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Brahmajāla Sūtra
The Brahmajāla Sūtra (traditional Chinese: 梵 網 經 ; ;
pinyin: Fànwǎng jīng; Japanese pronunciation: Bonmōkyō),
also called the Brahma's Net Sutra, is a Mahayana
Buddhist Vinaya Sutra. The Chinese translation can be found
in the Taishō Tripiṭaka.[1] The Tibetan translation can be found
in Peking (Beijing) Kangyur 256.[2] From the Tibetan it was
also translated into Mongolian and the Manchu languages. It is
known alternatively as the Brahmajāla Bodhisattva Śīla
Sūtra (traditional Chinese: 梵網菩薩戒經; ; pinyin: Fàn Wǎng
Púsà Jiè Jīng).

The Brahmajāla Sūtra is related to the important Huayan

metaphor of Indra's net.

It is not related to the Brahmajala Sutta of the Pāli Canon of

Theravada Buddhism.

Vairocana as described in the

Contents Brahmajala Sutra

History
Content
Bodhisattva Precepts
References
Further reading

History
The sutra is traditionally regarded as having been recorded in Sanskrit and then translated into
Chinese by Kumārajīva in 406. Several scholars assume that it was composed in East Asia by
unknown authors in the mid-5th century, and is apocryphal.[3][4][5][6] The sutra itself claims that it
is part of a much longer Sanskrit text, but such a text has never been found.[3] [7] Qu Dacheng
(pinyin transliteration) or Wut Tai Shing (Cantonese transliteration)[8] suggests that because the
contents of the longer Brahmajala Sutra very much resembled the Avataṃsaka Sutra that was
already translated, the translators of the Brahmajala Sutra only translated the key differences.[9]
Some scholars and many Mahayana monastics believe the sutra is not apocryphal.[10]
Amoghavajra, one of the patriarchs of Shingon Buddhism who was fluent in both Sanskrit and
Chinese, stated that the Brahmajala Sutra is a part of the Vajrasekhara Sutra that was not
translated into Chinese.[11] Ven. Taixu on his study of the Brahmajala Sutra and the Mahayana
Yoga of the Adamantine Sea Mañjuśrī Thousand Arms Thousand Bowls Great King of Tantra noted
many similarities between the two and therefore the Brahmajala Sutra must have been translated
from Sanskrit.[12] Qu Dacheng states that the Brahmajala Sutra whilst not translated by

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Kumārajīva is unlikely to be apocryphal. Of special interest, Qu notes some of the Brahmajala

Sutra's Ten Bodhisattva Bhūmi matches the Mahāvastu, an early Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit
Mahayana text never translated into Chinese.[13]

Content
This sutra introduces Vairocana and his relationship to Gautama Buddha. It also states ten major
precepts for Bodhisattvas (Chinese: ⼗重戒) and the 48 minor precepts to follow to advance along
the bodhisattva path.

The bodhisattva precepts of the Brahmajala Sutra came to be treated in China as a higher ethic a
monastic would adopt after ordination in addition to the prātimokṣa vows. In Japan, the ten
precepts came to displace monastic rules almost completely starting with Saichō and the rise of the
Tendai.[14]

The name of the sutra derives from the vast net that the god Brahma hangs in his palace and how
each jewel in the net reflects the light of every other jewel:

At that time, he [Shakyamuni Buddha] contemplated the wonderful Jewel Net hung in
Lord Brahma's palace and preached the Brahmajala Sutta for the Great Assembly. He
said: "The innumerable worlds in the cosmos are like the eyes of the net. Each and
every world is different, its variety infinite. So too are the Dharma Doors (methods of
cultivation) taught by the Buddhas.[15]

The sutra is also noteworthy for describing who Vairocana is as personification of the dharma or
Dharmakāya:[15]

Now, I, Vairocana Buddha, am sitting atop a lotus pedestal; on a thousand flowers

surrounding me are a thousand Sakyamuni Buddhas. Each flower supports a hundred
million worlds; in each world a Sakyamuni Buddha appears. All are seated beneath a
Bodhi-tree, all simultaneously attain Buddhahood. All these innumerable Buddhas
have Vairocana as their original body.[15]

