known by the wise as erroneous pride.
.
412. Deriding oneself, thinking
"I am useless," is called
The pride of inferiority.
Such is a brief description of the seven prides.

(b) From hypocrisy to the forty-first, not thinking of death 413-425

413.
(16) Hypocrisy is to control the senses
For the sake of goods and respect.
(17) Flattery is to speak pleasant phrases
For the sake of goods and respect.
.
414.
(18) Indirect acquisition is to praise
Another's wealth in order to acquire it.
(19) Pressured acquisition is manifest derision a
Of others in order to acquire goods.
.
415.
(20) Desiring profit from profit
Is to praise previous acquisitions.
(21) Repeating faults is to recite again and again
The mistakes made by others.
.
416.
(22) Non-collectedness is inconsiderate irritation
Arisen from illness. b
(23) Clinging is the attachment
Of the lazy to their bad possessions.
.
417.
(24) Discrimination of differences is discrimination
Impeded by desire, hatred, or obscuration.
(25) Not looking into the mind is explained
As not applying it to anything. a
.
418.
(26) Degeneration of respect and reverence for deeds
Concordant with the practices occurs through laziness.
(27) A bad person is regarded as being a spiritual guide
[Pretending] to have the ways of the
Supramundane Victor. b
.
419.
(28) Yearning is a small entanglement
Arising from lustful desire.
(29) Obsession, a great entanglement
Arising from desire.
.
420.
(30) Avarice is an attitude
Of clinging to one's own property,
(31) Inopportune avarice is attachment
To the property of others.
.
421.
(32) Irreligious lust is desirous praise
Of women who ought to be avoided.
(33) Hypocrisy is to pretend that one possesses
Good qualities that one lacks, while desiring ill deeds.
.
422.
(34) Great desire is extreme greed
Gone beyond the fortune of knowing satisfaction.
(35) Desire for advantage is to want to be known
By whatever way as having superior good qualities.
.
423.
(36) Non-endurance is an inability
To bear injury and suffering.
(37) Impropriety is not to respect the activities
Of a teacher or spiritual guide.
.
424.
(38) Not heeding advice is to not respect
Counsel concordant with practice.
(39) Intention to meet with relatives
Is sentimental attachment to one's kin.
.
425.
(40) Attachment to objects a is to relate
Their good qualities in order to acquire them.
(41) Fancying immortality is to be
Unaffected by concern over death.

(c) The forty-second, proclaiming one's own good qualities, etc. 426-433

426.
(42) Conceptuality concerned with approbation
Is the thought that—no matter what—
Others will take one as a spiritual guide
Due to possessing good qualities.
.
427.
(43-44) Conceptuality concerned with attachment to others
Is an intention to help or not help others
Due to being affected by desire
Or an intent to harm. b
.
428.
(45) Dislike is a mind that is unsteady.
(46) Desiring union is a dirtied mind. c
(47) Indifference is a laziness with a sense of inadequacy
Coming from a listless body.
.
429.
(48) Distortion is for the afflictive emotions
To influence body and color.
(49) Not wishing for food is explained
As physical sluggishness due to over-eating.
.
430.
(50) A very dejected mind is taught
To be fearful faintheartedness.
(51) Longing for desires is to desire
And seek after the five attributes. d
.
431.
(52) Harmful intent arises from nine causes
Of intending to injure others—
Having senseless qualms concerning oneself, friends, and foes a
In the past, present, and future.
.
432.
(53) Sluggishness is non-activity
Due to heaviness of mind and body.
(54) Drowsiness is sleepiness.
(55) Excitement is strong disquiet of body and mind.
.
433.
(56) Contrition is regret for bad deeds
Which arises afterwards from grief about them.
(57) Doubt is to be of two minds
About the [four] truths, b the Three Jewels, c and so forth.

.

(2) Summation 434ab

434.ab [Householder] Bodhisattvas abandon those.
Those diligent in [monastic] vows abandon more.

