Brief Bodhicitta Classification

Brief Classification of Arousing Bodhicitta

by Khenchen Shenpen Nangwa

Arousing bodhicitta is classified into three: (1) the arousing of bodhicitta adopted by beings of lesser capacity, (2) the arousing of bodhicitta adopted by beings of middling capacity, and (3) the arousing of bodhicitta adopted by beings of greater capacity.

1. Beings of Lesser Capacity

Here there are two approaches: ordinary and special.

1. Ordinary

The ordinary approach involves cultivating virtue and avoiding misdeeds while focused exclusively on the present lifetime.

2. Special

The special approach is not to focus on the present lifetime but to regard the next life as more important and to cultivate virtue and avoid misdeeds.

2. Beings of Middling Capacity

The approach of those of middling capacity is to recognise that no matter where one is reborn among the six classes of beings, all the way from the summit of existence down to the lowest hell, it will have the nature of suffering, like a smouldering pit, a royal dungeon, a nest of poisonous vipers, an island of cannibal demons, or the brandished sword of an executioner. With this in mind, the approach is then to pursue the level of an arhat as a śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha.

3. Beings of Greater Capacity

The approach of those of greater capacity is not only to see that saṃsāra has the nature of suffering but also to avoid pursuing the extreme of a limited quiescence. Instead, for the sake of all sentient beings, one pursues the level of great nirvāṇa which does not involve abiding in existence or quiescence.

Dharmadvaja wrote down these words just as they were spoken by the Jamgön Lama, Shenpen Nangwa.

| Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2026.

Bibliography

Tibetan Edition

gzhan phan snang ba. "sems bskyed kyi rab dbye mdor bsdus" In gsung thor bu’i skor. [s.l.]: [s.n.], [n.d.], p. 151.

Version: 1.0–20260429