rtsa ltung bcu dgu

Nineteen Root Downfalls (of the bodhichitta vows in the tradition which comes through Nagarjuna). There are five root downfalls certain for kings, five for councilors, eight for ordinary persons, and one which is common to all. These are enumerated as follows in Longchenpa, Treasury of Spiritual and Philosophical Systems grub mtha' mdzod p. 200. The five certain for kings are to steal the wealth of the Three Precious Jewels, to punish disciplined monks, to direct a renunciate away from his. or her training, to commit the five inexpiable sins, and to hold wrong views. The five certain for councilors are to subjugate towns, countryside, citadels, cities, and provinces. The eight certain for ordinary persons are to teach emptiness to those of unrefined intelligence, to oppose those who enter into the greater vehicle, to join the greater vehicle having rejected the pratimoksha vows, to uphold. or cause one to uphold the vehicles of pious attendants and self-centered buddhas, to praise oneself and depreciate others for the sake of exaggeration and depreciation, to speak of one's own patience as profound, to give and receive the wealth of the precious jewels, and to give the riches of tranquility to those who are loud-mouthed. That which is common to all is to abandon the enlightened attitude of aspiration. GD

19 root downfalls [IW]