The Sūtra of Dharmaketu
[Reference: 84000]
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying in Śrāvastī, in Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park. At that time, a bodhisattva named Dharmaketu who was present in his retinue rose from his seat and addressed this question to the Blessed One: “Blessed One, which are the qualities that bodhisattvas must possess to become unsurpassed, perfect and completely awakened buddhas quickly?”
The Blessed One replied, “Noble child, there are ten qualities that bodhisattvas should possess to become unsurpassed, perfect and completely awakened buddhas quickly. What are those ten? They are as follows:
- The bodhisattvas have faith.
- They have bodhicitta.
- They do not forsake their spiritual mentors.
- They dwell in seclusion and abandon worldly distractions.
- They seek out the oral instructions of gurus and preceptors.
- They have compassion.
- They are learned in many teachings.
- They have meditative concentration.
- They have ethical conduct.
- Through unparalleled joyous effort, they accomplish every one of their aims.”
The Blessed One spoke these words, and the bodhisattva Dharmaketu and all those in that retinue praised what the Blessed One had said.
This concludes the noble “Sūtra of Dharmaketu.”
About Venerable Thubten Damcho, Bhikshuni, Sravasti Abbey
Singaporean by birth, Ven. Thubten Damcho met the Dharma in the U.S. through the Buddhist Students’ Group at Princeton University, from which she graduated in 2006. On her return to Singapore, she took refuge at Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery where she served as a Sunday school teacher. Struck by the aspiration to ordain, she attended a novitiate retreat in the Theravada tradition in 2007. After meeting Ven. Chodron in Singapore in 2008, Ven. Damcho was further inspired to pursue a monastic life.
After attending the Exploring Monastic Life Program, Ven. Damcho quickly moved to the Abbey to train as an anagarika in December 2012. She was ordained on October 2, 2013. Ven. Damcho received her full ordination at Miao Fa Temple in Taiwan in 2016. Venerable Damcho’s monastic life is rich and varied. She serves as assistant to Sravasti Abbey’s founder, author and well-known Buddhist teacher Venerable Thubten Chodron, and translates Chinese texts into English. She has given Dharma talks in the U.S., India, Singapore and Brazil, and was the Chinese-English interpreter at a full ordination program in Taiwan in 2019 and 2024. After learning Tibetan through Maitripa College in 2017, she has translated short sutras from Tibetan to English for 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Bio source: https://sravastiabbey.org/community-member/ven-thubten-damcho/