Bodhisattva Precepts
The Brahmajala Sutra has a list of ten major and forty-eight minor rules known as the Bodhisattva
Precepts.[16] The Bodhisattva Precepts may be often called the "Brahma Net Precepts" (Chinese: 梵
網 戒 ; pinyin: Fànwǎng Jiè), particularly in Buddhist scholarship, although other sets of
bodhisattva precepts may be found in other texts as well. Typically, in East Asian Mahayana
traditions, only the 10 Major Precepts are considered the Bodhisattva Precepts. According to the
sutra, the 10 Major Bodhisattva Precepts are in summary:[17]

1. Not to kill or encourage others to kill.

2. Not to steal or encourage others to steal.
3. Not to engage in licentious acts or encourage others to do so. A monk is expected to abstain
from sexual conduct entirely.
4. Not to use false words and speech, or encourage others to do so.
5. Not to trade or sell alcoholic beverages or encourage others to do so.

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6. Not to broadcast the misdeeds or faults of the Buddhist assembly, nor encourage others to do
so.
7. Not to praise oneself and speak ill of others, or encourage others to do so.
8. Not to be stingy, or encourage others to do so.
9. Not to harbor anger or encourage others to be angry.
10. Not to speak ill of the Buddha, the Dharma or the Sangha (lit. the Triple Jewel) or encourage
others to do so.
Breaking any of these precepts is described as a parajika (Skt. Unforgivable) offence.[18]

References
1. Taisho 1484 is found in Volume 24 of the Taisho Tripitaka."Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō" ⼤正新脩
⼤藏經
漢⽂⼤藏經
(http://tripitaka.cbeta.org/mobile/index.php?index=T) [Taishō Shinshū Tripitaka]. CBETA

律部
(in Chinese). "This is an index to the Taisho Tripitaka - nb Volume 24 is listed as
the last volume in the or Vinaya Section. Taisho 1484 or the Brahmajala Sutra is located
here."
2. 東京帝國⼤學法⽂學部編財團法⼈齋藤報恩會補助 ⻄藏⼤藏經總⽬錄索引 . -A Catalogue-Index
of The Tibetan Buddhist Canons (Bkah-hgyur and Bstan-bgyur). p. 10,102. "on page 10: Chos-
kyi rgya-mo, sans-rgyas rnam-par-snan-mdsad-kyis byan-chub-sems-dpahi sems-kyi gnas
bsad-pa lehu bcu-pa [Peking (Beijing) Kangyur No.] 256; on page 102: [Peking (Beijing)
Kangyur No.] 256 [Taisho] 1484"
3. Cho, Eunsu. Fanwang jing in Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, Volume One
4. Buswell, Robert Jr. (1990). Chinese Buddhist Apocrypha (https://books.google.com/books?id=o
k9KGXUOrPMC). University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1253-9., page 8
5. Muller, Charles, Digital Dictionary of Buddhism: 梵網經 (http://www.buddhism-dict.net/ddb)
6. Swanson, Paul (1998). Apocryphal Texts in Chinese Buddhism. T'ien-t'ai Chih-i's Use of
Apocryphal Scriptures" in: Debeek, Arie van; Toorn, Karel van der (1998). Canonization and
Decanonization (https://books.google.com/books?id=VLsaTp5xYhMC&pg=PA245). BRILL.
ISBN 90-04-11246-4., page 248
7. Bhikṣuṇī Vinītā (Tseng Vinita) (2010). A Unique Collection of Twenty Sutras in a Sanskrit
Manuscript from the Potala Volume I,I. Beijing and Vienna: China Tibetology Publishing House
and Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. p. xix. ISBN 9783700169062. ""It preserves twelve
codices unici, the only extant Sanskrit texts so far; these are sutras no. 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14,
15, 16, 17, 18, and 20. Two sutras among them, no. 4 and 10, have neither Tibetan nor
Chinese translations, nor, to the best of my knowledge, any reliable historical record." Although
Bhikṣuṇī Vinītā is not talking directly about the Brahmajala Sutra, she makes clear that the
surviving extant Buddhist Sanskrit textual record (including surviving extant commentarial
references existing in Sanskrit and translated languages) are hardly complete."
副教授
8. "List of Academic Staff" (https://cah.cityu.edu.hk/people/ciwut/). " is translated as
Associate Professor"
屈⼤成
9. Wut Tai Shing or Qu Dacheng( 從古⽂本論《梵網經》之真偽
) (May 2007). (http://enlight.

