Bodhisattva Vows

The Bodhisattva vows are made up of two sets of actions. The first set, the 18 root vows, describe a collection of actions to avoid. The second set, the 46 secondary vows, are actions in which we should engage. The reason for this distinction is that the repercussions that result from a "downfall" in conjunction with the root vows are much greater, and one must take special care to be mindful of them. Furthermore, if one of these 18 vows is broken "from the root", it can only be retaken from a qualified master. You can purify the negativity of the action itself, but you do not enjoy the benefits of holding the vow until you have officially retaken it.

But don't be afraid of these vows. Through their infinite compassion, the lineage masters who compiled these vows have made it so that it is actually a bit difficult to experience a break from the root. In order for there to be a complete break, four factors must be present:

  1. One must not recognize the action as negative
  2. One must have no desire to cease the action in the future
  3. One must rejoice in the action or enjoy the fruits of the activity
  4. One must have no regret about the action

If you are the kind of practitioner who is drawn to a situation where you would take the vows in the first place, chances are very good that at least one of those factors will not be present at the time of the action, and thus you are not in danger of fully breaking the vow. However, keep in mind that just because you haven't fully broken the vow does not absolve you of any negative karma generated in committing the action. It simply means that you still generate the positive karma inherent to keeping a vow.

Two vows in particular, however, do not need the above four factors in order for there to be a complete break. As soon as the action is completed, the vow is broken from the root. These are "Holding wrong views" and "Giving up Bodhichitta". These are discussed in further detail below, but again, if you are the kind of person to so easily break those vows, then chances are you really don't care about the vows anyway, so who cares?

For the secondary vows, in order to break the vow you must do so "with affliction," which means you did so under the influence of a negative mindset (this is discussed in greater detail for each vow below). If you do break a secondary vow, it can be retaken in front of a Buddha image, and does not require a qualified master.

The 18 Root Vows (actions to avoid) are:

  1. Praising oneself and denigrating others
  2. Not giving wealth and Dharma
  3. Not forgiving though someone apologizes
  4. Abandoning the Mahayana
  5. Stealing offerings to the Three Jewels
  6. Abandoning the Dharma
  7. Causing monastics to give up ordination
  8. Committing the Five Heinous Actions
  9. Holding wrong views
  10. Destroying towns and the like
  11. Teaching emptiness to the untrained
  12. Reversing others’ aspiration for enlightenment
  13. Causing others to abandon Individual Liberation vows
  14. Denigrating the Hinayana
  15. Falsely claiming to have realized emptiness
  16. Receiving stolen property of the 3 jewels
  17. Giving belongings while in retreat
  18. Giving up Bodhichitta

The 46 Secondary vows (actions to engage) are:

  1. Making offerings to the three jewels every day
  2. Resisting the mind of desire
  3. Showing respect to elders
  4. Giving answers to questions
  5. Accepting invitations
  6. Accepting gifts
  7. Giving Dharma teachings
  8. Not abandoning those who have broken ethical discipline
  9. Observing the Foundational Vehicle trainings
  10. Choosing actions that give the most benefit to others
  11. Being willing to accept a negativity for the benefits others
  12. Avoid wrong livelihood
  13. Avoiding distraction
  14. Working to be free from cyclic existence
  15. Giving up the causes of bad reputation
  16. Eliminating the afflictive emotions of others
  17. Practicing the four noble disciplines
  18. Caring about those who are angry
  19. Accepting apologies
  20. Counteracting thoughts of anger
  21. Gathering students without the thought of one’s own gain
  22. Engaging in meaningful activities
  23. Avoiding gossip
  24. Developing meditative concentration
  25. Overcoming the obstacles to concentration
  26. Not taking concentration as the goal
  27. Respecting the Foundational Vehicle
  28. Practicing primarily the Mahayana path
  29. Studying primarily Mahayana texts
  30. Avoiding too much pleasure in non-Buddhist texts
  31. Not rejecting the Mahayana
  32. Not praising oneself and belittling others
  33. Making the effort to go to Dharma teachings
  34. Not disparaging the spiritual master
  35. Helping those who are in need
  36. Helping those who are sick
  37. Helping to eliminate the suffering of others
  38. Giving teachings to the careless
  39. Helping those who have benefitted you
  40. Relieving the sorrow of others
  41. Giving material possessions to those in need
  42. Working for the welfare of ones family, friends and followers
  43. Encouraging others
  44. Praising those who have good qualities
  45. Acting accordingly to stop harmful actions
  46. Using extraordinary abilities to stop harmful actions

In the near future, there will be a short commentary about each of these vows below.