Bodhisattva vows

[slash112]

Hey catsquotl. As I understand it, it's not something you "strive for". It's something you "do".

The essence of striving is illusory, the way I see it. Striving is a painful longing and unnecessary. Striving has you all mixed up in a false future. Just be and do, that's where the bliss of it lies.

I'm sure someone else will have a better answer for you, I'm new to the vows.

[sky]

Buddhists strive to fulfill their Bodhisattva Vows, not for themselves but for the benefit of all sentient beings.
It's not what you do but why you do it that's important.

[slash112]

Ah well, disregard my last post then :P

[sky]

Originally Posted by slash112

Ah well, disregard my last post then :P

Not at all We are all learning.

[slash112]

Indeed we are

[slash112]

So I've settled on this:

Living beings are innumerable. I vow to save them all.
Delusive passions are inexhaustible. I vow to extinguish them all.
The Dharma gates are immeasurable. I vow to master them all.
The Way of the Buddha is unsurpassable. I vow to fulfill it.

[jonesboy]

Originally Posted by slash112

Ah yeah that makes sense.

Is "the witness" one of the gates? I know the witness is more of a Vedanta thing, but is it recognized in Buddhism as a gate? I'm thinking perhaps there are several gates relating to the witness. Or perhaps all the gates basically point to the witness? To the stillness. To the eternal awareness. ? I feel completely stupid for needing to ask this :P

Also, the gates kinda remind me of the Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra, which goes over 112 ways a person can become enlightened. 112 ways connecting to 112 chakras. That was a pretty cool read and really expanded my idea of enlightenment. Now we're talking about 84,000 ways! I'm immediately hungry to penetrate every one of them.

Thank you again for all your help BT.


EDIT: Oh yeah I saw that post by Jyotir, it's awesome!

The Three Gates of Practice:





1. The Gate of Sleep



-When first awakening, the initial thought will be, “I’m tired, I need more sleep, I feel like ****.” You must push through this and get up, perform your morning ablutions and go immediately to practice. Focus on that relaxed, energized post practice feeling that will come if you can get yourself to it.

2. The Gate of Mind



-From the moment of awakening enter the sphere of empty thoughts (Mushin). If a thought comes, don’t follow it or it will lead to more and more blossoming; just say “thinking, thinking,” and move on. Don’t let it lead to a feeling of negativity, either from what the thought was specifically about, “my practice is not as good as others, I’m wasting my time,” or your mind will try to distract you with fantasizes and delusions of the past and future and keep you lost in the daze of illusion.

3. The Gate of Body



-The body and its subtle energy must be the focus, not the mind, not the endless parade of thoughts (at least in my practice). Just feel what your body feels from each posture to posture, let the energy flow but don’t focus on it too deeply or specifically. Don’t become too excited if you feel an obstruction open or a “good” feeling through your channels, nor get down from not feeling as stretched or able to achieve certain perfect posture that day that you could the prior days. Treat it all like passing clouds in the sky, say “there it is, let it go now.” The tan tian can be the focus anytime and should be throughout the day “place the heart/mind in the tan tian,” breathe deeply into the deepest regions of your belly and feel the energy gather there till it overflows.

[sky]

Originally Posted by jonesboy

The Three Gates of Practice:





1. The Gate of Sleep



-When first awakening, the initial thought will be, “I’m tired, I need more sleep, I feel like ****.” You must push through this and get up, perform your morning ablutions and go immediately to practice. Focus on that relaxed, energized post practice feeling that will come if you can get yourself to it.

2. The Gate of Mind



-From the moment of awakening enter the sphere of empty thoughts (Mushin). If a thought comes, don’t follow it or it will lead to more and more blossoming; just say “thinking, thinking,” and move on. Don’t let it lead to a feeling of negativity, either from what the thought was specifically about, “my practice is not as good as others, I’m wasting my time,” or your mind will try to distract you with fantasizes and delusions of the past and future and keep you lost in the daze of illusion.

3. The Gate of Body



-The body and its subtle energy must be the focus, not the mind, not the endless parade of thoughts (at least in my practice). Just feel what your body feels from each posture to posture, let the energy flow but don’t focus on it too deeply or specifically. Don’t become too excited if you feel an obstruction open or a “good” feeling through your channels, nor get down from not feeling as stretched or able to achieve certain perfect posture that day that you could the prior days. Treat it all like passing clouds in the sky, say “there it is, let it go now.” The tan tian can be the focus anytime and should be throughout the day “place the heart/mind in the tan tian,” breathe deeply into the deepest regions of your belly and feel the energy gather there till it overflows.

tántiān....
To chat

Do you mean Dantians ??? Of which you have three.

[slash112]

Thank you for that jonesboy!

I'm actually doing pretty well so far with all 3 of those.

[blossomingtree]

Originally Posted by jonesboy

The Three Gates of Practice:

That's kind of amusing jonesboy, did you write it?

BT