Vows Aimed at the Good of Others

📝Reflection

The great vows of the Medicine Buddha all point toward "others" — that the sick be healed, the poor lack nothing, the imprisoned be freed. They aim not at one's own awakening but at easing others' suffering. This direction moves me. Most resolutions we make run "I will achieve ___" — my health, my success, my peace. That is fine. But this sutra shows another mode of resolve: "May others ___." The remarkable thing is that a vow aimed at others ends up enlarging me. A goal for myself alone ends where it is met; a vow toward others widens me the more it is fulfilled. Look at the resolves of great people: they always pointed toward something larger than themselves. Is there room in my resolutions today for "others"?