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Also by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Meaningful to Behold
Clear Light of Bliss
Buddhism in the Tibetan Tradition
Heart of Wisdom
Universal Compassion
The Meditation Handbook
Joyful Path of Good Fortune
Guide to Dakini Land
Heart Jewel
Great Treasury of Merit
Introduction to Buddhism
Understanding the Mind
Tantric Grounds and Paths
Ocean of Nectar
Essence of Vajrayana
Living Meaningfully, Dying Joyfully
Eight Steps to Happiness
Transform Your Life
Profits received from the sale of
this book will be donated to the
NKT-International Temples Project
A Buddhist Charity,
Building for World Peace
www.kadampa.org/temples.htm
First published in 1991
Second edition reset and revised 1995
Reprinted 1998, 2003
The right of Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with
the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form or by any means except for the quotation
of brief passages for the purpose of private
study, research, or review.
Tharpa Publications
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Tharpa Publications
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Glen Spey, NY 12737, USA
© Geshe Kelsang Gyatso and New Kadampa Tradition 2003
Cover painting of Buddha Shakyamuni
by Gen Kelsang Wangchen.
Frontispiece painting of the Thirty-five Confession Buddhas
by Gen Kelsang Wangchen.
Cover design by Tharpa Publications.
Cover photo of Geshe Kelsang Gyatso by Kathia Rabelo.
Line illustrations by Sarah Young.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2003100129
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library.
ISBN 0 948006 49 8 – papercase
ISBN 0 948006 50 1 – paperback
Set in Palatino by Tharpa Publications.
Printed on acid-free 250-year longlife paper and bound
by Cromwell Press, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England.
Our profound thanks go once again to Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, the author of The Bodhisattva Vow, for his inexhaustible great kindness to Dharma students around the world in writing this book. Long may we continue to merit the author’s realized and expert guidance along the spiritual path.
We also thank all the dedicated, senior Dharma students who assisted the author with the rendering of the English and who prepared the final manuscript for publication.
Through the merits created in producing this work, may all living beings find the happiness they seek.
Roy Tyson,
Administrative Director,
Manjushri Mahayana
Buddhist Centre,
July 1995.
The subject of this book is the Bodhisattva’s moral discipline. The Sanskrit term Bodhisattva is the name given to anyone who, motivated by great compassion, has generated bodhichitta, which is a spontaneous wish to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all living beings. Since everyone has within their mental continuum the seeds of great compassion and bodhichitta, and since everyone can at some time meet a Mahayana Dharma Teacher, it is possible for everyone to become a Bodhisattva by training in the Mahayana teachings.
The Bodhisattva’s moral discipline is a higher moral discipline, and it is the main path that leads to the ultimate happiness of great enlightenment. In general, moral discipline is a virtuous determination to abandon any non-virtuous action. For example, if by seeing the disadvantages of killing, stealing, or sexual misconduct we make a firm decision to refrain from such actions, this is
moral discipline. Similarly, the determination to refrain from lying, divisive speech, hurtful speech, idle gossip, covetousness, malice, and holding wrong views is also moral discipline.
In Pratimoksha Sutra, Buddha says that it would be better for us to die than to break our moral discipline, because death destroys only this one life, whereas breaking our moral discipline destroys our opportunity to experience happiness in many future lives and condemns us to experience the sufferings of lower rebirths over and over again.
In Buddhist countries, moral discipline is regarded as very important, and it is for this reason that monks and nuns are held in such high esteem. However, it is not only monks and nuns who need to practise moral discipline; everyone needs to practise moral discipline because it is the root of all future happiness. Even if we are a very learned scholar, if we ignore the practice of moral discipline our activities will be unsuccessful and we shall experience many problems in the future. On the other hand, if we conscientiously observe moral discipline, we can solve all our human problems and complete our spiritual practices.
The practice of moral discipline is the main cause of rebirth as a human. If we practise generosity without moral discipline, we shall experience some good results in the future, but not
in a human body. For example, we may be reborn as a pet cat or dog that is well cared for. The reason why some animals receive great care from humans is that they practised generosity in previous lives, but the reason why they have taken a lower rebirth is that they broke their moral discipline in previous lives.
