Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

discussed. I managed to read about the tradition of these
silas and then afterwards got them as a special
instruction from my Gelugpa guru. But at that time I
had not yet obtained the third initiation so he only
bestowed upon me the transmission of the precepts but
not their real explanation.
"In China," said the yogi, "the Tantric gurus mostly
cannot get the anuttarayoga initiations, so they
merely impart the silas without any comment on
their meaning. I finally got the meanings explained
to me, not upon the occasion of a wang, but
specially by the Karmapa Rinpoche."
Why are these precepts neither written in Tsong-khapa's
book nor explained upon the occasions of Tantric
initiation? This is because the fourteen are mostly
concerned with the identification of sunyata and
pleasure; because it would be necessary to mention the
details of vajra-love, these precepts are kept secret.
If a rinpoche is also a great scholar, he may be able to
give other explanations, but it does happen that disciples
are told the words of the precepts, but not their
meanings. For instance, one sila, the fifth one, says:
"You should not lose your bodhicitta." This, however,
does not mean the common bodhicitta of the Mahayana.
It is the fifth precept and this has a secret meaning; the
proper explanation is: "You should not discharge your
semen." Even if scholars are learned, they will seldom
487