ACROSS THE SEA OF SUFFERING IN A BOAT OF VOWS

      In 1970 Bhiksuni Heng Ch'ih made five initial vows before the Triple Jewel of the Ten Directions, the Venerable Master Hua, and the four-fold assembly of disciples at the Buddhist Lecture Hall, San Francisco. These vows appeared in issue five of Vajra Bodhi Sea.

In 1971 she made four additional vows before the Triple Jewel, the Venerable Master, and the great assembly at the Buddhist Lecture Hall. These vows are as follows:

Life aLife after life I vow to take refuge with the Triple Jewel and leave home to follow my Master. After leaving home I vow every day to maintain the initial mind, constantly being firm and pure in precepts and rules, a vast model for the three realms.

Life aLife after life I vow to early write out, receive, maintain, read, recite, and speak for others the unsurpassed Great Vehicle sutras.

Life aLife after life I vow to cultivate and penetrate the Great Compassion Dharma, realizing the non-retreating mind, dwelling in the patience of unproduced dharmas, and ultimately attaining the knowledge and vision of the Buddhas.

Life aLife after life I vow to vigorously cultivate the two practices of never lying down and of eating only one meal a day at the proper time.

In 1974 she made another vow before the Triple Jewel of the Ten Directions, the Venerable Master, and the great assembly at Gold Mountain Monastery:

I vow to recite the Great Compassion Mantra one hundred and eight times a day every day for the rest of my life. I vow to recite the mantra faithfully and without fail, regardless of how busy, fatigued, or otherwise occupied I may be; and I vow to transfer the merit of each day's recitation to all sentient creatures and insentient things of the Dharma-realm.