The treasury of knowledge book five buddhist ethics buddhist ethics v 5 (110)

Chapter I: The Qualities of the Spiritual Teacher and Student 35 Chapter II: The Vows of Personal Liberation 79 Chapter III: The Commitments of Awakening Mind 161 Chapter IV: The Vows an

Chapter I: The Qualities of the Spiritual Teacher and Student 35 Chapter II: The Vows of Personal Liberation 79 Chapter III: The Commitments of Awakening Mind 161 Chapter IV: The Vows and Pledges of Secret Mantra 215

Bibliography of Works Cited by the Author 513

Dedicated to the long life

of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Chapter Title 7

Foreword

Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé was one of the great nineteenth-century figures in Tibet—in learning, in spiritual attainment, and in reputa-tion He was a master of the ten fields of classical knowledge With great confidence, respect, and pure vision in the Dharma, he studied, contemplated, cultivated, mastered, and applied the teachings of all schools of Buddhism In particular, he had a special aptitude for com-mentary and writing

In his day, many of the instructions for spiritual maturation and liberation were rarely practiced, widely scattered, and close to ex-tinction With his special abilities, he collected these rare and fragile transmissions into what are now known as The Five Great Treasuries, a

collection of more than a hundred volumes

Of these, the treasury called The Encompassment of All Knowledge

discusses the path to freedom, describing the three disciplines of eth-ics, contemplation, and wisdom It covers the Buddha’s teachings from the sutras and tantras, the main commentarial traditions and essen-tial instructions along with such traditional subjects of learning as medicine, art, and linguistics This work doesn’t just touch on one topic here and there but encompasses all areas of knowledge with unprecedented clarity and thoroughness

The Lord of Refuge, the Venerable Kalu Rinpoché, Rangjung Kunkyab, was the activity manifestation of Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé He felt that in the present times this great treasury was essen-tial for Buddhist practitioners around the globe and he therefore spear-headed the effort to translate this work into English The present text

8 Buddhist Ethics

is the translation of the section of this treasury that deals with the three vows, the essence of the practice and application of what Bud-dha Shakyamuni taught in the three collections of teaching (Skt

tripi˛aka) and the four divisions of Tantra.

For any person, the proper practice and application of these teach-ings will reduce the negative dimensions of life such as suffering and inappropriate reactions Equally, the positive dimensions of life, hap-piness and well-being for oneself and others, will grow and flourish Ultimately, one will completely stop what is problematic, understand how things are, naturally realize the two aims, and awaken fully into buddhahood

Bokar Rinpoché Bokar Ngedön Chökhor Ling Mirik, India

April 4, 1997

Introduction 9

Introduction

Buddhist Ethics, the fifth book of Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé’s ten-part Encompassment of All Knowledge, begins with a presentation of the

qualifications of both the spiritual teachers who embody the differ-ent systems of ethics and their disciples, the trainees of these sys-tems The text explains the process whereby teachers and disciples establish and cultivate a proper spiritual relationship, which, once it has been established, provides a foundation from which teachers can expound the Buddha’s doctrine and disciples can receive the teach-ings The author then provides a detailed description of the three major systems of ethics, or vows, within the Buddhist tradition

In Buddhism, vows are viewed in many ways, depending on the context of the discussion, but generally the ethical systems are designated as three sets of vows, as two sets of vows, or as one all-inclusive vow The three sets of vows spoken of throughout all divisions of the Buddhist scriptures are those of personal liberation (pr›timok˝a), of meditative absorption (dhy›na), and of the

uncontami-nated (an›srava) vows These are essentially identical to the three forms

of training on the Buddhist path: the development of morality, medi-tation, and wisdom In fact, in order to gain the different types of enlightenment of their systems, proclaimers (Ÿr›vaka), solitary sages

(pratyekabuddha), and bodhisattvas must forsake disturbing emotions

and other obstacles on their paths by cultivating an uncontaminated discriminative awareness which is developed by training in wisdom