July 2025 – EMPTY CLOUD ZEN

aspirations, intentions, and vows

[AUDIO AND TEXT] Back in May of this year, we touched on Robert Aitken Roshi’s presentation of the Great Vows (also known as the Great Bodhisattva Vows). In that talk, I quoted from Aitken’s 1994 book The Practice of Perfection: The Paramitas from a Zen Buddhist Perspective (© 1994, Robert Aitken, Pantheon Books. © 1997,Continue reading “aspirations, intentions, and vows”

Aitken Roshi and the great vows for all

[AUDIO AND TEXT] Each evening as we close our meditation session, we recite the Great Vows for All. These are the vows of the Bodhisattvas – those who promise to delay their own full enlightenment until all beings have been enlightened. Kind of like Jesus. Here is Robert Aitken Roshi’s translation of the Great Vows:Continue reading “Aitken Roshi and the great vows for all”