The Vows and Dedication of Merit for the Eight Precepts

Original text:我今字某。离此八事。奉持八关斋法。不堕三恶趣。持是功德。不入地狱饿鬼畜生。八难之中。恒得善知识。莫与恶知识从事。恒得好父母家生。莫生边地无佛法处。莫生长寿天上。莫与人作奴婢。莫作梵天。莫作释身。亦莫作转轮圣王。恒生佛前。自见佛。自闻法。使诸根不乱。若我誓愿向三乘行。速成道果。

Explanation: This passage is the making of vows and dedication of merit (pariṇāma): My name is so-and-so; I vow to depart from these eight matters and to practice and uphold the dharma of the eight precepts of fasting (aṣṭāṇga-upavāsa), so as not to fall into the three evil destinies. By the merit of upholding the eight precepts of fasting, may I not enter the eight difficulties, such as the hells, the realm of hungry ghosts, and the animal realm. May I constantly encounter good spiritual friends (kalyāṇa-mitra) and not associate with bad spiritual friends. May I always be reborn into a family with good parents, not born in frontier lands where there is no Buddha-dharma, not born in the heavens of long life, not serve as another person's slave or maidservant, not become a Brahmā, not take the body of Śakra, nor become a wheel-turning sage king (cakravartin). May I always be born before the Buddha, able to see the Buddha and hear the Dharma myself, with the six faculties undisturbed. If I vow to practice toward the Three Vehicles, may I swiftly attain the fruits of the Path.

This passage of vow-making and dedication of merit is very important; it shows that with vows, all will be accomplished—one can choose for oneself what to do and what not to do in future lives. The benefit is immeasurable; therefore, by making such vows, the wishes of future lives will automatically come to pass, and the fruits of the Path will be swiftly and naturally accomplished.