Bodhisattva vows

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Bodhisattva vow (also: Four Significant Vows ) is a frequently recited text in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism , especially in Zen . In Tibetan Buddhism , the Bodhisattva vow is the basis for Mahayana practice. It is the expression and reinforcement of the bodhisattva spirit ( bodhicitta ) and motivates the daily practice of compassion and wisdom , for the practical implementation in everyday life for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Bodhisattva vows in Sino-Japanese Mahayana

Sino-Japanese German Chinese (Pinyin) Chinese (traditional characters)
Shi gu sei gan

Shu jo mu hen is gan do

Bon no mu jin sei gan dan

Ho mon mu ryo sei gan gaku

Butsu do mu jo be gan jo

The four great vows

The number of beings is infinite; I vow to redeem them all

Greed, hatred and ignorance arise incessantly; I vow to overcome them

The gates of Dharma are innumerable; I vow to go through them all

The Buddha's way is incomparable; I vow to make it a reality

Sì hóngshìyuàn

Zhòngshēng wúbiān shì yuàn dù

Fánnǎo wùjìn shì yuàn duàn

Fǎmén wúliàng shì yuàn xué

Fó dào wú shàng shì yuàn chéng

四弘誓願

眾生 無邊 誓願 度

煩惱 無盡 誓願 斷

法門 無量 誓願 學

佛道 無上 誓願 成

The vows of Amitābha

The 48 vows of Amitabha form the basis of Amitabha Buddhism . According to tradition, after hearing the teachings of the Buddha, a king left his throne. He became a monk under the name of Dharmakara. He made 48 vows and became Buddha Amitābha. Trusting in his vows, those who cannot attain nirvana on their own go to the Pure Land of Buddha Amitābha. It is enough to call out his name confidently ( Nembutsu ).

Bodhisattva vows in Mahayana

The bodhisattva vow primarily comprises the promise to do everything possible to free the sentient beings from the cycle of conditioned being (samsara). The motivation for this vow is far more important than the observance of specific rules, which is why Gampopa in his basic work The Precious Jewelry of Liberation even completely refrains from listing the main and secondary vows listed below. The bodhisattva vow is passed on in two traditions: the line of the profound way (Nagarjuna) and the line of the far way (asanga). The Mahayana has a detailed list of actions that are abandoned by a bodhisattva because of their unwholesome effects.

The 18 main bodhisattva's vows

The following actions must be given up:

  1. Praising ourselves and blaming / belittling others out of the desire for profit and respect.
  2. Not sharing possessions with those in need out of attachment, or not teaching the Dharma out of avarice , when appropriately asked to do so.
  3. Don't listen when someone apologizes, but follow the thought of the anger and hit them.
  4. Reject the teachings of Mahayana and teach one's own or a counterfeit other than the sublime Mahayana Dharma.
  5. Appropriating gifts to the Three Gems of Refuge through deceit, robbery, or evil machinations.
  6. The three teaching baskets (Skt. Tripitaka ) despise and claim that these texts are not teachings of the Buddha.
  7. Exclude monks from the monastery or the monastic community (Skt. Sangha ) - even if they have broken their vows - because they are not forgiven.
  8. To commit one of the five heinous crimes: kill the mother, the father or an arhat; willfully shedding the blood of a Buddha; To sow dissension in the monastic community (Skt. Sangha) by supporting and spreading dissenting and wrong views .
  9. Have beliefs that conflict with the Buddha's teachings, such as sectarianism, disbelief in the Three Gems of Refuge, the law of cause and effect , etc.
  10. Completely destroy a place by fire, bombs, pollution, or black magic.
  11. Teaching emptiness (Skt. Sunyata ) to those who are not yet ready to understand it.
  12. To discourage people from seeking full enlightenment in Buddhahood and encourage them to seek only their own liberation from suffering.
  13. Encourage people to give up the vows of moral discipline they have taken.
  14. Getting others to share your own wrong views about the Hinayana - which you may have - as well as belittling the Hinayana teachings, saying that practicing it does not lead to nirvana.
  15. To wrongly claim to have realized the profound (emptiness).
  16. Seize the property of the Three Jewels.
  17. Building unfair behavior patterns by taking resources away from a person who is training in concentration and giving them to a person who recites texts.
  18. Giving up bodhichitta .

According to Asanga , the first four of the 18 main vows are the four "causes of defeat," similar to the four root missteps of Pratimokhsha . The loss of the bodhisattva vows, however, only occurs when there is severe involvement in such behavior: that is, when the mistake remains unrepentant; is used regularly; the bodhisattva is without shame or embarrassment; does this with joy and satisfaction with the conviction that this behavior is good.
The second cause of loss of bodhisattva vows is complete abandonment of the desire for full enlightenment. If he maintains the ethics in this regard, he will keep the bodhisattva vows in the following lives, even if he does not remember them. In contrast to the Pratimokhsha rules, the bodhisattva vows can also be resumed in the same lifetime - even after they have been completely lost.

