Three sets of vows

Ngari Panchen

The three sets of vows (Skt. trisaṃvara; Tib. dom sum; Wyl. sdom gsum) are:

1. the vows of pratimoksha or of individual liberation (Tib. sotar gyi dompa);
   
2. the bodhisattva vows (Tib. changchub sempé dompa);
   
3. the samayas of the secret mantrayana (Tib. sang ngag kyi dompa).

An alternative list is:

1. The vows of pratimoksha;
2. the dhyana vows; and
3. the vows of undefilement.

Essence of the Vows

Dudjom Rinpoche said:

• 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 Texts

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

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
• Tsongkhapa, Tantric Ethics: An Explanation of the Precepts for Buddhist Vajrayana Practice, translated by Gareth Sparham, Boston: Wisdom, 2005