Eight Maha Yana Precepts 01

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THE EIGHT MAHAYANA PRECEPTS

Composed byH.H. Trijang Dorje Chang

(1900 - 1981 C.E.)

Gaden for the West


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Table of Contents

THE EIGHT MAHAYANA PRECEPTS................................................................................................ 1Purifying The Place ...........................................................................................................................1Multiplying The Offerings ................................................................................................................1The Offering-Cloud Mantra ..............................................................................................................1Blessing The Environment And The Offerings .................................................................................1Invocation .........................................................................................................................................1Seven-Limb Prayer............................................................................................................................2Mandala Offering..............................................................................................................................2Prostrations .......................................................................................................................................2Taking The Precepts..........................................................................................................................3The Commitment Prayer To Keep The Precepts ...............................................................................3The Mantra Of Pure Morality ...........................................................................................................4Prayer To Keep One's Morality Pure ................................................................................................ 4Dedication Prayers............................................................................................................................4Colophon ..........................................................................................................................................5References .........................................................................................................................................5


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THE EIGHT MAHAYANA PRECEPTS

Mahayana Refuge

I take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma andThe Supreme Assembly until I reach enlightenment.

In order to accomplish the purpose of myself and others I shall generate bodhicitta.All buddhas of the ten directions please listen to me:In order to attain enlightenment, from now on I shall generate bodhicitta. 3x

Purifying The Place

May all the realms where sentient beings exist be pure and devoid of coarse objects.May they be as smooth and as flexible as the nature of lapis and the palm of one's hand.

Multiplying The Offerings

May the entire realm of space be filled with the offerings of gods and men, those that are

actually offered and those that are imagined, like the supreme clouds of offerings made bySamantabhadra.

The Offering-Cloud Mantra

OM NAMO BHAGAVATEVAJRA SARVA PRAMARDINETATHAGATAYAARHATE SAMYAKSAM BUDDHAYATAYATA OM VAJRA VAJRAMAHA VAJRAMAHA TEJA VAJRA

MAHA VIDYA VAJRAMAHA BODHICITTA VAJRAMAHA BODHI MANDO PASAM DRAMANA VAJRASARVA KARMA AHWARANA BISHO DHANA VAJRA SVAHA (3x)

Blessing The Environment And The Offerings

By the power of the truth of the Triple Gem,The blessings of the buddhas and bodhisattvas,The spiritual energy of the two vast collections,And the pure and inconceivable Dharmadhatu,May these offerings become suchness.

Invocation

Holy Buddha, who has complete control and all realizations,You are the saviour of each and every sentient being,The destroyer of harmful groups with only your everlasting great love, which fully seeseach and every existence.You and your surrounding attendants,Please be at this place.


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After the invocation, visualize that your infinitely kind root guru Avalokiteshvara,surrounded by the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions, actually appears in space before you.

Seven-Limb Prayer

Respectfully I prostrate to Guru Avalokiteshvara with body, speech, and mind.I make all offerings, without exception, both actual and imagined.

I confess every deluded action collected within cyclic existence since beginningless time.I rejoice in the virtuous actions of all ordinary and noble beings.Please, Buddha, remain as our guide,And turn the Wheel of Dharma until samsara ends.Through the merit created by myself and others, may the two bodhicittas ripen and may Iattain buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings.

Mandala Offering

By the virtue of offering to you, the assembly of buddhas visualized before me, thismandala built on a base resplendent with flowers, saffron water and incense, and adornedwith Mount Meru, the four continents, the sun and the moon, may all sentient beings sharein its good effects.

Please enjoy well and bless me and all sentient beings to be released from the threepoisonous minds, for I am offering without the slightest hesitation or attachment my body,friends, enemies and strangers, and all possessions that are the object of my greed,ignorance, and hatred.

Prostrations

OM NAMO MANJUSHRIYENAMO SUSHRIYENAMO UTTAMA SHRIYE SVAHA (Recite while doing prostrations, 3x)

Having made three prostrations, kneel on your right knee with your hands together in prostrationand your head and shoulders bowed, visualize Guru Avalokiteshvara before you, and repeat three times:


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Taking The Precepts

All buddhas and bodhisattvas dwelling in the ten directions,Please pay attention to me!Just as the tathagathas of the past, the foe destroyers,The purified and developed Buddhas,Like the wise horse, the great elephant,

Did what had to be done, accomplished the work,Left the burden, and afterwards achieved their own work,Their always-joining aggregates completely extinct, of perfect speech,Of well-liberated Holy Mind and with well-liberated wisdom,All, for the sake of all sentient beings, in order to benefit them,In order to liberate them,In order to eliminate famine,In order to eliminate sickness,In order that the thirty-seven dharmas of enlightenment be perfected, andIn order to definitely actualize the no-higher result, pure, completed Enlightenment,Have taken the Restoring and Purifying Vows,So do I, [say your name], from now until sunrise tomorrow,For the sake of all sentient beings,In order to benefit them,In order to liberate them,In order to eliminate famine,In order to eliminate sickness,In order that the thirty-seven dharmas of Enlightenment be perfected, andIn order to definitely actualize the no-higher result, pure, completed Enlightenment,Take the Restoring and Purifying Vows.

