Zen Precepts
Practice Resources
The Sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts are the heritage and foundation of our Zen practice and training, articulated commitments to living peacefully, for the benefit of all. The Precepts, including the Three Refuges, the Three Pure Precepts, and the Ten Grave Precepts, are given by one’s teacher during lay and priest ordinations, weddings, and funerals. Fitting for regular reflection, some practitioners chant them daily or weekly. It is common to renew these vows every month during Full Moon Ceremonies.
Below, find talks, readings, and references.
Texts
TEXT: The Sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts, the foundation of our Zen Way, as chanted at SFZC’s Beginner’s Mind Temple.
Talks
TALK: (2023, 1 of 4) Precepts Call Us In - Buddhist Heritage And Our Community With All Beings
TALK: (2023, 2 of 4) Great Robe of Liberation
TALK: (2023, 3 of 4) Not Praising Self at the Expense of Others: The Precept of Fearlessness
TALK: (2023, 4 of 4) Stinginess, Resentment and Other Stories
TALK: (2022) My Imperfections Are The Path - Kodo Conlin - An introduction to the working ground of sīla, the Bodhisattva Precepts, and care without self-judgment.
TALK: (2020) The Liberating Power of the Bodhisattva Precepts - Mei Elliott
Reading
BOOK: Tenshin Reb Anderson - Being Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts
BOOK: Diane Eshin Rizetto - Waking Up to What You Do