Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 46-minute teaching, HH Sakya Trizin guides practitioners through the practice of eight precepts on Vesak day, the commemoration of Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana. He begins by explaining how these vows differ from the five precepts kept by laypeople year-round: taken for twenty-four hours on special occasions and linked to the bodhisattva motivation to attain enlightenment for all beings, making them Mahāyāna precepts. He then leads a structured meditation: purifying negative actions and accumulating merit by visualizing Buddha surrounded by lineage gurus, buddhas, bodhisattvas, and protectors, followed by prostrations and praises. Next he administers the actual vows, guiding recitation of the refuge formulas three times before concluding with the moral conduct mantra recited twenty-one times and a dedication of merit. Finally, he offers extended commentary on the historical Buddha’s life—his descent from Tuśita heaven, miraculous birth in Lumbini garden, precocious learning, mastery of sports, and eventual renunciation—emphasizing that Buddha’s infinite qualities transcend ordinary biography.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 23 FfK.mp3
UUID: 3cf17dba-eda2-44a0-82da-a94ecffab946
Teacher: HH Sakya Trizin
Collection: Freedom from the Known (HH Sakya Trizin)
Date: 1988 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 46.0 minutes
Words: ~2,370
Do religious practice, and that also with a good motivation that one do any practice that it is much more merits is earned. So just now that it is the eight precepts. Eight precept is actually according to the Vinaya, there are eight types of different vows. And the one vow is that for for the laypeople, the people who cannot keep the the precept all the time so that on special occasions like this, they they keep the eight precepts. Normally, the laypeople keep the the five precepts, but on special occasions like this, give the eight precepts including the the celibacy for for one day, one full day, which means for twenty four hours.
And but this one, today’s eight precept is different from the general Vinaya vow is that it is linked with the generation of enlightenment thought. You are keeping these precepts for for the sake of attaining enlightenment so that it becomes the Mahāyāna precepts and also many of the basic tantra such as like Kriyā tantra. Also, since they are kind of lower tantras, it is closer to the general practice that before doing any rituals of the lower tantra, it is said that it is to keep this kind of rituals. So to do this, the first is to to purify our negative actions and to accumulate merits that you visualize in front of you in the center, in the sky, a jewel throne lifted by lions on this moon disc over this the owner of the teaching, the lord Buddha, who is in golden color with the one face, two hands, the right hand with earth touching mudra, and the left hand in meditation posture. He is adorned with the three pieces of robes, which means the upper two robes and lower robe, and also adorned with the thirty two signs and the eighty qualities.
And just by even the sight of or the remembering and the image of it will disperse all the fear of saṃsāra and nirvana and bestows all the ones wishes. And surrounded with this all the lineage gurus as well as other Buddhas of the ten direction Buddhas as well as many bodhisattvas bodhisattvas who are in household form, which means with the hair and ornaments. And the bodhisattvas who are in household form means the ones who have hair and ornaments such as like Mañjuśrī and Avalokiteśvara, as well as bodhisattvas who are in renounced form, which means in the monk’s form with robes and shaved heads, and as well as Pratyekabuddha and śrāvakas. And surrounded with this, the Dharma palace, the protectors, and the wealth of gods in pile of this just like a pile of clouds. And facing towards this yourself and all sentient beings that your body is multiplied with many many many bodies so that doing the prostration as you physically that you do the prostration and speech, you you imagine that you are reciting the praises of Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, and the deities.
And mentally, from the depth of one’s heart with the deep devotion and faith, clear faith, desiring faith, and believing faith, that whatever happens in one’s lifetime, that I only seek the blessings of the Buddha Dharma Sangha. With this kind of devotion, then you do the prostrations now slowly slowly. So as we recite the the praises, then you do the prostrations. Now you can sit down. So now to receive the actual vows, first, you make a mandala.
I think the short one will go. And then to do now, to receive the actual vows that in front of all the Buddhas of the ten direction as well as bodhisattvas and the guru. Just as the the past Buddhas have and arhats have done, that I also that from this moment, until tomorrow for one whole day for twenty four hours time that I will also keep all the eight precepts that are to abstain from killing, to abstain from stealing, and to abstain from any sexual acts, abstain from speaking a lie, and to avoid any kind of intoxicants, any alcohols, anything that dulls the mind and to abstain from putting any kind of perfumes and any ornaments and dancing and singing, etcetera, so altogether, the the eight precepts that I will keep from this time for the sake of attaining enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. So these in mind, then you kneel down on the right knee down, the left one up. And then with the folded hands that you recite.
And when I say da, when the there’s only one word, just da, at that time, you add your name. Just like the refuge when one is receiving refuge. So like that, you recite this. So this is the first time, and then recite three times. For the second time, be the same intention that you re repeat after me.
So for the third time, when you recite the third time, at the end of the third time, then you receive the the eight precepts. So at that time, you must know that you have received the eight precept. So this do the same thing. So this way, you receive. So when I say, say.
Now, again, you recite these phrases that describes the actual precept, what to give during this time. So, again, you just repeat after me these lines with the motivation of bodhicitta. So we just repeat this again. So so now you can sit. And then so in this way, you receive the the eight precepts.
And now to make our moral conduct pure and steady that you recite the or the moral conduct mantra. First, we repeat after me, and then later, we recite together for twenty one times. So now by receiving the eight precepts, the merits that we have earned is to dedicate to attain ultimate enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. And, also, we dedicate that the the moral conduct our moral conduct will be pure with the right motivation and pure for for life after life. So with this intention that you imagine that you’re doing the dedication of merits.
