Bodhisattva precepts

Bodhisattva precepts (T. byang sdom བྱང་སྡོམ; C. pusa jie; J. bosatsukai 菩薩戒) are the codes of conduct prescribed for those undertaking the bodhisattva path within the Sanskrit Mahayana tradition. The commitment to follow these precepts is typically made in a formal pledge known as the bodhisattva vow (Skt. bodhisattvapraṇidhāna).

The bodhisattva precepts are typically adopted in addition to the pratimoksha precepts precepts (the monastic precepts for monastics or the five precepts for lay practitioners).

In One Teacher, Many Traditions, the 14th Dalai Lama states:

Those practicing the Bodhisattva Vehicle take the bodhisattva ethical restraints with the wish to attain full awakening to benefit all sentient beings. The bodhisattva precepts focus on subduing self-centeredness, the main obstacle to generating bodhicitta and engaging in the bodhisattvas’ practice. Different versions of the bodhisattva ethical restraints are found in Tibetan, Chinese, and Japanese Buddhism.

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Unlike the prātimokṣa precepts that focus on physical and verbal actions, bodhisattva and tantric precepts emphasize ethical conduct on the mental level. Here motivation is foremost. This means that if our motivation is pure, we can transform all actions into the Dharma. However, this does not give us license to rationalize selfish and nonvirtuous actions by saying “My motivation was compassion."

Precepts in Tibetan Buddhism

All Tibetan traditions currently follow a system of eighteen root precepts and forty-six secondary precepts.

Background

The Library of Wisdom and Compassion (Book 5) states:

The bodhisattva vow entails avoiding eighteen root downfalls and forty-six misdeeds. As explained in the Tibetan tradition, the Buddha taught the bodhisattva precepts at different times and they are dispersed among several Mahāyāna sūtras. Asaṅga collected many of these percepts and explained the four root downfalls and forty-six misdeeds in the “Chapter on Ethical Conduct” in his Bodhisattva Grounds (Bodhisattvabhūmi). The lay practitioner Candragomin (seventh century) condensed this longer explanation and wrote Twenty Verses on the Bodhisattva Ethical Code (Bodhisattva-saṃvara-viṃśaka). Śāntideva also searched the Mahāyāna sūtras and, drawing principally from the Ākāśagarbha Sūtra, he compiled a list of fourteen root precepts, which is found in his Compendium of Training (Śikṣāsamuccaya). One of the fourteen is almost the same as the first one in Asaṅga’s list, so the duplication was removed and Śāntideva added the eighteenth root precept from the Sūtra on Skillful Means (Upāyakauśalya Sūtra). In short, of the root precepts, numbers 1–4 were gathered by Asaṅga and Candragomin, and numbers 5–18 by Śāntideva. All forty-six auxiliary precepts are from Asaṅga’s and Candragomin’s texts.

Three aspects of the bodhisattva's ethical conduct

The Library of Wisdom and Compassion (Book 5) states:

The ethical conduct of bodhisattvas consists of three aspects:

• refraining from destructive actions,
• gathering virtue, and
• benefiting sentient beings.

The eighteen root downfalls pertain to the ethical conduct of refraining from destructive actions; the first thirty-four of the auxiliary precepts are included in the ethical conduct of gathering virtue, and the last twelve auxiliary precepts pertain to the ethical conduct of benefiting sentient beings. In this way, keeping all the bodhisattva precepts, both root and auxiliary, fulfills the three types of ethical conduct for bodhisattvas.

Eighteen root bodhisattva precepts

The eighteen root bodhisattva precepts (actions to be abandoned) are:

