ten stages of development ［十地］ ( dashabhūmi;  jū-ji): Also, simply ten stages. Ten stages through which the practitioner conquers progressively deeper levels of darkness and advances in Buddhist practice. In the system of the fifty-two stages of bodhisattva practice set forth in the Jeweled Necklace Sutra, they are viewed as the forty-first through the fiftieth stages. There are several different sets of “ten stages” listed in different scriptures. The Ten Stages Sutra lists them as follows: (1) the stage of joy, in which one rejoices at realizing a partial aspect of the truth; (2) the stage of freedom from defilement, in which one is free from all defilement; (3) the stage of the emission of light, in which one radiates the light of wisdom; (4) the stage of glowing wisdom, in which the flame of wisdom burns away earthly desires; (5) the stage of overcoming final illusions, in which one surmounts the illusions of darkness, or ignorance of the Middle Way; (6) the stage of the sign of supreme wisdom, in which the supreme wisdom begins to appear; (7) the stage of progression, in which one rises above the paths of the two vehicles; (8) the stage of immobility, in which one dwells firmly in the truth of the Middle Way and cannot be perturbed by anything; (9) the stage of the all-penetrating wisdom, in which one preaches the Law freely and without restriction; and (10) the stage of the Dharma cloud, in which one benefits all sentient beings with the Dharma or Law, just as a cloud sends down rain impartially upon all things.