How has taking the Bodhisattva vows affected you?

[Douglas]

I've been doing some reading and listening to books lately about the bodhisattva vows, and I was wondering, for those of you who have taken them, how has it affected you? Before taking the vows, were you concerned that you might be biting off more than you could chew? This came to mind after listening to Norman Fischer's "The World Could Be Otherwise: Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path."

Thank you!
sat/lah
Gassho, Doug

[Bion]

Great quetion, Doug! I believe it also ties in nicely with Shoshin's question regarding Ordination as a monk HERE
I wrote the following 1 year after taking Jukai, and re-reading it now, having also taken ordination vows, I still stand by every word and I am happy to see I wasn't too off the mark or green behind the ears back then.. I don't feel it needs anything extra added.

1 year after my jukai..

Gassho
sat lah

[Douglas]

Great quetion, Doug! I believe it also ties in nicely with Shoshin's question regarding Ordination as a monk HERE
I wrote the following 1 year after taking Jukai, and re-reading it now, having also taken ordination vows, I still stand by every word and I am happy to see I wasn't too off the mark or green behind the ears back then.. I don't feel it needs anything extra added.

1 year after my jukai..

Gassho
sat lah

Thank you Bion! I just read your prior post and it's very inspiring!

Although I understand that the vows are not something one can ever truly "achieve"-since living by vow is the point, there is a part of me that thinks, "Wow, I have trouble even maintaining a daily zazen practice! How would I ever manage these vows?" That being said, there is something about them that feels right, though I can't really explain it. Words almost never suffice for these kinds of things.

Some of my thoughts in this area are being driven by recent reflections on my life and its meaning, value and how I live. Not that either of those first two things can really be pinned down, but the reflection itself affects me.

Gassho, Doug
sat/lah

[Bion]

Thank you Bion! I just read your prior post and it's very inspiring!

Although I understand that the vows are not something one can ever truly "achieve"-since living by vow is the point, there is a part of me that thinks, "Wow, I have trouble even maintaining a daily zazen practice! How would I ever manage these vows?" That being said, there is something about them that feels right, though I can't really explain it. Words almost never suffice for these kinds of things.

Some of my thoughts in this area are being driven by recent reflections on my life and its meaning, value and how I live. Not that either of those first two things can really be pinned down, but the reflection itself affects me.

Gassho, Doug
sat/lah

In my humble opinion and understanding, the "achieving" is inseparable from the attempting. It is not a matter of quota, or end-goal, but a question of "what do I do with this next thing in front of me?" and then pursuing that with right understanding and effort. That in itself makes us entirely capable of keeping the vows and makes the vows entirely achievable. These vows are unlike any other promise we make as humans.

Gassho
sat lah

[Shinshi]

Kind of like Bion says, I feel the Vows keep me focused. They are a lens through which I view the choices that I make with regards to how to move forward. What is my next best step on my path.

Gassho,

Shinshi

[Hosui]

A wonderful question to ponder, Doug, on this beautiful afternoon - thanks.

I first took the bodhisattva vows in 1983, sitting on Dartmouth harbour front in Devon, UK, reading Roshi Philip Kapleau’s Three Pillars of Zen, and feeling as though these vows were the most beautiful thing I could ever be engaged with. I’ve been reciting them fairly regularly ever since, via 2 Jukai, 1 ordination (non-Treeleaf), and ongoing Ryaku Fusatsu ceremonies. My understanding of them have changed, as they have changed the way I understand the world. Less as a seemingly impossible Sisyphusean 'chewing' task, more of a reintegration of myself with what I already am, the universe - which is what, for me, the 4 categories of the vows represent.

On my laptop at work I’m reminded of the vows daily: ‘to save everything, click here’ (insert image of universe!). I’ve come to realise that my awakening with all beings at every moment does the trick, so long as I commit to practicing this forever. The same goes for transforming all delusions (that are pure buddha, already), perceiving reality (which is free from intrinsic nature, already), and attaining the enlightened way (which is already, already). What suffering means to me is NOT fulfilling this promise I’ve made of reintegration, and NOT backing 'myself' up (to the cloudy nebulae), of which I'm a tiny sector on the universal hard drive.

