Jukai

The Pure Regulations of Zen Gardens says: "The buddhas of the three times all declare they attained awakening upon leaving home. The twenty-eight patriarchs of the Western Lands and the six patriarchs of the Tang Land who transmitted the seal of the Buddha-mind were all śramaṇa. It is precisely by making the vinaya strict and pure that one can become a great model for the three worlds. Thus, the quest for the Way through Zen has the precepts as its prerequisite. If one does not avoid faults and prevent errors, how could one become a buddha or patriarch?"

The ritual for receiving the precepts requires one to prepare the three robes, the bowl, and new, clean garments. If there are no new garments, one must wash and clean [those one has]. To enter the precinct and receive the precepts, one must not borrow or rent robes and bowl. Concentrate with a single mind, be careful not to let yourself be distracted. Taking the form of the Buddha, possessing the precepts of the Buddha, obtaining the function of the Buddha—this is no small matter. How could one approach it lightly? If one borrows or rents robes and bowl, even if one ascends to the precinct to receive the precepts, one does not obtain them.

If one has never received them, one remains for one's entire life a person without precepts. One would then defile the gate of emptiness, vainly wasting the offerings of faith. Beginners who enter the Way do not yet know the rules; if the master says nothing to them, he plunges them into this state. Today, I speak insistently, daring to hope that [these words] will be engraved in hearts.

Having received the precepts of the śrāvaka, one must receive the bodhisattva precepts. This is the progression for entering the Dharma.

In the West as in the East, what the buddhas and patriarchs have transmitted since always necessarily includes, at the very beginning of entering the Dharma, the reception of the precepts. Without receiving the precepts, one is not yet a disciple of the buddhas, one is not a child-grandchild of the patriarchs. It is because avoiding faults and preventing errors—this is seeking the Way through Zen. The phrase "the precepts are the prerequisite" is already in itself the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye.

Becoming a buddha or patriarch necessarily occurs through the transmission and preservation of the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye; the patriarchs who correctly transmit the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye necessarily receive and preserve the Buddhist precepts. There cannot be a buddha or patriarch who has not received and preserved the Buddhist precepts. Some have received and preserved them by following the Tathāgata, others by following a disciple of the Buddha: all have inherited there the vital lineage.

Today, the Buddhist precepts that the buddhas and patriarchs correctly transmit, only the ancient patriarch of Songshan correctly transmitted them; after five transmissions in China, they reached the great patriarch of Caoqi. The correct transmission of Qingyuan, Nanyue, and others continues until now, but there are negligent ancients who do not even know it, which is truly pitiable.

The phrase "one must receive the bodhisattva precepts, this is the progression for entering the Dharma"—this is what students in quest must know. The ritual of this "reception of the bodhisattva precepts," only those who have long studied in the sanctuary of the buddhas and patriarchs correctly transmit it. It is not the doing of negligent companions.

The ritual necessarily consists of burning incense before the patriarch, prostrating, and requesting the reception of the bodhisattva precepts. Once permission is obtained, one purifies oneself by bathing, puts on new, clean garments, or washes one's garments, scatters flowers, burns

of incense, one prostrates respectfully and dons them. One universally prostrates before the images, prostrates before the Three Jewels, prostrates before the venerable elders, removes all obstacles, and must attain purity of body and mind. This ritual has been correctly transmitted for a long time in the sanctuary of the buddhas and patriarchs.

Next, in the place of practice, the upādhyāya and the ācārya instruct the recipient to prostrate, kneel, join palms, and utter these words: I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Dharma, I take refuge in the Sangha. I take refuge in the Buddha, the Supreme Venerable among two-legged beings; I take refuge in the Dharma, the Supreme Venerable liberated from desires; I take refuge in the Sangha, the Supreme Venerable among communities. I take refuge in the Buddha is accomplished, I take refuge in the Dharma is accomplished, I take refuge in the Sangha is accomplished. The Tathāgata, truly perfect, unsurpassed, fully awakened, is my great teacher. I now take refuge; from now and into the future, I will no longer take refuge in heretical demons and external paths. Out of compassion. [Three times. The third time, one repeats "Out of compassion" three times.]

Good son, having abandoned error and taken refuge in the right, the precepts are now perfectly accomplished. You must receive the three collections of pure precepts. First, the precepts collecting the rules. From your present body until the body of buddha, can you observe this precept? Response: I can observe it. [Three questions, three responses.] Second, the precepts collecting good dharmas. From your present body until the body of buddha, can you observe this precept? Response: I can observe it. [Three questions, three responses.] Third, the precepts benefiting sentient beings. From your present body until the body of buddha, can you observe this precept?

Response: I can observe it. [Three questions, three responses.] The three collections of pure precepts above, you must not violate any of them. From your present body until the body of buddha, can you observe them? Response: I can observe them. [Three questions, three responses.] This matter, you must uphold it thus. The recipient prostrates three times, kneels, and joins palms.

Good son, having received the three collections of pure precepts, you must receive the ten precepts. These are the great pure precepts of buddhas and bodhisattvas. First, do not kill. From your present body until the body of buddha, can you observe this precept? Response: I can observe it. [Three questions, three responses.] Second, do not steal. From your present body until the body of buddha, can you observe this precept? Response: I can observe it. [Three questions, three responses.] Third, do not be greedy for sensuality. From your present body until the body of buddha, can you observe this precept?

Response: I can observe it. [Three questions, three responses.] Fourth, do not lie. From your present body until the body of buddha, can you observe this precept? Response: I can observe it. [Three questions, three responses.] Fifth, do not sell alcohol. From your present body until the body of buddha, can you observe this precept? Response: I can observe it. [Three questions, three responses.] Sixth, do not expose the faults of lay or ordained bodhisattvas. From your present body until the body of buddha, can you observe this precept? Response: I can observe it. [Three questions, three responses.] Seventh, do not praise oneself or disparage others. From your present body until the body of buddha, can you observe this precept? Response: I can observe it. [Three questions, three responses.] Eighth,

not to be stingy with the Dharma or material possessions. From your present body until the body of buddha, can you observe this precept? Answer: I can observe it. [Three questions, three answers.] Ninth, not to become angry. From your present body until the body of buddha, can you observe this precept? Answer: I can observe it. [Three questions, three answers.] Tenth, not to slander the Three Treasures out of ignorance. From your present body until the body of buddha, can you observe this precept? Answer: I can observe it. [Three questions, three answers.] The ten precepts above, you must not violate any of them. From your present body until the body of buddha, can you observe them? Answer: I can observe them. [Three questions, three answers.] This matter, you must maintain it thus. The recipient prostrates three times.

The Three Refuges above, the three collections of pure precepts, and the ten major precepts, these are what the buddhas have received and preserved. From your present body until the body of buddha, can you observe these sixteen branches of precepts? Answer: I can observe them. [Three questions, three answers.] This matter, you must maintain it thus. The recipient prostrates three times. Then, the bhaṇa "Being in the World" is chanted and it is said: I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Dharma, I take refuge in the Sangha. Then the recipient leaves the practice place.

This ceremony of receiving the precepts has necessarily been correctly transmitted by the buddhas and patriarchs. Danxia Tianran, the great śrāmaṇera Yaoshan, and others have also received and preserved it since time immemorial. Although there are patriarchs who did not receive the bhikṣu precepts, there has never been a patriarch who did not receive these bodhisattva precepts correctly transmitted by the buddhas and patriarchs. They necessarily receive and preserve them.