(Conclusion of Nāgārjuna’s Ratnāvalī Chapter 5, Subsection (1): Extensive Explanation of Fifty-Seven Defects to Be Forsaken (Verses 403–434b):
The subsection "(1) Extensive Explanation of Fifty-Seven Defects to Be Forsaken" (verses 403–434b) in Chapter 5 of the Ratnāvalī offers a meticulous and practical guide for Bodhisattvas, whether householders or monastics, to purify their minds by identifying and abandoning fifty-seven mental and behavioral defects that obstruct the path to liberation.
– Nāgārjuna’s detailed catalog—ranging from belligerence and pride to subtle faults like doubt and longing for desires—reflects the Madhyamaka emphasis on transforming conventional behavior [T1] as a foundation for realizing ultimate truth [T2] [U2T].
– Each defect, such as the seven forms of pride (verses 407–412) or the nuanced clinging to objects and kin (verses 424–425), is a manifestation of the three poisons (desire, hatred, obscuration) that bind beings to saṃsāra, aligning with earlier teachings (e.g., Chapter 3, verse 229).
– By urging their abandonment, Nāgārjuna prepares practitioners to cultivate the six perfections and realize non-dual wisdom, transcending dualities like self/other or virtue/non-virtue [Uopp].
– The distinction between householders and monastics (verse 434ab) acknowledges varying capacities while emphasizing the universal need for mental purification, reflecting the Middle Way’s balance of engagement and transcendence.
– This subsection’s enduring relevance lies in its granular insight into the mind’s pitfalls, offering a timeless roadmap for self-awareness and ethical conduct that clears the path for liberation, inviting all practitioners to diligently uproot these defects and awaken to the true nature of reality with clarity and compassion.)

.
.

b. Adopting good qualities [paramitas] 434c-487b (2)

(Summary of Nāgārjuna’s Ratnāvalī Chapter 5, Subsection (b): Adopting Good Qualities [Paramitas] (Verses 434c–487b):
In the subsection "(b) Adopting Good Qualities [Paramitas]" (verses 434c–487b) of Chapter 5 in Nāgārjuna’s Precious Garland (Ratnāvalī), Nāgārjuna outlines the virtues Bodhisattvas must cultivate to progress toward liberation, emphasizing the six perfections (paramitas) and the ten Bodhisattva grounds as temporary good qualities, followed by the final qualities of a Buddha and the limitless merit of aspiring to help all beings.
– The section is divided into temporary and final good qualities.
– In the temporary good qualities (verses 434c–461b), Nāgārjuna first provides a general teaching on the six perfections, noting that abandoning defects enables the easy observation of good qualities, which include giving, ethics, patience, effort, concentration, wisdom, and compassion (verses 434c–435). He defines each: giving as sharing wealth, ethics as helping others, patience as forsaking anger, effort as enthusiasm for virtues, concentration as unafflicted focus, wisdom as understanding the truths, and compassion as universal mercy (verses 436–437). Their effects are wealth, happiness, good appearance, brilliance, peace, liberation, and fulfillment of all aims, respectively, with their simultaneous perfection leading to the “sphere of inconceivable wisdom” and world protectorship (verses 438–439).
– He then describes the ten Bodhisattva grounds, contrasting them with the eight grounds of Hearers, each ground marked by specific qualities: the Very Joyful (forsaking entwinements, perfecting giving), Stainless (stainless actions, perfecting ethics), Luminous (wisdom’s light, perfecting patience), Radiant (true wisdom, perfecting effort), Extremely Difficult to Overcome (conquering evil, perfecting concentration), Approaching (nearing Buddha qualities, perfecting wisdom), Gone Afar (increased qualities, perfecting means), Immovable (non-conceptuality, perfecting prayers), Excellent Intelligence (correct realization, perfecting forces), and Cloud of Doctrine (teaching rain, perfecting awareness), each associated with increasing mastery over worlds and abilities (verses 440–461b).
– In the final good qualities (verses 461c–487b), Nāgārjuna explains that a Buddha’s ground is inconceivable, endowed with the limitless ten powers, comparable to the vastness of space and elements (verses 461c–463).
– To generate belief in these limitless qualities, he advises reciting twenty stanzas daily before a Buddha image, encompassing seven branches like taking refuge, confessing ill deeds, and rejoicing in merit (verses 464–468). These stanzas express aspirations for all beings to attain enlightenment, possess stainless faculties, freedom, wealth, health, love, compassion, and the two collections, while the speaker vows to embody these qualities, relieve suffering, inspire fearlessness, stop ill deeds, and remain in saṃsāra until all are liberated, even after attaining enlightenment (verses 469–485).
– The merit of these aspirations is immeasurable, unable to fit into countless worlds, a teaching supported by the Buddha and logical reasoning about the limitlessness of helping infinite beings (verses 486–487).)

