The Boat of Precepts

If someone says

precepts are a form of chain,

then what they restrain

are one’s feet wandering toward bad karma

and

what they expand

are the wings

of love and compassion.

If someone says

precepts are like armour,

then what they protect are

invigorated kindness and

the robust wisdom to discern.

If someone says

precepts are cooling,

then they must have used precepts as a boat

to cross the river of fevered afflictions,

every stroke

a fierce effort toward the shore of vigilance and mindfulness

repeated time and again

for one purpose:
to paddle toward the only direction of my heart.

If someone says

precepts overturn ignorance, reversing its direction

transforming every ordinary thought

into a fortune of merits,

then one would ask whence precepts came

and we join our palms in veneration.

Who nurtured the three trainings in me?

Who gives rise to the kindness in my heart?

Homage to the beloved teacher,

compassionate and wise!

Homage to the Buddha,

The Great Lord of Healing!