Khenpo Yeshe Phuntsok
According to Lord Buddha’s and the lineage masters’ teachings, beginners on the Dharma path must uphold pure precepts and engage in listening, contemplation, and meditation/practice. The foundation of precept discipline must be solidly established before the profound and vast qualities of the Buddhadharma can truly arise.
The precepts transmitted by Lord Buddha under the Hinayana, Mahayana, and unsurpassed Vajrayana vehicles are different. They are respectively the outer Hinayana Pratimoksha vows, the inner Mahayana Bodhisattva vows, and the secret Vajrayana Samayas.
Hinayana Pratimoksha vows primarily target the physical bodily actions and speech of sentient beings, hence they are called "outer." Mahayana bodhisattvas, who aim to widely benefit beings through the six paramitas, must generate supreme Bodhicitta, thus the Bodhisattva vows primarily target the level of thoughts or mental karma, hence they are called "inner."
The Vajrayana directly engages in practice based on the nature of ultimate reality (Dharmadhatu), therefore the vows observed are even more subtle. Furthermore, the Vajrayana engages in secret conduct, thus its secrets are not revealed to those who lack the necessary caliber, who have broken samayas, or who have not entered the mandala through receiving the relevant empowerments, hence it is called "secret"…
After Lord Shakyamuni Buddha generated supreme Bodhicitta while on the path, he practiced for three great asamkhyeya (immeasurable) kalpas and perfected the accumulations of merit and wisdom through the six paramitas by giving away his own flesh and blood countless times. After he attained the unequalled state of Buddhahood, Buddha first taught the view of non-self in the first turning of the Dharma wheel; in terms of conduct, he established the system of precept discipline and emphasized it greatly.
Buddha Shakyamuni deemed it very necessary to have pure conduct. Through his omniscient wisdom, regulating one’s conduct was the very first thing that Buddha taught karmically-linked disciples upon entering his teachings.
Although the Buddha has passed into parinirvana like the setting of the sun, Buddhist disciples nowadays can still bask in the glory of Buddha's light—and that light is emitted by the precepts which are like the bright and pure radiance of the rising moon. Before his parinirvana, Shakyamuni Buddha earnestly exhorted his disciples to "take the precepts as their teacher" after his passing. He repeatedly pointed out that any disciple who practices properly according to the genuine Dharma will most certainly uphold pure precepts…
After receiving precepts, one must learn and understand the training of the precepts, otherwise keeping the precept-substance pure is not possible. Moreover, (without learning how to keep the precepts,) faults will increase day by day, causing more and more obstacles to obstruct one’s Dharma practice; at the end of one’s life, one finally falls into the hell realms.
A moving car with a driver who doesn’t know how to operate the car or doesn't know the traffic rules will inevitably end up in some sort of accident that damages both car and people. Venerable Milarepa once said, "Not understanding the precepts yet claiming that their observance of vows is pure — this is patently impossible. People who say this will only be mocked by others."
In the many commentaries on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra, it is said that before a merchant does business, he must first check what trade to engage in and how to make a profit. At the same time, he must know what could lead to a loss and how to prevent this from happening.
Similarly, one seeking liberation must uphold the precepts, and to uphold the precepts, one should know the trainings of the precepts, the vast benefits of keeping the precepts, the consequences of breaking the precepts, and the methods for preventing such breakage.
If beginners only see one or two quotes from the scriptures regarding the benefits of upholding precepts and the faults of breaking them, it is impossible to produce a deep impact on their mind-stream (so that they have the determination and strength to keep the precepts). Hence, it is necessary to utilize many scriptural proofs from various texts to elucidate the drawbacks of breaking the root precepts and the benefits of keeping pure precepts.
