fifty-two stages of bodhisattva practice ［五十二位］ ( gojūni-i): Also, fifty-two stages of practice. The stages through which bodhisattvas advance from the time of their initial resolve until they finally attain Buddhahood. The fifty-two stages are enumerated in the Jeweled Necklace Sutra and consist of ten stages of faith, ten stages of security, ten stages of practice, ten stages of devotion, ten stages of development, the stage of near-perfect enlightenment, and the stage of perfect enlightenment. The Brahmā Net Sutra divides bodhisattva practice into forty stages. The Benevolent Kings Sutra divides it into fifty-one stages, and there is an explanation elsewhere that sets forth forty-one stages.