普⾨學報
lib.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-MAG/mag201337.pdf) [Using Ancient Texts to Determine the

此外，⼤本
Authenticity or Apocryphalness of the Brahmajala Sutra] (PDF). (trans. to English:

《梵網經》的內容架構，跟《華嚴經》⼗分接近。或是《華嚴經》既已譯出，無必要再⼤花⼒氣
Universal Gate Buddhist Journal) (in Chinese) (39): 18. Retrieved 2018-01-02. "

傳譯⼀相類似的⻑篇經典... (trans. to Eng:Moreover, the structure (arrangement) of contents of

the unabriged Brahmajala Sutra and the Avataṃsaka Sūtra are very alike. In other words,
since the Avataṃsaka Sūtra was already translated, (the translator(s)) felt there was no need
to commit huge efforts to translate a long sutra with similar contents.)"
10. Shi Yinguang. 印光法師⽂鈔
(http://www.amtb.org.tw/pdf/rb16-02.pdf) [Ven. Shi Yinguang's
Works] (PDF) (in Chinese). p. 69. "translated summary The Brahmajala Sutra is
Buddhavacana"

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11. Wut Tai Shing or Qu Dacheng( 屈⼤成

從古⽂本論《梵網經》之真偽
) (May 2007). (http://enlight.

普⾨學報
lib.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-MAG/mag201337.pdf) [Using Ancient Texts to Determine the

還值得⼀提
Authenticity or Apocryphalness of the Brahmajala Sutra] (PDF). (trans. to English:

的，是不空（七○五－七七四）《⾦剛頂經⼤瑜伽祕密⼼地法⾨義訣》提到廣本《⾦剛頂經》沒
Universal Gate Buddhist Journal) (in Chinese) (39): 18. Retrieved 2018-01-02. "

有傳⼊中⼟時，指中⼟《梵網經》乃撮取廣本中較淺易的修⾏內容，如是不空認為《梵網經》乃
密典《⾦剛頂經》的⼀部分...(trans. to English : It is also worth noting that Amoghavajra (705-
774) in “Instructions on the Gate to the Teaching of the Secret Heart of Great Yoga of the
Adamantine Pinnacle Sutra“ stated at the time when the unabridged version of the
Vajrasekhara Sutra was not transmitted to China, the Chinese [translation] of the Brahmajala
Sutra absorbed the comparatively simpler [Buddhist] cultivation practices found in the
unabridged version [of the Vajrasekhara Sutra] and therefore Amoghavajra supposed the
Brahmajala Sutra is one part of the tantric text of the Vajrasekhara Sutra…)"
12. Shi Taixu ( 太虛⼤師
) (2014-11-10). 梵⽹经与千钵经抉隐 (http://www.liaotuo.org/fjrw/hcrw/txds/1
04034.html) [Revealing [the Connection Between] the Brahmajala Sutra and the Mahayana
Yoga of the Adamantine Sea Mañjuśrī Thousand Arms Thousand Bowls Great King of Tantra]
(in Chinese). Retrieved 2018-01-02.
從古⽂本論《梵網經》之真偽
13. Wut Tai Shing or Qu Dacheng( 屈⼤成
) (May 2007). (http://enlight.

