The Different Bodhisattva Vows

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Dharmasherab
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The Different Bodhisattva Vows

Post by Dharmasherab »

How many different types of Bodhisattva Vows are there?

I would like to know the various Bodhisattva vows taken in schools of Mahayana (Pureland, Tientai/Tendai, Nichiren, Chan/Zen/Seon/Thien) as well in Vajrayana (Sakya, Kagyu, Nyingma, Gelug, Shingon, Ari, Newar, Tangmi, Azhaliism).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva_vow
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Ayu
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Re: The Different Bodhisattva Vows

Post by Ayu »

I think, these are for Vajrayana in general.
Root vows: https://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-s ... attva-vows
Secondary vows: https://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-s ... attva-vows
crazy-man
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Re: The Different Bodhisattva Vows

Post by crazy-man »

bodhisattva vow of the Brahmajāla Sūtra by Kumarajiva
http://setradise.com/books/brahma-net-s ... -net-sutra

Bodhisattvabhumi of the Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra by Asanga
http://www.downloads.prajnaquest.fr/Boo ... e_1930.pdf

Twenty Verses on the Bodhisattva Vow by Chandragomin
http://www.bodhicitta.net/Chandragomin% ... verses.htm

Bodhisattva Vow by Shantideva
http://www.bodhicitta.net/Shantideva-chap-3.htm

Bodhisattva Precepts by Yin Shun

Bodhisattva Precepts (Jukai) by Dogen

Four Vows of the Bodhisattva
https://sites.google.com/site/buddhismf ... attva-vows

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisatt ... attvabhumi
Fortyeightvows
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Re: The Different Bodhisattva Vows

Post by Fortyeightvows »

Dharmasherab wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 3:57 pm I would like to know the various Bodhisattva vows taken in schools of Mahayana (Pureland, Tientai/Tendai, Nichiren, Chan/Zen/Seon/Thien) as well in Vajrayana (Sakya, Kagyu, Nyingma, Gelug, Shingon, Ari, Newar, Tangmi, Azhaliism).
I think what he's talking about is that the vajrayana schools of the himalayas use bodhisattva vows which come from Mairteya and Asanga.
The chinese mahayana bodhisattva vows on the other hand come from the braham net sutra.
Bristollad
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Re: The Different Bodhisattva Vows

Post by Bristollad »

Fortyeightvows wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 3:11 am
Dharmasherab wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 3:57 pm I would like to know the various Bodhisattva vows taken in schools of Mahayana (Pureland, Tientai/Tendai, Nichiren, Chan/Zen/Seon/Thien) as well in Vajrayana (Sakya, Kagyu, Nyingma, Gelug, Shingon, Ari, Newar, Tangmi, Azhaliism).
I think what he's talking about is that the vajrayana schools of the himalayas use bodhisattva vows which come from Mairteya and Asanga.
The chinese mahayana bodhisattva vows on the other hand come from the braham net sutra.
Alex Berzin wrote:The late 10th-century Indian master Atisha received this particular version of the bodhisattva vows from his Sumatran teacher Dharmakirti (Dharmapala) of Suvarnadvipa, which he later transmitted to Tibet. This version derives from the Sutra of Akashagarbha (Nam-mkha'i snying-po mdo, Skt. Akashagarbhasutra), as cited in Compendium of Trainings (bSlabs-btus, Skt. Shikshasamuccaya), compiled in India by Shantideva in the 8th century. All Tibetan traditions currently follow it, while the Buddhist traditions deriving from China observe variant versions of the bodhisattva vows.
From the article already linked to above by Ayu.
The antidote—to be free from the suffering of samsara—you need to be free from delusion and karma; you need to be free from ignorance, the root of samsara. So you need to meditate on emptiness. That is what you need. Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Fortyeightvows
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Re: The Different Bodhisattva Vows

Post by Fortyeightvows »

Bristollad wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 3:40 am From the article already linked to above by Ayu.
Check this out:
http://kagyuoffice.org/the-gyalwang-kar ... eive-them/
. In The Ornament of Precious Liberation, Gampopa describes one lineage as stemming from noble Manjushri and passing down through Master Nagarjuna and Master Shantideva, and the other lineage as coming from noble Maitreya and descending through Master Asanga and Master Serlingpa.
So it seems that there are two versions of the boddhisattva vows in tibet. one from asanga (yogacara) and the second from manjushri (madyahmaka).

