VOWS

Whether or not a Buddhist decides to take vows is up to the individual. The majority of everyday laymen take 5 simple vows, but this is not a necessity. One can choose simply to follow the eightfold path, which covers the main importances of living life correctly as a Buddhist. On a retreat or when becoming a committed practitioner in the form of a monk, nun, or Boddhisattva, one encounters another bunch of expected vows.

I have not 'formerly' taken any vows during this current lifetime, although I have made several major and numerous minor changes in my lifestyle and attitude, and one extremely large decision and commitment, since deciding to follow Buddhism. I am aware that in some of my former lives I have followed a Buddhist path, and have at such times made commitments of some description. I am interested in discovering what exactly I have previously been committed to, so have been reading the various vows for the various Buddhist commitments.

I was recently reading through the collection of vows that one should keep if one is to become a Bodhisattva. There are 147 of these, which seems to be rather a lot to manage to keep in a single life. I have also recently read 'The Book' by Geshe Michael Roach, which lists these and some of the other vows, and also offers a time consuming way of covering them all. Whilst respecting that beyond laymanship lies additional commitments, I would personally see more sense in following the eightfold path on a continual basis, with daily and weekly time spent in reflection on and attention to any further commitments. (This would save a lot of paper from the idea of writing things down, several times a day!)