The Ten Inexhaustible Vows of the Bodhisattva

All Buddhas descend into the world to universally deliver sentient beings, manifesting the eight marks of attaining the Way, the contents of which must be memorized: descending from the Tuṣita Heaven palace, entering the womb, dwelling in the womb, birth, leaving home, attaining the Way, turning the Dharma wheel, and parinirvāṇa. Therefore, a Buddha must be a monastic, belonging to the number of the Saṅgha, not a layperson. In the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, the Buddha taught bodhisattvas to make the Ten Inexhaustible Vows, one of which is that a bodhisattva must possess vast supernatural powers—this is required content. Without supernatural powers, one cannot only fail to achieve one's own accomplishment, but also cannot deliver sentient beings. However, supernatural powers are best cultivated after attaining the bhūmis; cultivating them after enlightenment is also quite reluctant, and before that, cultivating supernatural powers is not encouraged.

If a bodhisattva's mental capacity is too small, one cannot make such vast vows; even if made, one cannot fulfill them. As vast as one's mental capacity is, so vast are the bodhisattva's endeavors. In future lives, each of us sentient beings has only one thing to do: to deliver ourselves and deliver others, life after life engaged in this very matter—all is Buddha's work, with no pursuit whatsoever of worldly things within the three realms. So now we must train ourselves to be as unattached to worldly marks as possible, not to pursue personal worldly benefits, not to compete with others for the sake of worldly survival interests—including wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep; form, sound, smell, taste, and touch; including family and relatives, everything and anything. In the mind, let go of whatever can be let go. In this way, when the mind becomes empty and pure, it becomes vast; when it becomes as vast as the tathāgatagarbha, the ultimate is reached.

Only when the realm of sentient beings is exhausted will my vows be exhausted. Can the realm of sentient beings be exhausted? When will it be exhausted? I remember that in the Buddhist sūtras someone asked the Buddha whether the realm of sentient beings could be exhausted, whether sentient beings could all be delivered; the Buddha, it seems, did not answer. It is not that the Buddha did not know or was unable to answer, but rather that the number of sentient beings is truly boundless and immeasurable. Each bodhisattva's task is extremely heavy; even after becoming a Buddha, one must remain forever busy with the work of delivering sentient beings. The multitude of sentient beings in the worlds of the ten directions is infinite and boundless; there are simply too many worlds without Buddhas, without bodhisattvas, and without the Buddha-dharma. The sentient beings in those worlds suffer greatly, waiting for us bodhisattvas to make the resolve to deliver them.

When we in the future have the ability to deliver sentient beings, everything must be considered for the sake of sentient beings; we must not compete with one another for personal selfish gain. If bodhisattvas fight bloody battles over their respective retinues and over fame and status, what will become of those sentient beings? Where have the great bodhi vows made in the past gone? We should now make great vows as much as possible, so that in future lives we will not forget or lose bodhicitta—all for the accomplishment of our own path and the deliverance of sentient beings, not for worldly benefits.

If sentient beings' good roots and merit are not mature, they cannot encounter the Buddha-dharma. We should all plant good roots for sentient beings as much as possible, so that sentient beings' good roots may mature soon. If sentient beings' good roots are not mature and they lack merit, even with the Buddha before them, it would be of no use. If the realm of sentient beings were exhausted and there were no more sentient beings, what use would a Buddha have for a Buddha-land? Buddhas accomplish countless Buddha-lands precisely for the purpose of delivering sentient beings; if there were no more sentient beings, would a Buddha still remain in bodily form in the world? Then He would no longer remain in form, and the Buddha-land would also be of no use. So, looking at the future scenario, what is there for us to fight over now? All dharmas are empty; they can be used temporarily, and that is enough—there is no need for greed and attachment.