འཕགས་པ་སང་གས་ཞས་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད intro.6

intro.6

Siṃha’s Questions presents the practices of bodhisattvas through a question-and-answer dialogue between the Buddha and Prince Siṃha, the son of King Ajātaśatru of Magadha. At the beginning of the sūtra, Siṃha and five hundred of his attendants approach the Buddha and supplicate him, each offering a golden parasol. Feeling confident, Siṃha asks the Buddha a series of questions about the conduct of bodhisattvas concerning how one attains the various sublime qualities and attributes possessed by bodhisattvas and by the Buddha himself. The Buddha then directly answers each question, listing the practice or virtuous conduct that acts as the concordant cause for acquiring each particular quality. The dialogue thereby becomes an elementary teaching on virtuous causes and results, encompassing a broad range of attainments and how they are accomplished through the proper virtuous activity.