Hope and Vows

Comparing hope (elpis) in the Bible with vows (誓願, praṇidhāna) in Buddhist sutras. Exploring how both traditions cherish and realize aspirations and grand intentions toward the future.

The Heart Turned Toward the Future

Bible

כִּי אָנֹכִי יָדַעְתִּי אֶת־הַמַּחֲשָׁבֹת אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי חֹשֵׁב עֲלֵיכֶם נְאֻם־יְהוָה מַחְשְׁבוֹת שָׁלוֹם וְלֹא לְרָעָה לָתֵת לָכֶם אַחֲרִית וְתִקְוָה

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Sutra

衆生無邊誓願度，煩惱無盡誓願斷，法門無量誓願學，佛道無上誓願成

“Beings are boundless — I vow to deliver them all. Afflictions are inexhaustible — I vow to cut them all. Dharma gates are immeasurable — I vow to master them all. The Buddha way is unsurpassable — I vow to attain it.”

Comparison

Jeremiah's hope and the Four Great Vows are the most magnificent visions toward the future in their respective traditions. Christian hope is confidence in future peace grounded in God's promise — a kind of other-power (他力); Buddhist vows press forward toward endless tasks grounded in the practitioner's own pledge — a kind of self-power (自力). If Christian hope leans toward the character of 'receiving,' Buddhist vows lean toward the character of 'what one will accomplish,' but both traditions hold a grand vision that transcends present suffering.

Light in Despair

Bible

οὐ μόνον δέ, ἀλλὰ καὶ καυχώμεθα ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσιν, εἰδότες ὅτι ἡ θλῖψις ὑπομονὴν κατεργάζεται, ἡ δὲ ὑπομονὴ δοκιμήν, ἡ δὲ δοκιμὴ ἐλπίδα· ἡ δὲ ἐλπὶς οὐ καταισχύνει, ὅτι ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκκέχυται ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν διὰ πνεύματος ἁγίου τοῦ δοθέντος ἡμῖν

“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Sutra

我常在此不滅，以方便力故，現有滅不滅

“I am always here and do not perish; by the power of skillful means, I appear to pass away and not pass away.”

Comparison

Paul's hope amid suffering and the Lotus Sutra's eternal Buddha both speak of a light that does not go out even in despair. Paul presents the paradox that the very chain of suffering forges hope, while the Lotus Sutra presents the ontological guarantee that the Buddha never truly leaves beings. In Christianity, the experience that 'God's love has been poured out' makes hope possible even at the bottom of despair; in Buddhism, the insight that 'the Buddha is always here' does the same.

The Great Vow

Bible

καὶ ἐξαλείψει πᾶν δάκρυον ἐκ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτῶν, καὶ ὁ θάνατος οὐκ ἔσται ἔτι, οὔτε πένθος οὔτε κραυγὴ οὔτε πόνος οὐκ ἔσται ἔτι, ὅτι τὰ πρῶτα ἀπῆλθαν

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Sutra

設我得佛，國中天人，不住正定聚，必至滅度者，不取正覺

“If, when I attain Buddhahood, the heavenly beings in my land are not established in the assembly of right concentration and do not certainly reach nirvana, may I not attain perfect enlightenment.”

Comparison

The new heaven and new earth of Revelation and Amitabha's forty-eight vows are the most grandiose visions of both traditions. Christianity offers an eschatological hope — the trust that God will restore all things at history's end; Buddhism offers the bodhisattva's vow — the pledge to defer one's own attainment of Buddhahood until all beings have reached enlightenment. One comes from trust in God's promise and the other from the bodhisattva's resolve, but both visions move beyond the individual toward the complete salvation and liberation of all beings.