The Ten Bodhisattva Precepts of Buddhism

Demon: “So why do you consider my presence a pollution, a disease? Is it because there is that within you which is like unto myself? …If so, I mock you in your weakness, Binder.”

Sam: “It is because I am a man who occasionally aspires to things beyond the belly and the phallus.”

Roger Zelazny, Lord of Light (1967)

Recently, I wrote a post about the Five Precepts of Buddhism, which are a nearly universal code of conduct that lay disciples can choose to undertake both as a benefit for themselves (dignity, mental well-being) and towards others. In addition to the Five Precepts, the Mayahana branch of Buddhism¹ gradually developed a second set of precept rules called the Ten Bodhisattva Precepts.

The history of the Ten Bodhisattva Precepts is a bit convoluted,² but the primary source is a Buddhist text called the Brahma Net Sutra, specifically the Mahayana-Buddhist version. The sutra lists 10 major precepts, and 42 minor precepts a bodhisattva is meant to undertake as part of their training, but most focus only on the 10 major precepts.

The ten major precepts are (translating from this source):

1. Do not take life.
2. Do not steal. 
3. Do not commit adultery or sexual abuse. 
4. Do not lie. 
5. Do not sell (or consume) liquor. 
6. Do not bring up the faults of others. 
7. Do not boast of oneself or disparage others. 
8. Do not begrudge material and spiritual possessions. 
9. Do not harbor ill-will. 
10. Do not disparage the Three Treasures [the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha].

Monastic followers, that is monks and nuns, in the Mahayana tradition often take up these Bodhisattva Precepts on top of the more traditional monastic rules. Japan is an exception, where monastics only take up the Bodhisattva Precepts these days. However lay people often undertake these precepts too.

These precepts are called the endonkai (円頓戒, “complete, perfect precepts”) in the Tendai tradition, and jūrokujōkai (十六条戒, “sixteen [bodhisattva] precepts”) in Soto Zen tradition, include six more “preamble” precepts:

1. I take refuge in the Buddha
2. I take refuge in the Dharma
3. I take refuge in the Sangha
4. I vow to abstain from all evil
5. I vow to strive to do good
6. I vow to devote myself toward other living beings
7. (the 10 bodhisattva precepts listed above then follow…)

This makes for 16 precepts total.

Lay followers typically take the original Five Precepts mentioned above, but may opt to undertake the Bodhisattva Precepts as a kind of “extra credit”, especially since they overlap quite a bit. Unlike the Five Precepts where one openly declares their vows to a monk, nun or a Buddhist statue (if alone), the Bodhisattva Precepts don’t always require a formal ceremony as such. It varies by tradition. Many traditions in Japan have a ceremony called jukai (受戒) where a lay followers undertakes these 10 (or 16) precepts and thus declares themselves an official follower of that tradition.

Even if you are not part of such a tradition, you are welcome to undertake them anyway preferably before a Buddhist image or altar, but it’s not strictly necessary. If you uphold them, great. If not, the Five Precepts alone are still a worthy undertaking.

In summary, the Bodhisattva Precepts are a way to extend one’s daily practice of Buddhism by not just avoiding more gross deeds, but also gradually polishing the mind by avoiding greed, ill-will and conceit and thereby removing the source of further suffering for yourself and others.

Namu Amida Butsu
Namu Kanzeon Bosatsu

P.S. Happy Bodhi Day 2021!

¹ The Mayahana Branch encompasses pretty much all of Buddhism you see in places like China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Tibet and so on. The other branch, Theravada, is found more in Southeast Asia: Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and so on.

2 In earlier Buddhism, the Buddha encouraged lay followers to not only take up the Five Precepts, but also practice something called the Ten Good Deeds. It’s likely, in my opinion, that these more nebulous Ten Good Deeds were eventually codified into the 10 major precepts of the Brahma Net Sutra above, and thus became the Bodhisattva Precepts.