1. (a) Praising yourself or (b) belittling others out of jealousy for others’ possessions, status, or good qualities or with attachment to receiving material offerings, praise, and respect.
2. (a) Not giving material aid or (b) not teaching the Dharma to those who are suffering and have no one else to turn to for help, because of miserliness. When we have the opportunity to help someone who is in deep suffering and is without friends or support by giving material aid or explaining the Dharma to them, we should do it. This does not mean we have to give to every charity or every beggar.
3. (a) Not accepting someone’s sincere apology, continuing to be angry at the person and verbally abusing them, or (b) angrily striking or injuring them. When someone genuinely wants to make amends, we should accept their apology and not continue to hold a grudge.
4. (a) Abandoning the Mahāyāna by saying that Mahāyāna texts are not the words of the Buddha or (b) teaching false doctrines that appear to be Mahāyāna teachings but are not. This involves thinking or saying that bodhicitta is impractical and bodhisattva practices are too vast and difficult to actually practice, and that therefore they could not have been taught by the Buddha, or propagating views that contradict the Dharma and encouraging others to practice false teachings. Doing either of these not only harms us but also has a deleterious effect on others’ spiritual practice.
5. Taking things belonging to the (a) Buddha, (b) Dharma, or (c) Saṅgha. This entails taking back, robbing, or embezzling offerings given to any of the Three Jewels, using material given to either an ārya or the monastic community for your own purposes without permission, or borrowing and not returning things belonging to the Saṅgha.
6. Abandoning the holy Dharma by saying that texts that teach any of the three vehicles (the Śrāvaka, Solitary Realizer, or Bodhisattva Vehicles) are not the Buddha’s word — for example, criticizing or declaring that any of the Fundamental Vehicle or Mahāyāna teachings are not the Buddha’s word or despising the three baskets (Vinaya, Sūtra, and Abhidharma) of any of the three vehicles.
7. With anger, (a) taking the robes of a monastic, beating and imprisoning them, or (b) causing them to lose their ordination and return to lay life even if they have impure ethical conduct — for example, by saying that being ordained is useless.
8. Committing any of the five heinous actions: (a) killing your mother, (b) killing your father, (c) killing an arhat, (d) intentionally drawing blood from a buddha, or (e) causing a schism in the Saṅgha community by supporting and spreading sectarian views.
9. Holding wrong views that are contrary to the teachings of the Buddha, such as denying the existence of the Three Jewels, rebirth, or the law of cause and effect, and so forth. Holding such views makes having confidence in and practicing the Buddhadharma very difficult.
10. Destroying a (a) town, (b) village, (c) city, or (d) large area by means such as fire, bombs or other explosives, pollution, or black magic, with the intention to harm others. Today, this would be considered a hate crime.
11. Teaching emptiness to those whose minds are unprepared. If we teach emptiness to a person who is not well-trained in the fundamental teachings, especially in the law of karma and its effects, there is the danger that this person will misunderstand the meaning of emptiness and conclude that nothing exists. Teachers must check the mental capacity of students before instructing them.
12. Causing those who have entered the Mahāyāna to turn away from working for the full awakening of buddhahood and encouraging them to work merely for their own liberation from duḥkha. For example, discouraging someone who has interest in the Bodhisattva Vehicle by telling them that practicing the bodhisattva deeds for three countless great eons is too difficult or that there are too many sentient beings to lead them all to awakening. We recommend that they instead seek an arhat’s liberation, and as a result of our words, they relinquish bodhicitta.
13. Causing others to abandon completely their prātimokṣa (monastic) precepts and embrace the Mahāyāna. Here we tell a monastic that there is not much benefit in keeping their monastic precepts and it would better if they disrobed and practiced the Mahāyāna. A transgression occurs if they follow this bad advice.
14. Holding and causing others to hold the view that the Fundamental Vehicle does not abandon attachment and other afflictions. For example, telling someone who follows the Fundamental Vehicle that they won’t be able to eradicate all afflictions and attain liberation. This could cause the person to hold that erroneous view and give up their efforts to attain liberation.
15. Falsely saying that you have realized profound emptiness and that if others meditate as you have, they will realize emptiness and become as great and as highly realized as you. This hypocritical action involves lying and claiming to possess a realization of emptiness that we do not have.
16. (a) Not giving offerings to the Three Jewels that others have given you to give to them, (b) fining a monastic and thereby obliging him or her to steal from the Three Jewels to pay the fine, or (c) accepting property stolen from the Three Jewels. These actions involve an abuse of power related to the Three Jewels.
17. (a) Depriving those engaged in serenity meditation of their belongings or of offerings intended for them by giving them to those who are merely reciting texts, or (b) making harmful rules that interfere with monastics’ Dharma practice.
18. Abandoning aspiring bodhicitta by resolving to exclude even one sentient being from your bodhicitta. It is important to guard against deep anger and grudges toward any sentient being.

When a precept has more than one aspect, engaging just one aspect constitutes a transgression of the precept.

Precepts in East Asian Buddhism

In One Teacher, Many Traditions, the 14th Dalai Lama states:

Two renditions of the bodhisattva ethical code exist in Chinese Buddhism. The Brahmajāla Sūtra contains ten root and forty-eight auxiliary precepts, and the Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra has four root and forty-one auxiliary precepts. There is much overlap between the lists in these two scriptures, as well as with the bodhisattva precepts of Tibetan Buddhism.

