The Function of the Precept Substance of the Five Precepts

Taking the Three Refuges does not equal receiving the Five Precepts. When one receives the precepts, one obtains the precept substance (戒体), but taking refuge does not confer the precept substance of the Five Precepts. The precept substance has the function of preventing the violation of precepts, and there are also precept-guarding deities who protect it, enabling one to guard against wrongdoing and stop evil, to receive less of the retributive results of evil karma, and to progress quickly in cultivation. If one violates the precepts right after receiving them, it indicates that one did not obtain the precept substance. The reason for not obtaining the precept substance is that one's own karmic offenses have not been purified through repentance; there were obstructions at the time of receiving the precepts. One needs to repent and purify oneself anew and then receive the precepts again, until the precept substance is obtained.

If the master who confers the precepts upon you has himself violated the precepts and lost his own precept substance, then you will not obtain the precept substance by receiving them from him. Therefore, to be on the safe side, one may receive the precepts several times. If the precept master is accomplished in cultivation and virtuous conduct, the buddhas, bodhisattvas, and dharma-protecting deities will support him well; at the time of receiving the precepts, the power of blessing is great, the resonant response is great, the transformation after receiving the precepts is great, and one's progress on the Path advances relatively quickly.