If we practise moral discipline by abandoning negative actions, such as killing, with the motivation to obtain human happiness, this moral discipline will protect us from lower rebirth and cause us to be reborn as a human being in the future. If we practise moral discipline with a sincere wish to attain liberation for ourself, or full enlightenment for the sake of all living beings, this is higher moral discipline. There are three types of higher moral discipline: Pratimoksha moral discipline, Bodhisattva moral discipline, and Tantric moral discipline. These types of moral discipline are distinguished by the motivation with which they are practised and the particular downfalls that they abandon. Pratimoksha moral discipline is motivated mainly by the aspiration to attain personal liberation, Bodhisattva moral discipline mainly by bodhichitta, and Tantric moral discipline mainly by special Tantric bodhichitta.
Not every practice of moral discipline entails taking vows. For example, if we realize the many
faults of killing and, as a result, make a strong decision to abstain from killing, we are practising moral discipline even though we have not taken a vow. A vow is a virtuous determination to abandon particular faults that is generated in conjunction with a traditional ritual. Just as there are three types of moral discipline, so there are three types of vow: Pratimoksha vows, Bodhisattva vows, and Tantric vows.
‘Pratimoksha’ means ‘personal liberation’, and so a Pratimoksha vow is a vow that is motivated mainly by the wish to attain personal liberation. There are eight types of Pratimoksha vow:
- Nyennä vows – one-day ordination vows
- Genyenma vows – vows of a laywoman
- Genyenpa vows – vows of a layman
- Getsulma vows – vows of a novice nun
- Getsulpa vows – vows of a novice monk
- Gelobma vows – preliminary vows taken before becoming a fully ordained nun
- Gelongma vows – vows of a fully ordained nun
- Gelongpa vows – vows of a fully ordained monk
The first three are lay vows and the remaining five are ordination vows. Buddha gives extensive instructions on the Pratimoksha moral discipline
and the Pratimoksha vows in the Vinaya Sutras.
This book is concerned principally with the Bodhisattva vows. In Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, Shantideva advises those who want to know about the Bodhisattva vows first to study Akashagarbha Sutra, and then, for a more detailed explanation of the daily practices of a Bodhisattva, to read Compendium of Trainings. Shantideva explains that those who have taken the Bodhisattva vows should know what the root and secondary downfalls are, how to prevent the vows from degenerating, how to purify downfalls, and how to complete the practice of the Bodhisattva vows. All these are explained in this book.
Once we have taken the Bodhisattva vows, we should strive to prevent them from degenerating by retaking our vows several times each day, and then avoid incurring root or secondary downfalls by relying upon mindfulness, alertness, and conscientiousness.
There are four main causes of the degeneration of the Pratimoksha, Bodhisattva, or Tantric vows, which are known as the ‘four doors of receiving downfalls’. These are: not knowing what the downfalls are, lack of respect for Buddha’s instructions, strong delusions, and non-conscientiousness.
To close the first door, we should learn what the downfalls are and how they are incurred. This can
be done by listening to teachings on the subject or by reading authentic commentaries, such as the instructions given below.
To close the second door, we should try to overcome disrespect by contemplating the following:
Since Buddha is omniscient, knowing all past, present, and future phenomena simultaneously and directly, and since he has great compassion for all living beings without exception, there is no valid reason for developing disrespect towards his teachings. It is only due to ignorance that I sometimes disbelieve them.
To close the third door, we should try to subdue our strong delusions by practising the meditations described in The Meditation Handbook. If, by practising Lamrim, we are able always to maintain good intentions such as love, compassion, and bodhichitta, there will be no basis for incurring Pratimoksha or Bodhisattva downfalls; and if, by practising generation stage and completion stage, we overcome ordinary appearances and ordinary conceptions, there will be no basis for incurring Tantric downfalls.
We can close the fourth door, non-conscientiousness, by repeatedly bringing to mind the disadvantages of incurring downfalls
and the advantages of pure moral discipline. In this way, we become more conscientious.
In brief, the method for preventing our vows from degenerating is to train in renunciation, bodhichitta, the correct view of emptiness, generation stage, and completion stage. By sincerely practising these, we overcome our ordinary attitudes and control our mind, thereby removing any basis for downfalls.
