Toh 44-21Chapter 21: Pure Conduct

Commentary on the Scripture Tshang Par Spyod Pa’i Le’u (Chapter 21: Pure Conduct)

Context

This Chapter 21 belongs to the Kangyur of the Northern Transmission, an important scripture in the Tibetan Mahayana tradition. The scriptural title “Tshang par spyod pa’i le’u,” provisionally translated as “Chapter on Pure Conduct,” reflects the ardent concern of the Mahayana Buddha Dharma: the entire life of the practitioner must be directed by bodhicitta, the supreme spirit of attaining buddhahood in order to liberate all sentient beings.

This content is transmitted in the context of the Buddha teaching the Dharma to bodhisattvas, those who have made great vows and wish to fulfill their great aspiration. This is a chapter of practical guidance, clearly indicating the criteria by which action is considered “pure” or “purified” (tshang par), that is, unmixed with selfish motivation or ignorance.

Main Content

Pure conduct in the Mahayana is not merely adherence to external precepts, but a thorough transformation of intention. Every action, whether small or great, when performed with bodhicitta and the wisdom of emptiness (Śūnyatāvijñāna), that is, the understanding that the three spheres (agent, action, and object) are all without self-nature, automatically becomes pure.

The scripture clearly states that pure conduct includes all basic actions: speaking, thinking, and acting. Bodhisattvas do not avoid the world, but live within the world with clear wisdom. Even actions that seem “worldly,” such as eating, sleeping, and laboring, become Dharma practice when they are joined to bodhicitta. The basis of purity is the absence of grasping (anupalabdhi), not viewing the practitioner and the action as separate.

This chapter also emphasizes the role of skillful means (upāya). Bodhisattvas, with profound understanding of the minds of sentient beings, know how to adjust their actions so that they accord with those to be guided, while always keeping their minds directed toward buddhahood.