Five circumstantial advantages

The five circumstantial advantages (T. gzhan 'byor lnga གཞན་འབྱོར་ལྔ་) are identified within some Tibetan Buddhist ngondro practices as half of the ten advantages of a precious human birth, are:

1. a buddha has come
2. he has taught the Dharma
3. the teachings have survived
4. there are followers of the teachings
5. there are favourable conditions for Dharma practice

Commentary

Dudjom Rinpoche states:

The five circumstantial advantages are:

A Buddha has come, he taught the Dharma,

His doctrine has endured, it has a following,

And they are kind-hearted and altruistic.

In other words,

• even though the coming of a Buddha in the world is even rarer than the flower of the udumbara, a Buddha has appeared in the world at this time;
• he taught the sacred Dharma, the way to liberation; his teachings have not disappeared but still endure;
• there are also individuals who follow and practice those teachings;
• they are able, moreover, to compassionately guide other beings.

Since these five are comprised in other streams of being and are favorable conditions for accomplishing the Dharma, they are referred to as circumstantial advantages.

See also

• Eight freedoms
• Five individual advantages