Praṇidhāna

The Bodhisattva vow is a vow ( Sanskrit: ''praṇidhāna,'' lit. aspiration or resolution) taken by some Mahāyāna Buddhists to achieve full buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings. One who has taken the vow is nominally known as a bodhisattva (a being working towards buddhahood). This can be done by venerating all Buddhas and by cultivating supreme moral and spiritual perfection, to be placed in the service of others. In particular, bodhisattvas promise to practice the six perfections of giving, moral discipline, patience, effort, concentration and wisdom in order to fulfill their bodhicitta aim of attaining buddhahood for the sake of all beings.

The vow is commonly taken in a ritual setting, overseen by a senior monastic, teacher or guru.

Whereas the prātimokṣa vows cease at death, the bodhisattva vow extends into future lives. The bodhisattva vows should not be confused with the Bodhisattva Precepts ( Skt. ''bodhisattva-śīla''), which are specific ethical guidelines for bodhisattvas.

Background

Buddhist sources like the '' Buddhavaṃsa'' and the '' Mahāvastu,'' contain stories of how in a previous life, Sakyamuni (then known as Sumedha) encountered the previous Buddha, Dīpankara, and made the vow to one day become a Buddha. Dīpankara confirmed that he would become a Buddha in the future. All early Buddhist schools held that making a vow in front of a living Buddha (and receiving a prediction), just like Sakyamuni had done, was the only way to become a bodhisattva.Drewes, David,
Mahāyāna Sūtras and Opening of the Bodhisattva Path
', Paper presented at the XVIII the IABS Congress, Toronto 2017, Updated 2019.

This view remains the orthodox understanding of bodhisattva vows in the Theravada tradition.

In the Mahayana '' Lalitavistarasutra,'' the bodhisattva Siddhartha (before becoming Sakyamuni Buddha) is said to have taken the following vow:

I will attain the immortal, undecaying, pain-free Bodhi, and free the world from all pain.

The Sanskrit '' Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā'' sutra states that a bodhisattva should train themselves with the following thought:
Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā
' (English translation by Edward Conze, Sanskrit text by Vaidya) Bibliotheca Polyglotta, University of Oslo.

ātmānaṃ ca tathatāyāṃ sthāpayiṣyāmi sarvalokānugrahāya, sarvasattvān api tathatāyāṃ sthāpayiṣyāmi, aprameyaṃ sattvadhātuṃ parinirvāpayiṣyāmīti


My own self I will place in Suchness, and, so that all the world might be helped, I will place all beings into Suchness, and I will lead to Nirvana the whole immeasurable world of beings.

The sutra further states that "with that intention should a Bodhisattva undertake all the exercises which bring about all the wholesome roots. But he should not boast about them."

In later Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism (and in modern Mahayana as well), one can become a bodhisattva by taking the vow and giving rise to bodhicitta in a ceremonial setting. Indian Mahāyāna Buddhists often accomplished this through a ritual called the "seven part worship" (''saptāṇgapūjā'' or ''saptavidhā anuttarapūjā''), which consists of: ''vandana'' (obeisance), worship, refuge, confession, rejoicing, prayers and requesting the buddhas to remain in the world.

Fourfold vows

In Mahāyāna sutras

Fourfold bodhisattva vows (that is, a set of vows with four main components), are found in numerous ''Mahāyāna sutras''. According to Jan Nattier, there is a set of four bodhisattva vows that appears in various sutras including the ''Ugraparipṛcchā Sūtra'', the ''Lotus Sūtra'' (in the Dharmaraksa and Kumarajiva translations)'','' the '' Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā'' (in the Chinese translation by Lokaksema and Chih Ch'ien), the '' Avadānaśataka'' and the ''Compassionate Lotus sutra.Nattier, Jan (January 2003). ''A Few Good Men: The Bodhisattva Path According to the Inquiry of Ugra (Ugraparipṛcchā): a Study and Translation.'' pp. 147-151. University of Hawaii Press. .'' Nattier translates this fourfold vow as follows:

The unrescued I will rescue

The unliberated I will liberate

The uncomforted I will comfort

Those who have not yet reached paranirvana, I will cause to attain paranirvana

Nattier also notes that a similar set of four vows (with small differences in wording) appears in the '' Dipankara Jataka'', the '' Mahavastu,'' the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā'' (in the Chinese translation by Kumarajiva), the ''Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā'' and in some Lotus Sutra translations. Nattier translates this other fourfold vow as follows:

Having crossed over yself I will rescue thers

Liberated, I will liberate thers

Comforted, I will comfort thers

Having attained paranirvana, I will cause thersto attain paranirvana.

Nattier further notes that "it is quite possible to identify clear antecedents of these vows in pre-Mahayana literature" and thus it is likely that these fourfold vows evolved from earlier passages (found in the '' Digha Nikaya'' and the '' Majjhima Nikaya'' as well as the Chinese Agamas) that describe the activity of the Buddha.'''' One such passage states:''''

Awakened, the Blessed One teaches the Dhamma for the sake of awakening.

Disciplined, the Blessed One teaches the Dhamma for the sake of disciplining.

Calmed, the Blessed One teaches the Dhamma for the sake of calming.

Having crossed over, the Blessed One teaches the Dhamma for the sake of crossing over.

In East Asian Buddhism

In East Asian Buddhism, the most common bodhisattva vows are a series of "four extensive vows" outlined by the Tiantai Patriarch Zhiyi. According to Robert F. Rhodes, Zhiyi presents two versions of the four vows. The first one is taken from the Chinese version of the ''Lotus Sūtra'' and states:R hodes, Robert F. (1984)
The four extensive vows and four noble truths in T’ien-t’ai Buddhism.
' Annual Memoirs of the Otani University Shin Buddhist Comprehensive Research Institute 2: 53-91.
* Those who have not yet been ferried over, I will ferry over.
* Those who have not yet understood, I will cause them to understand.
* Those who have not settled themselves, I will cause them to be settled.
* Those who have not attained nirvana, I will cause them to attain nirvana.

The second set of vows is original to Zhiyi's corpus and states:

* Sentient beings, limitless in number, I vow to ferry over.
* Passions (klesa) which are numberless, I vow to extinguish.
* The Dharma-gates without end (in number), I vow to know.
* The supreme Buddha Way, I vow to actualize.

Zhiyi explains that these vows correspond to the Four Noble Truths

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