.

 (1) Temporary good qualities 434c-61b (2)

(a) General teaching [the Six Paramitas] 434c-439 (4)

1' Brief description of the entities of good qualities 434c-435

434.cd Freed from these defects
Good qualities are easily observed.
.
435. Briefly the good qualities
Observed by Bodhisattvas are
Giving, ethics, patience, effort,
Concentration, wisdom, compassion, and so forth.

2' Identifying the individual entities of good qualities 436-437

436. Giving is to give away one's wealth.
Ethics is to help others.
Patience is to have forsaken anger.
Effort is enthusiasm for virtues..
.
437. Concentration is unafflicted one-pointedness.
Wisdom is ascertainment of the meaning of the truths.
Compassion is a mind having the one savor
Of mercy for all sentient beings.

3' Individual effects 438

438. From giving there arises wealth, from ethics happiness,
From patience a good appearance, from [effort in] virtue brilliance,
From concentration peace, from wisdom liberation,
From compassion all aims are achieved.

4' General effect 439

439. From the simultaneous perfection
Of all those seven is attained
The sphere of inconceivable wisdom,
The protectorship of the world. a

(b) Good qualities of the Ten Grounds [the Ten Paramitas] 440-460 (3)

1' Just as there are eight grounds of Hearers, so there are Ten Bodhisattva Grounds 440

440. Just as eight grounds of Hearers
Are described in the Hearers' Vehicle,
So ten grounds of Bodhisattvas
Are described in the Great Vehicle. b

2' Entities and good qualities of the Ten Grounds (Bhumis) 441-460

441. The first of these is the Very Joyful
Because those Bodhisattvas are rejoicing
From having forsaken the three entwinements c
And being born into the lineage of Ones Gone Thus.
.
442. Through the maturation of those [good qualities] d
The perfection of giving becomes supreme.
They vibrate a hundred worlds
And become Great Lords of Jambudvlpa. a
.
443. The second is called the Stainless
Because all ten [virtuous] actions
Of body, speech, and mind are stainless
And they naturally abide in those [deeds of ethics].
.
444. Through the maturation of those [good qualities]
The perfection of ethics becomes supreme.
They become Universal Monarchs helping beings,
Masters of the glorious [four continents]93 and of the seven precious objects. b
.
445. The third ground is called the Luminous
Because the pacifying light of wisdom arises.
The concentrations and clairvoyances are generated,
And desire and hatred are completely extinguished.
.
446. Through the maturation of those [good qualities]
They practice supremely the deeds of patience
And become a great wise monarch of the gods.
They put an end to desire.
.
447. The fourth is called the Radiant
Because the light of true wisdom arises.
They cultivate supremely
All the harmonies with enlightenment. c
.
448. Through the maturation of those [good qualities]
They become monarchs of the gods in [the heaven] Without Combat. [effort]
They are skilled in quelling the arising of the view
That the transitory collection [is inherently existent I and mine].
.
449. The fifth is called the Extremely Difficult to Overcome
Because all evil ones find it extremely hard to conquer them.
They become skilled in knowing
The subtle meanings of the noble truths and so forth.
.
450. Through the maturation of those [good qualities]
They become monarchs of the gods abiding in the Joyous Land, [concentration]
They overcome the foundations of all Borders
Afflictive emotions and views.
.
451. The sixth is called the Approaching
Because they are approaching the good qualities of a Buddha.
Through familiarity with calm abiding and special insight
They attain cessation and hence are advanced [in wisdom].
.
452. Through the maturation of those [good qualities]
They become monarchs of the gods [in the land] of Liking Emanation. [wisdom]
Hearers cannot surpass them.
They pacify those with the pride of superiority.
.
453. The seventh is the Gone Afar
Because the number [of good qualities] has increased.
Moment by moment they [can]94 enter
The equipoise of cessation.
.
454. Through the maturation of those [good qualities]
They become masters of the gods [in the land] of Control over Others' Emanations. [means]
They become great leaders of teachers
Who know direct realization of the [four] noble truths.
.
455. The eighth is the Immovable, the youthful ground.
Through non-conceptuality they are immovable,
And the spheres of activity
Of their body, speech, and mind are inconceivable.
.
456. Through the maturation of those [good qualities]
They become a Brahma, master of a thousand worlds. [prayers]
Foe Destroyers, Solitary Realizers, and so forth
Cannot surpass them in positing the meaning [of doctrines]. 95
.
457. The ninth ground is called Excellent Intelligence.
Like a regent they have attained
Correct individual realization
And therefore have good intelligence.
.
458. Through the maturation of those [good qualities]
They become a Brahma, master of a million worlds. [forces]
Foe Destroyers and so forth cannot surpass them
In [responding to] questions in the thoughts of sentient beings.
.
459. The tenth is the Cloud of Doctrine
Because the rain of holy doctrine falls.
The Bodhisattva is bestowed empowerment
With light rays by the Buddhas.
.
460. Through the maturation of those [good qualities]
They become master of the gods of Pure Abode. [awareness]
They are supreme great lords,
Master of the sphere of infinite wisdom.

