The Brahmā's Net Sutra

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***{{i|9. The Mental State of Joy|12}}
 
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***{{i|10. The Summit Mental State|12}}
 
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**{{i|The Ten Nourishing Mental States|13}}
 
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***{{i|1. The Mental State of Kindness|13}}
 
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***{{i|9. The Ground of the Flower Ornamentation of the Essence|34}}
 
***{{i|9. The Ground of the Flower Ornamentation of the Essence|34}}
 
***{{i|10. The Ground of Entry into the Buddha Realm of the Essential Nature|35}}
 
***{{i|10. The Ground of Entry into the Buddha Realm of the Essential Nature|35}}
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*Fascicle 2. The Precepts
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**{{i|Preface to the Bodhisattva Precepts of the ''Brahmā's Net Sutra''|37}}
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**{{i|Invocation|38}}
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**{{i|The Teaching Transmitted to the Transformation-body Buddhas|38}}
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**{{i|Repayment of Kindness and a Separate Iteration of the Teaching|39}}
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**{{i|The Exhortation|40}}
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**{{i|The Bodhisattva Precepts|41}}
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***{{i|The Transmission and Remembrance of the Founding Teacher|41}}
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**{{i|Preface to the Formation of the Precepts|42}}
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***{{i|Interlocutor’s Preface|42}}
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***{{i|The Preface of the World-honored One|42}}
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****{{i|The Preface of the Preceptor|42}}
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****{{i|The Dharma Preface|43}}
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****{{i|The Preface for the Disciples|43}}
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**{{i|The Main Sermon|43}}
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***{{i|Introduction of the Exhortation to Uphold|43}}
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**{{i|The Ten Grave Precepts|44}}
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***{{i|1. Prohibition of Killing for Pleasure|44}}
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***{{i|2. Prohibition of Stealing Others’ Property|44}}
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***{{i|3. Prohibition of the Heartless Pursuit of Lust|44}}
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***{{i|4. Prohibition of Intentional Lying|45}}
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***{{i|5. Prohibition of the Sale of Alcohol|45}}
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***{{i|6. Prohibition of Speaking of the Faults of Others|45}}
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***{{i|7. Prohibition of Praising Oneself and Disparaging Others|46}}
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***{{i|8. Prohibition of Parsimony and Abuse of Others|46}}
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***{{i|9. Prohibition of Holding Resentments and Not Accepting Apologies|46}}
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***{{i|10. Prohibition of Denigration of the Three Treasures|47}}
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**{{i|Conclusion|47}}
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**{{i|The Minor Precepts|48}}
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***{{i|Division of Ten Precepts|48}}
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****Precepts Concerning the Guarding of One's Own Thoughts
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*****{{i|1. Do Not Show Disrespect to Senior Teachers|48}}
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*****{{i|2. Do Not Drink Alcohol|48}}
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****Protecting Other’s Mental Functions
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*****{{i|3. Do Not Eat Meat|49}}
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*****{{i|4. Do Not Eat the Five Pungent Roots|49}}
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*****{{i| 5. Do Not Fail to Encourage Others to Repent|49}}
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****Reversing and Cultivating the Buddha-dharma
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*****{{i|6. Do Not Fail to Request Instruction in the Dharma from Visiting Teachers|50}}
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*****{{i|7. Do Not Miss a Chance to Attend Dharma Lectures|50}}
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*****{{i|8. Do Not Abandon the Great Vehicle and Regress to the Lesser Vehicle|50}}
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****Saving and Protecting Sentient Beings
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*****{{i|9. Do Not Fail to Care for the Ill|51}}
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*****{{i|10. Do Not Amass Weapons|51}}
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***{{i|Division of Ten Precepts|51}}
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****Guarding One's Own Virtue
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*****{{i|11. Do Not Serve as a Negotiator for the Military|52}}
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*****{{i|12. Do Not Get Involved in Trade and Business that Causes Trouble for Others|52}}
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*****{{i|13. Do Not Make Groundless Accusations|52}}
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*****{{i|14. Do Not Harm Living Beings by Setting Fires|52}}
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****Bringing Others into the Fold and Protecting Them
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*****{{i|15. Do Not Teach Non-Buddhist Doctrines|53}}
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*****{{i|16. Do Not be Parsimonious with Offering Material Wealth or the Dharma|53}}
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*****{{i|17. Do Not Seek to Gain Political Influence|54}}
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*****{{i|18. Do Not Pretend to Be An Accomplished Teacher|54}}
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*****{{i|19. Do Not Get Involved in Treachery|54}}
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*****{{i|20. Do Not Fail to Help Both the Living and the Deceased|55}}
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***{{i|Division of Ten Precepts|55}}
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****The Shared Cultivation of the Three Karmic Activities
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*****{{i|21. Do Not Be Intolerant of Wrongs Done by Others|56}}
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*****{{i|22. Do Not Arrogantly Despise Your Dharma Teacher|56}}
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*****{{i|23. Do Not Despise Beginning Practitioners|57}}
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****Practicing with Those Who Hold the Same Vows
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*****{{i|24. Do Not Fear the Superior and Follow the Inferior|58}}
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****Properly Maintaining the Sangha
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*****{{i|25. Do Not Fail to Properly Fulfill Administrative Duties|58}}
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*****{{i|26. Do Not Receive Guests Improperly|58}}
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*****{{i|27. Do Not Accept Personal Invitations|59}}
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*****{{i|28. Do Not Extend Personal Invitations to Monks|59}}
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****Harmonizing and Polishing the Precepts
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*****{{i|29. Do Not Engage in Improper Livelihood|60}}
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*****{{i|30. Do Not Hurt People While Feigning Intimacy with Them|60}}
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***{{i|Division of Nine Precepts|60}}
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****Making Proper Donations
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*****{{i|31. Do Not Be Lax in Rescuing Vulnerable Articles and People from Harm|61}}
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****Not Doing As One Pleases
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*****{{i|32. Do Not Deviously Confiscate Others’ Property|61}}
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****Avoiding Harmful Influences
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*****{{i|33. Do Not Pass Your Time in Idleness|62}}
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****Advancing in the True Vehicle
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*****{{i|34. Do Not Abandon the Aspiration for Enlightenment|62}}
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****Not Avoiding Making Vows
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*****{{i|35. Do Not Fail to Make Vows|63}}
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****Making Vows
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*****{{i|36. Do Not Fail to Initiate Vows on Your Own|63}}
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****Avoiding Danger
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*****{{i|37. Do Not Intentionally Go to Dangerous Places|65}}
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****Not Creating Confusion
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*****{{i|38. Do Not Take Your Place Out of Order|66}}
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****Profit and Happiness
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*****{{i|39. Do Not Pursue Personal Gain|66}}
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***{{i|Division of Nine Precepts|67}}
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****{{i|Using Moral Discipline to Gather (Believers)|67}}
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****Gathering in People of Various Capacities
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*****{{i|40. Do Not Err in Terms of Who Can Be Taught|67}}
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****Separating Out Wrong Situations
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*****{{i|41. Do Not Seek Disciples for the Wrong Reasons|68}}
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****Guarding the External
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*****{{i|42. Do Not Give the Precepts to Unsuitable People|70}}
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****Guarding the Internal
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*****{{i|43. Do Not Intentionally Break the Holy Precepts|70}}
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****Showing Respect
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*****{{i|44. Do Not Fail to Revere the Sutras and Vinayas|71}}
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****Teaching By Means of Compassion
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****{{i|Being Proactive|71}}
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*****{{i|45. Do Not Fail to Teach Sentient Beings|71}}
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****Teaching Others
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*****{{i|46. Do Not Preach the Dharma Using Improper Protocol|71}}
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****Warding Off Evil
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*****{{i|47. Do Not Establish Systems that Undermine the Dharma|72}}
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****Maintaining Orthodoxy
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*****{{i|48. Do Not Undermine the Dharma from Within|73}}
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**{{i|General Conclusion|73}}
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**{{i|Dissemination Section|74}}
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***{{i|Concluding Exhortation for Faithful Practice|74}}
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*{{i|Notes|77}}
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*{{i|Glossary|81}}
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*{{i|Bibliography|87}}
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*{{i|Index|89}}
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*{{i|A List of the Volumes of the BDK English Tripiṭaka (First Series)|101}}
 
