[Buddha-l] Shiguseiganmon - Bodhisattva Vows

[Dan Lusthaus]

> Numberless beings - set free
> Endless delusion - let go
> Countless Dharma - see through
> Peerless Way - manifest!
>
> 1. is this form a Japanese development, or do we find it already earlier
> in China?

No. What this looks like is simply an overly literal translation of the 
short version of the standard formula which, following standard Chinese 
conventions, manages to omit "unnecessary" linguistic elements like pronouns 
and repetitive features (like "I vow to"). The typical reader of Chinese, 
however, would autromatically supply those when reading, so

[Though there are] numberless [sentient] beings, [I vow to] liberate [them 
all].

And so forth.

The translator was trying to be cute, perhaps, turning the vows into 
imperatives, etc.

Dan