Bodhisattva vows - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Sanskrit term Bodhisattva

Bodhisattva

In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...

is the name given to anyone who, motivated by great compassion, has generated bodhichitta, which is a spontaneous wish to attain Buddhahood

Buddhahood

In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...

for the benefit of all sentient beings

Sentient beings (Buddhism)

Sentient beings is a technical term in Buddhist discourse. Broadly speaking, it denotes beings with consciousness or sentience or, in some contexts, life itself. Specifically, it denotes the presence of the five aggregates, or skandhas...

. What makes someone a Bodhisattva is her or his dedication to the ultimate welfare of other beings, as expressed in the prayer:

This is bodhichitta. With this motivation, if the Bodhisattva or trainee Bodhisattva promises to engage in the practice of the six or ten perfections (Pāramitā

Pāramitā

Pāramitā or pāramī is "perfection" or "completeness." In Buddhism, the pāramitās refer to the perfection or culmination of certain virtues...

), this is the Bodhisattva vow.

Mahayana Buddhism

In the various Bodhisattva vows (sometimes called the Bodhisattva Precepts) of Mahayana

Mahayana

Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

, the bodhisattva

Bodhisattva

s take a vow

Vow

A vow is a promise or oath.-Marriage vows:Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedding ceremony. Marriage customs have developed over history and keep changing as human society develops...

stating that they will strive for as long as samsara

Samsara

thumb|right|200px|Traditional Tibetan painting or [[Thanka]] showing the [[wheel of life]] and realms of saṃsāraSaṅsāra or Saṃsāra , , literally meaning "continuous flow", is the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth or reincarnation within Hinduism, Buddhism, Bön, Jainism, Sikhism, and other...

endures to liberate all sentient beings from samsara

Samsara

and lead them to enlightenment. The Bodhisattva does not seek bodhi

Bodhi

Bodhi is both a Pāli and Sanskrit word traditionally translated into English with the word "enlightenment", but which means awakened. In Buddhism it is the knowledge possessed by a Buddha into the nature of things...

(Awakening) solely for him/herself, but chiefly for the sake of freeing all other beings and aiding them into the bliss of Nirvana

Nirvana

Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...

.

This can be done by venerating all Buddhas and by cultivating supreme moral and spiritual perfection, to be placed in the service of others. In particular, Bodhisattvas promise to practice the "six perfections" of giving, moral discipline, patience, effort, concentration and wisdom in order to fulfill their bodhichitta aim of attaining enlightenment for the sake of all beings.

Taking the Bodhisattva vow

An example of a Bodhisattva vow is found at the very end of the Avatamsaka Sutra

Avatamsaka Sutra

The is one of the most influential Mahayana sutras of East Asian Buddhism. The title is rendered in English as Flower Garland Sutra, Flower Adornment Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture....

by Samantabhadra

Samantabhadra

Samantabhadra , is a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with Buddhist practice and meditation. Together with Shakyamuni Buddha and fellow bodhisattva Manjusri he forms the Shakyamuni trinity in Buddhism...

. In Shantideva

Shantideva

Shantideva was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar at Nalanda University and an adherent of the Madhyamaka philosophy of Nagarjuna....

's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life, the Bodhisattva vow is taken with the following famous two verses from Sutra:

Berzin (1997: unpaginated) links the mindstream

Mindstream

Mindstream in Buddhist philosophy is the moment-to-moment "continuum" of awareness. There are a number of terms in the Buddhist literature that may well be rendered "mindstream"...

to the bodhisattva vows:

The promise to keep bodhisattva vows applies not only to this life, but to each subsequent lifetime until enlightenment. Thus these vows continue on our mind-stream into future lives.

Zen Tradition

The following table of the fourfold vow is as practiced by the Chan

Zen

Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...

and Zen

Zen

tradition. Within Japan the bodhisattva precepts are recognised as being full ordination for all sects of Buddhism.

