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The Cam Lo Precepts Transmission Ceremony. The Mendicant Precepts
Beginning with the incense offering ceremony to make offerings to the countless Buddhas, Dharma, and Sangha, the vow to uphold the precepts is recited, and the venerable teachers are respectfully invited to be seated. Next, the preceptees, step by step, give rise to their aspiration, respectfully requesting the venerable ones to serve as Preceptor, Karmadana Teacher, and Dharma Teacher, stating their Dharma names, and earnestly seeking compassion in order to receive the Great Precepts.
After the Karmadana procedure—answering a series of questions to confirm the absence of offenses, sufficient age, possession of robe and bowl, and consent to ordain—comes the ceremony of receiving the four Parajika precepts:
- Not to violate the chastity of others
- Not to steal the possessions of others
- Not to kill living beings
- Not to claim enlightenment when it has not been attained
Following this, the new mendicants receive the three robes (the antaravasaka, the uttarasanga, and the sanghati) and the alms bowl through short verses, then practice the four supports (robe, alms bowl, dwelling place, wholesome food) and the four ways of conduct (patience, generosity, refraining from frivolity, and not harboring resentment). The ceremony concludes with the ritual of expressing gratitude to the Three Jewels and the traditional three prostrations.