Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 39-minute session, Ven Thubten Dondrub leads the Eight Mahāyāna Precepts ceremony on Day 2 of a Kālacakra retreat. He begins with detailed visualization instruction: establishing Thousand-Armed Chenrezig (the Buddha of Compassion) as the refuge field, surrounded by all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, with all sentient beings visualized around the practitioner experiencing suffering from different realms. The ceremony then unfolds through three recitations of the vows themselves—the eight precepts grounded in the four basic vows of non-killing, non-stealing, and non-sexual activity, all undertaken with the Mahāyāna motivation of achieving enlightenment for the sake of all beings. After receiving the vows, practitioners recite the dharani of morality twenty-one times, commit to keeping the precepts throughout the day, and conclude with dedication prayers for the benefit of all sentient beings. Designed for practitioners who have already received Kālacakra initiation.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 7. Day 2 Eight Mahāyāna Precepts Ceremony.mp3
UUID: ba08f5a3-8a4d-452c-a31d-00e32b98fcc5
Teacher: Ven Thubten Dondrub
Collection: KI Retreat (Ven Thubten Dondrub)
Date: 2005 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 38.6 minutes
Words: ~697
So taking the eight Mahāyāna precepts, one visualises taking the precepts from Avalokiteśvara, Thousand Armed Avalokiteśvara, the Buddha of Compassion. This is actually the most accurate, correct way. If you find it difficult to visualise Chenrezig, you can visualise the four arm form, thinking it’s the thousand arm form. Otherwise one visualises, Chenrezig, with the thousand-arm form as the main figure. Chenrezig with the thousand arms as he is depicted.
At the beginning of your text in the green book. So as much as possible visualising Thousand Arms Chenrezig in front of you, surrounded by all the other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. And also this is the field of refuge, at the same time visualising all sentient beings surrounding you, thinking of their suffering, one can imagine in a human form, experiencing different sufferings of different realms, starting with one’s parents on either side, family and friends behind antagonists in front. Then visualising this place as a pure land. Then visualising countless offerings that we make as a condition to receive the precepts.
I’m not sure if I would remember this tune. Used to do this one in English. I used to do all of them in English also. Oh. I don’t know the tune.
So in the next verse, we invite the actual wisdom consciousness or the field of refuge to be present here. So now we make three prostrations, long prostrations if you can manage it, but I don’t think that’s possible. Just imagine you’re doing long prostrations. That’s the seven limb offering. Mandala offering. No.
You you can do it. Please. So now we’re going to take the Mahāyāna precepts. So as I said in the name in English, they are Mahāyāna precepts, so we have to take it with the motivation of achieving enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. So this the vows that we have to to guard are the same as as the, how do you say, the self liberation vows.
They are eight. They are the the the four basic vows of non killing, non stealing, non sexual activity and and so forth. Yes. So now Geshe-la is going to lead the ritual, and he’s going to to say his part of the ritual, and we have to follow-up with our part of the ritual. So now So now Geshe-la is going to lead.
He’s going to say the the ritual prayer, and then we have to follow So now we’re going to read again a second time. And So now we start with the second time. So now we we finished the second turn. We’re going to start with the third. So by the end of this third time, Geshe-la is going to say, right?
And then we should all think that we finally took received the vows. And then Geshe-la is going to say afterwards, he’s going to say, and we all should say. Tashi Delek. So now I have to read the Yeah. The commitment to keep the precepts.
So now we have to repeat the dharani twenty one times, each one of us. Right? The dharani of the morality. This one? So now we have to do each one of us.
Twenty one times. So now I have to read the prayer to keep your morality. Okay. So now dedication, prayers, and so forth? We do that.
Okay. Page twenty two. Because of the merits of taking the ordination and keeping the precepts, may I and all sentient beings achieve the two enlightened holy bodies created by the two vast accumulations of merit and transcendental wisdom? So now now you have you have to take in the vows and whatever virtue you engage in, then the the this the amount of virtue that we collect will be multiplied. So now you have to now you you took the the precepts.
You have to keep them well during the whole day, So if you if you don’t keep them, then faults will will come about, will will arise. So guarding guarding well the precepts, you will will derive benefit. And not guarding them, you will develop shortcomings. Okay. Yeah.
Oh, yeah. Okay.