The 46 secondary vows of giving up the following acts

  1. Refrain, a day the Three Jewels of refuge with body, speech and mind offerings offer by the bowing exercises, praises offereth and their good qualities considered in order to develop faith and confidence in them.
  2. Give in to our desiring minds.
  3. Do not show respect for elders who may be bodhisattvas .
  4. Don't answer questions that you can answer .
  5. Don't accept invitations for the following reasons:
    1. Out of anger, with the intention of hurting the other;
    2. Out of pride, thinking that you are too sophisticated to be around lesser people;
    3. Out of jealousy, thinking that higher-ranking people will look down on you when you are seen with lower-ranking people.
  6. Not accepting gifts of money etc. from others out of anger, pride or jealousy .
  7. Not teaching the Dharma to those who wish to learn it.
  8. Those Reject who have broken the discipline of moral self-control, not forgive them and not stand.
  9. Not maintaining ethical training so that others develop trust.
  10. Little to be done for the benefit of beings.
  11. Do not do any of the seven bad acts of body and speech with a bodhicitta motivation when the circumstances make it necessary, saying that such action would violate the promised rules of moral conduct.
  12. Earning a living from wrong livelihoods .
  13. Be primarily interested in insignificant activities such as entertainment, sporting events, drinking, fooling around, etc., activities that disperse your mind and lead to limitless waste of time, while you could use that time for Dharma practice in an edifying way.
  14. Just thinking about wandering in samsara .
  15. Not getting rid of behavior that causes us to fall into bad repute.
  16. Not correcting those who act with disturbing emotions or attitudes.
  17. React to abuse with abuse, to scolding with scolding, to anger with anger, to beating with beating, to criticism with criticism.
  18. Ignoring those who are angry with us.
  19. Not accepting excuses from someone who admits they wronged you.
  20. Give in to feelings of anger and act on them.
  21. Gather a circle of students and followers around you with the aim of receiving gain, praise, love and security from them.
  22. Do not try to dispel laziness etc.
  23. Indulging in senseless chatter out of desire .
  24. Not looking for the means of attaining calm abiding.
  25. Not getting rid of the obstacles that prevent mental stability.
  26. See and cling to the joyful, good feelings and other benefits that you derive from meditation as ends in themselves.
  27. Neglecting to study the Hinayana teachings.
  28. Working hard in it (the Hinayana system) while having our own methods (Mahayana).
  29. Spend all time and energy studying non-Buddhist teachings - which, while permissible and even useful for understanding and helping others, should not be pursued to the point of neglecting the study of the Dharma.
  30. In just reading non-Buddhist teachings, prefer and cling to them.
  31. The Mahayana teachings reject .
  32. Generally praising yourself and belittling others out of pride and anger.
  33. Do not go for the sake of Dharma (teachings).
  34. Disdain the lama and rely on the letter.
  35. Not helping those who need help .
  36. Don't care about sick people.
  37. Do not work to alleviate the physical suffering of others.
  38. Not teaching the ruthless in harmony with their character.
  39. Not repaying the kindness others have shown you.
  40. Do not dispel the grief of others.
  41. Refrain from giving material aid to the poor and needy.
  42. Not caring about the needs of those who follow us.
  43. Not acting in accordance with the inclinations of others.
  44. Do not speak laudatory about the talents or good qualities of others.
  45. Those who engage in harmful acts in general, and particularly those who are a threat to the Dharma, do not use appropriate means to prevent their acts.
  46. If you have psychic powers, do not use them when they are needed .

These vows are practiced by a bodhisattva along with the 6 perfections, or paramitas . Actions 1–7 are abandoned because they hinder the perfection of giving or bounty. Acts 8-16 are abandoned because they hamper the perfection of moral discipline or ethics. Acts 17–20 are abandoned because they hinder the perfection of patience. Actions 21-23 are abandoned because they hinder the perfection of effort or zeal. Actions 24-26 are given up because they impede perfection of concentration or mental stabilization. Acts 27–34 are abandoned because they hinder the perfection of wisdom. Acts 35–46 are abandoned because they impede the perfection of moral discipline or ethics to benefit others.

Asanga's advice on the vows

The following can be found in Asanga's original text on Mahayana ethics:

The following applies to all Bodhisattva rules: One is relatively flawless when one's own mind is desperate, one is under heavy pressure from feelings of suffering or has not taken the Bodhisattva ethic. Nothing in the bodhisattva path is a mistake in the first place.
Asanga quotes Buddha: ". Know the errors of a Bodhisattva that most of antipathy out develop, not consensual adherence"
If the Bodhisattva motivated by love and compassion, everything is the act of a Bodhisattva - but he bears hatred in opposing the Being, he cannot do good for himself or for others. Asanga sums up: This (having hatred in oneself) is not the practice of a bodhisattva; if he follows, the bodhisattva will do what he shouldn't, and that is ultimately where the flaw in ethics comes from.

The vows of Ambedkar

During his major conversion to Buddhism in 1956, with which he founded so-called Dalit Buddhism or Neo-Buddhism in India, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar formulated his 22 vows, which, in addition to the refuge to the Three Jewels and the Five Sila, became the binding basis for all followers belong to this direction.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Djetsün Gampopa: The precious ornament of liberation . Norbu-Verlag, 2007, p. 116 ff.
  2. ↑ Guide to Dakini Land, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso