Bodhisattva Vows

The taking of Bodhisattva vows, represents initiation into the Mahayana path. A custom that dates back nearly two thousand years. Since that early time, millions of dedicated practitioners have declared their faith and trust in the Mahayana path by taking bodhisattva vows, and thereby beginning their bodhisattva training. To take bodhisattva vows is to make a formal commitment to actualize the Mahayana path, which is a commitment to our own awakening. It’s to pledge to ourselves, our teachers, and the three jewels to uphold the basic Mahayana tenets. It’s to declare that from this day forward we are going to put the Mahayana teachings into practice, and fully embrace and embody our training.
     The term bodhisattva is comprised of two words, bodhi meaning awakening, and sattva meaning essence, being, or spirit. Together they can be translated as one who possesses bodhichitta (the altruistic mind of awakening). The bodhisattva is an advanced practitioner (either monastic or lay) who possesses the altruistic aspiration and determination to ‘awaken’ in order to benefit others. Besides having high spiritual realization, bodhisattvas are said to possess superhuman powers of compassion. In the Mahayana tradition, the ideal of the bodhisattva is the guiding focus of the path.
     The moon has long been a symbol for the bodhisattva, in which the bodhisattva, like the moon, indiscriminately shines on and illuminates all beings. In Tibetan Buddhism, the moon symbolizes bodhichitta, while the sun symbolizes Wisdom. And of course, the sun illuminates the moon. In other words, wisdom illuminates compassion which is the meaning of the Dalai Lama’s mantra ‘om mani padme hum’ – compassion born from wisdom. For myself, I see the bodhisattva as a ‘mother archetype’ for universal and unconditional love. For like a wise and devoted mother who diligently cares for and cherishes her children, the bodhisattva indiscriminately cares for and serves the world with motherly intent.

The bodhisattva path is focused on
 *  The cultivation of awakened behavior
 *  The development of bodhichitta (the altruistic mind of awakening)
 *  The understanding of emptiness and the nature of reality
 *  The Six Perfections (generosity, ethics, patience, effort, concentration, and wisdom)

 Vows – A solemn pledge or promise. 
Buddhism, founded on ethics, believes the holding of vows to be a profound spiritual practice, bringing great benefit to the practitioners who hold them. Taking vows is to promise to uphold certain precepts or rules of ethical and virtuous behavior that are deemed conducive to spiritual practice. Vows and the virtuous conduct they support also benefit us by creating a more harmonious community.
     Vows are a commitment to oneself, one’s teachers, and the three jewels of practice and training. Vows can be seen as a logical extension of our ethical volition, in which we put our ideals into practice by establishing basic dos and don’ts in order to reach our goals swiftly and efficiently. Vows are always taken voluntarily with the practitioner deciding for themselves their own level of commitment. Upon deciding to take vows, a practitioner would ask their teacher for their advice, permission, and blessing. If the teacher feels the practitioner possesses a genuine motivation and is ready, the teacher gives their blessing and helps to facilitate the process.

 “Vows are not forced on us by an external authority; they are trainings we voluntarily uphold because we want to fulfill our spiritual aims.” ~ The 14th Dalai Lama

 Precepts – Guidelines of personal conduct intended to facilitate swift spiritual progress.
According to His Holiness, precepts are not absolute rules, but instead guidelines intended to stabilize and deepen our commitment to our spiritual path. The Buddha himself asserted that it is the spirit of the precepts that matters most. Each precept outlines clear and precise parameters pertaining to our behavior. This creates a great level of clarity and stability in our lives by outlining predetermined behaviors that clearly dictate appropriate choices, actions, and reactions. By maintaining pure precepts, we protect and increase our mental, emotional, and spiritual development. For in moments of difficulty or indecision, in which we may be susceptible to making poor choices, our precepts remain clear. It is at these times that we can rely on our precepts to protect us and ensure that our choices, actions, and reactions are appropriate and coincide with the Buddha’s teachings.

 Taking bodhisattva vows with SBT
SBT offers its own unique presentation of the bodhisattva vows that we believe best serves our modern secular sangha. Having a unique presentation of the bodhisattva vows is not unusual, for each of the Mahayana Buddhist Traditions have their own unique presentation. For example, Tibetan Buddhism upholds sixty-four precepts, Japanese-Zen upholds ten, Plum Village has its own unique set of vows, as well as the Buddhist Triratna group.
     In order to take bodhisattva vows in SBT practitioners must first have taken refuge vows which bodhisattva vows are built upon. However, where refuge vows are fairly straight forward and pertain more to our actions and basic rights and wrongs; bodhisattva vows focus on a subtler level of understanding and practice, moving past our actions to the true source of our merits – the intentions that initiate our actions.

To take bodhisattva vows with SBT is to
 *  Pledge to awaken for the benefit of all sentient beings
 *  Pledge to uphold the twenty-six precepts of awakened behavior
 *  And to transcend the twenty-six abandonments

While upholding one’s commitments to
 *  The daily recitation of the bodhisattva pledge
 *  The daily recitation of the four gifts aspiration
 *  To participate in the vow purification ceremony