Pratimoksha Vows

Anonymous said...

I have a question on "A Short Daily Meditation Practise." 

In the section "The Graded Path to Enlightenment," there is a reference to "pratimoksha vows" - (Verse 6, Line 3).

What are these vows ?

How do I find out more about them ?

Thank You.

April 13, 2010 9:27 PM 

Response from Drimay:
I am so glad that you are looking at this practice. Pratimoksha is a Sanskrit term which literally means 'individual liberation.' Pratimoksha Vows include various levels of monastic vows (for monks and nuns) as well as both temporary and lifelong vows for lay Buddhists. Householders (people who are not monks or nuns) can take a set of eight precepts for one day (24 hours). They can also take five precepts for life; namely, 1) not killing, 2) not stealing, 3) not committing sexual misconduct, 4) not lying, and 5) not taking intoxicants. Some masters let people choose which ones of the five they want to take; other masters only allow taking all five or none at all.

Even if you haven't taken these vows, you can think about the ten non-virtues as a checklist for what to avoid. For example, sometimes you might be reading a confession prayer where it says to review your pratimoksha vows, so you can review the ten non-virtues.

Keeping the pratimoksha vows well--i.e., maintaining basic ethical conduct--is the basis for all the higher sets of vows--bodhisattva and tantric.

Thank you for your question.

- Drimay