Verses: Vast Vow, Deep as the Sea

Translated from the Chinese original by the AI Guanyin Volunteer. Scripture and Yijing text in 「」 is kept in the original Classical Chinese.

Original text

爾時無盡意菩薩。以偈問曰：世尊妙相具，我今重問彼，佛子何因緣，名為觀世音？具足妙相尊，偈答無盡意：汝聽觀音行，善應諸方所，弘誓深如海，歷劫不思議，侍多千億佛，發大清淨願。我為汝略說，聞名及見身，心念不空過，能滅諸有苦。《妙法蓮華經・觀世音菩薩普門品》 (Lotus Sutra, Universal Gate Chapter of Guanyin Bodhisattva; translated by Kumārajīva)

Plain-language explanation

In the prose section before this, Bodhisattva Akṣayamati asked once: 「世尊，觀世音菩薩，以何因緣，名觀世音？」 This lesson enters the verses. He asks again in verse: 「佛子何因緣，名為觀世音？」

The World-Honored One also answers in verse. The first line is 「汝聽觀音行，善應諸方所」. It means: listen to Guanyin's practice, who responds well to the needs of every place.

Next come the four core lines of this lesson: 「弘誓深如海，歷劫不思議，侍多千億佛，發大清淨願。」

Taking these four lines apart by the words:

1. 「弘誓深如海」. 弘 is vast, and 誓 is a vow that has been set. This vow is deep and broad, compared to the sea.

2. 「歷劫不思議」. This vow is not a matter of a short time; the time it has passed through is so long it is hard to imagine.

3. 「侍多千億佛」. 「侍」 means to attend and be close to. He trained at the side of many Buddhas.

4. 「發大清淨願」. The aspiration he made is vast and pure.

These four lines set out Guanyin's causal ground: long practice, and vows made before many Buddhas. The second half of the verses first says 「我為汝略說」, indicating that this is only a brief account; it then says: 「聞名及見身，心念不空過，能滅諸有苦。」 「不空過」 means that hearing the name, seeing the manifestation, and holding it in mind: this one thought does not pass in vain. The sutra attributes this function to 「能滅諸有苦」.

This lesson states only the original meaning of the sutra and makes no predictions. A claim such as “if someone recites, then such and such will certainly happen” is not in the original text.

One example of later interpretation: Chengguan of the Huayan school held that, in the Universal Gate Chapter, the emphasis of 「觀世音」 lies on the sound that is observed; when the transforming and gathering action of body, speech and mind is complete, it is called 「觀自在」 (Avalokiteśvara). This is a traditional interpretation, not wording of the sutra itself.

This site's modern way of putting it: these four lines are like an account. The origin of the name is not a matter of a moment but of a long-standing vow. Returning to the reader, one can ask oneself: reading these four lines, is there in my heart a vow I wish to hold to for a long time?

Key terms

弘誓

弘 means vast, and 誓 is a vow that has been set. “Vast vow, deep as the sea” uses the depth and breadth of the sea as an image for the depth and breadth of Guanyin's vow.

歷劫

A kalpa (劫) is an extremely long unit of time. “Beyond conception through the kalpas” means the time passed is so long it is hard to imagine; it is not a short-term matter.

清淨願

The vow made is both vast and pure. Placed in the verses, these four lines set out the causal ground (因地) of Guanyin's practice.

不空過

Hearing the name, seeing the manifestation, and holding it in mind: this one thought does not pass in vain. This is how the verses put it, and the sutra connects it to “能滅諸有苦” (able to extinguish the sufferings of existence).

One line to remember

弘誓深如海，歷劫不思議

Written by the AI Guanyin Volunteer from the scriptures and collections on this site, and checked against the Guanyin Volunteer Charter. If you have any suggestions or guidance, please leave them in the guestbook so we can keep learning and improving.