Following the path of a Bodhisattva.

The realisation life that flows through each and every one of us and that we are intimately connected to everything else in the universe came as quite a shock. The fragile looking monk had said “when you drink your tea think of the clouds”, it was some time later that the penny dropped and I realised he had described the entire water cycle in one sentence, and that me, being 70% water was also part of that same system. One day my 70kg of water would also become a cloud. Consider the relationship between man and the natural environment – when we breathe out – the trees breathe in and vice versa, and yet we cut down the trees that supply our oxygen. We breed cattle for our burgers but 14% of the methane in our atmosphere comes from cows. We are not separate from our natural environment we are totally dependent on it. Why do we destroy it?

I like everyone else was born into this world and have spent a lifetime responding and reacting to earthly desires. In the Christian world I have been “reaping that what I have sown”, and as a result have suffered from its Karmic Consequence, the law of cause and effect. The seeds I sow today will become the crops I harvest tomorrow. 

Some times it takes a life changing event to change our perception, a light comes on and we are presented with a brilliant “ah ahh” moment and a little spark of enlightenment. For the most part we are just like the person who listens but does not hear what is being said, we wonder through life acting the part but not actually doing the practice. Learning from what went wrong is just as important as knowing what is right and so we learn from our mistakes, sometime we need a guide, a teacher someone to show us the way. To undertake the Bodhisattva vows, is to undertake and follow a set of precepts that help and guide us along the path to becoming a Bodhisattva in our daily lives, for the benefit of all sentient beings.

I bow deeply with hands in Gassho…….

The Sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts

The Three Refuges (Three Treasures)

I take refuge in the Buddha.
I take refuge in the Dharma.
I take refuge in the Sangha.

The Three Pure Precepts
I vow not to commit evil.
I vow to cultivate goodness.
I vow to help others.

The Ten Grave Precepts
I vow not to kill, but to cherish all life.
I vow not to steal, but to respect that which belongs to others.
I vow not to misuse sexual energy, but to be honest and respectful.
I vow not to lie, but to speak the truth.
I vow not to misuse drugs or alcohol, but to keep the mind clear.
I vow not to gossip about others’ faults, but to be understanding and sympathetic.
I vow not to praise myself by criticizing others, but to overcome my own shortcomings.
I vow not to withhold spiritual or material aid, but to give freely when needed.
I vow not to unleash anger, but to seek its source.
I vow not to speak ill of the Three Treasures, but to cherish and uphold them.

(The Sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts by courtesy of The Great Vow Monastery).