an EBT response to Bodhisattva vows: LLSS vows

 

I'm not aware of any vows in the EBT. 

But I personally find making vows a powerful way to strengthen our resolve, intention, and follow through. 

Here is a way I do it everyday, as part of my morning chanting, that I think accords with EBT.

LLSS vows: Limited Liability Sāvaka Satta Vows

With the ariyas of the 10 directions as my witness, in all modes of existence, please bear witness to my vow.

Without causing unnecessary delay to my own quest for full liberation,

until I attain perfect liberation as a ṣāvaka satta arahant,

I vow to assist other qualified living beings who are receptive to and able to benefit from the true Dhamma I've learned and experienced, 

unless there are sufficient number of qualified beings in my mode of existence (currently human) who are already on the job and doing just fine without me,

in which case I'll happily retire to the mountains and live as a hermit. 

I vow to protect the true Dhamma, 

and I vow to fight corruption, internally and externally.

  

short version

(Most of the time I just chant this 3 times, but with the sincerity, intention of the full version above)

I vow to protect the true Dhamma.

I vow to protect the true Dhamma.

I vow to protect the true Dhamma.

benefits

Even without any grandiose or beyond this lifetime vows or aspirations, 

having a sincere intention to do good in the world every day is proven to be effective, 

whatever our religion or belief system. 

Take for example,

Benjamin Franklin’s famous daily routine:  He was a massive fan of self-improvement and used a specific "scheme" to track his virtues and manage his time.

Every morning, as part of his Morning Question, he would ask himself:

"What good shall I do this day?"

To close out the loop, he would end his day with the Evening Question:

"What good have I done today?"

I've been doing this daily vow for years now, and it helps in so many ways.  

Positive mentality leads to good physical health (with reasonable diet and exercise of course). 

I wake up in the morning motivated, to do what I can to be useful, and feel great. 

I can't prove it to anyone who doesn't have accurate psychic powers,

 but I feel like the Dhamma protectors are on my side. 

Not that I'm going to test it out by doing anything crazy, 

but intuitively I know that even on just a purely human level, 

in relation to human protectors,

if you vow to for example to protect animal rights, or the health of the planet,

and you engage whole heartedly (ekagga citta) in mind, speech action,

don't you suddenly find yourself with a bunch of new friends, 

some very powerful willing to help you out? 

Protect you from enemies?

If that works with just human to human relations, 

just think who you have in your corner when you take the vow to protect the True Dhamma,

to fight corruption.

How many tens of thousands of ariyas from the Buddha 
Gotama's time 2500 years ago, 

who are now ariya in various deva realms today, right now?

Ariyas in Brahma realms have lifespans that can witness many Sammā SamBuddhas come and go, 

not just our Gotama.

You take an interest similar to those beings, 

what do you think the odds are they're in your corner? 

That you're part of an invisible powerful brotherhood/sisterhood of like minded individuals?

 How inspiring just to reflect on that.