The Berzin quote makes it out like the lineage goes: santideva to serlingpa (dharmakirti) to atisha. But the passage from the karmapa site, sure does make it seem like santideva vows are one lineage and the asanga-serligpa vows are another.
This makes some sense as santideva himself was a manjushri devotee and followed the pransangika.
Bristollad
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Re: The Different Bodhisattva Vows

Post by Bristollad »

Fortyeightvows wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 5:54 am
Bristollad wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 3:40 am From the article already linked to above by Ayu.
Check this out:
http://kagyuoffice.org/the-gyalwang-kar ... eive-them/
. In The Ornament of Precious Liberation, Gampopa describes one lineage as stemming from noble Manjushri and passing down through Master Nagarjuna and Master Shantideva, and the other lineage as coming from noble Maitreya and descending through Master Asanga and Master Serlingpa.
So it seems that there are two versions of the boddhisattva vows in tibet. one from asanga (yogacara) and the second from manjushri (madyahmaka).

The Berzin quote makes it out like the lineage goes: santideva to serlingpa (dharmakirti) to atisha. But the passage from the karmapa site, sure does make it seem like santideva vows are one lineage and the asanga-serligpa vows are another.
This makes some sense as santideva himself was a manjushri devotee and followed the pransangika.
I don't read Berzin's quote to say that. My understanding of it is the source of the vows is the Akashagarbhasutra which is cited by Shantideva in his Compendium of Trainings. Atisha recieved these vows from his teacher Serlingpa and passed them on to his students. While there may be different lineages (the quote from the Karmapa's website), the vows followed in Tibet by all 4 traditions are the same.
The antidote—to be free from the suffering of samsara—you need to be free from delusion and karma; you need to be free from ignorance, the root of samsara. So you need to meditate on emptiness. That is what you need. Lama Zopa Rinpoche
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well wisher
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Re: The Different Bodhisattva Vows

Post by well wisher »

Regarding the Bodhisattva vows , what criteria would make them more probable to come true? Maybe levels of sincerity and benevolence required? Also clarity of mind and proper planning to make a proper vow?

And what types of Bodhisattva vows would be wrong? Like vows made of hatred or avoidance or selfishness?
Because I read in some other forum posts that the below vow is wrong:
"May I not become Buddha until all 6 desires realms are empty", which is similar to Kṣitigarbha / hell-deliverance Bodhisattva vow, but amplified for all 6 realms.
Some previous posts wrong because it denies the good potential for human /heaven realms, possibly made from avoidance or hatred or ignorance instead.
I sort of wished to make similar vow to that during my post-secondary school years when I had lots of academic stress and fights with my previous step-mom & step-sibling, plus my admiration for Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva after reading stores about it when I was young.
But then I realized made that vow out of avoidance and hatred for the difficulties of human condition, instead of genuine benevolence, and I was not confident if it were a proper vow or not. So I had since discarded that vow, and replaced it with the vow to be reborn in Sukavti instead to gain proper knowledge for the best way to continue the Buddha path.
Have I done something wrong with flip-flopping and replacement of the vows?

And considering Amitbah Buddha's 48 vows is so sincere and wonderful that it eventually made into Buddha level, beyond Bodhisattva levels.
Then I compared it to this wiki articles, which lists the 12 vows of the medicine buddha / Bhaiṣajyaguru for his own pureland:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhaisajyaguru.

So I wonder if there are some levels or criteria to measure and distinguish levels of vows, from Bodhisattva level to Buddha levels?
Or are all complete sets of Bodhisattva vows bound to become Buddha's vows eventually, seeing that high level Bodhisattvas are very close to Buddha level anyways?

Also, is the nature of some Bodhisattva vows are delusions of grandeur? But maybe high-level bhumi boddhisattavs would have the power to overwrite reality beyond the level of ordinary logic and mundane senses?
- When I had flu and fever when I was young, but sincere repeated recital of Guan-yin / Avalokitesvara while I was bed-ridden has really helped me relieve some of the pain and uncomfortable feelings, so it really works like magic beyond mundane logic and conception!
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Dharmasherab
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Re: The Different Bodhisattva Vows

Post by Dharmasherab »

Sorry I couldnt reply soon enough. Thank you so much for all these helpful answers. Yesterday I saw HH Sakya Trichen in a dream and it was a true wake up call. I will make effort to become more familiar with the precepts and vows so that they become a part of my everyday living experience.

Sadhu to all.
“When one does not understand death, life can be very confusing.” - Ajahn Chah
confusedsoso
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Re: The Different Bodhisattva Vows

Post by confusedsoso »

Does Theravada buddhism have any bodhisattva vows???
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