In our life as personal self, universal self is not something to yearn for, it is the direction toward which we should aim. This is the meaning of “vow.” The first of the four bodhisattva vows is “Sentient beings are innumerable, I vow to save them all.” This means to settle as universal life wherever that life naturally settles. The second vow is “Cravings are inexhaustible, I vow to extinguish them all.” This means refraining from being dragged around by one’s thoughts. But as long as we are human beings, we’re going to have a mind that fabricates illusions, and so we have to continuously
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