ACI Course 7 — The Vows of the Bodhisattva · Class 10 · 守住你的戒

<!-- p.104 --> Reading Ten: Attitudes that Help One Keep the Vows; Causes that Make One Break the Vows; How to Confess;

The following selections are taken from pp. 697-722 of the Highway for Bodhisattvas, written by Tsongkapa the Great (1357-1419).

Here secondly are instructions for protecting your mind from these offenses. Let us first say a word about all the details we have given thus far about the rules that bodhisattvas must follow. There is not one of them which is not taken directly from the sutras themselves; everything from the explanation of the three types of morality on up can be found scattered throughout a variety of sources spoken by the Teacher in the collection of sutras. These scattered references were then explicated, in their entirety, by the realized being Asanga, as he brought them into a single work, and a single lineage, here in the great grandfather of all the books in the scriptural collection for bodhisattvas.

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Since this code of life is such, since it is anything but something that someone just made up, bodhisattvas should develop a sense of respect for it, and follow its rules. This respect should lead them on to three excellent intentions, which bring them to take the vows from another person, and then develop—from the very depths of their hearts—a regard for the code that treats it as the highest of all objects. Finally then they must keep to the code, never violating the rules they have been given.

The three excellent intentions are as follows:

Here thirdly is the method by which the vows can be restored, should one break them. We should of course make every effort to keep our vows from ever being sullied. We may though come to commit an offense through one of the four causes of a downfall: through not knowing the vows, or through carelessness, or an attack of bad thoughts, or else through a lack of respect for the vows. Even should an offense thus occur, we can fix our vows by restoring them in the proper way.

<!-- p.106 --> All offenses against the code of the bodhisattvas which are not in the category of "major defeats" belong to the group known as "secondary offenses." It is not though the case that, as with the vows of freedom, there are many different categories of offenses.

If one should commit one of these offenses, then he or she should make a confession to a person who can belong either to the way of the listeners or to the greater way, but who should be able to grasp and comprehend the meaning of the words you are using to communicate your confession.

If the person to whom you are making the confession is someone with freedom vows but without the bodhisattva vows, then they must be either a full monk or a full nun, since it is improper for a novice monk or the like even to be the person to whom you confess a downfall of the freedom vows. Furthermore, I believe that, if the person making the confession were ordained, it would be improper for him or her to do so to a layman, if there were available another ordained person to whom they could confess.

The present text states that, should a person commit one of the actions that resemble the major defeats of a monk or nun, and should it further be a "major" instance of the mental afflictions called "chains," then the vows are lost, and must be taken again, for a second time.

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Some people have said that secondary offenses committed in an afflicted state of mind must be confessed before someone, should a person be available; but that those committed in a state of mind which is not afflicted may be purified simply in the mind, through the intention of restraining oneself in the future, even though there is available a person to whom you could confess. This practice though is incorrect, for it is stated in the Levels of the Bodhisattva that there is no difference between the two cases.

Therefore, in a lesser or medium instance of impurity, and with any of the 45 secondary offenses, one cannot be purified simply with the intention of restraining oneself, should there be available a person to whom you can confess. As such, one should follow the course of action described in the text.

With all the other offenses, it is very desirable if you can confess them before someone, since this will make it easy for you to feel the emotion of shame and embarrassment. If though this is not possible, you should bring to mind all the Buddhas, along with their sons and daughters, and make your confession to them. This is in keeping with the Chapter on Morality, which states:

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The fifth part of our discussion concerns the division of the downfalls into those which are more serious, and those which are less. As for the instigation, those downfalls committed through ignorance of the vows or through carelessness are the least serious. Those committed through an attack of mental afflictions are moderately serious. And those committed through a lack of respect for the vows are the most serious of all.

As for a person's state of mind, those downfalls committed through the three mental poisons [of liking, disliking, or ignorance] in either lesser, medium, or greater strength are—respectively—serious to a lesser, or medium, or greater degree.

As for the object of the deed, there can also be cases where the downfall is serious to a lesser, or medium, or greater degree even if it is committed in the same state of mind towards different objects which share a common quality.

<!-- p.109 --> Suppose for example that an [ordained] person overwhelmed by the same mental "chain," the same kind of dislike, kills any one of the following:

In the first case, you commit the kind of deed known as a "fall." In the second, you commit a full defeat which is not one of the immediate misdeeds. In the third case, you commit a full defeat which is one of the immediate misdeeds.

Here next is how downfalls become more or less serious through accumulation. If you commit from one to five downfalls, and fail to rectify it in the proper way, it is considered serious to a lesser degree. If you commit downfalls of a quantity that is countable, and fail to rectify it in the proper way, it is considered serious to a medium degree. If you commit a number of downfalls which is beyond all estimation—that is, more than you could ever say just how many there were—then it is considered serious to a greater degree.

This is how it is explained in scripture; of the three different descriptions presented there, the ones based on the nature and the object of the deed should not be applied literally, but rather in the present context. The other three though are just the same.

Here is what we mean when we say that a person has committed a downfall out of "ignorance." This is where the downfall is committed because the person fails to conceive of the downfall as a downfall; this in turn occurs because the person has not learned what the downfalls are: they have never studied them, or understood them.

