Thomas Amundsen wrote: ↑Sat Nov 11, 2017 8:29 pm
Malcolm wrote: ↑Sat Nov 11, 2017 6:08 pm
Thomas Amundsen wrote: ↑Sat Oct 21, 2017 3:29 am
Shakyamuni Buddha never took that vow AFAIK.
Of course he received that vow.
I'm not sure if the OP has been edited since I responded to it. But what I thought he was asking about was the vow to postpone his enlightenment until all other sentient beings became Buddhas first. Surely Shakyamuni Buddha did not take that vow, right?
I know this is old, just popping in to add some clarity:
The Mahayana Tripitaka states that, during the time of Dipankara Buddha, prior to Sumedha Bodhisattva first receiving his prediction of buddhahood, the Bodhisattva was right on the verge of arahantship. Knowing this, and so inspired by the sight of the Buddha, Sumedha Bodhisattva vowed to postpone arahantship in order to cultivate merits over many lifetimes in order to awaken as a buddha later in order to save sentient beings.
AFAIK, none of the Mahayana texts that recount this story (and there are several) mention any explicit vow to postpone awakening until
all sentient beings are saved. In the context of the story, it seems pretty clear (though this isn't explicitly stated either) that Sakyamuni's vow was about becoming a Buddha as quickly as he reasonably could in order to inspire others to practice the way he was inspired by Dipankara.