Being Upright: Zen Meditation and Bodhisattva Precepts (Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts)

by Reb Anderson

THE SIXTEEN GREAT BODHISATTVA PRECEPTS are the gate to authentic Zen practice.

These precepts are intended for those who dedicate their lives to the liberation of all living beings.

The Sixteen Great Bodhisattva Precepts can be divided into three groups or sections: the Three Refuges, the Three Pure Precepts, and the Ten Grave Precepts.

The Three Refuges express our vow to take refuge in the Triple Treasure: buddha, dharma, and sangha. The Three Pure Precepts are vows to embrace and sustain forms and ceremonies, to embrace and sustain all good actions, and to embrace and sustain all beings.

The Ten Grave Precepts teach us to abstain from killing, stealing, misusing sexuality, lying, intoxicating mind or body of self or other, speaking of others’ faults in a disparaging way, praising self at the expense of others, being possessive of anything, harboring ill will, and disparaging the Triple Treasure. Put in a more positive way, the Ten Grave Precepts encourage us to protect and nurture life, to be generous and respectful of others’ property, to use sexual energy in an appropriate way, to tell the truth, to maintain a clear mind and body, to speak of the virtues of others and our interdependence...

anybody who understands the basic practice of taking refuge in buddha, dharma, and sangha is eligible to participate in this ceremony of receiving the precepts.

as the Four Noble Truths: This is suffering as it has come to be. This is the origin of suffering as it has come to be. This is the cessation of suffering as it has come to be. This is the path leading to the cessation of suffering as it has come to be.

pratitya samutpada (dependent co-arising).

Everything is born and dies through the complete support of all other things.

Because of their interdependent nature and lack of inherent existence, all things together with their conditions are unattainable, mysterious, and inconceivable.

The fundamental delusion of human beings is the belief that we exist separately and independently from the rest of

the universe.

Whenever we deny our basic connection with other beings, the bodhisattva precepts are broken.

Dependent co-arising explains how suffering is born, and points to the way that freedom from suffering is realized.

By understanding how all things arise together, you shift from viewing yourself as acting upon and realizing all things, to a new vision of seeing a...

Instead of using yourself to realize the world, you see that the world uses you to realize yourself, and this is the same as th...

Those who understand interdependence are happy to live in the midst of whatever life brings without trying to fix it by their own power.

They understand that any sense of independence is

simply an illusion, but that sense persists, given our human p...

You just deal with whatever comes up without trying to manipulate, negotiate, or finesse the situation.

the Four Great Bodhisattva Vows: Sentient beings are numberless, I vow to save them. Delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to end them.

Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them. Buddha’s way is unsurpassable, I vow to become it.

ji-hi-ki-sha-mu-ryo-shin. Ji means “to love beings just as they are, beyond any desire for them to be any other way.” Hi means “to be concerned for their suffering.” Ki is “to rejoice and feel delight about all beings.” Sha means “wanting to give everything to them.” Mu-ryo means “all of these things beyond all measure.” Shin means “heart” or “mind.” It is the mind of love, concern, joy, and generosity without measure.

we have to renounce is our delusions.

it’s normal for human beings to be anxious, because it’s normal for human beings not to understand themselves.

Practicing patience with this anxiety will lead you to freedom from delusion and anxiety. When you practice patience,

You wish for yourself to be happy.

You begin to develop compassion. Practicing patience leads to the next stage, which is th...

nyushin. Nyu means “soft,” “gentle,” “pliable,” or “meek,” and shin means “mind”

or “heart.”

Each human being is the center of the world of all suffering beings.

Renunciation is letting go of your desire to control, so you can appreciate and bring love and happiness to suffering beings.

States of mind come and go, and

happiness comes and goes; but love can be developed so that it doesn’t come and go.

We can develop a constantly loving attitude toward other people by letting go of our ideas of how to love them. When we love people without attachment, we don’t abandon them.

The protection of all beings is accomplished through examination of one’s own mistakes.”

The greatest darkness for the human mind is to believe that you never do anything wrong or hurtful or stupid. Conversely, continuous confession of nonvirtue opens the gate to great light. Confession of wrongdoing is an act of awakening.

Formal confession prepares us for meditation. Formless confession is the meditation process itself.

truths are known in Buddhist tradition as samvrti satya (conventional truth) and paramartha satya (ultimate truth).

As Nagarjuna says, Without a foundation in the conventional truth, The significance of the ultimate cannot be taught. Without understanding the significance of the ultimate, Liberation is not achieved.1

laws of action (karma).

We acknowledge the truth of suffering, and we understand the truth of the causes of suffering, for we see what boundless pain and anxiety arise from selfishness and ignorance.

to overcome suffering

marks the birth of c...

I TAKE REFUGE IN BUDDHA, I take refuge in dharma, I take refuge in sangha: these are the first three bodhisattva precepts.

sarana-gamana. Sarana refers to “a shelter, protection, or sanctuary, some place of peace and safety.” Gamana refers to “the act of returning.” The

Buddha is “unsurpassed, correct, and complete awakening”;

“a person who realizes such awakening”;

“the transformation o...

Dharma is “freedom from any difference between ourse...