ACI Course 7 — The Vows of the Bodhisattva · Class 6 · 四缠·失戒与还净

Reading Six: The Four Chains, Restoring the Vows, and How the Vows are Lost

The following reading is taken from the String of Shining Jewels, by Geshe Tsewang Samdrup (early 19th Century), a tutor of His Holiness the Tenth Dalai Lama.

In the case of two of the root downfalls—that is, with this last one and also with the ninth, where you hold to wrong views—it is not necessary for all four of the "binding" mental afflictions to be present in order for a root downfall to occur.

With the other sixteen root downfalls though there must be what we call a "major" instance of the binding mental afflictions. For an instance of the binding mental afflictions to be "major," all four must be present. These four binding mental afflictions are as follows:

If one possesses the fourth mental affliction, and on top of it the first three as well, then this is a "major" instance of the binding mental afflictions. There are other cases where one possesses the fourth affliction and in addition to it only two of the first three, or else only one of these three, or perhaps no more than the fourth on its own. All these cases are said to represent a "medium" impurity. The first three are said to be a "lesser" impurity.

A person can be engaged in a basic form of one of the sixteen root downfalls and yet, should the requirement of a "major" instance of the binding mental afflictions not be filled, he or she is only committing a kind of downfall subsumed by a lesser or medium level of impurity. Such a person then would only be performing a secondary offense categorized in the collection of root downfalls.

This brings us to the third part in our presentation on the vows of the bodhisattva, which concerns how to restore them, should they happen to decline. Any time you commit one of the root downfalls and a "major" instance of the binding mental afflictions has occurred, or else when something happens like giving up the prayer for the wish for enlightenment or developing wrong views, you must take the vows over again.

Whenever you commit offenses that involve a medium level of impurity, you should confess them before a group of three or more persons. Whenever you commit offenses involving a lesser level of impurity, or else any of the forty-six secondary offenses or anything of the like, then you should confess them before a single person.

Any time you commit any other offenses, the best thing you can do is to confess it before a single person, and so on. If you can't do that, then you should confess before an altar with representations of the body, speech, and mind of the Buddha, with a strong feeling that you are performing your confession in the presence of the victorious Buddhas, along with their bodhisattva sons and daughters.

You should also confess and purify yourself through the practices of going for refuge and praying to develop the wish for enlightenment, performing a confession of downfalls, a general confession, meditation and recitation on the practice of the Warrior of Diamond, and so on.

Whenever you perform any of the confessions mentioned throughout here you must do so with all four of the antidote forces complete. . .

The following selections are taken from the Highway for Bodhisattvas, by Je Tsongkapa (1357-1419), ff. 627, 638-641, 645, and 647-8.

We may summarize these points as follows. If a person commits even one of the "defeats" [root downfalls], it is impossible for him or her to attain the first bodhisattva level within the same life. One also loses the spiritual fortune to see the close cause of this attainment, the great collection of virtue necessary to reach the first bodhisattva level, increase in its power (for whatever amount one has already collected) or occur in the first place (for whatever amount one has yet to collect). I need not mention then what happens when you commit these defeats over and over again.

Therefore you must never think to yourself: "Well, even if I did commit one of the defeats, it doesn't matter, I could take my bodhisattva vows over again." Rather you must, at the cost of your very life, avoid ever being defiled by a root downfall of the vows.

Again we can summarize as follows. Suppose you commit a root downfall, but from the point just after you do so, and on, you do not lose your wish for enlightenment in the form of a prayer. The power of this kind of wish then prevents the fact that you have committed a root downfall from acting as a block that would stop the vows from ever growing again in you. If you lack this kind of wish though there would be nothing to block the power of the root downfall, and this would make your vows something that you could not restore. This is the point of the quotation.

One may ask the following question:

As for the two lacks of something, they must be continual from the point where one intends to do the action on through to the end of the actual commission of the deed. If though during this interval one feels any sense of shame or consideration, or else during this same interval considers his act to be wrong, then the necessary components of a major instance of the "chains" are not complete.

The case is similar for the two thoughts that must be present. They must occur during the same interval, and on from the completion of the commission of the deed on, in such a way that they are not stopped. It would be too much to say though that they had to occur in one's mind in an unbroken stream throughout this whole period.

Now generally speaking, the freedom vows can be had by persons of both the greater way and the lesser one, and so we can say that there are both greater-way and lesser-way vows of freedom. The disciples for whom these rules were primarily instituted though are persons of the lesser way. Whether or not those of the lesser way actually manage to attain the level of an enemy destroyer in this life, they must still don the armor of the great intention, in order to eliminate the impurities during their life; they must put forth a mighty effort to eliminate their mental afflictions, with the same effort they would apply in trying to extinguish the flames if their hair or clothes were to catch on fire.

And so when they take their vows they are doing so in order to eliminate all the impurities. If they were to commit one of the defeats, and if they concealed the fact, then this would prevent them from ever attaining the elimination of all their impurities in this life. The main purpose of their taking their vows then would be totally lost.

It is not the case though that the main purpose for a bodhisattva to take his or her bodhisattva vows is lost even should he or she commit a root downfall of these vows. This then is the real reason why one of these two types of vows can be restored, and the other not. . .

Concerning this point, suppose someone gives back his or her bodhisattva vows. He or she has first agreed to accomplish the help and happiness of an infinite number of living beings, and then stopped keeping their vows altogether. As a result they will fall to the lower births, and then be forced to wander there for a very long time; for if one must pass to the lower realms for destroying the happiness of even a single living creature, what need is there to mention what happens when you destroy the happiness of a limitless number of beings? For this and many other reasons is the point above proven.

The above reasons all relate to a case where one gives up the wish for enlightenment in the form of a prayer; and even if one were not to give it up, yet still gave up the great pledge of taking on oneself the deeds of a bodhisattva, it would be nearly the same thing. Therefore it is totally wrong to give back one's vows. Thus too one should consider everything very carefully before one even takes on the vows, for it is very grave if one goes wrong.