Trisaṃvara

trisaṃvara (T. sdom pa gsum སྡོམ་པ་གསུམ་ / sdom gsum སྡོམ་གསུམ་) is translated as "three sets of vows", "three vows", "three restraints", etc.

There are two common sets of three vows. The first set is emphasized in the Vajrayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism; the second set is presented in Indian Mahayana sutras such as the Dasabhumika-sutra.

Three sets of vows in the Vajrayana

Three sets of vows

In the Vajrayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, the three sets of vows are:

1. the pratimokṣa vows
2. the bodhisattva precepts
3. the samaya vows

Essence of the vows

Dudjom Rinpoche states:

• To abandon entirely all negative intentions and actions of body, speech and mind that might cause harm to others is the essence of the pratimoksha, or vows of individual liberation.
• To practise wholeheartedly all types of virtue that bring benefit to others is the essence of the bodhisattva's vows.
• At the root of these two is taming one's own unruly mind by means of mindfulness, vigilance and conscientiousness, and training oneself to recognize the all-encompassing purity of appearance and existence. This is the essence of the vows of secret mantra.

Major commentaries

• Sakya Pandita, Clear Differentiation of the Three Sets of Vows
• Ngari Panchen Pema Wangyal, Ascertainment of the Three Types of Vows

Three sets of vows in the Mahayana sutras

In the Mahayana sutras such as the Dasabhumika-sutra, the three sets of vows are:

1. the pratimokṣa vows (Tib. so thar gyi sdom pa) of the desire realm
2. the dhyāna vows (Tib. sam gtan gyi sdom pa) of the form realm
3. the uncontaminated vows (Tib. zag med kyi sdom pa) maintained by those who have transcended the three realms and are at the level of a noble being.

Further reading

• Geshe Sonam Rinchen, The Bodhisattva Vow, translated and edited by Ruth Sonam, Ithaca: Snow Lion, 2000
• Jamgön Kongtrul Rinpoche, The Treasury of Knowledge, Book Five: Buddhist Ethics, Ithaca: Snow Lion, 2003
• Lama Mipham's Commentary to Nagarjuna's Stanzas for a Novice Monk and Tsongkhapa's Essence of the Ocean of Vinaya, translated by Glen H. Mullin and Lobsang Rapgay, Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1978
• Ngari Panchen, Perfect Conduct: The Absolute Certainty of the Three Vows with commentary by Dudjom Rinpoche, Boston: Wisdom, 1996
• Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltsen, A Clear Differentiation of the Three Codes: Essential Distinctions among the Individual Liberation, Great Vehicle, and Tantric Systems, translated by Jared Rhoton, New York: SUNY, 2002
• Sobisch, Jan-Ulrich. Three-Vow Theories in Tibetan Buddhism: A Comparative Study of Major Traditions from the Twelfth through Nineteenth Centuries. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, 2002
• Tsongkhapa, Tantric Ethics: An Explanation of the Precepts for Buddhist Vajrayana Practice, translated by Gareth Sparham, Boston: Wisdom, 2005

External links

• The Mirror Clearly Showing What to Adopt and Abandon—Guidelines for the Monastic Sangha and the Order of Vidyadharas—by Kyabjé Dudjom Rinpoche, Lotsawa House
• Three sets of vows, Rigpa Shedra Wiki