Sino-Japanese	English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...	Chinese (pinyin) Chinese language The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...	Chinese (hanzi) Chinese written language Written Chinese comprises Chinese characters used to represent the Chinese language, and the rules about how they are arranged and punctuated. Chinese characters do not constitute an alphabet or a compact syllabary...
Shi gu sei gan	The Four Great Vows	Sì hóng shì yuàn	四弘誓願
Shu jo mu hen sei gan do	I vow to liberate all beings, without number	Zhòng shēng wúbiān shì yuàn dù	眾生無邊誓願度
Bon no mu jin sei gan dan	I vow to uproot endless blind passions	Fánnǎo wújìn shì yuàn duàn	煩惱無盡誓願斷
Ho mon mu ryo sei gan gaku	I vow to penetrate dharma gates beyond measure	Fǎ mén wúliàng shì yuàn xué	法門無量誓願學
Butsu do mu jo sei gan jo	I vow to attain the way of the Buddha	Fó dào wúshàng shì yuàn chéng	佛道無上誓願成

Brahma Net Sutra

The Brahma Net Sutra

Brahmajala Sutra (Mahayana)

The Brahmajala Sutra , also called the Brahma's Net Sutra is a text of the Mahayana Buddhist canon. It is not related to the Brahmajala Sutta of the Theravada Buddhist Pali Canon...

translated by Kumarajiva

Kumarajiva

Kumārajīva; was a Kuchean Buddhist monk, scholar, and translator. He first studied teachings of the Sarvastivada schools, later studied under Buddhasvāmin, and finally became a Mahāyāna adherent, studying the Madhyamaka doctrine of Nagarjuna. Kumārajīva settled in Chang'an, which was the imperial...

(circa 400 AD) has a list of ten major and forty-eight minor Bodhisattva vows. The ten major vows are as follows:

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. (24) 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. (25)
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. (26)
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. (27) 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. (28)
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. (29) 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.
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. (30)
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. (31)
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. (32)
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, (33) 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.
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. (34)
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. (35)

Asanga's Bodhisattvabhumi

Asanga

Asaṅga was a major exponent of the Yogācāra tradition in India, also called Vijñānavāda. Traditionally, he and his half-brother Vasubandhu are regarded as the founders of this school...

(circa 300 AD) delineated 18 major vows and forty-six minor vows. These Bodhisattva vows are still used in all four major traditions of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. The eighteen major vows (as actions to be abandoned) are as follows:

Praising oneself or belittling others due to attachment to receiving material offerings, praise and respect.
Not giving material aid or (due to miserliness) not teaching the Dharma to those who are suffering and without a protector.
Not listening to others' apologies or striking others
Abandoning the Mahayana by saying that Mahayana texts are not the words of Buddha or teaching what appears to be the Dharma but is not.
Taking things belonging to Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

, Dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...

or Sangha
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...

.
Abandoning the holy Dharma by saying that texts which teach the three vehicles are not the Buddha's word.
With anger depriving ordained ones of their robes, beating and imprisoning them or causing them to lose their ordination even if they have impure morality, for example, by saying that being ordained is useless.
Committing any of the five extremely negative actions: (1) killing one's mother, (2) killing one's father, (3) killing an arhat, (4) intentionally drawing blood from a Buddha or (5) causing schism in the Sangha community by supporting and spreading sectarian views.
Holding distorted views (which are contrary to the teaching of Buddha, such as denying the existence of the Three Jewels or the law of cause and effect etc.)
Destroying towns, villages, cities or large areas by means such as fire, bombs, pollution or black magic.
Teaching emptiness to those whose minds are unprepared.
Causing those who have entered the Mahayana to turn away from working for the full enlightenment of Buddhahood and encouraging them to work merely for their own liberation from suffering.
Causing others to abandon their Pratimoksha
Pratimoksha
The Pratimoksha is a Buddhist moral discipline. A loose translation of the term is "personal liberation", and thus the discipline is concerned with the Buddhist's quest for personal liberation, and originated with the Pratimoksha Vows given by the Buddha to his followers. "Prati" means 'towards' or...

vows.
Belittling the Śrāvaka
Sravaka
Shravaka or Śrāvaka or Sāvaka means "hearer" or, more generally, "disciple".This term is used by both Buddhists and Jains. In Jainism, a shravaka is any lay Jain...

