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Bodhisattva ethical restraints: Vows 6-8

Bodhisattva ethical restraints: Vows 6-8

Part of a series of talks on the bodhisattva ethical restraints. The talks from January 3 through March 1, 2012, are concurrent with the 2011-2012 Vajrasattva Winter Retreat at Sravasti Abbey.

  • Vows 6-8, to avoid:
    • 6. Abandoning the holy Dharma by saying that texts which teach the three vehicles are not the Buddha’s word

    • 7. With anger (a) depriving ordained ones of their robes, beating and imprisoning them, or (b) causing them to lose their ordination even if they have impure morality, for example, by saying that being ordained is useless

    • 8. Committing any of the five extremely destructive actions: (a) killing your mother, (b) killing your father, (c) killing an arhat, (d) intentionally drawing blood from a Buddha, or (e) causing schism in the Sangha community by supporting and spreading sectarian views

  • Think about the mindsets that the precepts are guarding against and see how easily they can arise

Bodhisattva ethical restraints 04: Vows 6-8 (download)

Venerable Thubten Chodron

Venerable Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1977 by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India, and in 1986 she received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan. Read her full bio.