Bodhisattva vows

The Bodhisattva vows (also: Four important vow ) is a commonly rezitierter Text in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, especially in Zen. In Tibetan Buddhism, the bodhisattva vow is the basis for Mahayana practice. It is an expression and confirmation of the bodhisattva mind ( bodhicitta ) and motivates the daily practice of compassion and wisdom, for practical implementation in everyday life for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Bodhisattva vows in the Sino- Japanese Mahayana

Shu jo mu hen was gan do

Bon no mu jin was gan dan

Ho mon mu ryo was gan gaku

Butsu do mu jo jo was gan

The number of beings is infinite; I vow to save them all

Greed, hatred and ignorance arise incessantly; I vow to overcome them

The gates of the Dharma are numberless; I vow to walk through it all

The Way of the Buddha is incomparable; I vow to realize it

Zhong sheng wu bian shi yuan du

Fan nao wu jin shi duan yuan

Fa men wu liang shi xue yuan

Fo dao wu shang shi yuan cheng

众生 无边 誓愿 度

烦恼 无尽 誓愿 断

法门 无量 誓愿 学

佛道 无上 誓愿 成

The vow of Amitābha

The 48 vows of Amitabha Amitābha form the basis of Buddhism. According to tradition, a king left after listening to the Buddha's teaching his throne. Under the name Dharmakara he became a monk. He took off 48 vows and became the Buddha Amitābha. Trusting in his vows all those who can not reach nirvana on their own get, the Pure Land of the Buddha Amitābha. It is enough to call his name confidence ( Nembutsu ).

Vows of a bodhisattva in the Mahayana

The Mahayana knows a detailed list of actions that are abandoned by a Bodhisattva because of their unwholesome effects:

The 18 Main Vows of the Bodhisattva

The following actions are to be given:

According to Asanga, the first four of the 18 main vows are the four " causes of defeat ", similar to the four root missteps of Pratimokhsha. The loss of the bodhisattva vows occurs but only at a heavy involvement in such behavior: That is, if the error remains unbereut; is carried out regularly; the bodhisattva here is without shame or embarrassment; this with joy and satisfaction exercises with the conviction that this behavior is good. The second cause for the loss of the bodhisattva vow is the complete abandonment of the desire for full enlightenment. Preserving the ethics in this regard, he considers the bodhisattva vows in the following life, even if he does not remember them. However, in contrast to the Pratimokhsha rules bodhisattva vows may also be in the same life time - even after a complete loss - be resumed.

The 46 secondary vows of giving up the following actions

These vows are of a Bodhisattva, practiced together with the six perfections, or Paramitas. The actions 1-7 are abandoned because they hinder the perfection of giving or generosity. The actions 8-16 to be abandoned because they hinder the perfection of moral discipline or ethics. The actions 17-20 are abandoned because they hinder the perfection of patience. The actions 21-23 are abandoned because they hinder the perfection of effort or zeal. The actions 24-26 are abandoned because they hinder the perfection of concentration and mental stabilization. The actions 27-34 are abandoned because they hinder the perfection of wisdom. The actions 35-46 are abandoned because they hinder the perfection of moral discipline or ethics, to benefit others.

Asanga's advice to the vows

In Asanga Urtext Mahayana ethics to the following can be found:

For all Bodhisattva Precepts applies: It is relatively without error if one's mind is in despair, one is through feelings of suffering under severe pressure or the bodhisattva ethic has not taken. Nothing in the bodhisattva path is from the outset a mistake. Asanga quotes Buddha: " Know that develop the error of a Bodhisattva most of aversion, not out, desirous attachment. " If the Bodhisattva motivated by love and compassion, everything is the act of a Bodhisattva - but he wears hatred compared to the beings he can do either for themselves or for other good. Asanga sums: ( to have hatred in itself ), this was not the practice of a Bodhisattva, to follow him, the Bodhisattva will do what he should not do, and it ultimately comes the error in ethics.

The vow of Ambedkar

In his great conversion to Buddhism in 1956, with whom he founded the so-called Dalit Buddhism or Neo - Buddhism in India, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar formulated his 22 vows that next to the refuge in the Three Jewels and the Five Sila a mandatory element for all trailers this direction include.

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  • Buddhism in Japan
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  • Bodhisattva
Recitation Chinese Buddhism Nianfo Sangha Saṃsāra Pāramitā
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