Renewing Our Vows
The Relevance of the Precepts
As we enter the darkest time of the year, we are naturally called to reflect — looking back at what has unfolded and turning toward what we hope to cultivate as the light is reborn at the Winter Solstice on December 21st. Across cultures, the deep winter has long inspired ritual, renewal, and new beginnings.
In Zen, we commemorate this season through Rohatsu, the December 8th celebration of Shakyamuni Buddha’s awakening. We also welcome the New Year with the ringing of 108 Bells, each tone a gesture of release and renewal. In addition, at Shining Bright Lotus Meditation Society, we have recently established another seasonal ritual — the Precepts Renewal Ceremony. This year our clergy committed to offering this ceremony four times annually, marking the turning of the seasons at a full moon. Our next gathering will take place on December 4th at 9:00 am ET.
What Are the Precepts?
If we consider the path of a Buddhist practitioner, we encounter many triads:
Buddha · Dharma · Sangha
Ground · Path · Fruition
Sutra (texts) · Sila (ethics) · Prajna (wisdom)
Each set illuminates the same movement of practice.
Ground is Dharma, expressed and preserved in the teachings and the Sutras.
Path is Sangha, the embodiment of ethics and the guidelines for living harmoniously in community.
Fruition is Buddha, the awakening that ripens from lived practice and gives rise to Prajna, deep insight.
To study the Precepts is therefore to step fully into the Sangha — to take responsibility not only for our personal conduct, but for the well-being of all beings with whom we practice.
The traditional Precepts first appear in the Long Discourses of Gautama Buddha as five foundational commitments:
To refrain from taking life
To refrain from taking what is not given
To refrain from sexual misconduct
To refrain from false speech
To refrain from misuse of intoxicants
Originally, these were instructions for monks on the path from bhikkhu to arahant — guidance for liberation. Over time, they were expanded in the Vinaya, the ethical teachings of the early Buddhist community.
The Precepts for Householders Today
Most of us are not monastics. We practice in the world — in relationships, families, workplaces, and communities. Thus, the Precepts evolve, not to loosen them, but to make them living guides for daily life and compassionate relationships.
At SBLMS, we have shaped our Precepts from the eleven vital precepts of Hollow Bones Zen. Jun Po Roshi reframed the traditional vows not as prohibitions, but as positive choices — invitations to live with clarity, responsibility, and love. We have retained his wording and added an explicit commitment statement to each one, honoring both the original teachings and their contemporary expression.
The Vital Precepts
Affirm Life – I vow to refrain from killing.
I respect all sentient and insentient beings and always act with compassion towards them. In order to live, it is necessary for me to take life. I do so with reverence for the life taken. In gratitude, I do not take my own life for granted.
Act Generously – I vow to refrain from taking what is not given.
I act with generosity and open-handedness. I receive only things that are freely given to me. I remember that clinging and attachment are the root of suffering.
Be Loving – I vow to refrain from misusing sexuality.
I am conscious and loving in all of my relationships. In sexuality, I discern the difference between love and lust and do not take advantage of other human beings. I transform the arising of lust into true loving.
Manifest Truth – I vow to refrain from false speech.
I honor honesty and truth. I speak with integrity from the depth of my heart.
Respect Clarity – I vow to refrain from intoxicants.
I act at all times with mindfulness and clarity. I do not abuse my body or cloud my mind with the misuse of intoxicants
Honor Silence – I vow to refrain from slander.
I remember the preciousness of silence. I see the perfection in others and refrain from gossip and frivolous conversation. I remain thoughtful and mindful of the effects of my speech.
Celebrate Others – I vow to refrain from praising self at the expense of others.
I rejoice in the good fortune of others. I do not, through my thoughts, words or actions, separate myself from others through coveting, envy or jealousy.
Be Giving – I vow to refrain from greed.
I give generously of myself, sharing freely my love, my gifts, my talents and my abundance for the benefit of all. I do not selfishly withhold. I do not add any more suffering to the world.
Embody Compassion – I vow to refrain from ill will.
I recognize and enlighten my greed, anger and ignorance. I transform my negative emotions and act with equanimity, sympathetic joy, compassion and loving-kindness.
Steward The Earth – I vow to refrain from exploiting Earth’s resources
I hold sacred this planet Earth. I seek to understand Nature’s interconnections and celebrate my own interdependency. I work toward achieving a lifestyle that gives more back to this Earth than I take from it.
Manifest This Way - I vow to refrain from disparaging the Three Treasures.
I hold precious this Sangha and the sacred life we embody, especially these three treasures:
This absolute purity of our Awakened Mind!
This life filled with wisdom, compassion and skillful means!
This never-ending mystery of life unfolding! All brothers, all sisters, all beings!
More Precepts?
Some traditions include the Pure Precepts and the Three Refuges in their ceremony. We use the Hollow Bones Zen Three Refuges and the Pure Precepts from the Zen Peacemakers.
Three Refuges
I take refuge in the absolute purity of this Awakened Mind!
I take refuge in this practice of pure selfless awareness, wisdom, compassion
and skillful means!
I take refuge in this awakening community and our realization in the truth of the
interconnection, interpenetration and interdependency
of all sentient and insentient beings everywhere!
The Pure Precepts
I vow to refrain from all evil – Not-knowing
I vow to make every effort to live in enlightenment – Being witness
I vow to live and be lived for the benefit of all beings – Taking action
In summary, reminding ourselves about the ethical vows that provide essential guidelines to right living is an essential part of our practice. We hope you join us for our regular renewal of these vows.