ABSTRACT
The holding of vows and commitments has always had great importance for the social cohesion of Buddhism and indeed for those intent on spiritual progression within it, to the mystification of many a student confronted by the apparent trivialities which gave rise to early schisms within the .13 A study of the nine vehicles, into which the rNying-ma-pa have traditionally classified the diverse levels of Buddhist experience, reveals that at each sequence of the path, the philosophical view maintained by its adherents requires the concomitant observance of specific vows or commitments.
