Under what circumstances can one receive precepts by self-vow?

Question: If one makes a vow to receive the precepts and silently keeps them, or mentally requests the precepts from the Buddha without requesting them from a precept-transmission master, does this count as receiving the precepts? If one then violates the precepts, will there be the offense of breaking precepts? Is it acceptable to wait until, through self-discipline, one almost never violates the precepts, and then go to a precept master to receive them?

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. Keeping precepts one has not received and obtained does not count as observing precepts, but it still generates blessings and merit. Observing precepts carries the blessings and merit of the precepts; without the precepts, there is no such blessing, merit, or virtue from keeping them.

When one has restrained one's behavior and can consciously keep the precepts without violating them, one should go to monks at a monastery to request the conferral of precepts, because the precepts must be requested and received from the Sangha Jewel. Lay bodhisattva precepts may be transmitted by lay precept-holders. If there is no Sangha Jewel within a forty-li radius, one may take the precepts before the Buddha through self-vows; even self-vowed precept-taking requires a formal procedure, with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas conferring the precepts in secret. The purer the precept conduct of the precept transmitter, the more easily the recipient obtains the precept substance, and the higher the grade of precepts. If the transmitter has violated the precepts and has no precept substance, 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 eliminate karma quickly?

Answer: For those who have committed evil karma, whose bodily, verbal, and mental actions are not in accord with the Dharma, open confession eliminates karma quickly. For those with heavy verbal karma, open confession makes it less likely they will reoffend. Subdue the mind, and the bodily, verbal, and mental actions will gradually become purified, with defilement gradually transformed into purity. Associating much with good teachers and beneficial friends brings great benefit; by not associating with deviant teachers, evil friends, and harmful friends, the wealth of wholesome dharmas will only increase and never decrease. In choosing companions, befriend gentlemen, not petty people—unless one has the ability to turn them around and transform them. If one blindly follows the words of petty people, one will quickly become one of them.

After making a mistake, confessing to the other party (between two people) and confessing before an assembly have completely different effects. Confessing before an assembly eliminates karma more and faster, because once the fault is known by others, it is equivalent to having undergone retribution—the more people who know, the more retribution is undergone. At the same time, the constraint upon oneself is greater, so karma is eliminated faster. Another method is to confess 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 an assembly is the most effective and brings the fastest change; the more one is condemned by others, the faster karma is eliminated. Therefore, if you have issues, speak of them face to face, not behind people's backs. Speaking behind someone's back is not candid, carries the suspicion of spreading gossip, does not help others recognize and correct their mistakes, and also makes others bear your karma. Speaking candidly face to face helps people know and correct their errors, and one thereby gains blessings.

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