Shòu pútíxīn jiè yí 受菩提心戒儀
Ritual for Receiving the Bodhicitta Precepts by 不空 (Amoghavajra, 譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle Esoteric ordination ritual by Amoghavajra (不空) for the Bodhicitta-precepts ceremony (pútíxīn jiè 菩提心戒) — the Esoteric ordination by which the practitioner formally takes the bodhicitta-saṃvara (Bodhi-mind-vow) and is admitted to the Esoteric path.
Abstract
The bodhicitta-saṃvara in the Esoteric tradition is distinct from the standard Mahāyāna bodhisattva precepts (púsà jiè 菩薩戒) — it is specifically the Esoteric Bodhi-vow that establishes the practitioner in the Esoteric samaya (pledge). The text gives the ritual procedure: the candidate’s preparation, the ācāryā’s consecration, the formal taking of the vow, the abhiṣeka-water sprinkling, and the post-ordination practice instructions.
The text is a foundational Esoteric ordination ritual and was canonical in both the Tang Tángmì and the Japanese Shingon and Tendai-Esoteric traditions. The composition dates from Amoghavajra’s mature Chángān period (746–774).
Translations and research
- Goble, Geoffrey C. Chinese Esoteric Buddhism: Amoghavajra. New York: Columbia UP, 2019.