Information about the Zen Precepts
2026 Zen Precepts Ceremony Date: Sunday, July 5, 2026 at 4:30pm. Please email us if you'd like more information about receiving the Zen Precepts.
Introduction: The Precepts really are guidelines for a happy life.
- your teachers/philosophies/
Sange: Complete a sange ("regret and resolve") reflection leading up to taking the Precepts. Make a list of things in your life up to this point that you might regret (actions, decisions, habits, people you may have hurt, anything that comes up that you might not have handled all that well at the time). Then communicate the contents of your list to someone you trust (a friend, teacher). Communicate these things as honestly as you can. There's no need for the listener to comment on anything, just to listen. Hold onto your list and bring it to the ceremony.
Videos:
Watch this video by Daizan Roshi about the Precepts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Rakusu: Students are presented with a rakusu during the ceremony. You're welcome to sew your own or to have one custom-sewn for you.
![0 FM0 CR0 Prmid2 mxDrkA1.69 mxBrtA0.63 mxPkNSat1.46 dr36.36 br10.71 wdr15.37 wbr7.51 sbr5.44 ldr37.93 lp51.0 [f0] 101110111bfalic 00000](https://www.bluecliffzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Good-Precepts-Picture.jpg "Good Precepts Picture")
Zen Master Daibai
"The Great Matter of Birth and Death, the Great Matter of swift change – unless these are reflected and pondered deeply, even though you received this valuable human birth with is so difficult to come by, you might yet end up carelessly squandering it. However, if you truly feared birth and death, would you then now eagerly seek for the way out?”
Zen Master Torei's Bodhissatva Vow
"When I regard the true nature of all things and all living creatures, I find them to be the sacred forms of the Tathagatha's never failing essence. Each particle of matter, each moment, is no other than the Tathagatha's inexpressible radiance. With this realisation, our noble ancestors gave tender care to beasts and birds, with compassionate minds and hearts. Among us, in our own daily lives, who is not reverently grateful for the protections of life: food, drink and clothing! Though they are inanimate things, that are nonetheless the warm flesh and blood, the merciful incarnations of Buddha. All the more, we can be especially understanding and affectionate with foolish people, particularly with someone who becomes a sworn enemy and persecutes us with abusive language. That very abuse conveys the Buddha's boundless loving-kindness. It is a compassionate device to liberate us entirely from the mean spirited delusions
we have built up with our wrongful conduct from the beginningless past. With our open response to such abuse we completely relinquish ourselves, and the most profound and pure faith arises. At the peak of each thought a lotus flower opens, and on each flower there is revealed a Buddha. Everywhere is the Pure Land in its beauty. We see fully the Tathagata's radiant light right where we are. May we retain this mind and extend it throughout the world so that we and all beings become mature in Buddha's wisdom."
Taking Refuge:
I take refuge in the Buddha.
I take refuge in the Dharma.
I take refuge in the Sangha.
3 Pure Precepts:
Cease from evil.
Do only good.
Do good for others.
Bodhidharma's Explanation of the 10 Great Precepts
Do not kill/Affirm life:
Bodhidharma said, “Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the realm of the everlasting Dharma, not giving rise to concepts of killing is called the Precept of Not Killing.”
Do not steal/Be giving:
Bodhidharma said, “Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the realm of the unattainable Dharma, not having thoughts of gaining is called the Precept of Not Stealing.”
Do not lie/Manifest the truth:
Bodhidharma said, “Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the realm of the inexplicable Dharma, not preaching a single word is called the Precept of Not Lying.”
Do not indulge in abusive or inappropriate sexuality/Honor your body:
Bodhidharma said, “Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the realm of the ungilded Dharma, not creating a veneer of attachment is called the Precept of Not Misusing Sex.”
Do not abuse intoxicants/Proceed clearly without clouding the mind:
Bodhidharma said “Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the realm of the intrinsically pure Dharma, not giving rise to delusions is called the Precept of Not Giving or Taking Drugs.”
Do not criticize others/See their inherent perfection:
Bodhidharma said, “Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the realm of the flawless Dharma, not expounding upon error is called the Precept of Not Speaking of Faults of Others.”
Do not boast of your attainments and belittle others:
Bodhidharma said, “Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the realm of the equitable Dharma, not dwelling upon I against you is called the Precept of Not Praising Yourself While Abusing Others.”
Do not be stingy and withholding/Give generously:
Bodhidharma said, “Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the genuine, all-pervading Dharma, not being stingy about a single thing is called the Precept of Not Sparing the Dharma Assets.”
Do not harbor anger/Actualize harmony:
Bodhidharma said, “Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the realm of the selfless Dharma, not contriving reality for the self is called the Precept of Not Indulging in Anger.”
Do not defame your own or others' teachers or spiritual paths/Experience the intimacy and inclusivity of all things:
Bodhidharma said, “Self-nature is subtle and mysterious. In the realm of the One, not holding dualistic concepts of ordinary beings and sages is called the Precept of Not Defaming the Three Treasures.”
The 4 Great Bodhissatva Vows:
- However innumerable beings may be, I vow to save them all;
- However inexhaustable the passions may be, I vow to transform them all;
- However limitless the Dharma may be, I vow to comprehend it completely;
- However infinite the Buddha’s Truth is, I vow to realize it.
Suggested Readings:
- The Mind of Clover: Essays in Zen Buddhist Ethics by Robert Aitken
- Being Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts by Reb Anderson