Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

Vows apply to this life
(As the listener said: "May I give so many robes to
bhiksus; may I build so many monasteries; may I
support so many meditators; etc.")
or to future lives. As you are aiming at Full
Enlightenment, vows should not be limited to this life
when a meditator may or may not gain Buddhahood.
Precisely what one is aiming at is this: from this human
body to become a Buddha. This is most important and
should never be forgotten. The function of this
attainment is the production of a Pure Land. One may
vow that it should occur in the far distant future or not,
just as one wishes. It may or may not be in this life,
though the Vajrayana says that attainment is always in
this life. (Which other one could it be in?)
Concluding from the point of view of the three yanas:
One should vow to get rid of all sorrow—this is in the
Hinayana spirit; and one should vow to help all
others—this is a Mahayana vow. Such vows as these
must accord with the different yana's doctrines; for
instance, it would be un-Buddhist to vow to become a
creator God! Thirdly, we must know the functions of
Buddhahood and make vows to produce things which
we wish to have in our Pure Land, though these must
agree with the principles of Vajrayana. Suppose that one
wishes: May there be no females in my Pure Land! This
is not according to Vajrayana practice, though even
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