Brahmajāla Sūtra

The Brahmajāla Sūtra presents a list of ten major and forty-eight minor Bodhisattva vows. These are often called the "Brahma Net Precepts" (Chinese: 梵網戒; pinyin: Fànwǎng Jiè). According to the sutra, the ten major bodhisattva precepts are in summary:

1. Not to kill or encourage others to kill.
2. Not to steal or encourage others to steal.
3. Not to engage in licentious acts or encourage others to do so. A monk is expected to abstain from sexual conduct entirely.
4. Not to use false words and speech, or encourage others to do so.
5. Not to trade or sell alcoholic beverages or encourage others to do so.
6. Not to broadcast the misdeeds or faults of the Buddhist assembly, nor encourage others to do so.
7. Not to praise oneself and speak ill of others, or encourage others to do so.
8. Not to be stingy, or encourage others to do so.
9. Not to harbor anger or encourage others to be angry.
10. Not to speak ill of the Buddha, the Dharma or the Sangha (lit. the Triple Jewel) or encourage others to do so.

Breaking any of these precepts is described as a major offense in the sutra.

A fuller description is as follows:

1. A disciple of the Buddha shall not himself kill, encourage others to kill, kill by expedient means, praise killing, rejoice at witnessing killing, or kill through incantation or deviant mantras. He must not create the causes, conditions, methods, or karma of killing, and shall not intentionally kill any living creature. As a Buddha's disciple, he ought to nurture a mind of compassion and filial piety, always devising expedient means to rescue and protect all beings. If instead, he fails to restrain himself and kills sentient beings without mercy, he commits a Parajika (major) offense.
2. A disciple of the Buddha must not himself steal or encourage others to steal, steal by expedient means, steal by means of incantation or deviant mantras. He should not create the causes, conditions, methods, or karma of stealing. No valuables or possessions, even those belonging to ghosts and spirits or thieves and robbers, be they as small as a needle or blade of grass, may be stolen. As a Buddha's disciple, he ought to have a mind of mercy, compassion, and filial piety -- always helping people earn merits and achieve happiness. If instead, he steals the possessions of others, he commits a Parajika offense.
3. A disciple of the Buddha must not engage in licentious acts or encourage others to do so. [As a monk] he should not have sexual relations with any female -- be she a human, animal, deity or spirit -- nor create the causes, conditions, methods, or karma of such misconduct. Indeed, he must not engage in improper sexual conduct with anyone. A Buddha's disciple ought to have a mind of filial piety -- rescuing all sentient beings and instructing them in the Dharma of purity and chastity. If instead, he lacks compassion and encourages others to engage in sexual relations promiscuously, including with animals and even their mothers, daughters, sisters, or other close relatives, he commits a Parajika offense.
4. A disciple of the Buddha must not himself use false words and speech, or encourage others to lie or lie by expedient means. He should not involve himself in the causes, conditions, methods, or karma of lying, saying that he has seen what he has not seen or vice versa, or lying implicitly through physical or mental means. As a Buddha's disciple, he ought to maintain Right Speech and Right Views always, and lead all others to maintain them as well. If instead, he causes wrong speech, wrong views or evil karma in others, he commits a Parajika offense.
5. A disciple of the Buddha must not trade in alcoholic beverages or encourage others to do so. He should not create the causes, conditions, methods, or karma of selling any intoxicant whatsoever, for intoxicants are the causes and conditions of all kinds of offenses. As a Buddha's disciple, he ought to help all sentient beings achieve clear wisdom. If instead, he causes them to have upside-down, topsy-turvy thinking, he commits a Parajika offense.
6. A disciple of the Buddha must not himself broadcast the misdeeds or infractions of Bodhisattva-clerics or Bodhisattva-laypersons, or of [ordinary] monks and nuns -- nor encourage others to do so. He must not create the causes, conditions, methods, or karma of discussing the offenses of the assembly. As a Buddha's disciple, whenever he hears evil persons, externalists or followers of the Two Vehicles speak of practices contrary to the Dharma or contrary to the precepts within the Buddhist community, he should instruct them with a compassionate mind and lead them to develop wholesome faith in the Mahayana. If instead, he discusses the faults and misdeeds that occur within the assembly, he commits a Parajika offense.
7. A disciple of the Buddha shall not praise himself and speak ill of others, or encourage others to do so. He must not create the causes, conditions, methods, or karma of praising himself and disparaging others. As a disciple of the Buddha, he should be willing to stand in for all sentient beings and endure humiliation and slander -- accepting blame and letting sentient beings have all the glory. If instead, he displays his own virtues and conceals the good points of others, thus causing them to suffer slander, he commits a Parajika offense.
8. A disciple of the Buddha must not be stingy or encourage others to be stingy. He should not create the causes, conditions, methods, or karma of stinginess. As a Bodhisattva, whenever a destitute person comes for help, he should give that person what he needs. If instead, out of anger and resentment, he denies all assistance -- refusing to help with even a penny, a needle, a blade of grass, even a single sentence or verse or a phrase of Dharma, but instead scolds and abuses that person -- he commits a Parajika offense.
9. A disciple of the Buddha shall not harbor anger or encourage others to be angry. He should not create the causes, conditions, methods, or karma of anger. As a disciple of the Buddha, he ought to be compassionate and filial, helping all sentient beings develop the good roots of non-contention. If instead, he insults and abuses sentient beings, or even transformation beings [such as deities and spirits], with harsh words, hitting them with his fists or feet, or attacking them with a knife or club -- or harbors grudges even when the victim confesses his mistakes and humbly seeks forgiveness in a soft, conciliatory voice -- the disciple commits a Parajika offense.
10. A Buddha's disciple shall not himself speak ill of the Triple Jewel or encourage others to do so. He must not create the causes, conditions, methods or karma of slander. If a disciple hears but a single word of slander against the Buddha from externalists or evil beings, he experiences a pain similar to that of three hundred spears piercing his heart. How then could he possibly slander the Triple Jewel himself? Hence, if a disciple lacks faith and filial piety towards the Triple Jewel, and even assists evil persons or those of aberrant views to slander the Triple Jewel, he commits a Parajika offense.

