How has taking the Bodhisattva vows affected you?

[Jundo]

Like others have indicated, I don’t see the Bodhisattva vows as being achievable, at least not in the traditional sense of achieving by completing a task. They are like the proverbial North Star. A direction to set towards.

So with that the Bodhisattva vows are part of my Practice and how I wish to live my life.


Tairin
sat today and lah

I like that. I am going to steal the "North Star" description as my own (even though stealing breaks a Precept.)

I think that they are guides to good directions, and can never be fulfilled completely. Neither are they merely to be paid lip service, or ignored most of the time (like the fellow who goes to church on Sundays, robs banks on Mondays.) We must be sincere in trying to be guided by them.

I think that Dogen was also of like mind. For all his talk and writings on Karma and "not doing bad," he also liked to tells many stories of folks who broke a Precept (usually in small ways, nothing too ugly) for somehow a good, practical or very human reason with good effects, and not much harm resulting.

Gassho, Jundo
stlah

[Douglas]

Thank you for all of your answers! Very interesting and helpful!

Doug
Gassho,
sat/lah