The forty six secondary downfalls? What are these?

[frankc]

I came across some downfalls a while ago here http://www.bodhicitta.net/BODHISATTVAVOWS.htm

Some of the secondary downfalls include things like dancing and listening to music, and not abandoning the five obscurations. Are these 46 secondary downfalls in all Mahayana schools? Are they in the Sutras? If anyone takes the Bodhisattva vows are these just the cookie cutter downfalls that come with it? I'll list them below just in case people don't want to go to the website.



The Forty-Six Secondary Downfalls

1. not making offerings every day to the Three Jewels
2. acting out of desire because of discontent
3. not paying respect to those senior in ordination and in taking the Bodhisattva vows
4. not answering others’ questions out of negligence though one is capable of doing so
5. selfishly not accepting invitations due to pride, the wish to hurt other’s feelings or anger or laziness
6. not accepting others’ gift out of jealousy, anger etc or simply to hurt others
7. not giving the Dharma teaching to those who wish to learn
8. ignoring and insulting someone who has committed any of the five heinous crimes or defiled his or her vows of individual liberation, or treating him or her with contempt
9. not observing the precepts of moral conduct because one wishes to ingratiate oneself with others
10. complying with the minor precepts when the situation demands one's disregard of them for the better benefit of others
11. not committing one of the seven negative actions of body, speech and mind when universal love and compassion deem it necessary in the particular instance
12. accepting things that are acquired through one of the five wrong livelihoods
13. wasting time on frivolous actions such as carelessness, lack of pure morality, dancing, playing music just for fun, gossiping and also distracting others in meditation
14. misconceiving that bodhisattvas do not attempt to attain liberation and failing to view delusions as things to be eliminated
15. not living up to one's precepts
16. not correcting others who are motivated by delusions
17. parting from the four noble disciplines
18. neglecting those who are angry with you
19. refusing to accept the apologies of others
20. acting out thoughts of anger
21. gathering circles of disciples out of desire for respect and material gain
22. wasting time and energy on trivial matters
23. being addicted to frivolous talk
24. not seeking the means to develop concentration
25. not abandoning the five obscurations which hinder meditative stabilisations
26. being addicted to the joy of meditative absorbtion
27. abandoning the path of Theravada as unnecessary for one following the Mahayana
28. exerting effort principally in another system of practice while neglecting the Mahayana teachings that one already has
29. without good reason exerting effort to learn or practise the treaties of non-Buddhists which are not the proper object of one's endeavour
30. beginning to favour and take delight in the treaties of non-Buddhists although studying them for a good reason
31. abandoning any part of the Mahayana by thinking it is uninteresting or unpleasant
32. praising oneself and belittling others because of pride and anger
33. not going to Dharma gatherings or teachings
34. disparaging the spiritual master
35. not helping those who are in need
36. not helping people who are sick
37. not alleviating the suffering of others
38. not explaining what is the proper conduct to those who are reckless
39. not benefiting in return those who have benefited oneself
40 not relieving the sorrow of others
41. not giving material possessions to those in need
42. not working for the welfare of one’s circles of friends, students, employees, helpers
43. not acting in accordance with the wishes of others if doing so does not bring harm to oneself or others
44. not praising those who have good qualities
45. not acting with whatever means are necessary according to the circumstances to stop someone who is doing harmful action
46. not using miraculous powers, if one possesses this ability, in order to stop others from doing unwholesome actions

[Aemilius]

A mahayana sutra named Brahma Net sutra is probably the origin of these bodhisattva precepts. It exists also in the Chinese and Japanese Canons, there are some differences though, you can find it here: http://www.fodian.net/world/1484.html

[Aemilius]

There are previous discussions about Bodhisattva Precepts:
http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=1139
http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=3380
http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=5810

[Icy]

I think these precepts are for monastic Bodhisattvas.

[Aemilius]

Etienne Lamotte says in History of Buddhism in India that of the twenty bodhisattvas that are usually enumerated by name in the beginning of several Mahayana sutras sixteen are laypersons or upasakas, only four of them are monks, among these these four are Maitreya and Mañjushri. This information is in Nagarjuna's commentary on the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra in 100 000 Lines. According to Lamotte majority of Bodhisattvas were laypersons, or rather lay-yogins, because according to the sutras and traditional sources they followed ascetic rules, lived in the forests, etc..

[frankc]

I think these precepts are for monastic Bodhisattvas.

I thought the same thing too. If they aren't then does that mean people that have taken the bodhisattva vow aren't allowed to listen to music?