Applying the precepts

Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese traditions

In traditional Mahayana monastic communities in East Asia, a fully ordained monk or nun ordains under the traditional prātimokṣa precepts first, as described in the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya. In the Chinese tradition, this is called the Four-Part Vinaya (Chinese: 四分律; pinyin: Sìfēnlǜ). Then as a supplement, the same disciple would undertake the Bodhisattva Precepts as well.

Monks and nuns are not considered "ordained" through by the Bodhisattva Precepts, but rather by the ordaining under the Four Part Vinaya, while the Bodhisattva Precepts served to strengthen the Mahayana ideals. Similarly, the Bodhisattva Precepts are given to lay disciples to strengthen their devotion to Buddhism as well. Such disciples often take the basic five precepts and then the Bodhisattva precepts as a supplement.

Chinese Chan Buddhist monk, Yin Shun wrote:

To cultivate bodhi mind means to accept the bodhisattva precepts and practice the ten good deeds.

Japanese traditions

In Japanese Buddhism, with the rise of Saicho and the Tendai sect, the original Vinaya lineage was de-emphasized, and a new monastic community was set up using the Bodhisattva Precepts exclusively.

Later Buddhist sects in Japan, including Soto Zen, Shingon and Jodo Shu adopted a similar approach to their monastic communities, and exclusive use of the Bodhisattva Precepts. By this time in Japan, the Vinaya lineage had all but died out and Japan's remote location made it difficult to re-establish, though limited efforts by Jokei and the Shingon Risshu sect revived it for a time. This was further enforced during the Meiji Period when the Nikujiku Saitai Law (肉食妻帯) of 1872 decriminalized clerical marriage and meat-eating.

The Sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts in Sōtō Zen

In the Sōtō school of Zen, the founder Dōgen established a somewhat expanded version of the Bodhisattva Precepts for use by both priests and lay followers, based on both Brahma Net Sutra and other sources. These precepts are translated by John Daido Loori as follows:

• The Three Treasures
  1. Taking refuge in the Buddha
  2. Taking refuge in the Dharma
  3. Taking refuge in the Sangha

  The Three Treasures are universally known in Buddhism as the Three Refuges or Three Jewels.

• The Three Pure Precepts
  1. Do not create Evil
  2. Practice Good
  3. Actualize Good For Others

  These are also known as the Three Root Precepts, and are mentioned in the Brahmajāla Sūtra as well.

• The Ten Grave Precepts
  1. Respect life – Do not kill
  2. Be giving – Do not steal
  3. Honor the body – Do not misuse sexuality
  4. Manifest truth – Do not lie
  5. Proceed clearly – Do not cloud the mind
  6. See the perfection – Do not speak of others' errors and faults
  7. Realize self and others as one – Do not elevate the self and blame others
  8. Give generously – Do not be withholding
  9. Actualize harmony – Do not be angry
  10. Experience the intimacy of things – Do not defile the Three Treasures

Sources

• Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University 
• Dalai Lama; Thubten Chodron (2014), Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions, Wisdom Publications 
• Dalai Lama; Thubten Chodron (2020), In Praise of Great Compassion, The Library of Wisdom and Compassion, Volume 5, Wisdom Publications 
• Minh Thanh (2000), The Brahma Net Sutra (PDF), Sutra Translation Committee of the United States and Canada . Web version, Archive version

External links

• Root Bodhisattva Vows (precepts), StudyBuddhism
• Secondary Bodhisattva Vows (precepts), StudyBuddhism
• Bodhisattva Precepts, Wikipedia