Commitment
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Commitment (samaya)
- Commitments (Skt. samaya) are sacred pledges undertaken by practitioners of the tantras. The Tibetan term 'dam tshig' (lit. 'binding word') indicates that the person who accepts such commitments becomes bound by a solemn oath of allegiance. While the commitments maintained by practitioners of the tantras complement the vinaya and bodhisattva vows taken by those who uphold the monastic and sūtra traditions of the Greater Vehicle respectively, and all these three types of observance are fully integrated in practice, a distinction is made between the "vows" (sdom pa) of the causal vehicles which depend on individual mental control, and the commitments of the tantras, which maintain the purity of buddha-body, speech and mind, without degeneration. It is traditionally said of the commitments, that they bring benefits when they are correctly guarded and retributions are exacted when they degenerate. Therefore, when such commitments are broken they must be restored through appropriate ritual means, for their degeneration may cause serious hindrances to spiritual progress.
- Each class of tantra has its distinctive commitments. For example, in the Kriyātantras, there are basic commitments (rtsa ba'i dam tshig) not to abandon the Three Precious Jewels (triratna), enlightened mind, mantras, seals, and vajra & bell implements or the spiritual teacher, and ancillary commitments (yan lag gi dam tshig) not to eat meat, garlic and radishes, or to drink alcohol or sleep on a high bed. In Yogatantra, there are fourteen general commitments to guard against: disparagement of the spiritual teacher, transgression of causal vows, hostility to spiritual siblings, rejection of loving kindness and enlightened mind, disparagement of Buddhism, divulging secrets to the immature, abusing the naturally pure five psycho-physical aggregates, harbouring narrow views concerning the intrinsic purity of phenomena, lacking compassion for enemies of Buddhism, applying conceptual thought to inexpressible realities, belittling faithful devotees, violating commitments already undertaken,and disparaging women who are the source of discriminative awareness. Then, according to Mahāyoga, there are three basic commitments to maintain the purity of buddha-body, speech and mind, and twenty-five ancillary commitments pertaining to practices of sexual yoga and wrathful rites of "liberation", the non-renunciation of the five dissonant mental states, the acquisition of the five sacramental nectars (flesh, blood, urine, excrement, and semen) and five sacramental meats (human, elephant, dog, horse and cow), the purity of the psycho-physical aggregates, sensory spectra and sense-objects, and cultivation of the fruitional aspects of buddha-body, speech, mind, attributes and activities. According to Anuyoga, there are thirty-six basic and 831 ancillary commitments, while in Atiyoga, there are four commitments: nothingness, evenness, uniqueness, and sponteneity, which are collectively known as the commitments undertaken in respect of reality (de kho na nyid kyi dam tshig). For further information on the commitments, see the detailed discussion in G. Dorje, "The rNying-ma Interpretation of Commitment and Vow", in The Buddhist Forum, Vol. 2, pp. 71-96, which is based on Klong-chen rab-'byams-pa, GGFTC, Ch. 18. GD (from the Glossary to Tibetan Elemental Divination Paintings)