Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (217)

The Great Vows of Bodhisattvas

Bodhisattvas should make the vow to become a refuge and protector for those who have no support. Sentient beings are in fact all without support or reliance—suffering and lonely. Living in this human world, we all seem to have family and relatives to depend on, but all family members and relatives are unreliable; they too are lonely and without support, and all need a place of refuge. Every person has nothing to rely on; when life comes to an end, they set out alone on the road. In the three evil paths, even one's closest relatives cannot accompany one; one can only walk alone down a road that is unfamiliar, lonely, desolate, and painful. Therefore, bodhisattvas should make the vow to become the support and refuge for these helpless sentient beings, leading them toward the light and toward liberation.

Bodhisattvas should make the vow that, having liberated themselves, they will then be able to liberate others. Only after one has been liberated oneself can one liberate others. If a bodhisattva has only the intention to save others while still in the sea of suffering of saṃsāra, then he lacks the power to save sentient beings. For example, if someone has never been to a distant place with beautiful scenery, he cannot lead others there to enjoy the views; he might get lost halfway and naturally never reach the destination. So one must first have been to that scenic place, personally beheld its beauty, and become thoroughly familiar with the roads along the way before one can lead others to go there together. This is the principle that only one who has liberated himself can liberate others.

Bodhisattvas should make the vow that, having liberated themselves, they will enable others to be liberated. Only when one has attained liberation oneself can one enable others to attain liberation. Only when one has the ability to escape the three realms and is no longer bound by them can one lead others onto the correct path of liberation. If one has not attained liberation oneself, one does not know the correct path of liberation and cannot lead sentient beings onto the road of liberation.

Bodhisattvas should make the vow that, having attained peace and security themselves, they will enable others to attain peace and security. The Buddha has already reached the other shore of nirvāṇa and attained the ultimate bliss of nirvāṇic cessation; His body and mind have both attained peace and security. In order to save sentient beings and bring them peace and security, He returned to the three realms, yet His body and mind remain peaceful and at ease, not deluded or bound by the states of the five desires and six sense objects of the Sahā world. Only in this way can He guide sentient beings to gradually attain peace and security as well. When Śākyamuni Buddha came to the Sahā world and manifested the eight aspects of attaining the Way, He was born as Prince Siddhārtha, surrounded by the five desires, but the prince's mind had long since transcended these worldly states, untainted by any state of experience. His mind attained peace and security; in any state he was neither deluded nor confused, and he was able to renounce all worldly desires and family affections, resolutely leaving home to cultivate the Way. After attaining the Way, he began to extensively liberate immeasurable sentient beings. Bodhisattvas should also follow the conduct of all the Buddhas, diligently cultivating practice to attain peace and security of body and mind, and then bring peace and security to immeasurable sentient beings. If one's own mind has not yet attained peace and security, with greed, attachment, and clinging unceasing, one is easily deluded amid the five desires and six sense objects, and then creates evil karma and suffers endlessly. If one cannot even attain peace and security oneself, how can one bring peace and security to sentient beings?