We've made a start on the first chapter of Rev Shohaku Okumura's wonderful book Living by Vow: . This chapter deals with the Four Vows that we chant at the end of each of our Monday meetings:
Sentient beings are numberless, I vow to save them.
Desires are inexhaustible, I vow to put an end to them.
The Dharmas are boundless, I vow to master them.
The Buddha Way is unsurpassable, I vow to attain it.
How many times have I chanted this mindlessly? Too many! How central are these vows, and the 'Bodhisattva Vow' (the first of these) in particular? Well, according to Rev Okumura, they're utterly foundational. I thought I'd paste in a paragraph from his introduction to the book that we didn't read:
...all Mahāyāna Buddhist practice is based on the bodhisattva vow. The vow has two aspects: becoming a buddha and helping all beings become buddhas. These two cannot be separated. We vow to become buddhas together with all beings. That is, we vow not to become a buddha until all beings become buddhas. We vow to stay in samsara on purpose to walk with all beings. This explains why the Zen master Guishan Lingyou (Isan Reiyū) said he would be reborn as a water buffalo, for the water buffalo, which walks in muddy water to help farmers grow rice, symbolizes bodhisattva practice. The bodhisattva vow is an essential point in Mahāyāna teachings and practice. All the verses and sutras discussed in this book are based on or relate to this concept.
What a wonderful antidote to the fear that my practice is selfish: that my practice can be entirely for others, and a reminder that others are no different to self.
So again, back to the cushion. And again, again, again.
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