The final Bodhissatva Vow which we discussed at the Gathering of Friends last Sunday is this one:
The Budda's Way is unsurpassable, I vow to attain it.
Or, better for me:
The Way of the Buddha is unexcelled - I vow to attain the Path Sublime.
As most of you know, I live in Los Angeles and work in Hollywood - the flashy false values capitol of the world. Here where I live, many of the people (even many Buddhists) are vowing to get that televsion pilot, or vowing to sell that spec script. Vowing to get that house with a swimming pool, or vowing to get onboard with that high-end agency. How refreshing for me that I can actually have some other kind of ambition. Maybe it won't "sell" at the studio commissary, but that's OK by me.
One of my friends at the Gathering has been studying and writing about these vows as part of her preparation for taking he prcepts wth the Nichiren Shu and officially joining that denomination this coming April. My friend expressed to me that she felt these vows were "too big" - not something that were ultimately attainable. But in a way, that's the beauty of it for me. We never get to just relax on our realizations and say "there, I've done it!" There's always more growing to do. That's why Buddhahood is called the sublime path and not the sublime state.
In a way, we vow not only to walk the sublime path, but to actually become the sublime path ourselves. But how do we do that?
Only through our Buddhist practice. That is the promise of this Vow. As we all know, Buddhism is all about practice. It's not like the Christianity many of us are familiar with, where it's all about your belief and faith in a certain world-view and a certain relationship between ourselves and God. Buddhism isn't about being saved from something or about getting closer to something outside of ourselves, it is about doing something. And the "something" that we do as Nichiren Buddhists is chanting Nam(u)-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. And every day we re-affirm our vow to attain and walk the sublime path of Buddhahood, placing one foot in front of the other for the sake of all beings everywhere.
As Nichiren would say, "how wonderful!"
Have a sublime day, everyone - Byrd in LA
Posted by wahzoh at February 28, 2008 11:47 AMAnother translation which I like is, "Buddha's way is unsurpassable. I vow to become it."
ch
I must admit that while I like the first vow, I find the other three unattractive (regardless of the translation), especially the second. I can't comment any further since I don't understand what you're saying.
Posted by: Jeff at February 29, 2008 01:50 AMHi Jeff,
How is it that you see the other three as unttractive? The first one cannot possibly be fulfilled without the other three. Actually the four vows map onto the four noble truths:
The first vow is in line with the first noble truth in that it is a recognition of the pervasiveness of suffering and thereby arouses an altruistic determination to do something about it.
The second vow is in line with the second noble truth because it is a recognition that suffering comes from nowhere but our own greed, hatred, and ignorance. This means that we can do something about it because it is something we can take responsibility for and overcome (though in East Asian Buddhism overcoming is not negation but transmutation of the defilements).
The third vow is in line with the fourth noble truth because in order to overcome defilements that prevent us from freeing ourselves or others we need to take up the Buddha's teachings - enter the gates of the Dharma. In Nichiren Buddhism this means taking faith in the Lotus Sutra and being able to use all the skillful means at our disposal to lead others to it as well.
The fourth vow is in line with the third noble truth - the cessation of suffering. To attain the path sublime or Buddha's Way is another way of saying that we attain buddhahood. Isn't that the whole point of taking up and practicing Buddhism at all?
I will be so bold as to say that without the Four Noble Truths there could be no Buddhism at all. Great Master T'ien-t'ai has shown in his writings that the Four Noble Truths are the structure of all the teachings - from the Tripitika to the Perfect. On each level however they are understood more deeply and completely.
Likewise, without the Four Vows or at least the intention they express there can be no Mahayana Buddhism. They are an articulation of bodhicitta - the aspiration to attain buddhahood for the sake of all beings. It was the Great Master T'ien-t'ai who really brought them into prominence from what I understand. They are now integral to all forms of East Asian Mahayana Buddhism that I know of - including of course Nichiren Buddhism.
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei
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Posted by: Ryuei at February 29, 2008 09:38 AMI love the concept of knots back in part deux.
Posted by: joe at February 29, 2008 08:21 PM