Wheel of Sharp Weapons: Verses 1-6

An expanded commentary on Dharmarakshita's The Wheel of Sharp Weapons given at Sravasti Abbey from 2004-2006.

  • Introduction to the text1
  • Explanation of Yamantaka, the wrathful form of Manjushri
  • Peacocks as a symbol for bodhisattvas
  • How we differ from bodhisattvas
  • How we suffer, how bodhisattvas end suffering
  • How bodhisattvas use the afflictions on the path
    • Keeping our vows
    • Living simply
  • How bodhisattvas transform poison

Wheel of Sharp Weapons (expanded): Verses 1-6 (download)


  1. The translation of the text is by Thubten Jinpa and appears in Mind Training: The Great Collection, but the verses on this site are numbered according to Peacock in the Poison Grove by Geshe Lhundub Sopa. Some verse numbers cited in the teachings are wrong due to mistakes in the text used at the time. 

Venerable Thubten Chodron

Venerable Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1977 by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India, and in 1986 she received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan. Read her full bio.