ATIKOPA


Fourteenfold Prohibitions against Indecent Behavior

Follow precepts to regulate body, speech and mind

Fourteenfold Prohibitions against Indecent Behavior
By Yuandan Trinley Dorje Rinpoche

1. Disrespect for the guru
Being arrogant in front of one's guru, gossiping, or spreading rumors about the guru behind their back due to unfulfilled personal desires are all violations of the precept against disrespecting the guru. While one can be less formal in private gatherings with the guru, one must maintain proper decorum in public to avoid negative consequences.

2. Disobeying Master's Orders
You should do as your guru tells you. If your guru makes any unreasonable demands, you may announce it to the world to punish him.

3. He did not get along well with his fellow students.
In particular, if someone stirs up trouble and causes fellow practitioners to lose faith in the Vajra Guru, it is a serious karmic consequence that will result in severe retribution. In such cases, one must uphold the precepts and sincerely repent.
The karma that arises from should be eradicated from there; otherwise, those who know but do not correct it will be severely punished.

4. Lack of compassion for all beings
"All living beings" refers not only to human beings, but also to all life.
Humans have faces that display joy, anger, sorrow, thought, worry, fear, and shock. We must learn to step out from behind these masks, restore our pure nature, and face each person and each event from the bottom of our hearts. Only in this way can we achieve perfect spiritual practice. Otherwise, even if we have special abilities, it will be useless. Many things do not change according to our abilities. We must find the reality behind these laws. This is what is important. We should cultivate our compassion.
What is meant by "unconditional great compassion and universal empathy"? Today, we are all sentient beings. After we have realized and attained perfect enlightenment through the proper and earnest practice of the Dharma transmitted by the Buddha, do we still need to hold each other's hands?
The Buddha taught us: Since all sentient beings are of the same nature as Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and have already restored their true nature, do they still need to enter the cycle of cause and effect? Without causal conditions, one enters the still and unmoving state of Nirvana, which is boundless compassion. Having achieved complete liberation and restored our Tathagata-nature, we will possess the compassion of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, the wisdom of Manjushri Bodhisattva, and the healing power of Bhaisajyaguru Buddha.
When we see sentient beings still suffering in the cycle of rebirth, we hope that they too can be liberated from the suffering of cause and effect. This is the heart of universal compassion.
The Bodhicitta that liberates all sentient beings is compassion. Without compassion as a foundation, it is impossible to attain true wisdom. Compassion is the essence, and wisdom is the benefit. Only in this way can one realize emptiness.
No Buddha or Bodhisattva in the world can achieve enlightenment without compassion.

5. Viewing "Leaky bliss " as a path to liberation
"Leaky bliss " is incomplete and imperfect.
The saying goes, "One part of perception equals one part of obstacle, and one part of obstacle equals one part of perception." This forms the obstacle of knowledge, where one is in a state of bliss but cannot perceive the obstacles to spiritual practice. This is called "leaky bliss."
Face the states of enlightenment earnestly, but do not cling to them, because the ultimate goal is to attain the true fruit of enlightenment. Do not mistake imperfection for completeness. The joy of Dharma also has many stages and imperfections; do not regard them as obstacles, but as motivation for diligent progress.

6. Disregarding exoteric teachings and emphasizing esoteric teachings, and slandering exoteric Buddhism.
Zen, Pure Land, and Tantra are all one family; do not exclusively revere Tantra while belittling Tantra. Mudras and mantras exist in Zen, Pure Land, and Tantra; it's just that Tantra teaches attaining Buddhahood in this very life, and its practical cultivation leads to faster realization, while Zen and Pure Land only that their level of understanding hasn't reached that point.
The time for spiritual practice in this life is very short. Let go of all sectarian prejudices and rely on precepts, concentration, and wisdom to listen, contemplate, and practice.
In the Pure Land school, Amitabha Buddha's Pure Land is described as a written mantra, and when recited, it becomes a mantra. The hands formed with mudras such as the Amitabha Buddha Mudra, the Dharmadhatu Mudra, and the Tathagata Cloud Canopy Mudra, because these mudras have produced their effects.
Our body, speech, and mind are constantly in a state of opportunity and mudra, but we are unaware of it.
Zen Buddhism also has mudras (hand gestures). The Sixth Patriarch Huineng's body remained incorrupt after his death, and he had formed the Dharmadhatu mudra. "Bodhi is not a tree, nor is the bright mirror a stand; originally there is nothing, so where can dust alight?" This sentence itself is a mantra, telling us that "enlightenment comes through understanding," which expresses the essence of learning Buddhism.
When studying Buddhism, one should not study the ignorant Buddha. It is wrong to understand Buddhism by focusing on a few isolated points. Instead, one should accumulate these points to understand the whole picture. One should go beyond the surface to recognize the underlying reality and encompass all aspects of Buddhism.
The differences between Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana all arise from human discrimination. One acts without awareness, and cannot use one's own knowledge to perceive the unknown; otherwise, the fundamental truth cannot be found.
The goal of spiritual practice is "purity," and the method of spiritual practice is "secret." Zen means enlightenment. When you study the scriptures and realize the true nature of reality, that is "Zen meditation." Through the process of spiritual practice, you truly embody the characteristics of Zen, Pure Land, and Secret.