3' Summation 461ab

461. Thus those ten grounds are renowned
As the ten Bodhisattva Grounds (Bhumis).
The ground of Buddhahood is different.
Being in all ways inconceivable,

(2) Final good qualities 461c-87 (2)

(a) Each of a Buddha's good qualities is limitless 46lc-463 (2)

1' The Buddhas' limitless good qualities depend on the Ten Powers 461c-462b

461. Thus those ten grounds are renowned
As the ten Bodhisattva grounds.
The ground of Buddhahood is different.
Being in all ways inconceivable,
.
462. Its great extent is merely said
To be endowed with the ten powers.
Each power is immeasurable too
Like [the limitless number of] all transmigrators.

2' Examples of the limitlessness of Buddhas' good qualities 462c-463

462. Its great extent is merely said
To be endowed with the ten powers.
Each power is immeasurable too
Like [the limitless number of] all transmigrators.
.
463. The limitlessness of a Buddha's [good qualities]
Is said to be like the limitlessness
Of space, earth, water, fire,
And wind in all directions.

(b) Causes for generating belief and faith in the limitless good qualities of Buddhas [prayers -- generating bodhicitta] 464-487 (4).

1' The reason why Buddhas' good qualities are limitless is that the causal merits are limitless 464-468 (3)

a' Source for the limitlessness of Buddhas' good qualities 464

464. If the causes are [reduced] 96 to a mere [measure]
And not seen to be limitless,
One will not believe the limitlessness
[Of the good qualities] 97 of the Buddhas.

b' Way to amass limitless merit 465

465. Therefore in the presence of an image
Or monument or something else
Say these twenty stanzas (1-20)
Three times every day:

c' Brief presentation of the seven branches 466-468

466. (1) Going for refuge with all forms of respect
To the Buddhas, excellent Doctrine,
Supreme Community, and Bodhisattvas,
I bow down to all that are worthy of honor.
.
467. (2) I will turn away from all ill deeds
And thoroughly take up all meritorious actions.
I will admire all the merits
Of all embodied beings.
.
468. (3) With bowed head and joined palms
I petition the perfect Buddhas
To turn the wheel of doctrine and remain
As long as transmigrating beings remain.

