In our community, The ceremony of bodhisattva goes beyond being a mere ritual or commitment to a tradition. It is a way to express a deep internal intention: live guided by compassion and wisdom. Receive precepts It is not an external transformation, but a return to what we are already in our deepest nature. It's like sowing a seed on a fertile soil, that does not grow to become something different, but to display what has always been latent.
When a person decides to take this step, He does not do so by obligation or the desire to belong to a Sangha or follow a habit. He does it because something within himself has matured, because he has connected himself and being consistent with it, Live with greater integrity and a deeper opening towards other beings. Receive precepts It does not make us "better" people, but it allows us to walk more attention. Reminds us that every gesture, Every thought, Each word has the power to heal or hurt. That's why, The path of bodhisattva It is a commitment to continuous transformation, Without falling into the illusion that there is something to "fix" in us. What we are looking for is to live more consistently with the wisdom and compassion that are already present in our nature.
In the Soto Zen tradition, There are no strict rules or commandments imposed from outside. We continue principles that guide our walk without judging, Without condemning, without imposing. Los “precepts of the bodhisattva"They do not prohibit, but they guide, They do not place us in a rigid trial, but they wake us up. They are principles that are born from the wisdom that emerges when we live in contact with our true nature, Beyond the mental and social constructions that separate us from it.
These precepts They are grouped into three great votes: refrain from causing damage, cultivate beneficial actions and help all beings. They are dynamic reminders that allow us to live with greater depth and awareness. do not kill, Do not lie, do not take advantage of others, Not poisoning the mind or heart with offensive words or greedy attitudes ... but beyond what we avoid, los precepts They call us to practice generosity, Deep listening, patience, Respect for life, including your own, and active compassion. All this becomes a daily practice, an exercise of full attention in interaction with the world and the beings that surround us.
Each of these principles is, in its own way, a form of zazen in motion. Ethical practice on the path of bodhisattva It is not just what we avoid doing, but what we choose to offer. Living ethically does not mean suppressing our trends or desires, nor fight our nature, but recognize it. As who takes care of a flower in the garden of his life, We do it gently, with patience and respect for the process.
Take the precepts It also implies immersing a living transmission that has remained uninterrupted since the times of the Shakyamuni Buddha. Each new bodhisattva Receive the witness of this ancestral chain, Like a river that flows incessantly, connecting to the past generations of practitioners. And although the commitment is deeply personal, It is not alone. No one walks alone on the path of bodhisattva. At the Management Ceremony, We are welcomed by the Sangha, accompanied by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvvas who have traveled this same path before us. WE RECEIVE A NEW NAME, Not to erase our identity, but to remind us of the heart that guides us in our practice.
In our school, The ceremony has a powerful intimacy. El Preceptor The Preceder, which in turn has received these same precepts, becomes the duct of a direct transmission. In that delivery gesture, The continuity of the Dharma, Vivified through each of us. It is a living transmission, that nourishes our roots and reminds us that we are immersed in a network of interdependence that connects us with the whole.
In the end, receive the precepts It is a way of saying "yes". Yeah, To live honestly; Yeah, To look straight at our suffering and the suffering of others; Yeah, Not to give up before the difficulties. It is not a contract that is signed or a promise impossible to comply with. It's about following our heart orientation. Los precepts They are not an end, but a life path: A guide for our daily being.
There are no awards to meet them or punishments for breaking them. But there is something deeper: the awareness that our life acquires meaning when we put it at the service of awakening. When our actions, however, They express a noble intention to live in harmony with the nature of all beings. Because the precepts They are not imposed from the outside. They are the living expression of our nature awakens. We do not need to learn them in an intellectual way, but remember them. They are registered in the depths of our being, And the management ceremony is just a way of awakening that latent wisdom.
This year, he 29 of August, A new bodhisattvas management ceremony will be held. If you are interested in receiving the precepts and join this transmission of ancestral wisdom, We invite you to write directly to the teacher Daizan Soriano To the email address: daizansoriano@caminomedio.org.