7. Revealing secrets to those whose thoughts and beliefs are not mature
For example, if you give a lecture to someone who has never received a blessing, such as teaching them to "transform themselves into Guanyin Bodhisattva and receive the blessing of Amitabha Buddha," they will not be able to visualize it.
Revealing secret teachings to someone who hasn't reached a certain level of spiritual attainment would cause them to commit the sin of slandering the Buddha, the Dharma, and their guru.

8. Neglecting one's health and engaging in ascetic practices that harm one's well-being.
Many esoteric Buddhist retreats involve abstaining from food, which is generally not suitable for the human body. From a medical perspective, not eating can cause stomach acid to erode the stomach lining, leading to ulcers and potentially duodenal bulb ulcers.
Therefore, the master adjusted the diet for the retreat, adopting a gradual fasting method. However, water, fruits, and vegetables were essential. Ginger soup was also indispensable during the retreat, as ginger dispels cold, and prolonged sitting inevitably leads to stagnation of qi. The spiciness of ginger helps to promote qi circulation and dispel cold, while brown sugar warms the stomach and intestines and regulates qi and blood.

9. Holding heretical views and opposing the doctrine of emptiness
The Buddha taught: "You cannot see me by my appearance or seek me by my voice, otherwise you are slandering the Buddha and cannot see the true nature of the Tathagata."
Once you realize the truth of emptiness, you must practice it correctly. Emptiness cannot be refuted; it permeates all material consciousness. We cannot refute the essence, only the phenomena. The essence remains unmoved.

10. He is hypocritical and his conduct is inconsistent with his words.
A practitioner should maintain a calm mind amidst praise. This is a manifestation of remaining untainted by the mud and attaining enlightenment like a lotus flower. One should constantly reflect on oneself and ask: Have I kept the basic precepts of the five prohibitions against killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and idle talk?

11. I am skeptical of the idea that "unchanging joy brings all wisdom".
"Unchanging bliss" refers to the bliss of fully realizing emptiness and returning to one's original nature. This bliss is eternal and unchanging. When one truly realizes this level, one can abide in equanimity, seeing every life as equal, and the mind is constantly still and unmoving.
"All wisdom" refers to complete, perfect, and unobstructed wisdom.
The path to Buddhahood is too long, and it is easy to have doubts if you backslide. Therefore, you must strengthen your faith and tell yourself: "I believe that the teachings of the Buddha are true." If you practice according to this belief, you will surely achieve perfection.

12. Slandering esoteric practitioners for being contrary to worldly norms
Some people use the guise of Tantric Buddhism to require their disciples to take courses involving male-female sexual union. If you encounter such a guru, it's best to abandon him.
While Tantric Buddhism does indeed have practices of male-female dual cultivation, this so-called dual cultivation refers to the instantaneous union of the father's sperm and the mother's blood, which is the formless and formless primordial state of the Womb Realm. The father's sperm is white bodhi, and the mother's blood is red bodhi. Bodhi is the original source of enlightenment. Therefore, dual cultivation manifests as the freedom of the present moment, the awareness of emptiness in the entire instant. This is not an ordinary practice; it requires two lifelong partners whose cultivation has reached a certain level of similarity before it is possible to cultivate this method of complete non-leakage as described in Buddhism. This is a state that very few people can reach.
Furthermore, some gurus and enlightened beings may behave in ways that do not conform to worldly norms. We cannot judge them by our own minds, because many gurus and enlightened beings will manifest appearances that do not conform to reality. We should not be dismissive of them, because worldly perspectives do not necessarily represent reality.
Our precepts resolutely punish those who slander those who practice esoteric Buddhism. The guru has no right to cut off the wisdom life of sentient beings; those who break the precepts must sincerely repent.

13. People who eat close-packed meals consider them unclean and refuse to eat them.
During Dharma assemblies, many fruits and foods are offered to the Buddha. After the assembly, believers should not refuse to eat them because they are considered unclean, as this is a blessing.
We should pay attention to cleaning and hygiene, but we cannot refuse to eat it.

14. Insulting and defaming women
This is a grave taboo, and must not be violated.

Special prohibition: It is forbidden to kill or eat rare and precious animals such as snakes, turtles, and dogs.

The patriarch once went into seclusion, thousands of snakes automatically formed a protective canopy to guard him. Only after the seclusion ended did these snakes separate on their own. Therefore, disciples of our sect have great respect for snakes and are absolutely forbidden from eating them.
Tibetans eat beef and mutton because of the influence of their geographical environment, but when they eat them, they sincerely dedicate the merit, wishing that these cattle and sheep may be reborn as humans and hear the Dharma.
Snakes, turtles, and dogs are all spiritual animals; we should respect them and never eat them.