Today I attended the Sunday Nichiren Buddhist Sangha of the Bay Area service, which included a discussion of The Four Great Vows and Four Vows contained in the blue Nichiren-Shu Service Book.

The discussion was sort of my idea and my principal reason for discussing the Four Great Vows was what I find the odd translation of the second vow:

Our defilements are inexhaustible; I vow to quench them all.

I just don’t see the need to add “Our” here. I prefer the Tiantai version and the discussion of the vows contained in “A Guide to the Tiantai Fourfold Teachings” written in the 10th century by the Korean Buddhist Monk Chegwan.

The Four Great Bodhisattva Vows

1. There are those who have not yet transcended [the stream of birth and death]. I must carry them over.

   Beings are numberless;
   I vow to save them all.

   This vow is based on the fact of the noble truth of suffering.

2. There are those who are not yet free [from delusion]. I must liberate them.

   Defilements are inexhaustible;
   I vow to end them all.

   This vow is based on the fact of the noble truth of the accumulation [of the causes of suffering].

3. There are those who are not yet settled [in practicing the thirty-seven conditions leading to enlightenment]. I must assure them.

   The teachings are innumerable;
   I vow to master them all.

   This vow is based on the fact of the noble truth of the path [to enlightenment, the fourth noble truth].

4. There are those who have not yet attained nirvana. I must bring them to nirvana.

   The path to buddhahood is unsurpassed;
   I vow to attain it.

   This vow is based on the fact of the noble truth of cessation [of suffering, the third noble truth].

The second part of the discussion covered the Four Vows, which appear following the Four Great Vows in the blue Nichiren-Shu Service Book. The Four Great Vows are on page 78, the Four Vows on 79.

While the Nichiren Buddhist Sangha of the Bay Area services include the Four Great Vows, the Nichiren Buddhist Kannon Temple services held by Rev. Shoda Kanai in Las Vegas always use the Four Vows.

Four Vows
I vow to uphold the teaching of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo
I vow to practice the teaching of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo
I vow to protect the teaching of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo
I vow to spread the teaching of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo

It was very interesting to hear several interpretations of just what we mean by “the teaching of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,” and especially what it means to uphold and to practice “the teaching of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.” This is a place where it would have been nice to have a recording to fall back on.