First, as a Mahayana practitioner, when aspiring or dedicating, one should begin with the vow: “May I, in the many lives from now until enlightenment, never harm the life or even a single hair of another being, not even for the needs of my own body or life.” Naturally, one must make good one’s promise. If, for the time being, one cannot fully keep one’s words, at the least one should vow this way: “May I, in the many lives from now until enlightenment, never intentionally harm the life of another being, even for the needs of my own body or life.” Failing this, any more talks on practicing Mahayana would be pointless. Moreover, we should encourage ourselves to make the promise of not harming other beings at all costs as quickly as we can and make good that promise, which ought to be the goal of our practice at the moment as well.
