THE BODHISATTVA VOWS...

One can take the Bodhisattva vows, if one wants to commit oneself to the path of wanting to help all sentient beings, and therefore striving for Buddhahood. A Bodhisattva (bodhi = Enlightenment, sattva = being) is a person with the bodhicitta motivation. This is not necessarily a practice for small minded or fearful people, as Lama Anagorika Govinda writes in A Living Buddhism for the West: "Fear- lessness is the most prominent characteristic of all Bodhisattvas and all who tread the Bodhisattva path. For them, life has lost its terrors and suffering its sting. Instead of scorning earthly existence, or condemning its 'im- perfection,' they fill it with a new meaning." Going through the ritual of taking the vows does not really 'give' the vows. It is said that you only really receive them if you genuinely experience development of bodhicitta, which is a deep realisation. The ceremony is intended to give imprints on the mind so we can develop this precious altruistic attitude. The main vow is to always work for the benefit of all sentient beings. The Bodhisattva vows go beyond just this life, and are basically being taken until all sentient beings are Enlightened! The Bodhisattva vows consist of the so-called 18 root (or main) vows and the 46 minor vows.