溫故知新 Old wisdom, today’s insight — ONGO
A Great Vow, Inexhaustible as the Sea
A Great Vow, Inexhaustible as the Sea asks: Before small setbacks, have I withdrawn my resolve too easily? It comes from Avatamsaka Sutra — Chapter on the Practices and Vows of Samantabhadra: "Only when empty space itself is exhausted will my vow at last be exhausted."
Only when empty space itself is exhausted will my vow at last be exhausted.
The figure Samantabhadra describes his vow this way: it will not end until empty space itself is worn away — that is, never.
Before small setbacks, have I withdrawn my resolve too easily?
📝Reflection
The figure Samantabhadra describes his vow this way: it will not end until empty space itself is worn away — that is, never. At first it sounds like grandiose boasting. But seen again, it is not a brag about scale; it is about the direction of the mind. A small resolve breaks against a small obstacle. But hold a direction as wide as an inexhaustible sea, and a single failure today cannot stop it. This is not a call to live grandly. It is to hold in your heart at least one large direction you can return to after being shaken.
🌱Apply It Today
If a small failure shook you today, recall: "Is the large direction I was heading still alive?" If the direction lives, today's stumble is not a stop.
This verse is read as universal humanistic wisdom, not religion — no faith is promoted, and the reflection is 100% original ONGO content.