So we completed this. Now today is a very special day. It is the day that lord Buddha the birth enlightenment, and also the entering into the nirvana. But, actually, the life of Buddha is such a great thing that no one can describe. And besides that he possess the infinite wisdom and compassion and skillful means that and who possess the the ultimate three kayas.
That means that wherever whatever form, whenever request, they will appeal appear and do the activities so that it is not just like describing a one person’s one great teacher’s life. I mean, for example, one even one person normally, we just think one person, then it means that he his life begins with birth and then go through his life and then also at the end. But the Buddhas are not like this. Buddhas possess the infinite qualities so that their time is that wherever it appears for example, for certain people, Buddha may be born. For certain people, Buddha is enlightened.
For certain people, the Buddha is in another form. So it means even at one time, even at one one moment can happen millions of different activities. And so therefore, the time is also not set like individual persons. I mean, like, there’s the birthday year and there’s death year. Like this, we can’t set.
And so that is why that the time is the commemoration of Buddha’s birthday and the date also differs from many countries. But, basically, that it is all but according to the Tibetan calendar, this is the the fourth month, fourth lunar month, and this is the the the we believe that it is the day that the historical Śākyamūni Buddha has birth and enlightenment and Mahaparinirvana. And so the first so according to the Mahāyāna teaching that actually Buddha has already got enlightenment eons long before he appeared in India. But in order to set example for ordinary person, how ordinary person can also enter into the spiritual path and purify his defilements and and develop his qualities and then gain enlightenment. So to set an example that he reappeared in India So this is just one part of the Buddha.
The the actual Buddha’s qualities that nobody can describe, including the highest bodhisattvas. For example, that the birds fly in the sky, and then after a while, they return. It is not that the space is limited, and they no long there’s no place to fly. The birds themselves do not have the enough strength to fly further, and then they return. Space has no limit.
They can fly. There’s a space for to fly for forever, But they cannot fly forever, so they they fly over a while, and then they return. Similarly, the qualities of the Buddha has no limit. Nobody can even that those great bodhisattvas who possess the infinite wisdom and owner of all the knowledge cannot describe the Buddha’s qualities. It is as so much so much so that they cannot describe.
So this is just one part. Is that first so in order to set the example for the ordinary worldly ordinary person’s path and that he first came from the heaven of joy, Tuśita,, where people requested People requested to come down to the to the earth to help the beings, and then he put his crown to the on the head of Maitreya as his regent. He consecrated as a regent, and then he himself came down to the earth with in the form of the white elephant with six tusks and in the beautiful adorned with the beautiful ornament came down and that that his mother, the queen Maya, had the dream that the the great elephant with adorned with the precious jewels as entering into her body. And then, also, there are many great signs that after the conceived that has great many signs and qualities develop. And then one day when his mother, queen Maya, is traveling in the garden of Lumbini, and that suddenly she felt that that she is going to give the birth.
And so while she was holding the the tree on the right hand, under her right arm, the the lord Buddha who is in a form of baby in golden color, adorned with thirty two signs and the eighty qualities was born. And then as he born, the lord Brahma and Indra were helping and that as soon as he born that he walked seven steps on each direction. And when he walked that whoever steps that he put put a very beautiful lotus appeared and that he said that he is the the enlightened one. And then the the king and the queen were so pleased, and also so many auspicious signs appeared in the whole of sacred kingdom. And then there were great Brahmas who can tell the persons by looking by reading their face and by reading the the body.
And so then then they were reading that the Brahmans have have prophesied. This is somebody that who’s so great that either is only two things can happen. Either he will become the universal emperor or he will be fully enlightened person. There’s only two possibilities. There’s no other possibilities.
And so the king and the queen were very pleased and then started grown up. He’s grown up, and then started educating him. Send it to the school to learn the letters, to learn the reading and writing, etcetera. But when he reached there, that he knows so many letters that his teacher even never heard of. There’s so many different letters of the letters of devas, letters of nagas, letters of yakshas, etcetera.
There’s so many letters that his teacher even never heard of that he already knew. So as every science of studies such as, like, medicine, art, logic, and etcetera. And that that everyone was so impressed and so astonished that nobody can so that he even at at the age like this that he become the teacher’s teachers. He is known as the teacher’s teachers. And then they were doing the learning for the different sports.
And in the sport also that nobody, even those who are very famous and who have a great fame of doing the sport were all defeated by the Buddha that nobody can compete with him. And then in order the king, the father, and mother, of course, both wish their son to be become a universal emperor, wish to become the universal emperor and not to let him to go to renounce this world. So they protected him. And so in order to continue to live as a king, they build a very many palaces palaces that with a great luxury of food as well as the the music, etcetera. And then all the time, protecting him not to let him go.
And then one day when he wanted to see although, of course, all he knows everything, this is just for the sake of the ordinary eyes that one day when he was going out out of the palace with his in his chariot that his attendant with his attendant. And in the eastern door that he saw a old man who is white hair and body is bent and with many wrinkles and so forth. And this man is he he said this man is different from others. And why it is he’s he is looks like this. And the attendant explained to him that this is the called old age, that everybody will become like this one day even though at the moment we are young and we have healthy, but one day we all we will become like this.
And then again on another day he went out and in the southern door he saw a sick man. People were carrying a sick man who was very sick. And so that again that he saw he explained this is called the illness that they