Motivation for Eight Mahayana Precepts

Motivation for Eight Mahayana Precepts

Date of Advice:
January 2015
Date Posted:
July 2020

Rinpoche gave this advice to a center that was asking students to take the eight Mahayana precepts on the merit multiplying days (the Fifteen Days of Miracles, Saka Dawa, Lhabab Duchen and Chokhor Duchen) specifically to prevent earthquakes.

When you advertise for people to take precepts on Lhabab Duchen, you can say something like this:

“We are taking eight Mahayana precepts, in general it is for the earthquake, but it is to free sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric sufferings—to free the numberless sentient beings from each realm and bring them to full enlightenment—therefore we need to achieve enlightenment. Therefore we need to collect extensive merits in order to have realizations on the path to enlightenment. So we are taking the precepts not only for earthquakes in this area and in the world.”

Even if it is difficult for people to come to the center in the morning to take the precepts, then please ask if they can take the precepts in their own house in front of the altar.