To completely realize the essence-of-mind is by no means an easy task. It requires years and lives of study and effort. One may ask, Why is it so difficult if the Buddha-nature is inherent in one's mind? What prevents this realization is the force of our "habitual thinking." On a small scale this bondage may be likened to that of some childhood habit or obsession which, although we know it is illusory and irrational, nevertheless grips us and influences our thinking and behavior because of early, deep-set conditioning. It is much the same in the case of our "endeavor for enlightenment"; though the Void-nature of mind is somewhat glimpsed or even realized, this does not permanently eliminate habitual thoughts which have been operating through immeasurable lifetimes in the past.

Therefore, Mahamudra and Zen can never be considered merely philosophy or art, for they are actually the most serious teachings of the Buddhist religion. They are teachings of liberation [**] and should not be abused, as Zen recently been in the Occident, by being made a subject of vain talk or subtle speculations as though they were only a game of the mind.

The reader will discover that the opening stanzas of The Vow express the religious and spiritual tradition of Mahamudra. The first five stanzas present the fundamental principles and the necessary "wishes" of the Buddhists. The author of The Vow is Garmapa III (1284-1339) a very great authority and accomplished yogi whose numerous writings include The Profound Inner Meaning Of Tantrism, considered by Tibetan scholars the greatest work on the subject. The Vow is recited by the White School as a daily prayer.

Although this Vow is comparatively short, contains the majority of the essential teachings of Mahamudra. In Tibet, there exists quite a body of books and commentaries explaining this Vow. At present these works are not available; therefore translator has supplied a short commentary to accompany the stanzas . Also, since the original text was not available, the present translation was made from the Chinese text that the translator had previously made from the Tibetan.

The translator is confident that this Vow of Mahamudra is one of the highest teachings of Tibetan Buddhism and

firmly believes it will contribute much to the search by psychologists and religionists for a deeper understanding of man's essential nature.

EDITOR'S NOTE