I came across something called the Bodhisattva Vow, via a blog I found in my referrals, What’s in Your Mind? Apparently, there are various forms of this vow, and it’s supposed to be a part of Mahayana Buddhism. The vow goes like this, although there are many different wordings:

“The passions of delusion are inexhaustible. I vow to extinguish them all at once.
The number of beings is endless. I vow to help save them all.
The Truth cannot be told. I vow to tell it.
The Way which cannot be followed is unattainable. I vow to attain it.”

I really love the whole story of the Bodhisattva, but I think I actually much prefer the potency of the story itself. I always run into trouble personally when religious stories become distilled into bulleted lists and sets of principles, because I feel like it freezes it into a particular shape. Rather, I think focusing on the story will reveal multivalent complex layers of meaning which are interactive and constantly change based on your own perspective and understanding.

Nevermind the fact that I think such grandiose statements as above are really an exceptionally difficult way to begin any religious discipline. I realize that Buddhism has a lot to do with overcoming yourself, but it seems like vowing to save the world isn’t going to do much until you can first save yourself. It reminds me of an exceptionally fantastic quote that Ran Prieur has on his quotes page:

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” - Harold Whitman