2' Limitlessness of the causes because of aspiring to help limitless beings 469-485

469. (4) Through the merit of having done thus
And through the merit that I did earlier and will do
May all sentient beings aspire
To the highest enlightenment.
.
470. (5) May all sentient beings have all the stainless faculties,
Release from all conditions of non-leisure,
Freedom of action,
And endowment with good livelihood.
.
471. (6) Also may all embodied beings
Have jewels in their hands,
And may all the limitless necessities of life remain
Unconsumed as long as there is cyclic existence.
.
472. (7) May all women at all times
Become supreme persons. a
May all embodied beings have
The intelligence [of wisdom] 98 and the legs [of ethics].
.
473. (8) May embodied beings have a pleasant complexion,
Good physique, great splendor,
A pleasing appearance, freedom from disease,
Strength, and long life.
.
474. (9) May all be skilled in the means [to extinguish suffering] 99
And have liberation from all suffering,
Inclination to the Three Jewels,
And the great wealth of Buddha's doctrine.
.
475. (10) May they be adorned with love, compassion, joy,
Even-mindedness [devoid of] 100 the afflictive emotions,
Giving, ethics, patience, effort,
Concentration, and wisdom.
.
476. (11) Completing the two collections [of merit and wisdom],
May they have the brilliant marks and beautiful features [even while on the path], 101
And may they cross without interruption
The ten inconceivable grounds.
.
477. (12) May I also be adorned completely
With those and all other good qualities,
Be freed from all defects,
And have superior love for all sentient beings.
.
478. (13) May I perfect all the virtues
For which all sentient beings hope,
And may I always relieve
The sufferings of all embodied beings.
.
479. (14) May those beings in all worlds
Who are distressed through fear
Become entirely fearless
Even through merely hearing my name.
.
480. (15) Through seeing or thinking of me or only hearing my name
May beings attain great joy,
Naturalness free from error,
Definiteness toward complete enlightenment,
.
481. (16) And the five clairvoyances a
Throughout their continuum of lives.
May I always in all ways bring
Help and happiness to all sentient beings.
.
482. (17) May I always without harm
Simultaneously stop
All beings in all worlds
Who wish to commit ill deeds.
.
483. (18) May I always be an object of enjoyment
For all sentient beings according to their wish
And without interference, as are the earth,
Water, fire, wind, herbs, and wild forests.
.
484. (19) May I be as dear to sentient beings as their own life,
And may they be even more dear to me.
May their ill deeds fructify for me,
And all my virtues fructify for them.
.
485. (20) As long as any sentient being
Anywhere has not been liberated,
May I remain [in the world] 102 for the sake of that being
Though I have attained highest enlightenment.

3' Immeasurability of the merit of those virtues 486

486. If the merit of saying this (1-20)
Had form, it would never fit
Into realms of worlds as numerous
As the sand grains of the Ganges.

4' Sources 487

487. The Supramundane Victor said so,
And the reasoning is this:
[The limitlessness of the merit of] 103 wishing to help limitless realms
Of sentient beings is like [the limitlessness of those beings].

(Conclusion of Nāgārjuna’s Ratnāvalī Chapter 5, Subsection (b): Adopting Good Qualities [Paramitas] (Verses 434c–487b):
The subsection "(b) Adopting Good Qualities [Paramitas]" (verses 434c–487b) in Chapter 5 of the Ratnāvalī provides a comprehensive roadmap for Bodhisattvas, detailing the virtues and aspirations that lead to both temporary progress and ultimate enlightenment, reflecting the Madhyamaka integration of conventional practice [T1] and ultimate realization [T2] [U2T]. Nāgārjuna’s exposition of the six perfections (verses 435–439) offers a practical foundation, linking each perfection to tangible benefits while culminating in the “inconceivable wisdom” of Buddhahood, embodying the Union of opposites [Uopp] like giving (for others) and wisdom (for oneself). The ten Bodhisattva grounds (verses 440–461b) illustrate a progressive path, each ground perfecting a paramita and enhancing the Bodhisattva’s capacity to benefit beings, aligning with the Union of the three spheres [U3S] through selfless action. The final qualities (verses 461c–487b) highlight the limitless nature of a Buddha’s powers, inspiring faith through the twenty stanzas, which encapsulate the Bodhisattva’s boundless commitment to all beings’ liberation (verses 469–485). These aspirations, rooted in the Union of the Ground and its manifestations [UGM], generate immeasurable merit, reflecting the Middle Way’s balance of conventional engagement and ultimate transcendence. This subsection’s timeless relevance lies in its invitation to cultivate virtues that transform both self and world, offering a path where every act of compassion and wisdom becomes a step toward the infinite awakening that benefits all, a testament to the Bodhisattva ideal’s enduring power.)