[Schrödinger’s Yidam]

I think #11 should be "7 negative actions of body or speech" without including "mind". For one thing in the standard listing of 10 negative actions, 7 are of body and speech and 3 are of mind, so it seems like a typo. Plus there are no scenarios where love and compassion necessitate negative state of mind anyway, as that is purely internal.

I assume #29 should read "treatises", not "treaties".

Sorry to nit-pick.

[jmlee369]

They are from the set of bodhisattva precepts used in the Tibetan traditions, based on the Yogacarabhumi sastra which is said to have been taught to Asanga by Maitreya. The thing with that is while all the secondary downfalls you have presented here come from this source, the major downfalls include some precepts that originate from the Akasagarbha Bodhisattva Sutra. So the Tibetan tradition combines these two sources when transmitting the bodhisattva precepts. In East Asia (principally China), they also have the lineage of bodhisattva precepts from the Yogacarabhumi, but their major downfalls omit the precepts from the Akasagarbha Bodhisattva Sutra. In East Asia, the Yogacarabhumi lineage is one of two major bodhisattva precept transmissions, the other being the Brahma Net Sutra which has a different set of forty-eight secondary downfalls.

The distinction between monastic and lay bodhisattva precepts is not found in Tibetan traditions, so these forty six secondary downfalls apply to anyone who has taken the bodhisattva precepts from a Tibetan teacher.

I have been told that although many people undergo the ceremony, very few people even receive the transmission of the precepts, much less actually practice them. It's because becoming a true bodhisattva requires some serious work, like having actually generated bodhicitta. Since having bodhicitta is a prerequisite for receiving the precepts, very few people have truly received the precepts. If you are at that level of practice, you would not be wasting your time on petty entertainment. Every moment of your life will have become dharma activity that is beneficial for sentient beings.

[Schrödinger’s Yidam]

...so these forty six secondary downfalls apply to anyone who has taken the bodhisattva precepts from a Tibetan teacher.

I think that there is a second tradition of Bodhisattva Vows that consists of something like "I aspire to enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings". At least that's what Ole Nydahl told me. His comment was, "Why put your bodhicitta into a box?" But I've not heard that from any other source.

[jmlee369]

This gets a bit tricky depending on which Tibetan tradition you draw from, but it can be said that there is a distinction between the generation of bodhicitta and receiving prepcepts. They employ two separate ceremonies, and the ceremony for generating bodhicitta should be the first. It is a rather simple statement of the bodhisattva's intentions which can be summarised as you put it. After generating bodhicitta, then one can get into the business of practicing the precepts. The bodhisattva precepts consist of three moralities, the first being the practice of precepts (restraint, pratimoksa), the second being the accomplishment of virtuous dharmas, and the third being activities to benefit sentient beings. You can see some of these elements and divisions within the precepts itself, but the general point is that the bodhisattva precepts are guidelines for practice that benefits both oneself and others. Why disregard the trainings set out and followed by the Buddhas themselves?

[Aemilius]

I think these precepts are for monastic Bodhisattvas.

I thought the same thing too. If they aren't then does that mean people that have taken the bodhisattva vow aren't allowed to listen to music?

The precept of not listening to music is for the purpose of transcending the realm of sense desires (kamadhatu). This means that in meditation you should go beyond the realm of desire for sense experience. (This includes all of the five or six senses). Music normally acts as a hindrance to meditation.
The issue, however, is more complicated than that. Above Kamadhatu, or the realm of sense desire, there is the Rupadhatu. And sound actually exists in the realm form, or the realm of form that is pure of sense desire. Thus there must also be sound or music that is pure of sense desire.
In some Mahayana traditions sound is one of the objects of concentration (e.g. in the Shurangama Sutra). And thus concentration on sound can act as a method of entering the levels of Dhyana, which corresponds to the realm of Form.

[BrianG]

I think these precepts are for monastic Bodhisattvas.

They are for both lay and monastic.

[nilakantha]

I think these precepts are for monastic Bodhisattvas.

The Brahma Net Sutra propagates these precepts for anyone who can understand them: Disciples of the Buddha, listen attentively! Whoever can understand and accept a Dharma Master's words of transmission can receive the Bodhisattva precepts and be called foremost in purity. This is true whether that person is a king, a prince, an official, a monk, a nun, or a god of the eighteen Brahma Heavens, a god of the six Desire Heavens, or a human, a eunuch, a libertine, a prostitute, a slave, or a member of the Eight Divisions of Divinities, a Vajra spirit, an animal, or even a transformation-being.