The Bodhisattva Precepts are the first step in cultivating goodness and the foremost line of defense against evil. They guide one directly back to the source, enabling the exhaustion of the cycle of birth and death. Even the lesser practices of the Śrāvakas hold the Vinaya precepts in high esteem; how much more should a great being, who embraces all, diligently uphold the precepts? Both monastic and lay followers alike revere and uphold them, from kings to commoners, all sincerely devote themselves. These precepts are the supreme cause for attaining the ultimate fruit and the wondrous practice for establishing the path to enlightenment.
However, the scriptures and treatises record many different forms of precepts, and the methods of receiving them, as discussed in commentaries, are not without variation. This is because people’s capacities and understandings differ—some partial, some complete—and thus they should hear teachings that are either detailed or concise. Words cannot convey everything at once, and practices cannot all be undertaken simultaneously.
Here, we respectfully follow the Dharma characteristics as transmitted by Master Kumārajīva, derived from the *Brahmajāla Sūtra*, specifically the “Chapter on the Precepts.” Master Kumārajīva arrived in the Han territory in the third year of the Hongshi era of the Qin dynasty, where he illuminated the Mahāyāna and upheld the sacred teachings. He translated over three hundred volumes of scriptures and treatises, with the *Brahmajāla Sūtra* being the last one he recited and transmitted. He vowed to propagate it widely, and thus, with great earnestness, he repeated key points again and again. Because its text is profound and its meaning deep and subtle, he provided clear explanations to make it easier for later generations to comprehend.
The sūtra is called “Brahmajāla” (Net of Brahmā) to illustrate that the teachings of the Buddhas are as varied as the net of Brahmā, with its countless intersecting threads. The chapter is titled “The Ground of the Mind” because the Bodhisattva precepts comprehensively guard the three karmic actions—body, speech, and mind. The mind, consciousness, and mental faculty are different names for the same essence. Among the three karmic actions, the mental action is primary, while bodily and verbal actions are secondary. Thus, emphasizing what is most essential, it is called “the ground of the mind.”
Explaining the three profound meanings of this precept scripture.