The Sixteen Bodhisattva Vows are vows that we wholeheartedly engage with, learn from, and live by out of compassion for all living beings, including ourselves and others. They are an essential part of Buddhist practice, the first of the Threefold Trainings (Tam Học, 三學, triśikṣā), a traditional Buddhist framework for liberation and dignity: living by vows (precepts) + meditation practice => clarity beyond words => refinement of living by vows and practice. The trustworthiness that comes from living by these vows forms the foundation of community solidarity and cooperation.
The combination of living by these vows and practicing meditation with others sincerely and wholeheartedly is how Buddhism begins to work in our lives and in our relationships. It allows us to hear the sounds of the world, just like the compassionate Avalokitísvara Bodhisattva, and bring our lives into alignment with our Buddha Nature, our capacity for Great Friendship and Great Compassion, even if it goes against everything that is normal and encouraged by prevailing culture. When we do this, Right Speech, Action, and Livelihood for our particular circumstances can reveal themselves.
Vows As Boundaries, Not Laws
We don’t use vows as laws, or reasons for punishment. Rather, they are guides we engage with to move with care and compassion for all beings, including ourselves, in everyday life, even in active conflict. We learn a lot by turning towards where our habits and cultural norms rub against them. Specific examples come up nearly every practice.
The Chinese-Viet word giới (戒), which people translate into English as either vows or precepts, means “boundary”. The Bodhisattva Vows are boundaries we set on our own behavior. They help us to practice restraint when our feelings, habits, and prevailing culture move us in other directions. Giới also represents the Sanskrit word śila, which means sincerity. Doing your best to uphold these vows is a path to being a dignified and trustworthy person, a way that digests and transforms bitterness. Doing the opposite creates bitterness, or suffering (khổ, 苦) in both others and in yourself.
Different sanghas present these in different ways. We write and recite them as vows to help us actualize them in our lives.
Wholehearted Engagement with Vows
The vows are simple. Simple is not the same as easy, though. Living by vow means doing your best to engage them with your whole being, and not just your intellect. Doing this, you may find that they apply in every aspect your life and every encounter you have. Someone at practice the other day gave a wonderful example of thinking about the vows when taking napkins at a restaurant, and he chose not to follow his habit of taking more than he needed. Small things can grow to big things.
From Reading to Recitation from Your Heart
The way many people encounter them for the first time is through words, either reading them or hearing them. The practice of reciting them yourself is how you can begin to internalize them. Eventually, you can go from reading them, to having them memorized, to saying them from the heart. Even from the beginning of this process, you can play with engaging with them through your actions and the way you live your life. This is how they come alive.
The Vows
The vows are comprised of three parts: Taking Refuge in The Three Jewels, The Three Pure Precepts, and The Ten Major Precepts. On Fridays and Sundays, we recite them together at the end of practice. It’s nice to say them out loud together.
Taking Refuge in The Three Jewels (Quy Y Tam Bảo, 皈依三寶)
1. I take refuge in Buddha and vow to recognize Buddha Nature in myself and others, past, present, and future.
2. I take refuge in Dharma and vow to study teachings and practice sincerely the Way of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
3. I take refuge in Sangha and vow to practice with others in mutual support and extend care into the wider circle of persons, both human and non-human.
The Three Pure Vows (Precepts) – Tam Tụ Tịnh Giới, 三聚淨戒
1. I vow to refrain from doing cruel acts.
2. I vow to do all acts of healing.
3. I vow to keep my heart clean of ignorance, attachment, and ill-will.
The Ten Major Vows (Precepts) – Thập Giới, 十戒
1. I vow neither to kill nor entice others to kill.
2. I vow neither to steal nor entice others to steal.
3. I vow neither to coerce or endanger others sexually nor entice others to coerce or endanger others sexually.
4. I vow neither to lie, mislead, or spread rumors nor entice others to lie, mislead, or spread rumors.
5. I vow neither to use intoxicants nor entice others to use intoxicants.
6. I vow neither to speak of the faults of others nor entice others to speak of the faults of others.
7. I vow neither to praise myself or disparage others, nor entice others to praise either me or themselves or disparage others.
8. I vow neither to be stingy and refuse help when it is sincerely needed, nor entice others to be stingy and refuse help when it is sincerely needed.
9. I vow neither to harbor ill-will and refuse another person’s sincere apology, nor entice others to harbor ill-will and refuse another person’s sincere apology.
10. I vow neither to slander the Three Jewels, nor entice others to slander the Three Jewels.
After reciting them, it is nice to say and mean: “I accept these vows with all my heart.”
Note: our version is based on study of the Brahma Net Sutra, the official Dictionary of Buddhist Studies of the Buddhist Sangha of Viet Nam, and my mother’s precepts certificate, which she received from our teacher, the late Hoà Thượng Thích Đức Niêm at Chùa Quang Minh in Chicago, IL in 1990. Our version of the Three Pure Precepts comes from the Vietnamese version that was painted above the altar there.
