Under what circumstances can one take precepts through self-vows?

Question: If one has made a vow to receive the precepts and silently upholds them, or mentally requests the precepts from the Buddha without requesting them from a precept master, does this count as receiving the precepts? If one breaks the precepts, will there be the offense of breaking precepts? When self-discipline has made one's precept conduct almost without violation, is it then acceptable to go to a precept master to receive the precepts?

Answer: Although one has mentally requested the precepts from the Buddha, if formally one has neither requested nor received the precepts, and the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Dharma-protecting deities have not come to confer the precepts, then it does not count as receiving or obtaining the precepts. Upholding precepts one has not received and obtained does not count as keeping the precepts, yet it still generates blessings and merit. Keeping precepts carries the blessings and merit of precept observance; without the precepts, there is no such blessing, merit, or virtue of precept-keeping.

When one has restrained one's conduct and can consciously keep the precepts without violation, one should go to the monks at a monastery to request the conferral of precepts, because the precepts must be requested and received from the Sangha Jewel. The lay bodhisattva precepts may be transmitted by a lay precept-holder. If there is no Sangha Jewel within a radius of forty li, one may take the precepts through self-vowing before the Buddha; even self-vowed precept-taking requires the formal procedure of receiving precepts, with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas conferring the precepts in secret. The purer the precept conduct of the one transmitting the precepts, the more easily the recipient obtains the precept essence (precept substance), and the higher the grade of precepts. If the transmitter has broken the precepts and has no precept essence, the precepts they transmit have no effect, and the recipient does not obtain the precepts. Since no precepts were obtained, there is no such thing as breaking them.

Question: How can one repent and dissolve karmic obstructions quickly?

Answer: For those who have committed evil karma and whose bodily, verbal, and mental actions are not in accord with the Dharma, open confession dissolves karma quickly. Those with heavy verbal karma, by confessing openly, will be less likely to reoffend. Once the mind is subdued, bodily, verbal, and mental actions will gradually become purified, and defilement will gradually transform into purity. Associating much with good teachers and beneficial friends brings great benefit; by not associating with deviant teachers, evil friends, and harmful companions, the wealth of wholesome dharmas will only increase and never decrease. In making friends, befriend gentlemen, not petty people—unless you have the ability to turn them around and transform them. If you follow whatever petty people say, you will quickly become one of them yourself.

After making a mistake, confessing to the other party (between two people) and confessing before the assembly have completely different effects. Confessing before the assembly dissolves karma more and faster, because once the fault is known by others, it is as if the retribution has been received—the more people know, the more retribution is received, and at the same time the greater the restraint upon oneself, the faster the karma dissolves. There is also confession before the Buddha, but for most people, confessing before the Buddha has little effect, because they do not regard the Buddha as truly present before them, and thus their sincerity is insufficient. Confessing before the assembly is the most effective—one reforms quickly, and the more one is condemned by others, the faster the karma dissolves. Therefore, when there is an issue, speak face to face rather than behind someone's back. Speaking behind someone's back is not candid, carries the suspicion of spreading conflicts and gossip, is not conducive to others recognizing and correcting their mistakes, and also makes others bear your karmic burden. Speaking candidly face to face helps others know and correct their errors, and one thereby gains blessings.

Those who wish to accomplish great things must be hard on themselves and not easily let their own faults slide. Once certain principles have passed the psychological threshold, nothing is a big deal anymore. A person without self is inwardly open and at ease; there is nothing that is a great matter—even face is unimportant. Being strict with oneself does no harm. Do not let sand remain in your eyes; do not tolerate your own mistakes, especially the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion.