Shundo David Haye

‘Usually, taking a vow is like making a promise: if we don’t keep it, we feel bad, or fear that we might be punished. But vow in Buddhism is not like that. It’s not something we do with our intellect or shallow emotion. We vow toward the Buddha, toward something absolute and infinite. As a bodhisattva, we can never say, ‘I have achieved all vows’. We cannot be proud of our achievements, because in comparison to the infinite, anything we achieve is insignificant. Each of us has different capabilities of course. If we cannot do very much, we practice just a little. There is no reason for us to feel small or to say we’re sorry. We just try to be right there with this body and mind and move forward one step or half a step. This is our practice in a concrete sense.’ (Living By Vow)