Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

Though sentient beings are countless, we vow to
save them.
Though sorrows are endless, we vow to cut them
off.
Though Dharma-gates are numberless, we vow to
learn them all.
Though Bodhi is boundless, we vow to traverse it.
Though Buddhas are infinite in number, we vow to
worship them all.
Sometimes the last one is not given and they are then
called the "Four Vows." They are also known as the
"Bodhicitta Vows" (mentioned in App. III, A, 3, and
App, III, E. Conclusion).
It is not enough to want to save every person in one's
own time, age, world, family, etc. If one truly wants to
be a bodhisattva, one's own vows should be developed
to save all, regardless of time and space. One should not
always merely follow the common vows.
Why do you think that the Pure Lands of so many
Buddhas are different? It is because of the difference in
their vows, since the lands they bring into existence are
in accordance with these vows. As the vows of the
bodhisattvas of the past are not enough for a meditator's
own practice, thus it is necessary, once one's own are
established, to aid fellow-yogis in formulating their
own.
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