Taking the 8 Mahayana Precepts

The Eight Mahayana Precepts for one day

led by Annelies van der Heijden

On this day, we offer those who are new to the practice the opportunity to take the precepts together, in front of the altar, in front of representations of the Buddha's, at our center as well as online. All are welcome!

Lama Zopa Rinpoche highly recommends taking the Eight Mahayana precepts for one day. It is always part of retreats held at Kopan and/or during retreats with Rinpoche in the past. Given the power of the practice Rinpoche advice is to take these precepts at least once per month, ideally on the suitable days according to the Tibetan moon calendar.

This is the verse Rinpoche advises us to recite a few times, as inspiration, and before engaging in the actual practice:

‘Though you offer service with a calm mind to

One hundred billion times ten million buddhas,

With food and drink, umbrellas, flags, and garlands of light offerings,

For ten million eons equaling the number of sand grains in the Pacific Ocean,

The merit of someone enjoying living in one vow for one day and night,

When the holy Dharma is degenerating

And the teachings of the One Gone to Bliss are ceasing,

Is particularly more exalted than that.’

Purpose and practice of the precepts

The Eight Mahayana Precepts are a set of vows taken by Buddhist practitioners for a 24-hour period, typically on auspicious days of the lunar calendar. These precepts include abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual activity, lying, intoxicants, eating after noon, sitting on high seats or using adornments, and entertainment. They are practiced as a method of purification and accumulation of merit, allowing practitioners to temporarily live like a monastic and develop greater compassion and mindfulness. By voluntarily restraining ordinary behaviors, practitioners create favorable conditions for spiritual practice, reduce negative mental states, and cultivate greater awareness of harmful habitual patterns. The practice is particularly valued in Mahayana Buddhism as a way to develop bodhicitta (the altruistic intention to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings) and to experience a taste of the monastic discipline without permanent ordination.

Date and time: Wednesday June 25, 6.00 - 7.00 a.m. Due to practical constraints, we're organizing the ceremony a little bit later than advised (before sunrise), but the merits of getting to know and engaging in this practice are obviously still something to thoroughly rejoice in!

Please contact us at amsterdam@maitreya.nl if you'd like to join, either onsite or online.