The Ten Great Vows: May All Beings Connected With Me Enter the Path of Buddhahood
Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva is traditionally regarded as the embodiment of supreme wisdom. His vows for guiding beings throughout the Saha World (the world of ordinary existence filled with challenges and attachments) are described in Buddhist scriptures as possessing a unique quality of compassion and aspiration.
According to The Great Teaching of Mañjuśrī’s Thousand Arms and Thousand Bowls (Mañjuśrī’s Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Bowled Great Teaching), Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva made ten profound and boundless vows for the benefit of sentient beings.
The First Great Vow
The first vow may be summarized as:
May all beings throughout the Three Realms — from celestial beings and heavenly rulers to all creatures of land and water, and all forms of life within existence — establish a connection with me throughout the three times of past, present, and future.
May all beings who have never heard my name come to hear it, and through the Dharma awaken the aspiration for Bodhi — the aspiration toward perfect wisdom and Buddhahood.
Through the medicine of Dharma and the healing arts of the world, may suffering be relieved. Through knowledge, skills, craftsmanship, arts, music, and various means of human expression, may beings be guided according to their circumstances.
May I enter their worlds, share their experiences, and through these connections guide them toward the path of awakening.
In this vow, Mañjuśrī expresses compassion toward all beings within the Three Realms — from the highest heavenly beings to ordinary creatures living in the world.
He vows to remain connected with beings throughout countless lifetimes, wishing that all their suffering and conditions may be known and understood, and that they may gradually turn toward the Mahāyāna path of awakening.
Those who have never heard the name of Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva are wished to encounter this name and teaching, and through this connection awaken the aspiration for enlightenment.
A particularly distinctive aspect of this vow is the way Mañjuśrī guides beings through the circumstances of their own lives.
The vow describes using:
- The medicine of Dharma and worldly knowledge to relieve suffering;
- Astronomy, mathematics, craftsmanship, architecture, and various human skills;
- Music, poetry, praise, and cultural expressions;
- Different forms of communication suitable to different beings.
Through these skillful means (upāya), Mañjuśrī does not reject the ordinary world. Instead, he enters into the experiences of beings, speaks in ways they can understand, and guides them gradually toward wisdom and liberation.
This is considered a particularly unique aspiration within Buddhist tradition.
Traditional Buddhist teachings often emphasize the cultivation of freedom from attachment to worldly fame, wealth, and temporary desires.
However, Mañjuśrī’s first vow presents another dimension of compassion.
Rather than distancing himself from ordinary beings because of their attachments, he recognizes that human beings often live within concerns of:
- Recognition and reputation;
- Achievement and success;
- Material desires;
- Emotional attachments.
Therefore, through wisdom and compassionate skillful means, Mañjuśrī meets beings where they are.
The purpose is not to encourage attachment, but to transform existing conditions into a doorway toward awakening.
The phrase:
“May those connected with me awaken the aspiration for Bodhi.”
is regarded as the central meaning of this vow.
Mañjuśrī understands that beings possess different levels of understanding and different life circumstances.
For those who cannot immediately transcend worldly concerns, compassion begins from their current reality.
Through gradual guidance, ordinary motivations may be transformed into higher aspirations.
Among the vows of Bodhisattvas, Mañjuśrī’s aspiration is considered especially distinctive because it embraces beings with all kinds of habits, tendencies, and attachments.
Rather than rejecting imperfect beings, he seeks to establish a connection with them and guide them toward wisdom.
Over time, through this process, confusion may gradually transform into clarity, and ordinary aspirations may develop into noble intentions.
The most essential meaning of the Ten Great Vows is contained in the words:
“May those connected with me awaken the aspiration for Bodhi.”
This expresses Mañjuśrī’s universal compassion:
May every being, regardless of their present condition, form a meaningful connection with wisdom and eventually enter the path of awakening.
In Buddhist symbolism, this vow represents a compassionate approach that does not create distance between enlightened wisdom and ordinary life.
Instead, wisdom enters the world, accompanies beings, and gradually reveals the possibility of awakening within every existence.
The Second Great Vow
The second vow may be summarized as:
If there are beings who slander me, misunderstand me, act with anger or hatred toward me, or even attempt to harm me, may they still establish a connection with me and awaken the aspiration for Bodhi.
The second vow reflects another profound aspect of Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva’s compassionate approach toward sentient beings.
Although the starting point of this vow may appear small — dealing with personal conflicts, misunderstanding, hostility, and resentment — it directly addresses one of the most common challenges within human society.
If a being encounters difficulties or obstacles and develops hatred, criticism, or hostility toward Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, even to the extent of wishing harm upon him, Mañjuśrī’s vow remains unchanged:
“May this being establish a connection with me and awaken the aspiration for enlightenment.”
Even when beings respond with anger, criticism, or hostility, Mañjuśrī does not abandon them. Instead, within Buddhist symbolism, he transforms such difficult connections into opportunities for guiding beings toward the path of awakening.
This represents a subtle transformation of the human mind.
Ordinary beings may naturally feel affinity toward those who are kind, supportive, or harmonious with them. However, a pleasant connection does not always lead to the arising of Bodhicitta — the aspiration for awakening.
In Mañjuśrī’s second vow, even a difficult or unfavorable relationship may become a meaningful connection.
Even if a being creates what Buddhism describes as a “negative karmic connection,” Mañjuśrī’s aspiration is still that this connection may eventually become a cause for turning toward wisdom and the path of enlightenment.
The deeper meaning of this vow is that beings are not abandoned because of their mistakes, anger, or confusion.
Rather, even criticism, rejection, or opposition may become circumstances through which compassion works.
From the perspective of the Bodhisattva ideal, Mañjuśrī does not respond to hostility with further hostility.
