人生在世，要有大願心，

願普天之下的人都能享有幸福安樂。

發願化身一棵樹，給眾生庇蔭；發願造一座橋，給大家行走；發願常轉法輪，度化眾生改邪歸正；

發願使家庭和諧，妻賢子孝，兄友弟恭；

發願好好教育子女，使其成為國家棟梁、社會中堅；

發心每天讀多少經、念多少佛、說多少好話、多少笑容。這都是一種願力的實踐。

──選自《人間佛教系列》

Putting Vows into Practice

Venerable Master Hsing Yun

(1927 - , Fo Guang Shan )

English translation: Venerable Zhi Yue

During our lives, we should make great vows to benefit everyone in the world so that they may be happy and at peace.

By vowing to be like a tree or a bridge, we offer others a shelter as well as a path to walk on. When we vow to teach the Dharma to others, others can benefit from our teachings and begin their lives anew.

We can bring harmony to our families by vowing to be a better spouse, a more loving child, and a more respectful sibling. In addition, we should vow to educate our children, so that they may become the future leaders of society.

Reading sutras, chanting the Buddha’s names, speaking good words, and smiling at others everyday are all ways to put our vows into practice.

── from Renjian Fojiao Xilie

(Humanistic Buddhism Series)