Sentient beings are numberless, I vow to save them.
Delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to end them.
Afflictions are perpetual, I vow to bring them to an end.
Dharma gates are boundless, and I vow to enter and understand them.
The Buddha’s way is unsurpassable, and I vow to attain it.
The bodhisattva vow describes, to some extent, a reality that we know is not possible—a cessation of all of the suffering in this world. At the same time, the vow affirms its own unachievability. We know it’s not possible to alleviate all of the distress and affliction in this world, but we act as if it is possible to do so. These vows reflect the two primary orientations of compassion: the receptive aspect that is willing to listen to the cries of suffering of the world and the outward-turning aspect that is willing to engage with the world to alleviate that suffering.
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