Texts for Dharma Discussion

We will first discuss the binding factors of transgressing the root vows before explaining ways to restore them. This is because certain factors must be present to commit a root downfall of a pratimoksha, bodhisattva, or tantric vow; without these factors, the vow is not considered broken. The binding factors of the fourteen tantric root downfalls have already been elucidated in the chapter on tantric vows. As for the five root samayas of the Guhyagarbha Tantra, the binding factors for the corresponding samayas of the fourteen root vows are the same; the discrepancies between the two have also been explained in our discussion on the five root samayas. Here, we will discuss further the common factors of transgressing both. The scriptures list both four and seven binding factors, which will be explained separate

You use your mala to count the beads. That is why you have a mala. A mala isn’t for decoration. It’s not to go around and show everybody that you are a Buddhist. And, by the way, if you wear your mala, you usually put it around your wrist. You don’t put it around your neck like a necklace.

Persons who intend to receive or have already received an empowerment must study the fourteen root tantric vows; persons who have never received and do not plan to take an empowerment should not read the following text!