The fifth chapter of the Precious Garland, An Indication of the Bodhisattva Deeds, is finished.

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3. Conclusion 488-500

(Summary of Nāgārjuna’s Ratnāvalī Conclusion (Verses 488–500):
In the concluding section of Nāgārjuna’s Precious Garland (Ratnāvalī), verses 488–500, Nāgārjuna provides a final exhortation that synthesizes the core teachings of the entire text, urging the king to embrace the practices for the sake of enlightenment and the welfare of all beings.
The conclusion is structured into five parts.
– First, Nāgārjuna advises the king to generate inspiration for the practices outlined throughout the text — spanning ethical conduct, governance, the two collections, and Bodhisattva deeds — emphasizing that these practices should be as dear as his own body, for just as care for the body brings well-being, so too do these practices, encouraging a progressive chain of heedfulness: from practices to achievement, achievement to wisdom, and wisdom to the wise (verses 488–490).
– Second, he warns of the faults of not relying on a teacher, noting that rejecting a guide with purity, love, intelligence, and helpful speech undermines one’s own spiritual interests, and lists the qualifications of a true spiritual guide — contentment, compassion, ethics, and wisdom to dispel afflictive emotions — urging the king to respect and follow such teachers (verses 491–493ab).
– Third, Nāgārjuna explains that the supreme fruit of enlightenment, the ultimate goal of the Ratnāvalī’s teachings, is achieved through excellent behavior, advising the king to speak truthfully and gently, be pleasant, politic, independent, and eloquent, while embodying discipline, generosity, peace, and amiability, likening ideal conduct to the moon’s gentleness, the sun’s luster, the ocean’s depth, and Mount Meru’s firmness, ultimately becoming a defect-free, omniscient sustenance for all beings (verses 493cd–497).
– Fourth, he clarifies that these doctrines, though addressed to a king, are not only for monarchs but for all sentient beings, taught with the intent to benefit everyone according to their capacities (verse 498).
– Finally, Nāgārjuna exhorts the king to continuously reflect on this advice daily to achieve complete enlightenment for himself and others, emphasizing the adoption of virtues like ethics, respect for teachers, patience, non-jealousy, non-miserliness, selfless altruism, helping the destitute, associating with the virtuous, avoiding the non-virtuous, and thoroughly maintaining the doctrine (verses 499–500).)

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a. Advice to generate inspiration for the practices and to observe the four practices – 488-490

488. These practices that I have explained
Briefly to you in this way
Should be as dear to you
As your body always is.
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489. Those who feel a dearness for the practices
Have in fact a dearness for their body.
If dearness [for the body] 04 helps it,
The practices will do just that.
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490. Therefore pay heed to the practices as you do to yourself.
Pay heed to achievement as you do to the practices.
Pay heed to wisdom as you do to achievement.
Pay heed to the wise as you do to wisdom.

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b. Faults of not relying on a teacher and qualifications of a teacher – 491-493ab

491. Those who have qualms that it would be bad for themselves
[If they relied] on one who has purity, love, and intelligence
As well as helpful and appropriate speech,
Cause their own interests to be destroyed.
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492. You should know in brief
The qualifications of spiritual guides.
If you are taught by those knowing contentment
And having compassion and ethics,
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493.ab As well as wisdom that can drive out your afflictive emotions,
You should realize [what they teach] and respect them.

