Is the ‘Bodhisattva Vow’ Outdated — Or More Vital Now Than Ever?

In Mahayana Buddhist tradition there is an ancient concept and practice known as the ‘Bodhisattva vow.’

I have always been both fascinated and frightened by this vow, which basically promises that I, the seeker or practitioner, will forgo full enlightenment until all beings are freed from the cycle of birth and death. Put differently, this vow says ‘I’m not leaving this plane of suffering unless and until all other beings can come with me.’

My fascination with it springs directly from its emphasis on selfless service and boundless compassion. It is a magnificent statement of caring intention and personal sacrifice. It’s a deep inspiration to me, on many levels.

Yet my fear reaction also springs from its emphasis on boundless compassion, caring, and sacrifice. In a world of endless desire, suffering, and pain, ‘freeing’ all beings will never happen and can never be complete. Thus, the Bodhisattva vow is a sure recipe for failure, self-reproach, and endless inner pain.

In this essay, I want to reach beyond these reactions of fascination and fear to explore the deeper essence of this venerable vow and see if it still makes sense in a collapsing, climate-disrupted world.

What is the purpose of the Bodhisattva vow?

We can start by asking: What is the real purpose of this vow? I’m sure that teachers and spiritual masters were always quite aware of the futility of this vow, in practical terms, so… why take it or promise it?

Let’s explore.

According to the Learnreligions.com site, in the Mahayana sects:

“there are four Bodhisattva vows. Here is a common translation:

Beings are numberless, I vow to save them
Desires are inexhaustible, I vow to end them
Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them
Buddha’s way is unsurpassable, I vow to become it.

In his book “Taking the Path of Zen,” Robert Aitken Roshi wrote,

“I have heard people say, ‘I cannot recite these vows because I cannot hope to fulfill them.’ Actually, Kanzeon, the incarnation of mercy and compassion, weeps because she cannot save all beings. Nobody fulfills these ‘Great Vows for All,’ but we vow to fulfill them as best we can. They are our practice.”

Zen teacher Taitaku Pat Phelan said,

“When we take these vows, an intention is created, the seed of an effort to follow through. Because these vows are so vast, they are, in a sense, undefinable…. the Bodhisattva Vows are immeasurable. The intention we arouse, the effort we cultivate when we call forth these vows, extends us beyond the limits of our personal identities.”

According to the Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trumpa:

“Taking the vow is like planting the seed of a fast-growing tree, whereas something done for the ego is like sowing a grain of sand. Planting such a seed as the bodhisattva vow undermines ego and leads to a tremendous expansion of perspective. Such heroism, or bigness of mind, fills all of space completely, utterly, absolutely.”

If we’re not really ‘saving all beings’… what ARE we doing?

What can we take away from these inspiring quotes? Clearly, the intention of the Bodhisattva vow is NOT to really ‘save all beings’ — since that is impossible. Nor is it to deny and limit our growth by waiting — endlessly — for others to ‘wake up’ and achieve freedom and enlightenment before we allow ourselves to gain enlightenment.

No, the intention must be… something else. To me, the Bodhisattva vow is more like a koan — an unsolvable riddle or mystery that propels us beyond our rational, egoistic ‘figure-it-out’ mind.

One of the most famous koans, of course, is “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” Taken at face value, it’s an absurdity, a complete impossibility. It’s meaningless nonsense — and that seems to be the point.

Contemplating such a ‘nonsense’ statement is a wild goose chase, an exercise in futility. And that’s exactly why Zen teachers utilize koans, and why they can be effective teaching tools.

Getting beyond our everyday ‘rational minds’ — and into our deeper hearts and spirit — IS the point… the crucial and only point. And if that’s the main thrust of a teaching or practice, mind-boggling koans can be incredibly effective.

The Bodhisattva vow seems to be just such a koan.

A new and deadly twist emerges

However, in recent decades a disturbing new ‘variable’ has emerged: the mass extinction of thousands of other species and the accelerating disruption of our global climate. Our modern civilization has made life better and easier for many humans — yet simultaneously, it has vastly increased the suffering and chaos occurring in the natural world around us.

These intensifying global issues — and the pain and suffering they cause — ‘raise the bar,’ so to speak, for Buddhist practitioners and all who honor or have committed to the Bodhisattva vow.

As ecological ‘collapse awareness’ spreads and ‘doomers’ clang their frantic alarm bells, it’s an ever-taller order to vow to ‘save all beings.’ Today, the Bodhisattva vow seems hopelessly outdated; it’s both a sad anachronism and mere ‘pie in the sky’ spiritual nonsense.

But… not so fast… that’s just the way it seems. We already noted that this vow is not meant literally and cannot be taken literally. To do so would bring intense frustration, madness, and unending sorrow.

But we can still see the Bodhisattva vow as an effective goad to reach greater spiritual heights and greater depth of compassion.

In fact, the dire straits humanity and our planet are facing cry out even more for deep compassion and greater spiritual awareness. Whether ‘practical’ or not, the lofty aims of the Bodhisattva vow are crucial, perhaps now more than ever.

In these times, we need all the aware, sane, caring people we can muster — and our world desperately needs people willing to take the Bodhisattva vow (or something similar). Our world needs compassionate, open-minded souls who have humanity’s and the planet’s best interests at heart and are not just in it for themselves.

What about human unwillingness to evolve and transform?

There’s one last, major conundrum I’d like to explore: the issue of human denial and our frequent unwillingness to change and grow. The Bodhisattva vow’s deep desire to ‘leave no one behind’ and assist all beings in reaching liberation faces a formidable hurdle — namely, that many humans don’t want to change and don’t want to be ‘saved’ or ‘liberated.’

Sure, we can always insist that even the most recalcitrant laggards will one day ‘wake up’ and become enlightened — but that could take hundreds or thousands of lifetimes (if you believe in reincarnation).

Meanwhile, regardless of our belief or disbelief in reincarnation, each of us is here for just one lifetime in this singular body, with this particular personality — and factually speaking, most of our efforts to help others ‘wake up’ and be liberated will fail and go nowhere.

That’s just an uncomfortable truth. Or at least, the fruits of our efforts will not usually be visible or obvious (who knows what is happening deep within another’s mind and soul?).

What I’m left with is this: These apparent ‘end times’ of collapse and mounting chaos need and call to folks committed to the Bodhisattva vow, now more than ever — and at the same time, honoring that vow keeps getting more and more difficult and frustrating, as the pain and suffering of our world keep intensifying.

Today, as we move ever deeper into the ‘sixth extinction,’ it really is utterly impossible to ‘save all beings’ — and wrapping our heads and hearts around that truth is an essential aspect of being human in these strange and frightening times.

Yet for that very reason, today the Bodhisattva vow may be more important than ever, as a potent guidepost leading us beyond the chaos, pain, and madness and into unbounded compassion.

—

This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.

***

You Might Also Like These From The Good Men Project

Compliments Men Want to Hear More Often

Relationships Aren’t Easy, But They’re Worth It

The One Thing Men Want More Than Sex

..A Man’s Kiss Tells You Everything

—

Photo credit: iStock.com