Brahmajala Sutra (Mahayana)

The Brahmajala Sutra (meaning, "The Discourse on the Net of Brahma") is the spurious Sanskrit title of a text of the Chinese Mahayana Buddhist canon called Fanwang Jing. [Macmillan "Encyclopedia of Buddhism", 2004, Volume One, article on Fanwang jing] It is not related to the Brahmajala Sutta of the Theravada Buddhist Pali Canon. This sutra features both Vairocana Buddha and Shakyamuni Buddha and states the 10 major precepts for Bodhisattvas and the 48 minor precepts. These precepts came to be treated in China as a higher ethic a monk would adopt after ordination, in addition to the monastic rules. In Japan, they came to displace the monastic rules almost completely, so that for example most Japanese clergy are now married. The language of the text implies that these precepts are directed toward monastics who choose to become Bodhisattvas. The name of the sutra derives from the vast net that the Hindu god, Brahma, hangs in his palace [http://www.purifymind.com/BrahmaNetSutra.htm Brahma Net Sutra ] ] :

The sutra is also noteworthy for describing who Vairocana Buddha is, as the personification of the Dharma itself, or more specifically the Dharmakaya or Truth-Body of Buddhism [http://www.purifymind.com/BrahmaNetSutra.htm Brahma Net Sutra ] ] :

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