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c. The supreme fruit is achieved through excellent behavior – 493c-497 (2)

1. Achieving the supreme fruit 493cd

493.cd You will attain the supreme achievement
By following this excellent system:

2. Advice to perform the special deeds 494-497 (3)

a. Extensive mode of behavior 494-97

494. Speak the truth, speak gently to sentient beings.
Be of pleasant nature, compelling.
Be politic, do not wish to defame,
Be independent, and speak well.
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495. Be well-disciplined, contained, generous,
Magnificent, of peaceful mind,
Not excitable, not procrastinating,
Not deceitful, but amiable. a

b. Condensed mode of behavior 496

496. Be gentle b like a full moon.
Be lustrous like the sun in autumn.
Be deep like the ocean.
Be firm like Mount Meru.

c. Very condensed mode of behavior 497

497. Freed from all defects
And adorned with all good qualities,
Become a sustenance for all sentient beings
And become omniscient.

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d. These doctrines are not just for monarchs but also for all others – 498

498. These doctrines were not just taught
Only for monarchs
But were taught with a wish to help
Other sentient beings as befits them.

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e. Exhorting the king to heed the advice [keeping this in mind all the time] – 499-500 (2)

1. Suitability of continuously thinking of the welfare of others 499

499. O King, it would be right for you
Each day to think about this advice
So that you and others may achieve
Complete and perfect enlightenment.

2. Suitability of adopting virtues 500

500. For the sake of enlightenment aspirants should always apply themselves
To ethics, supreme respect for teachers, patience, non-jealousy, non-miserliness,
Endowment with the wealth of altruism without hope for reward, helping the destitute,
Remaining with supreme people, leaving the non-supreme, and thoroughly maintaining the doctrine.

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(Conclusion of the Conclusion of the Ratnāvalī:
The conclusion of the Ratnāvalī (verses 488–500) stands as a profound and unifying capstone to Nāgārjuna’s comprehensive guidance, weaving together the threads of ethical governance, spiritual practice, and ultimate liberation into a timeless call to action for the king and all sentient beings. Nāgārjuna’s urging to hold the practices as dear as one’s own body (verses 488–489) and his structured progression of heedfulness—from practices to wisdom to the wise (verse 490) — encapsulate the Madhyamaka Middle Way, harmonizing conventional diligence [T1] ⇐⇒ with the pursuit of ultimate wisdom [T2] [U2T], ensuring that every virtuous act aligns with the non-dual realization of reality. His warnings about rejecting a qualified teacher (verses 491–493ab) highlight the necessity of guidance in navigating the union of opposites [Uopp], such as self-interest and altruism, grounding the path in compassion and ethical conduct. The detailed modes of behavior (verses 494–497) offer a poetic vision of the Bodhisattva ideal, embodying the union of the three spheres [U3S] through selfless action that benefits all beings without attachment to self, object, or deed, while reflecting the union of the Ground and its manifestations [UGM] by integrating worldly engagement with ultimate insight. Nāgārjuna’s clarification that these teachings apply universally (verse 498) reflects the Mahayana’s inclusive scope, ensuring that the path to enlightenment is accessible to all, not just monarchs. His final exhortation to daily reflection and the cultivation of virtues like ethics, patience, and altruism (verses 499–500) underscores the ongoing, dynamic nature of the Bodhisattva path—a continuous process of awakening that benefits both self and others. This conclusion’s enduring relevance lies in its universal invitation to live with integrity, wisdom, and boundless compassion, transforming every action into a step toward complete enlightenment, a testament to the Ratnāvalī’s profound vision of harmonizing temporal responsibilities with the timeless pursuit of liberation for all beings.)

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Here ends the Precious Garland of Advice for a King by the great master, the Superior Nāgārjuna. It was translated by the Indian professor Vidyakaraprabha a and the Tibetan translator and monastic Bel-dzek. b Consulting three Sanskrit editions, the Indian professor Kanakavarman and the Tibetan monastic Ba-tsap Nyi-ma-drak c corrected translations and other points that did not accord with the unique thought of the Superior [Nāgārjuna] and his spiritual son [Aryadeva]. It was printed at the great publishing house below [the Potala in Hla-sa].