Taking the vow of Bodhicitta as explained in…
The Nectar of Manjushri’s Speech (A Detailed Commentary on Shantidevas’s “Way of The Bodhisattva”)
Part One: The Generation of Bodhichitta Where It Has Not Previously Existed
Chapter Three: Taking Hold of Bodhichitta
§ The actual vow of Bodhichitta
First, lay the foundations of taking the vow:
- “Please think of me. Please think of me. Please think of me.“
- Take refuge in the Three Jewels three times.
The Bodhisattva vow of…
… intention
[23.a] Just as the previous Sugatas (“thus gone to bliss”)
Gave birth to an Awakening Mind,
[24.a] Likewise for the sake of all that lives
Do I give birth to an awaking mind,
… action
[23.b] And just as they successfully dwelt
In the bodhisattva practice,
[24.b] Likewise shall I, too,
Successfully follow the practices.
… intention and action
[23] Just as the previous Sugatas
Gave birth to an Awakening Mind,
And just as they successfully dwelt
In the bodhisattva practices;
[24] Likewise for the sake of all that lives
Do I give birth to an Awakening Mind,
And likewise shall I, too,
Successfully follow the practices.
sugata. (T. bde bar gshegs pa) In Sanskrit and Pāli, lit., “well gone,” one in a standard list of epithets of the Buddha. Su (cognate with Greek eu) is a prefix meaning good and gata is the past passive particle of “to go.”