The Zen Precepts
A practice guide to the Sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts
The Sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts are the heritage and foundation of Soto Zen practice: articulated commitments to living peacefully, for the benefit of all beings. In this lineage, Zazen and the precepts together comprise a complete path. It could be said that Zazen is our practice of stillness, and the precepts our practice in activity. In our Way, they interweave.
The Zen Precepts are given by one's teacher at lay and priest ordinations, often too at weddings, and funerals; many practitioners chant them daily or weekly; and the Zen community renews them each month at the Full Moon Ceremony. This page is a brief orientation and a set of talks to practice with.
How to practice with them
We can relate to the precepts as trainings, not commands: reference points rather than measuring sticks. We resolve, do our best, observe, and learn, again and again.
Each precept is "a no for the sake of a yes": a restraint that cultivates a corresponding virtue.
Imperfection is included. Okumura Roshi called the precepts "a record of the mistakes of Buddhist practitioners." Practicing sincerely yet imperfectly is often what a life of practice looks like.
The Sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts
as chanted at SFZC's Beginner's Mind Temple
The Three Refuges
I take refuge in Buddha.
I take refuge in Dharma.
I take refuge in Sangha.
The Three Pure Precepts
I vow to refrain from all evil.
I vow to make every effort to live in enlightenment.
I vow to live and be lived for the benefit of all beings.
The Ten Grave Precepts
I vow not to kill.
I vow not to take what is not given.
I vow not to misuse sexuality.
I vow to refrain from false speech.
I vow to refrain from intoxicants.
I vow not to slander.
I vow not to praise self at the expense of others.
I vow not to be avaricious.
I vow not to harbor ill will.
I vow not to disparage the Three Treasures.
Practice with these
Precepts Call Us In: Buddhist Heritage and Our Community with All Beings (2023)
My Imperfections Are the Path (2022): an introduction to sīla, the precepts, and care without self-judgment. Also includes a positive formulation of the precepts.
Going further
Tenshin Reb Anderson, Being Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts
Diane Eshin Rizzetto, Waking Up to What You Do
Practice discussion
One of the ways I teach is through one-on-one practice discussion, to extend and deepen our understanding of these teachings, especially as they bear on the questions arising from our life, on and off the meditation cushion. If you've been practicing with the precepts and would like to talk it over, you're welcome to reach out.
© Kodo Conlin. This material is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.