or Pratyekabuddha
Pratyekabuddha
A Pratyekabuddha or Paccekabuddha , literally "a lone buddha" , "a buddha on their own" or "a private buddha", is one of three types of enlightened beings according to some schools of Buddhism. The other two types are the Śrāvakabuddhas and Samyaksambuddhas...

vehicle (by holding and causing others to hold the view that these vehicles do not abandon attachment and other delusions).
Falsely stating that oneself has realised profound emptiness
Emptiness
Emptiness as a human condition is a sense of generalized boredom, social alienation and apathy. Feelings of emptiness often accompany dysthymia, depression, loneliness, despair, or other mental/emotional disorders such as borderline personality disorder...

and that if others meditate as one has, they will realize emptiness and become as great and as highly realized as oneself.
Taking gifts from others who were encouraged to give you things originally intended as offerings to the Three Jewels. Not giving things to the Three Jewels that others have given you to give to them, or accepting property stolen from the Three Jewels.
Causing those engaged in calm-abiding meditation to give it up by giving their belongings to those who are merely reciting texts or making bad disciplinary rules which cause a spiritual community not to be harmonious.
Abandoning either of the two types of Bodhicitta
Bodhicitta
In Buddhism, bodhicitta jang chub sem, Mongolian бодь сэтгэл) is the intention to achieve omniscient Buddhahood as fast as possible, so that one may benefit infinite sentient beings...

(aspiring and engaging).

According to Atisha

Atisha

Atiśa Dipankara Shrijnana was a Buddhist teacher from the Pala Empire who, along with Konchog Gyalpo and Marpa, was one of the major figures in the establishment of the Sarma lineages in Tibet after the repression of Buddhism by King Langdarma .- Birth :Atisha is most commonly said to have been...

the Pratimoksha

Pratimoksha

The Pratimoksha is a Buddhist moral discipline. A loose translation of the term is "personal liberation", and thus the discipline is concerned with the Buddhist's quest for personal liberation, and originated with the Pratimoksha Vows given by the Buddha to his followers. "Prati" means 'towards' or...

vows are the basis for the Bodhisattva vows. Without keeping one of the different sets of Pratimoksha vows (in one of existing Vinaya

Vinaya

The Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...

schools), there is no Bodhisattva vow.

Classical Commentaries in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism

Asanga's Chapter on Ethics With the Commentary of Tsong-Kha-Pa: The Basic Path to Awakening, the Complete Bodhisattva, translated by Mark Tatz, ISBN 088946054X
Complete Explanation of the Pratimoksha, Bodhisattva and Vajrayana Vows: "Buddhist Ethics" (Treasury of Knowledge: Book Five), Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye, ISBN 1-55939-191-X
Ngari Panchen: Perfect Conduct: Ascertaining the Three Vows, ISBN 0-86171-083-5; commentary by Dudjom Rinpoche
Dudjom Rinpoche
Dudjom Rinpoche is the title of a prominent line of tulkus of the Nyingmapa order of Tibetan Buddhism. Dudjom Rinpoche was born in 1904 on the tenth day of the sixth month in the year of the wood dragon in Southern Tibet in a region called the "hidden land" of Pema Ko. He died on January 17, 1987...
The Bodhisattva Vow, by Geshe Sonam Rinchen, ISBN 1559391502
The Bodhisattva Vow: A Practical Guide to Helping Others, by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Tharpa Publications
Tharpa Publications
Tharpa Publications is "a major international and multilingual publisher of Buddhist books" by world renowned Buddhist author and scholar Geshe Kelsang Gyatso...

(2nd. ed., 1995) ISBN 978-0-948006-50-0
Taking the Bodhisattva Vow, by Bokar Rinpoche, ISBN 0963037188 (10), ISBN 978-0963037183 (13)

External links

Brahma Net Sutra
The eight Pledges of aspiring Bodhichitta, the eighteen root vows and the forty-six secondary Bodhisattva vows according to Tibetan Gelug Tradition (including commentary) by Alexander Berzin
Twenty Verses on the Bodhisattva Vow by Chandragomin
Nine Considerations and Criteria for Benefiting Beings
Keeping the Bodhisattva Vow An extract.
different versions of the Bodhisattva vows, at katinkahesselink.net

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