On completing the third recitation, think that you have received the virtues in your continuum and

rejoice. Then regenerate the thought of bodhicitta, the altruistic aspiration to attain Enlightenment forthe sake of all sentient beings, by thinking:

Just as the foe destroyers of the past have abandonedAll misconduct of body, speech, and mind, such as taking the lives of others,So shall I, for the sake of all beings, abandon for one day these wrong actions andDevote myself to the pure practice of the training.

The Commitment Prayer To Keep The Precepts

From now on I shall not kill, steal others' possessions, engage in sexual activity or lie.I shall avoid intoxicants, from which many mistakes arise.

I shall not sit on large, high or expensive beds.I shall not eat food at the wrong times.I shall avoid singing, dancing and playing music, andI shall not wear perfumes, garlands or ornaments.Just as arhants have avoided wrong actions such as taking the lives of others,So shall I avoid wrong actions such as taking the lives of others.May I quickly attain enlightenment, andMay the living beings who are experiencing the various sufferings be released from theocean of cyclic existence.


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The Mantra Of Pure Morality

OM AHMOGA SILASAMBARABHARA BHARAMAHA SHUDDHA SATO PADMA BI BHUKITEBHUDZE DHARA DHARA

SAMANTAAVALOKITEHUM PHAT SVAHA (21x)

Prayer To Keep One's Morality Pure

May I complete the perfection of moral conduct by keeping the law of moral conduct purelyand untainted by pride.

Prostrations

Make three prostrations.

Dedication Prayers

May the perfect bodhi-mind not yet born arise and grow.May that born have no decline, But increase for evermore.

Because of the merits of taking the ordination and keeping the precepts,May I and all sentient beings achieve the two Enlightened Holy BodiesCreated by the two vast accumulations of merit and transcendental wisdom.

Dedication (H.H. Fourteenth Dalai Lama)

Reading about the Eigth Mahayana Precepts, observing them, or even rejoicing when othersobserve such practice creates great positive potential in our minds. In order that this positivepotential be of greatest benefit to ourselves and others, it is very helpful to dedicate it following

the example of the bodhisattva Shantideva.

May all beings everywhere plagued by sufferings of body and mind,Obtain an ocean of happiness and joy by virtue of my merits.

May no living creature suffer, commit evil or ever fall ill.May no one be afraid or belittled, with a mind weighed down by depression.

May the blind see forms, and the deaf hear sounds.May those whose bodies are worn with toil be restored on finding repose.

May the naked find clothing, the hungry find food;May the thirsty find water and delicious drinks.

May the poor find wealth, those weak with sorrow find joy;May the forlorn find hope, constant happiness and prosperity.

May there be timely rains and bountiful harvests;May all medicines be effective and wholesome prayers bear fruit.

May all who are sick and ill quickly be freed from their ailments.Whatever diseases there are in the world, may they never occur again.

May the frightened cease to be afraid and those bound be freed;May the powerless find power and may people think of benefiting each other


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Colophon

The Venerable Thubten Dekyong translated the Commentary on the Actual Taking of thePrecepts. Chiu-Nan Lai edited the first English version with the Venerable Frank Brock. TheVenerable Thubten Detong helped with the second edit, and the Venerable Thubten Gyatsohelped with the third (in particular, with advice from Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche on thetranslation of the Special Allowances). Finally, the whole text was edited by Nick Ribush and

checked again by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Gaden For The West Colophon

Under the kind supervision of the Venerable 13th Zasep Tulku Rinpoche, this Gaden for theWest GFTW version has been edited by Chuck Damov and formatted by Peter Lewis.

Updated versions will be available on the Web.

We dedicate any and all merit of this effort to the study and pure practice of the preciousVajrayana teachings.

References

1 H.H. Trijang Dorje Chang, from his Collected Works, commentary by Trusang Rinpoche.2 H.H. Trijang Dorje Chang, A Whole Single Collection.3 H.H. Trijang Dorje Chang, The Method for Taking the Mahayana Precepts Written in a ClearExplanation As an Ascending Stair to the Mansion of Great Purification.4 Geshe Lamrimpa (in Tibet).

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Eight Maha Yana Precepts 01