"SENTIENT BEINGS ARE INNUMERABLE: I VOW TO SAVE THEM ALL."

Thich Thien-An, Zen Philosophy, Zen Practice (Berkeley, CA: Dharma Publishing/College of Oriental Studies, 1975) ("A key virtue of Buddhism is humility. To be humble is to avoid placing oneself above other people. A Vietnamese Zen Master once taught his disciples: 'I am not necessarily a saint or a sage, and you are not necessarily a common man.' From the Buddhist point of view, everyone is a human being, and because we are all human,we all have our weak points as well as out strong points. Nobody short of a Buddha, a completely Enlightened One, can be considered perfect. If we recognize that we are not yet perfect, then we cannot expect others to be more perfect than we are ourselves. This recognition creates better relations between men. To be aware that we are not yet perfect will not only make us more humble towards one another, but also more respectful and tolerant. [] Tolerance is a key factor in interpersonal relationships." "Every action we take, every word we speak causes a reaction in people around us. For example, if we feel anger, when others see us, they also share that anger with us. And when they see us happy, then they also share the happiness with us. We share not only our physical life and our material goods with each other; we share spiritual and emotional characteristics as well. Such is the act of relating between oneself and another. Because we are all related to each other, none of us is an island; all of us are a part of the whole, Men are not separate. The separation between oneself and another is not real. Our ego-consciousness and out illusion create the separateness. If we see through this egocentricity and this illusion, then we see that we are not really different, Buddhist philosophy, as well as Hinduism, always describes it this way: 'You are my extension and I am your extension.' Therefore, because everyone is our extension, when we intend to hurt someone, at that time we hurt ourselves. Likewise, because we are their extension, when they intend to harm us, they harm themselves as well." "Buddhism recognizes that all men and all living beings are interdependent. Through their bodies and minds are different, they are still interrelated. Since they are interrelated, they are not separate. We are all different facets of the same reality, different parts of the one while, just as the numerous waves rising and falling in the ocean are interrelated transformations of the one ocean. Because we are all so inseparably bound together in the vast ocean of existence, Buddhism suggests that we should love one another, We must shift our sense of identity away from the narrow, constrictive ego-consciousness to the all-embracing universal consciousness. We must learn to see each other as extensions of the same reality. Then we can live together in the world as friends and brothers, and this world of hatred and suffering will be charged into an abode of peacefulness and bliss. This samsaric world will be transformed into Nirvana." "The Buddhist tries to develop in himself a universal consciousness and non-discriminatory love during both sitting meditation and daily activities. To express this compassion, Buddhists remind themselves of the Bodhisattva vow: 'Sentient beings are innumerable; I vow to save them all.'" Id. at 138-140.).