The Power of Great Vow: Samantabhadra and Jizo Bodhisattva

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk during Spring Practice Period, Sensei Monshin explores the archetypal energies of two bodhisattvas – Samantabhadra and Jizo. She begins by asking what sustains our practice and effort, answering simply: “because of our love for the world, why else? Because of our love for beings.” This same boundless love is precisely what drives these bodhisattvas: Samantabhadra, the bodhisattva of enacted wisdom whose immense vows embrace all beings without exception, and Jizo, the humble protector of children and travelers who fearlessly enters all realms to relieve suffering. Through stories of village protectors, rain-summoners, and Mary Oliver’s black bear “staring down the mountain,” Monshin reveals how these archetypal energies manifest in our own lives when “if we’re brave enough, we see ourselves in them and them in ourselves.” Monshin reminds us that calling upon these bodhisattvas actually invokes our own innate fearlessness and compassion, inviting us to discern “what’s mine to do in this moment and what’s not mine to do.” The talk closes with Shantideva’s timeless vow that echoes through each of us: “As long as space remains and as long as beings remain, may I remain to end the sorrows of the world.”