普⾨學報
lib.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-MAG/mag201337.pdf) [Using Ancient Texts to Determine the

此外，
Authenticity or Apocryphalness of the Brahmajala Sutra] (PDF). (trans. to English:

《梵網經》的⼗地說有取於《⼤事》，⽽《⼤事》從無漢譯本，也反證《梵網經》⾮漢⼈偽作。
Universal Gate Buddhist Journal) (in Chinese) (39): 5,18. Retrieved 2018-01-02. "p 5:

(trans. to English: Moreover, some of the Ten Bodhisattva Bhūmi found in the Brahmajala Sutra

《梵
came from the Mahāvastu and the Mahāvastu never had a Chinese translation and proves the

網經》多次⽤到佛性⼀詞 這詞的出現，已⾜證明《梵網經》⾮羅什所譯，但這不代表《梵網
Brahmajala Sutra was not an apocryphal sutra composed by a Chinese person.) and p 18:

經》是偽經。 ⼜經⽂所提到的新的說法、法數、譯語等，不⾒於早期譯典，無從抄襲。因此，
...

《梵網經》乃偽作的可能性甚低。
...
(trans. to English: The Brahmajala Sutra uses the phrase
“Buddha-nature” on multiple occasions…this [usage] is enough to certify that it was not
translated by Kumārajīva, but this certainly does not mean The Brahmajala Sutra is
apocrypha…Also the contents of the sutra mentions new explications, new numerical
discourses, new translation usages, etc., these can't be found in earlier translations and as
such there is nowhere to extract from. Therefore the possibility for the Brahmajala Sutra to be
an apocryphal sutra is very low.)"
14. Keown, Damien (2008). "Fang wang ching", in A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University
Press, 3rd ed. ISBN 0192800620, p. 93
15. Sutra Translation Committee of the US and Canada (2000). The Brahma Net Sutra (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20140106041847/http://www.ymba.org/books/brahma-net-sutra-moral-code-
bodhisattva), New York
16. Buswell, Robert Jr; Lopez, Donald S. Jr., eds. (2013). Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism
(bodhisattvaśīla). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 137. ISBN 9780691157863.
17. Thanh, Minh (2000). "The Brahma Net Sutra" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110611151922/htt
p://www.ymba.org/bns/bnstext.htm#m1). New York: Sutra Translation Committee of the United
States and Canada. Archived from the original (http://www.ymba.org/bns/bnstext.htm#m1) on
June 11, 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
18. "Brahma Net Sutra:Moral Code of the Bodhisattva" (https://www.ymba.org/books/brahma-net-s
utra-moral-code-bodhisattva/brahma-net-sutra/major-precepts). Young Men Buddhist
Association of America. Translated by Thanh, Minh; Leigh, P.D. Retrieved 2018-07-15.

Further reading
de Groot, Jan Jakob Maria (1893). Le code du Mahâyâna en Chine (https://archive.org/details/l
ecodedumahy00groo); son influence sur la vie monacale et sur le monde laique, Amsterdam:
Müller

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Muller, Charles (2012). Exposition of the Sutra of Brahma´s Net (http://www.acmuller.net/kor-bu

d/11_sutra_of_brahmas_net.pdf), Sŏul-si (Seul): Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism.
ISBN 9788994117171
Muller, Charles; Tanaka, Kenneth K., trans. (2017). The Brahma’s Net Sutra (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20170220055550/http://www.bdkamerica.org/bdk-tripitaka-digital-downloads),
Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai Amerika
Sutra Translation Committee of the United States and Canada (2000). [1] (https://www.ymba.or
g/books/brahma-net-sutra-moral-code-bodhisattva)
Wut Tai Shing (Cantonese transliteration) or Qu Dacheng (Pinyin transliteration) or 屈⼤成
(Chinese) (May 2007). [2] (http://enlight.lib.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-MAG/mag201337.pdf) 從
古⽂本論《梵網經》之真偽 (in Chinese) (Eng. Trans. of title:Using Ancient Texts to Determine
the Authenticity or Apocryphalness of the Brahmajala Sutra), Kaohsiung.
Wut Tai Shing (Cantonese transliteration) or Qu Dacheng (Pinyin transliteration) or 屈⼤成
(Chinese) (March 2007). [3] (http://enlight.lib.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-MAG/mag143826.pdf)
從古⽂獻記載論《梵網經》之真偽 (in Chinese) (Eng. Trans. of title:Using Ancient Accounts to
Determine the Authenticity or Aprocryphalness of the Brahmajala Sutra), Kaohsiung.

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