The First Vow

The first vow is " To pay homage and respect to all Buddhas."

The vows of the Samantabhadra Bodhisattva is not for a beginner of Buddhism. It is deep and extensive, and this first vow itself is already one that, if explained in depth, may take many days just to touch it's basics. So, this blog is only able to provide a surface introduction of this first vow itself. However, as we move along, we will continue to bring this up in the applications.

To understand this vow, let us look at the definition of "Buddha". In this aspect, the word "Buddha" does not point to any particular Buddha, for example in your mind right now the image of our Lord Gautama Buddha or Amitabha Buddha, or Kashyapa Buddha, or any other Buddhas that you have seen in the sutras. However, these are not the only Buddhas that we refer to over here.

The "Buddha" that we refer to here is our basics. It is a term of who we really are, each of us, and not just some of us. It is the basics, the one that we are before we were born in our very first birth.

What does this "Buddha" look like? It has no form. It is an eternal light. To think of it as a light that we know is also not exactly how it is. However, due to our many births and rebirths, with all the pollution of thoughts and ideas, the light is now covered up with layers and layers of attachments. With this understanding, we can actually conclude that each of us are Buddhas, and to become a Buddha, we only need to let go of the layers and layers of attachments that blankets our eternal light.

This brings us to the understanding that becoming a Buddha is not through the addition of knowledge, but the dispel of attachments. When you dispel one layer of attachment, you attain one layer of wisdom. Or rather, your eternal light has one lesser layer of pollution to shine through. When you become a Buddha, all the attached layers of pollution have been cleared, and your eternal light shines without anymore obstructions. Which means that when you dispel all your perceived knowledge about everything that you "know", you will become a Buddha.

The above explanation is just one form of illustration to explain to you what "Buddha" means. As such, this first vow of respecting ALL Buddhas means respecting ALL beings, regardless of who or what form the being is. In fact, to expand it further to the ultimate, it is to respect all the Buddhas that now appear in the form of visible and invisible beings, in all realms of existence, in all universe world systems and all non-beings in all the universes.

You can understand when we talk about beings of the different realms and of the universe world systems. However, you have your reservations about non-beings. Why are non-beings perceived as "Buddha" as well?

Based on the understanding that the eternal light transforms from Buddha to who we are today, we understand also that such transformation of the first thought (in the Paticasammupada is the ignorance), all others are created. The all others that are created include non-beings as well, which means the earth, the sun, the moon, the trees, the flowers and everything else.

It is often that we neglect this. It is also very difficult for us to remember this if we do not have a clear understanding about the fact that our first ignorance created all of everything around us. Our Lord Buddha shared with us that "Everything comes from Thoughts". In a rough view, we may look at all the inventions around us. Inventions are created when the human mind perceives. The imagination runs wild, and eventually, we see the imagined item manifested. Just look at inventors and entrepreneurs. They always start with a dream (that's the thought).

At this moment, we already have a lot of scientific back-up and discoveries to prove this point. There had also been many motivation gurus that kept stressing on the importance of positive thinking because they know that what you think will manifest itself. Hence, we understand that since these things come from thoughts, they are not real even if we are said to be living in "reality", that we can touch, see, hear, smell, taste and even put a feeling connection to it. However, they are unreal, just like what had been told in the Vajra Prajna Paramitta Sutra "Everything that arises from reason, is similar to that of a dreamy state; Just like the morning dew and the lighting, we shall only observe just as is."

Back to our topic. To pay homage and respect to all Buddhas means a respect that is extended to all beings and non-beings in all universe world systems. As a Bodhisattva with the intention of becoming a Buddha, we view all as the Buddha, we respect all as Buddha, and our reverence to all is the same and equal to the reverence that we have for our Buddha, regardless of who or what it may be.

The above is just a gist of this first vow. It is not easy to fulfill this vow perfectly in the standards acceptable by the Samantabhadra Bodhisattva's level, but nevertheless we must try. This is the reason why I said that the vows are not for new Buddhist learners or practitioners, and in fact, this statement is also not mine. It has been said by Master Jing Kung during one of his talks, and upon understanding the depth of the vows correctly, indeed the vows are for practicing Bodhisattvas.

But then again, we must start practicing earnestly even if we are far from the Bodhisattva's level. Every dollar starts with a penny, and every practice starts from the first step.

To be completely honest, the first vow completely encompass all the other 9 vows, encompassing also all the other Dhammas. Let's take a look at, for example the Dana Parami. Dana Parami means Generosity and it is perfectly covered under this Vow of Paying Homage and Respect to All Buddhas. Generosity is not only about money, it is also about opening up our hearts to include everyone and everything without exception. In the act of giving with full respect to all beings, it becomes a perfect act of giving. It is all one, not many. This is not easily understood unless you practice.

Buddhism is not theory. It has to be practiced for one to experience first-hand to reap its benefits. This post is short, definitely not enough to cover this vow which is so extensive, because if we do, it will be to cover all the other Dhammas since it is all one. Hence, this article shall be up to this point only before we move on to the next point.