Toh 45The Chapter Explaining the Three Vows
Pāli / Sanskrit:Trisaṃvaranirdeśaparivartasūtra
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Exposition of the Scripture Explaining the Three Vows
Context
The Trisaṃvaranirdeśaparivartasūtra (called in the Northern Tibetan transmission The Chapter Explaining the Three Vows) is a scriptural chapter belonging to the Kangyur, the Tibetan Buddhist canon compiled in the ninth century. The Kangyur is a collection of translations of scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan and is regarded as emblematic of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition in Tibet.
This scripture was composed in the context of the strong development of Mahayana Buddhism, especially in the Tibetan tradition. At that time, the distinction among the three kinds of vows became a central issue in practice and ritual activity. This scripture arose in order to clarify the meaning, distinctions, and comprehensive integration of these three kinds of vows.
Main Content
The three vows (trisaṃvara) explained in this scripture generally correspond to the three principal branches of Buddhist discipline: Prātimokṣa (the vows of individual liberation), Bodhisattva (the bodhisattva discipline), and Vajrayāna (the Vajrayana discipline).
The Prātimokṣa vow is the foundation: the precepts for monks and nuns, intended to protect the mind from harmful actions. This is the commitment to follow the basic rules of discipline, from fundamental prohibitions to more subtle forms of conduct. It helps practitioners build mental discipline and wholesome habits.
The Bodhisattva vow is a deeper commitment that extends beyond personal practice. It is the vow to rescue all beings from suffering and to generate bodhicitta with the motivation of compassion (mettā/maitrī). Bodhisattva practitioners commit themselves to cultivating the six pāramitās: generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditative concentration, and wisdom. This vow is cosmic in scope and embraces all sentient beings.
The Vajrayāna vow is the most distinctive commitment in the Tibetan context, related to rituals, mantra, and visualization.
🌏 The Buddhist canon is vast — some sūtras (such as comparative Vinaya across schools, or untranslated Tibetan-canon texts) have to this day NEVER been translated into Vietnamese or English by anyone, scholars included. Rather than leave it blank, Inti AI offers a FAITHFUL summary grounded in the tradition — from the sūtra's title, origin and essence — so you can still reach this rare part of the treasury. Whenever an original translation exists, the app shows the original first.
Translations belong to the translator/source credited above. The bilingual compilation, presentation, and AI translations compiled by Inti are © Inti Foundation. Please attribute when quoting; do not bulk-copy or use commercially without permission.