Commentary on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamanasūtra) (217)

The Great Vows of Bodhisattvas

A bodhisattva should vow to become a refuge and protector for those who have no one to rely upon. In truth, all sentient beings are without support or shelter, suffering and lonely. Living in this human world, we all seem to have family and relatives to depend on, but in fact no family member or relative can be relied upon; they too are lonely and helpless, and each of them also needs a place of refuge. Every person has nothing to depend on; when their lifespan ends, they set out alone on the road. In the three evil paths, even one's closest kin cannot accompany one; one can only walk alone down a road that is strange, lonely, desolate, and painful. Therefore a bodhisattva should vow to become the support and refuge for these helpless sentient beings, leading them toward the light and toward liberation.

A bodhisattva should vow that, having liberated oneself, one may then liberate others. Only after one has been liberated oneself can one liberate others. If a bodhisattva has only the aspiration to save beings while still remaining in the bitter sea of saṃsāra, then he has no power to rescue sentient beings. For example, someone who has never been to a distant place with beautiful scenery cannot lead others there to enjoy the views; he may well lose his way halfway and naturally never reach the destination. Only by having first been to that scenic place, having personally beheld its beauty, and having become thoroughly familiar with the road in between, can one lead others to go there together. This is the principle that only one who has liberated oneself can liberate others.

A bodhisattva should vow that, having attained liberation oneself, one may enable others to attain liberation. Only when one is liberated oneself can one enable others to be liberated. Only when one has the ability to leave the three realms and is no longer bound by them can one lead others along the correct path to liberation. If one has not attained liberation oneself, one does not know the correct path to liberation and cannot lead sentient beings onto the road of liberation.

A bodhisattva should vow that, having attained peace and security oneself, one may enable others to attain peace and security. The Buddha has already reached the farther shore of nirvāṇa and attained the ultimate bliss of nirvāṇic cessation; His body and mind have both attained peace and stability. In order to rescue sentient beings and bring them peace and security, He returns to the three realms, yet His body and mind remain at peace and at ease, neither deluded nor bound by the states of the five desires and six sense objects of the Sahā world. Only thus can He guide sentient beings to gradually attain peace and security as well. When Śākyamuni Buddha came to the Sahā world and manifested the eight aspects of accomplishing the Way, He was born as Prince Siddhārtha, surrounded by the five desires, yet the prince's mind had long since transcended these worldly states, untainted by any state whatsoever. His mind attained peace and stability, unconfused and unturned in any state, and He was able to renounce all worldly desires and affections, resolutely leaving home to cultivate the Path. After attaining the Way, He began to liberate immeasurable sentient beings. Bodhisattvas should also follow the conduct of all the Buddhas, diligently cultivating practice to attain peace and stability of body and mind, and then bring peace and stability to immeasurable sentient beings. If one's own mind has not yet attained peace and stability, with greed, craving, and attachment unceasing, one is easily deluded amid the five desires and six sense objects, and consequently creates evil karma and suffers endlessly. If one cannot even attain peace and stability oneself, how can one bring peace and stability to sentient beings?