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I vow not to kill
Dogen: The Buddha’s seed grows when you don’t take life. Pass on the Buddha’s life and do not kill. 

I vow not to steal
Dogen: Just as they are, you and the things of the world are one. The gate to freedom is open. 

I vow not to misuse sex
Dogen: The three wheels of yourself, others, and your actions are pure. When you desire nothing, you follow the Buddha’s Way. 

I vow not to lie
Dogen: The Dharma Wheel turns from the beginning. There is never too much or too little. Everything is wet with dew and the truth is ready to harvest. 

I vow not to misuse drugs
Dogen: Drugs are not brought in yet. Don’t bring them in. That is the great light.

If the Refuge Vows (I take refuge in awakening, the Way and my companions) are the very roots of our tree of life, and the Pure Vows (I vow to do no harm, to do good, and to do good for others) are its trunk, then the Ten Bodhisattva Vows (sometimes translated as the “Ten Grave Precepts”) are the tree reaching out into the world, its branches and leaves touching the wind, rain and sunshine of space.

Like the previous, the Bodhisattva Vows are studied over many months as koans. What does it mean to kill? To give a doctor orders not to resuscitate a dying loved one? To dampen some light in ourselves and others? Do not steal, misuse sex, lie, misuse intoxicants? If in all the universe there is not one thing out of place, how then is it even helpful to lean into making our lives and the lives of others better? Maybe just asking the questions is the best we can do.

—Jon Joseph

COME JOIN US on Mondays for koan meditation, dharma talk and conversation. Register to participate. All are welcome.

Jon Joseph Roshi, Director of San Mateo Zen Community