Instead, he transforms a passive situation into an active expression of compassion — using every possible connection as a means to guide beings toward the awakening of Bodhi.
Within Mahāyāna Buddhist thought, this vow demonstrates the boundless nature of compassion:
Not only those who admire wisdom, but also those who misunderstand it;
Not only those who approach with kindness, but also those who approach with resistance;
All beings are regarded as possessing the potential to awaken.
Thus, the second great vow represents the wisdom of transforming conflict into connection, and transforming difficult circumstances into opportunities for compassion and spiritual growth.
The Third Vow: Transforming Worldly Attachments into the Path of Awakening
The third vow may be summarized as:
“If there are sentient beings who see me, love my form, or seek to possess me through desire; if they give rise to distorted views, deception, unwholesome intentions, or various forms of impure conduct toward themselves or others — may they establish a connection with me and awaken the Bodhicitta, the aspiration for enlightenment.”
The Third Great Vow addresses the complex entanglements of worldly life.
When Buddhism speaks of attachment and desire within the human world, it often teaches practitioners to gradually let go of craving, transcend attachment, and become free from the bonds of emotional grasping. However, the Third Vow of Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva presents a profoundly different perspective.
Even when sentient beings are influenced by distorted perceptions, confused desires, selfish tendencies, or unwholesome actions, Mañjuśrī does not abandon them. Instead, he wishes that through these very circumstances, they may awaken the aspiration to transcend suffering and ultimately attain Buddhahood.
This is an exceptionally unique vow.
Sentient beings immersed in the vast ocean of worldly existence and the cycle of birth and death often find it extremely difficult to escape the attachments, emotions, and perceptions that bind them. Rather than rejecting those who remain deeply connected to ordinary life, Mañjuśrī’s Third Vow embraces their present condition and guides them gradually toward the path of awakening.
It represents a compassionate approach that recognizes human nature as it truly is — not as an idealized state, but as a reality filled with emotions, desires, struggles, and attachments.
For those who find it difficult to immediately withdraw from worldly life, this vow offers a bridge between ordinary existence and the path of enlightenment. Through understanding, transformation, and the cultivation of wisdom, even worldly experiences can become conditions for awakening.
The Fourth Vow: Transforming Hostility and Conflict into the Path of Awakening
The Fourth Vow may be summarized as:
“If there are people who are jealous of the virtuous and the wise, who belittle, doubt, oppress, or slander me, who harm others or reject the Three Jewels — may they establish a connection with me and awaken the Bodhicitta, the aspiration for enlightenment.”
The Fourth Great Vow continues the boundless compassion of Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva.
Not only those who wish to harm the Bodhisattva, but also those who become attached to the Bodhisattva, are all embraced by his vow. Whether beings create a favorable connection or an unfavorable one, Mañjuśrī wishes that they may form a connection with him and awaken the mind of enlightenment.
Even if there are beings who are filled with jealousy toward the virtuous, who respond with disrespect, suspicion, misunderstanding, or even commit actions that Buddhism regards as deeply harmful, such as harming others or slandering the Three Jewels, Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva still extends his great vow toward them.
Regardless of whether the connection arises through kindness or conflict, joy or suffering, he wishes that all beings may encounter the causes and conditions that lead them toward awakening.
Through this connection, Mañjuśrī seeks to guide them beyond ignorance, confusion, and suffering, allowing them to gradually develop the aspiration to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.
This vow reveals a profound aspect of Mahāyāna compassion: true compassion does not only embrace those who are harmonious with us; it also extends toward those who oppose, misunderstand, or challenge us.
From the perspective of the Bodhisattva path, even difficult relationships and painful encounters can become conditions for transformation. What appears to be an unfavorable connection in the ordinary world may become a doorway through which wisdom and compassion arise.
The Fourth Vow therefore expresses the extraordinary aspiration of Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva:
May every connection, whether pleasant or difficult, become a cause for awakening. May all beings eventually cultivate Bodhicitta and walk toward the realization of Buddhahood.
The Fifth Vow: May All Forms of Connection Become Causes for Awakening
The Fifth Vow may be summarized as:
“If there are sentient beings who look down upon me, feel ashamed of me, respect me or do not respect me; who make use of me or do not make use of me; who seek me or do not seek me; who desire me or reject me; who follow me or do not follow me; who encounter me or do not encounter me; whether they obstruct me or do not obstruct me — may they establish a connection with me and awaken the Bodhicitta, the aspiration for enlightenment.”
The Fifth Great Vow addresses every possible circumstance related to the perception of “self” and the relationship between oneself and others.
It encompasses countless forms of interaction:
Being respected or disregarded, accepted or rejected, approached or avoided, supported or opposed, understood or misunderstood.
Whether beings hold affection toward Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva or distance themselves from him; whether they create harmony or difficulty; whether they recognize his presence or remain unaware — the Bodhisattva’s vow remains unchanged:
May they establish a connection with me and awaken the Bodhicitta.
This vow reveals the vast and impartial nature of Mañjuśrī’s compassion.
Ordinary human relationships are often built upon conditions: we welcome those who appreciate us, remain close to those who support us, and distance ourselves from those who reject or challenge us.
However, the Bodhisattva’s vow transcends such distinctions. It does not depend on whether beings offer respect, recognition, gratitude, or acceptance.
Every encounter, every relationship, and every circumstance can become a seed of wisdom.
From the perspective of Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, even indifference, misunderstanding, or opposition can become a meaningful connection if it eventually leads a being toward awakening.
The Fifth Vow therefore expresses a profound Mahāyāna principle:
There is no relationship that cannot become a condition for enlightenment. Every encounter has the potential to plant the seed of Bodhicitta.
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