Gassho
Hosui
sat/lah today

[Shoshin]

Beautiful question
Take into account that I took Jukai only very recently (last January).
For me Jukai is a commitment to hold the precepts and the vows really close to our hearts and minds with honesty and truthful intention. It's a commitment that we make to our dharma ancestors, current teachers, our sangha and ourselves.

For me the vows and the precepts are inspirations. Both reminders of the way I aspire to live and behave and also lights in the darkness that help me to walk a path consistent with this aspiration.

But I try to be compassionate towards myself and I know that I'm fallible, that I have cognitive dissonances, that I can still get angry, that I can be unfair and a long etc.
Does it mean that I shouldn't have taken the precepts and that I shouldn't recite the four vows with the same conviction every time? Nope. It means that I need to come back once and again to this cozy place next to my heart and mind that I have made for them.
Until I'm perfect or until I die. The one that happens first (spoiler: the second one will certainly happen first )

What's this book about? Are you liking it?

Gassho
Satlah

[Shoshin]

I wrote the following 1 year after taking Jukai, and re-reading it now, having also taken ordination vows, I still stand by every word and I am happy to see I wasn't too off the mark or green behind the ears back then.. I don't feel it needs anything extra added.

1 year after my jukai..

Gassho
sat lah

Really beautiful and inspiring reading.
And very nice to see your previous"you" before your current "you". It makes sense to me that you became you.
I hope it makes sense.

Gassho
Satlah

[Bion]

Really beautiful and inspiring reading.
And very nice to see your previous"you" before your current "you". It makes sense to me that you became you.
I hope it makes sense.

Gassho
Satlah

Oddly enough, I understood that hahaha Thank you

Gassho
sat lah

[Shoshin]

Oddly enough, I understood that hahaha Thank you

Gassho
sat lah

Ha, ha! I knew you would
Gassho
Satlah

[Seiko]

I've been doing some reading and listening to books lately about the bodhisattva vows, and I was wondering, for those of you who have taken them, how has it affected you? Before taking the vows, were you concerned that you might be biting off more than you could chew? This came to mind after listening to Norman Fischer's "The World Could Be Otherwise: Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path."

Thank you!
sat/lah
Gassho, Doug

Hi Doug,
Please take what I say with a pinch of salt - I am just a novice here with much to learn.

My first Jukai was in 1983 with OBC.

If I choose not to focus on future results (which may or may not come about) - I give myself the freedom to live with those beloved Bodhisattva vows every day, every minute.
And there's the vow of Jizo.
Life is now.
We have a million decisions to make every day.
I hope we do our best to do no harm (or as little harm as humanly possible in each circumstance).

Always becoming Buddha.
Always living with these vows of service - every day, hour, minute.

It's a privilege.


Gasshō, Seiko, stlah

[Chikyou]

I took Jukai in January of 2024. For me the vows are not a commitment to perfection (far from it! That would be impossible.) They are a commitment to follow The Way. A commitment to take the journey, however long it takes, inching ever closer to perfection. One step at a time. I never felt overwhelmed because I understand that there’s never a need to start from anywhere other than where I am right now.

Gassho,
SatLah,
Chikyō

[Chikyou]

Great quetion, Doug! I believe it also ties in nicely with Shoshin's question regarding Ordination as a monk HERE
I wrote the following 1 year after taking Jukai, and re-reading it now, having also taken ordination vows, I still stand by every word and I am happy to see I wasn't too off the mark or green behind the ears back then.. I don't feel it needs anything extra added.

1 year after my jukai..

Gassho
sat lah

I love what you said about using the precepts as a mirror. I’ve never thought of them that way before, but that’s exactly what they are or can be. “Was this choice that I made in keeping with the precepts? What do the precepts say about this?” Vowing to adjust future behavior accordingly.

Gassho,
SatLah,
Chikyō

[Bion]

I love what you said about using the precepts as a mirror. I’ve never thought of them that way before, but that’s exactly what they are or can be. “Was this choice that I made in keeping with the precepts? What do the precepts say about this?” Vowing to adjust future behavior accordingly.

Gassho,
SatLah,
Chikyō

I am so glad it was of some help. You echo master Huineng’s advice to not look back but always look towards the next step and make sure that one is right!

Gassho
sat lah