Four Great Vows in Chinese (四 弘 誓 願)

[curtstein]

It seems like there are as many English "translations" of the Four Great Vows as there are grains of sand in the Ganges.

But as far as I can tell there is only one Chinese version of the Four Great Vows (see below), and that all of these English "translations" come from this one source. Does anyone know of any other versions in Chinese, or of any other source (Sanskrit?) for the Four Great Vows?

四 弘 誓 願
眾 生 無 邊 誓 願 度
煩 惱 無 盡 誓 願 斷
法 門 無 量 誓 願 學
佛 道 無 上 誓 願 成

I've been studying a little Chinese on my own - and here is my attempt at going through the Chinese version character by character:
https://www.mindisbuddha.org/the-four-great-vows-四弘誓願/

[Taikor.Taikun]

That is the only version i know of in Chinese.

There is one translation to which i find quite close to its meaning in Chinese, the translation by The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas: http://www.cttbchinese.org/menu9_english_dharma161.htm

It retains most of the characters in its translation.

Here is my own translation to get close to its meaning:
Living beings throughout the boundless shores/worlds, I vow to transport/ferry across/save/deliver/ them.

Endless troubles/afflictions, I vow to cut them.

Countless Dharma doors/ways/methods, I vow to learn n practise them.

The Supreme Buddhahood, I vow to attain it.

[jmlee369]

It seems like there are as many English "translations" of the Four Great Vows as there are grains of sand in the Ganges.

But as far as I can tell there is only one Chinese version of the Four Great Vows (see below), and that all of these English "translations" come from this one source. Does anyone know of any other versions in Chinese, or of any other source (Sanskrit?) for the Four Great Vows?

四 弘 誓 願
眾 生 無 邊 誓 願 度
煩 惱 無 盡 誓 願 斷
法 門 無 量 誓 願 學
佛 道 無 上 誓 願 成

I've been studying a little Chinese on my own - and here is my attempt at going through the Chinese version character by character:
https://www.mindisbuddha.org/the-four-great-vows-四弘誓願/

There is a self-nature version as well, which in some practices immediately follows the standard form you have given.

自 性 眾 生 誓 願 度
自 性 煩 惱 誓 願 斷
自 性 法 門 誓 願 學
自 性 佛 道 誓 願 成

[curtstein]

Yes - and that is exactly the same, only adding "self-nature" (自 性) at the beginning of each line.

[Queequeg]

What is the explanation for adding 自 性 to the vows? Which traditions is this practiced in?

[curtstein]

What is the explanation for adding 自 性 to the vows? Which traditions is this practiced in?

I think the version with 自 性 is attributed to Hui Neng ("The Sixth Ancestor" of Zen), specifically the "Platform Sutra" (although the attribution of the Platform Sutra to Hui Neng has been questioned).

As to the explanation for adding those two characters - personally I think someone along the line thought it made the four vows sound "more Zen".

[natusake]

Is there a Sanskrit version, or is it originally in Chinese?

How are the Chinese characters pronounced?

[FromTheEarth]

This exact formulation, as a quick search indicates, was from Zhiyi's Great Samatha-vipaśyanā (mohe zhiguan; maka shikan). But the concept seems to be coming from 菩薩瓔珞本業經/Bodhisattva keyūra mūlakarma sūtra, in which it's stated:

...[that is, to uphold] the Four Great Vows. Those who have not overcome the Suffering, I vow to help them overcome the Suffering. Those who have not been liberated from the Cause of Suffering, I vow to liberate them. Those who have not abided in the Way, I vow to help them abide in the Way. Those who have not attained Nirvana, I vow to help them attain Nirvana. 所謂四弘誓。未度苦諦令度苦諦。未解集諦令解集諦。未安道諦令安道諦。未得涅槃令得涅槃。

The current, popular formulation is just an equivalent articulation of these very same vows (basically, bodhicitta through the lens of the Four Noble Truths). And the very expression "四弘誓"/the Four Great Vows were already there in that sutra.

(the pinyin romanization can be found through the link from the original post. But also page 132 (147) of http://www.drbachinese.org/online_readi ... ndbook.pdf)

[genkaku.linrx]

I am struggling with Traditional Chinese, I think it is easier for me to read the same characters in Simplified Chinese:
四 弘 誓 愿
众 生 无 边 誓 愿 度
烦 恼 无 尽 誓 愿 断
法 门 无 量 誓 愿 学
佛 道 无 上 誓 愿 成