This is a short story about Confucius and his wise disciple, Yuan Hui on aspiration:

One day Confucius was traveling with Yuan Hui and another disciple Zi Lu. Yuan Hui was Confucius most favored disciple and had a high level of cultivation. In contrast, Zi Lu was very courageous and had a very impulsive nature. While traveling, they began to talk and Confucius said, Lets talk about aspirations. Lets talk about our goals in life.

Zi Lu, being impulsive, responded quickly and said:

Ah! My goal in life is I dont mind giving away all my clothes. I dont mind giving away my horses. I dont mind giving away my chariot and I dont even mind That was Zi Lus aspiration.

Then Yuan Hui said:

I hope I will reach a stage when I will not boast about my abilities. I hope I will reach a stage when I will not magnify my contributions. Yuan Huis aspiration was to be humble and not boastful about what he does.

When Zi Lu heard Yuan Huis response, he wished he had gone second. He thought if he had just waited, he could have thought of something better and more profound to say. Zi Lu then asked Confucius, Master, what is your aspiration? Confucius answered in this manner:

For myself I hope to see that all senior people are taken care of and that they shall live in peace and happiness. Amongst all friends there will be trust and sincerity, no doubt and no suspicion shall exist. All young people are able to receive appropriate education and nurturing so they may learn to appreciate the grace that is showered on them. All people in the world have a place or position to go and harmony exists everywhere. This is my aspiration.

When Yuan Hui and Zi Lu heard that, they realized how limited their own aspirations as compared to Confuciuss. Theirs were at personal level but Confucius had such an aspiration that included the whole world. It included everyone from young to old and this is truly something great and meaningful. From this we can see the greatness and wisdom of Confucius till today after 2,500 years.

Similarly, the great vow of Guan Yin or Goddess of Mercy was that she would not cease to deliver salvation to all living beings until all the suffering souls have been saved in this world. Whilst she did not fulfill her vow during her lifetime, she still attained the state of enlightenment. Another was Bodhisattva Ti-Tsang (Deliverer from Hell) that if Hell is not empty, he would not want to be a Bodhisattva, but still attained immortality and enlightenment.

In the teachings of Tao of Heaven, there are three kinds of people whom Buddha cannot lead them to cultivation. They are; those without affinity, those without faith and those without will. The vow of Buddha is to bring salvation to the world but why did Buddha reject these three kinds of people? There is a saying:

Rootless grass cannot be nourished by heavy rain. A person without affinity will not benefit from the widespread of Buddhas teaching.

In the Chinese spiritual history and about those without faith, there are The Eight Immortals and there is a saying:

If you do not recognize Immortal Han Xiang Zi when you meet him, it is impossible to meet Immortal Lyu Dong Bin later on.

Vows are necessary to show us the direction for cultivation. Making vows are also another way to show our sincerity to cultivate ourselves and it is impossible to gain ultimate enlightenment without making any vows in the teachings of Tao of Heaven.

For those who wish to be initiated with Tao, these are the Ten Great Vows to be made before one can be initiated:

1] Be sincere and constantly adhere to the great Tao, 2] Be truthful in our repentance (gentlemen), be truthful in our cultivation (ladies), 3] Not to be fictitious in our endeavors, 4] Not to withdraw from advancement, 5] Not to be deceitful towards our teacher, 6] Not to be disrespectful and look down on our seniors, 7] Do not disobey the rules and regulations laid down by sages, 8] Do not disclose the Heavenly Secrets, 9] Do not refrain from propagating The Great Tao to others and 10] To act according to our ability (gentlemen), always be diligent in our cultivation (ladies).

We are not Saints, thus we make mistakes. If we can mend our ways, then it is considered a wholesome action. To help us to amend, we need aspiration and vows to make sure we are focused and disciplined in our endeavors.