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Latest revision as of 14:07, 27 July 2021

The Brahmā's Net Sutra
Book
Book

The Brahmā’s Net Sutra is the primary extant vinaya text that articulates a set of precepts from a Mahayana perspective, mainly intended for "bodhisattva practitioners" primarily householders, rather than renunciant monks or nuns. Before the appearance of this text the monastic rules and regulations in East Asian Buddhism were defined fully by the "Hinayana" vinaya, most importantly the Four-part Vinaya associated with the Dharmaguptaka school in India. With the appearance of the Brahmā’s Net Sutra many East Asian schools diversified their precept practices, with some groups of practitioners taking up either set of precepts, often utilizing both.

Composed in China around 420, the Brahmā’s Net Sutra is based on various contemporary Mahayana and Hinayana vinaya writings and includes extensive discussion of indigenous Chinese moral concepts such as filial piety, etc. The text is based in the same mainstream Mahayana thought of the Flower Ornament Sutra (Huayan jing), the Nirvana Sutra (Niepan jing), and the Sutra for Humane Kings (Renwang jing). In fact, the extent of the Brahmā's Net Sutra's agreement with the Flower Ornament Sutra is so pronounced that it is regarded as the "concluding sutra" of the latter.

Long thought to be the Skt. Brahmajāla-sūtra translated by Kumārajīva into the Chinese as Fanwang jing (梵網經), the work is now seen within modern scholarship as composed in China around 420, based on various Mahayana and Hinayana vinaya writings available at that time. 2 fascicles. (Source: BDK America)

Citation Muller, A. Charles, and Kenneth K. Tanaka, trans. The Brahmā's Net Sutra: (Taishō Volume 24, Number 1484). Moraga, CA: BDK America, 2017.