By: Tony Nguyễn Wiederhold
The Sixteen Bodhisattva Vows are a way all of us can find clarity and dissolve bitterness in everyday life. By sincerely incorporating both the vows and meditation practice into daily life, Right Speech, Action, and Livelihood for our particular circumstances reveal themselves.*
The Chinese-Viet word giới (戒), which people translate into English as either vows or precepts, means “boundary”. Vows are boundaries we set on our own behavior. These are useful 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. We don’t use them as laws, or reasons for punishment. Rather, they are guides everyone can use to move with care and compassion for all beings, including yourself. We learn a lot by turning towards where our habits and cultural norms rub against them.
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.
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 Precepts (Tam Tụ Tịnh Giới, 三聚淨戒)
1. I vow to refrain from doing cruel acts.
2. I vow to perform all acts of healing.
3. I vow to keep my heart clean of ignorance, attachment, and ill-will.
The Ten Major 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 to refrain from using intoxicants and refrain from enticing 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.
*Vows are the first of the Threefold Learning (Tam Học, 三學, triśikṣā), a traditional Buddhist framework for liberation and dignity: vows (precepts) + meditation => wisdom and clarity => vows.