Next is a case where you commit a downfall even though you know it's a downfall. This happens when the downfall occurs because, despite the fact that you have learned what all the downfalls are, you fail to keep your mind on what you are doing. This itself occurs because you forget yourself, or fail to stay watchful.

Here's what an "attack of mental affliction" refers to. This happens when one of the three poisons takes over your mind, and you are helpless to keep yourself from committing the bad deed; you do it even as you think to yourself, "This is not something I should be doing."

Committing a downfall out of a "lack of respect" means that you do so because, even though you have already learned what the downfalls are, you commit one of them anyway, for one of the nine reasons that follow: (1) You are still attracted to a lower level of behavior; or (2) you fail to live the proper causes in the past, and so you have no appreciation for the way of the practice of virtue; or you have no respect for (3) the state of nirvana; or (4) the dharma; or (5) the community; or else (6) you admit no object of veneration; or (7) you have no sense of shame; or (8) you have no desire to follow the code; or (9) you feel a kind of disrespect where you will do whatever you feel like doing. The first two of the above lead to the kind of downfall which does not involve mental affliction; the latter two lead to the kind which does. All the above is quoted from the abbreviated form of the principal text on the practice of discipline.

Here are the antidotes for these four causes that lead you to commit a downfall:

The sixth point in our discussion covers the causes that will keep you in a state of happiness. A bodhisattva who puts forth serious efforts in keeping the rules of his code of discipline comes to possess the three fulfillments, and so spends his or her life in a state of happiness.

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The first fulfillment is that of action. This is where the person first of all avoids doing anything that would cause his or her morality to lose its purity; he or she is pure in every action of body, speech, or mind. During the interim, this person maintains a high level of respect for the precepts, and a strict sense of care; this makes for a continual period over which he or she is able to avoid committing any offense. And finally this same person acts to confess any bad deed that they might by some remote chance happen to commit. He or she recognizes that they are pure of any downfall, and so pass most of their days and nights with a feeling of gladness, and thus do they spend their lives in a state of happiness.

The second fulfillment is that of intention. Here the person takes his or her ordination with an intention of acting in accord with what the dharma teaches, and not out of some hope for room and board. They aspire to the great enlightenment, and are not the kind who have no such aspiration. They aspire to the way of the practice of virtue, and to nirvana; but they are not the kind who do not aspire to these things. And because they do aspire so, they make effort in doing good deeds, and thus they are not the kind who live in indolence, or whose effort is feeble, or whose deeds are mixed in any way with what is wrong, and non-virtuous.

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The third fulfillment is that of the cause from before. Here the bodhisattva has in the string of his or her previous lives collected great merit from acts of giving, and has thus performed the good deeds which allow one to remove every obstacle to great wealth. As such the bodhisattva will never himself want for clothing or food or a place to sleep or treatment for illness or any other kind of material need. And he or she will then be able to share all these with other persons as well.

The fourth major division of the text concerns the benefits of morality. Here there are two kinds, the first of which are the ultimate benefits. The great mountain of bodhisattva morality just described brings the great enlightenment as its result. That is, keeping this morality as a practice allows one to complete the perfection of morality, and thus reach the matchless state of Buddhahood.

Here the expression "great mountain" refers to a great amassing of merit: one which is broad and far-reaching. One can also say that it refers to a practice of morality which is wide and limitless and totally complete.

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In the period up to one's Buddhahood as well, this morality provides some five different temporal benefits:

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Jinasutra [Jinamitra?] and others have explained the meaning of the second of these temporal benefits as follows. They say that a person who keeps this morality can look ahead to meeting Buddhas and bodhisattvas in his or her future life. And since they thus transcend any fear of death, they reach a constant state of great and ultimate happiness. Samudra explains the benefit as referring to both this and to the fact that, because the person possesses a limitless store of virtue within themselves, they need not fear the births of misery.

The following selection is taken from the String of Shining Jewels, by Geshe Tsewang Samdrup (19th century).

Whenever you perform any of the confessions mentioned throughout here you must do so with all four of the antidote forces complete. Here too is a method for restoring your vows before the community in the ceremony of restoration and purification, or on any similar occasion.

First make three prostrations; stay standing then and bow, with your palms joined at your breast. Speak the following:

Then crouch down, join your palms at your breast, and repeat the following three full times:

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Beyond these I have made an uncountable number of mistakes by committing certain actual deeds, or else actions that are similar to these deeds, which are included into the group of forty-six secondary offenses. In particular I have made the mistake of (state the appropriate offense or offenses), which is completely against the tradition of the bodhisattva vows, as described in the following lines, and other verses from the ancient books which tell how one commits the secondary offenses.

Beyond these too, I have failed to think, six times each day, of the good things that come from developing the wish to become enlightened for all living beings.

I have failed to bring up in my heart, six times per day, the prayer for this wish for enlightenment.

In my heart, I have given up on certain persons.

I have not made true efforts to amass the two great collections, of merit and wisdom.

I have not tried to stop the four black actions.

I have not tried to follow the four white actions.

I have not made true efforts to train myself in vowed morality, and the morality of collecting goodness, and the morality of working for all living beings.

I have not made true efforts to train myself in the six perfections of giving and he rest.

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When this is said, a person who is fitting to act as the head of the ceremony, or the like, should repeat three times the question of seeing and restraining:

And then the others should respond,

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Then the head should say,

And the others should respond,

Alternately they can answer,