Gar Drolma Choling Dharma Center

Nagarjuna's "Letter to a Friend"

Nagarjuna, a South Indian Buddhist master who lived in the first and second century A.D. and served as abbot of the monastic university Nalanda, is considered the most influential and widely studied Mahayana Buddhist philosopher. He wrote his poem "Letter to a Friend" as a gift of advice to Surabhibhadra, a South Indian king.

The poem offers instructions for applying Buddhist teachings to life in the world and has become a classic text in the Indian shastra tradition.

Known for its style and imagery, "Letter to a Friend" is one of the most widely quoted sources in other commentaries on the Mahayana path and has been a source of scriptural authority for many of Tibet's scholars to describe the Buddhist path.

The letter's 123 verses, organized into sections devoted to each of the Six Perfections, provide an overview of the entire bodhisattva path.

The poem combines a practical approach to daily conduct with a theoretical exposition of the different stages leading to Enlightenment. Verses refer, in places, to passages in the sutras, allowing students to grasp the message and scope of the Buddha's teachings.

Many passages, however, deal with technical subjects and may need some explanation if they are to be properly understood. Several points need to be seen in their ancient context and adapted. Nonetheless, "Letter to a Friend" has continuing relevance for 21st-century readers.

A Snow Lion review of a recent translation of the poem notes, "We may not be heads-of-state or wealthy aristocrats, but many Buddhists in the West do share with King Surabhibhadra a relatively comfortable background and lifestyle, and no shortage of worldly distractions. Seen in this light, Nagarjuna's advice is as valid and contemporary as it was when he wrote it. ... Who among us in the human realm has not experienced the paralyzing effect of cold hatred or the unbearable paranoia of jealousy, or observed the truth in the saying, "Pride comes before a fall"?