Gail Sher • Dharma Talks

The Sixteen Great Bodhisattva Precepts

The Sixteen Great Bodhisattva Precepts

“The Sixteen Great Bodhisattva Precepts are the gate to authentic Zen practice.  They offer a way to bring the stillness and silence of sitting into active expression in everyday affairs, a way for compassion to enter all aspects of our lives.  They are the life vein of upright sitting.  These precepts are intended for those who dedicate their lives to the liberation of all living beings.”

— Reb Anderson Roshi

First Talk: Why Would I Want to Be a Bodhisattva?

“It was revealed and affirmed to the teacher Myozen that the precept vein of the bodhisattva is the single great condition of the Zen gate.”

—the Blood Vein (Kechimyaku)

Date/Time: July 11, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Time)

Duration: 60 minutes

Second Talk: Dependent Co-arising

“I, together with the great Earth and all living beings, attain the way at the same time.”

—the Buddha upon awakening

Date/Time: July 18, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Time)

Duration: 60 minutes

Third Talk: The Teaching of the Two Truths

“Rigidly holding to the conventional understanding of the precepts violates the precepts.”

—Dogen

Date/Time: July 25, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Time)

Duration: 60 minutes

Fourth Talk: I Take Refuge in Being Me

“When you are willing to throw yourself completely into your everyday life, moment by moment, you are taking refuge in buddha, dharma, and sangha.”

—Reb Anderson Roshi

Date/Time: August 1, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Time)

Duration: 60 minutes

Fifth Talk: The Three Pure Precepts

“Refrain from all evil/Practice all that is good/Purify your mind: This is the teaching of all buddhas.”

—The Dhammapada (a collection of gatha attributed to Shakyamuni Buddha)

Date/Time: August 8, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Time)

Duration: 60 minutes

Sixth Talk: Life Is Not Killed

“Sitting upright in the midst of the impulse to kill realizes its cessation.”

—Reb Anderson Roshi

Date/Time: August 15, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Time)

Duration: 60 minutes

Seventh Talk: You Mean It’s Not Ok to Steal!

“Gavampati took a grain of rice to see if it was ripe. It could not be returned to its original place (on the stalk). Because he committed this action, he was born as a cow for five hundred generations.”

—The Commentary on the Perfection of Wisdom

Date/Time: August 22, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Time)

Duration: 60 minutes

Eighth Talk: Not Misusing Sexuality

“You will later deeply regret having misconstrued your self as other and the action you took based on such a mistake.”

—Reb Anderson Roshi

Date/Time: August 29, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Time)

Duration: 60 minutes

Ninth Talk: Right Speech: Not Lying, Not Speaking of Other’s Faults, Not praising Self at the Expense of Others, Not Disparaging the Triple Treasure

“Tung-shan defined two kinds of words: If there is any rational intention manifested in words, then they are dead words; if there is no rational intention manifested in words, then they are living words.”

Transmission of the Lamp

Date/Time: September 5, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Time)

Duration: 60 minutes

Tenth Talk: No Intoxicants

“The true meaning of the precept is that one should refrain not only from drinking alcohol but also from getting drunk on nirvana.”

—Bassui

Date/Time: September 12, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Time)

Duration: 60 minutes

Eleventh Talk: There Has Not Been Begrudging

“A disciple of buddha is not possessive of anything.”

—Reb Anderson Roshi

Date/Time: September 19, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Time)

Duration: 60 minutes

Twelfth Talk: A Disciple of Buddha Does Not Become Angry

“This bodhisattva precept means not to be angry when anger is inappropriate, and to be angry when anger is appropriate.”

—Reb Anderson Roshi

Date/Time: September 26, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Time)

Duration: 60 minutes