Fifty-two Stages Of Bodhisattva Practice

Fifty-two Stages Of Bodhisattva Practice

(Jpn.: gojuni-i) Also, fifty-two stages of practice. The stages through which bodhisattvas advance from the time of their initial resolve until they finally attain Buddhahood. The fifty-two stages are enumerated in the Jeweled Necklace Sutra and consist of

• ten stages of faith,
• ten stages of security,
• ten stages of practice,
• ten stages of devotion,
• ten stages of development,
• the stage of near-perfect enlightenment, and
• the stage of perfect enlightenment.

The Brahma Net Sutra divides Bodhisattva practice into forty stages. The Benevolent Kings Sutra divides it into fifty-one stages, and there is an explanation elsewhere that sets forth forty-one stages.