Fourteen Trainings - Original
The Original Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings
of the Order of Interbeing
In her book Learning True Love, Sister Chan Kong tells the story of how the first transmission of the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings took place, in the early 1960s:
In 1960, Thay Than Hu, Thay Tri Quang, and Thay Nhat Hanh LL Advised me to wait before being ordained, but in 1963, Thay Tri Quang encouraged me to become a nun. I asked Thay Nhat Hanh, and he said that the precepts for monks and nuns formulated 2,500 years ago needed to be renewed. He showed me fourteen new precepts he had written that he felt carried the deepest teachings of the Buddha and would be fit for our time. He said he would tell me when he thought was the best time for me to shave my head and become a nun. But for now he invited six of us, the leader of the SYSS, to receive the Fourteen Precepts in a formal ceremony.
. . .
During the initiation ceremony, we six ordainees vowed to study, practice, and observe the Fourteen Precepts of the Order of Interbeing. Since that day, I have felt that these precepts are my primary teacher, especially when I have been under stress and do not know the best way to act. These are the Fourteen Precepts:
Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth.
Do not think the knowledge you presently possess is changeless, absolute truth. Avoid being narrow-minded and bound to present views. Learn and practice non-attachment to views in order to be open to receive others’ viewpoints. Truth is found in life and not merely in conceptual knowledge. Be ready to learn throughout your entire life and to observe reality in yourself and in the world at all times.
Do not force others, including children, by any means whatsoever, to adopt your views, whether by authority, threat, money, propaganda, or even education. However, by compassionate dialog, help others renounce fanaticism and narrowness.
Do not avoid contact with suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering, including personal contact, images, and sound. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world.
Do not accumulate wealth while millions are hungry. Do not take as the aim of your life fame, profit, wealth or sensual pleasure. Live simply and share time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need.
Do not maintain anger and hatred. Learn to penetrate and transform them when they are still seed in your consciousness. As soon as they arise, turn your attention to your breath in order to see and understand the nature of your hatred and the nature of the persons who have caused your anger and hatred.
Do not lose yourself in dispersion and in your surroundings. Practice mindful breathing to come back to what is happening in the present moment. Be in touch with what is wondrous, refreshing, and healing both inside and around you. Plant seeds of joy, peace, and understanding in yourself in order to facilitate the work of transformation in the depths of your consciousness.
Do not utter words that can create discord and cause the community to break. Make every effort to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.
Do not say untruthful things for the sake of personal interest or impress people. Do not utter words that cause division and hatred. Do not spread news that you do not know to be certain. Do not criticize or condemn things of which you are not sure. Always speak truthfully and constructively. Have the courage to speak out about situations of injustice, even when doing so may threaten your own safety.
Do not use the Buddhist community for personal gain or profit, or transform your community into a political party. A religious community, however, should take a clear stand against oppression and injustice and should strive to change the situation without engaging in partisan conflicts.
Do not live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature. Do not invest in companies that deprive others of their chance to live. Select a vocation that helps realize your ideal of compassion.
Do no kill. Do not let others kill. Find whatever means possible to protect life and prevent war.
Possess nothing that should belong to others. Respect the property of others, but prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on Earth.
Do not mistreat your body. Learn to handle it with respect. Preserve vital energies (sexual, breath, spirit) for the realization of the Way. Be fully aware of the responsibility of bringing new lives into the world. Meditate on the world into which you are bringing new beings.
Reciting the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings
These trainings were written for Thầy’s companions on the Path, those involved every day in social work and community building in the midst of the American/Chinese proxy War in Vietnam. As precepts, they were meant to give strength to these tireless workers, by helping them avoid thoughts and actions which brought confusion and depleted their energy or spirit.
With the passage of time, the Fourteen Trainings have evolved with the community, as fields of war were returned to the cultivation of crops and villages, and the audience has expanded to include youth and families from around the world.
In the Plum Village tradition, there is a formal ceremony for reciting the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings. In the most favorable practice, one of the members of the Sangha will be Head of Ceremony, another will be Bell Master, and one or more can lead the community in chanting. The current version of the Fourteen Trainings, and the structure of the recitation ceremony can be found here.
