བརྟེན། བསྟེན།

An attempt is made here to distinguish between the two homophonous words (i.e. brten pa & bsten pa):

(a) x + la brten “to let (something) rest on x” or “to be based on x.”

(b) x + bsten “to rely on x.” 

It is true, as pointed by Christof Spitz, that we do not need la don with bsten. Cf. Thon mi’i zhal lung (p. 37): smṛ ti bla mar bsten pa’i lo tsā ba “translator, who relied on Smṛti as a guru.”