Under what circumstances can one make a vow to remain in the Saha world?

Only worlds like the Sahā world have the three evil paths. If you wish to make a vow to remain in the Sahā world, you must at the very least ensure that you can eradicate the karma of the three evil paths, extinguish the retributions of the three evil paths, and avoid falling into the three evil paths in future lives. To avoid the three evil paths, one must eradicate the three fetters. The three fetters are severed when the manas realizes the fruits of the path; when the three fetters are severed, the coarse and heavy afflictive fetters are also severed. Otherwise, in future lives one cannot escape the suffering of the three evil paths. It is not the case that merely having the mind consciousness sever the three fetters can exempt one from the karma of the three evil paths. The afflictions and the three fetters of the mind consciousness exist in dependence upon the manas; if the manas is not severed, even if the mind consciousness severs them, it is useless, for it is governed by the manas.

Only after eradicating the five grades of afflictions of the desire realm and becoming one oriented toward the first fruit can one realize the first fruit and sever the three fetters. First observe whether you have the five grades of afflictions, whether they are heavy, and whether you can eradicate them; only then can you judge whether you have any hope of severing the three fetters, and then make a vow according to your actual circumstances, so that in future lives you will not undergo extremely heavy suffering. If things go wrong, and you make a vow to remain in the Sahā world yet long suffer in the three evil paths, you yourself become an object awaiting deliverance—how then could you deliver others? In that case, would not future lives be full of distress?

If you cannot guarantee the severance of the three fetters, and cannot even guarantee that the fetters of the mind consciousness can be severed, then the three evil paths cannot be avoided. Even if the mind consciousness no longer has the three fetters, if the manas still has them, the karma of the three evil paths cannot be avoided. Moreover, if the fetters of the manas are deep and the afflictions heavy, the three fetters of the mind consciousness will arise at any time and place, involuntarily, and in future lives one will surely tend toward the three evil paths. Such a vow would then be tantamount to vowing to remain in the three evil paths and suffer. Therefore, one must be very careful in making vows—what vow to make under what circumstances depends on your level of cultivation and realization and your actual circumstances. You must not act on a hot head, heedless of everything. Wisdom is a good thing; you must use your brain more, develop wisdom, and only then take action.