I practiced with the Kwan Um School of Zen, in Chicago, then in LA.
They often recited the Bodhisattva Vows (a Bodhisattva is an aspiring Buddha - one who is awakened- and vows to save all beings from suffering by helping them awaken). Their version is:
Sentient beings are numberless; we vow to save them all.
Delusions are endless; we vow to cut through them all.
The teachings are infinite; we vow to learn them all.
The Buddha Way is inconceivable; we vow to attain It.
I decided to come up with a version (also consulting other versions) that I could use, in the first person, and that would resonate with me more.
Replaced some words that have rather forceful connotations - save, cut through, learn, (even) Buddha, inconceivable, attain - with some that seem more open - free, release, perceive, awakened, unsurpassable, live:
Sentient beings are numberless; I vow to free them all.
Delusions are endless; I vow to release them all.
The teachings are infinite; I vow to perceive them all.
The Awakened Way is unsurpassable; I vow to live It.
This reflects the change in my practice I wrote about in the previous post: from actively focusing on objects and actively letting go, to practicing a wide, open, choiceless awareness that allows everything, and allows the letting go to happen naturally.
A work in progress..
(Photo: Zoltan Tasi)