Our own personal happiness is impossible and hollow unless we are also in
service to others. With this in mind, I propose an extension of the
Bodhisattva’s Vow.
The Bodhisattva Vow: “My own personal quest for illumination is incomplete, and my own personal enlightenment is meaningless, unless I am also in some specific way devoted to easing the suffering of others.”
I suggest we take this Vow a step further and say,
“My quest for illumination is incomplete, and my enlightenment meaningless, unless I am also in some specific way devoted to the goals of easing the suffering of others and helping them experience joy and pleasure and liberation and meaningfulness.”
A cornerstone of this Extended Version of the Bodhisattva’s Vow is that we are committed to providing the fundamental needs of all humans beings—their food, shelter, medical care, money—so that they have the ability to expand into joy and pleasure and liberation and abundance.
-Robert Breszny
