Avatamsaka Sutra - The Ten-Stages Sutra

The Ten-Stages Sutra

The sutra is also well known for its detailed description of the course of the bodhisattva's practice through ten stages where the Ten Stages Sutra, or Daśabhūmika Sūtra (Ch. 十地經, Wyl. phags pa sa bcu pa'i mdo), is the name given to this chapter of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra. This sutra gives details on the ten stages (bhūmi) of development a bodhisattva must undergo to attain supreme enlightenment. The ten stages are also depicted in the Lankavatara Sutra and the Shurangama Sutra. The sutra also touches on the subject of the development of the "aspiration for Enlightenment" (Bodhicitta) to attain supreme Buddhahood.