“Desires are inexhaustible. I vow to put an end to them.” If the purpose of keeping precepts is to annihilate our desires, then this vow is not possible, a contradiction. But if the purpose of the vow is to arise our buddha-mind, then it makes sense. The “inexhaustible” gives us some encouragement, and we can continue our practice forever. And we will have firm confidence in our practice, and we will be encouraged by this vow forever.
Art by Dan Welch
—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the image. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 69-04-29 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.