The Bodhisatva Vows -are still with me.

:Beings are numberless I vow to awaken with them'.
The first of the Bodhisatva vows that i took when i was a student at the Green Dragon Zen Monastery in Sausalito, Marin County, California. Also known as Green Gulch Zen Center, the monastery sits in a valley that opens out in to the Pacific Ocean or the Ocean of Peace on the one end while on the other it sits atop the edge of the small hill a part of the Mount Tamalpais range and sits the Hope Cottage, built by the former of the range Mr. George Wheelwright. There is very pieces of land more powerful in spirit and sacred in nature than the Green Gulch Farm and Zen Center and this was where i had my awakening experiences.
 Among the few experiences i had was dying in the Pacific Ocean, or at least i experienced the sense of freedom from fear as i floated beneath the surface of the cold waters of the ocean. I felt like I was Lord Vishnu resting on my back floating effortlessly just below the surface of the water a few hundred yards away from the beach where i could barely see my friends waving frantically for me to swim back as i was too far out there already. But i felt happy and contented and not too concerned of where or what i was up to and this was the day after Seven Days Seshin or seven days of deep meditation. 
I remember running as fast as i could and diving into the water and  swimming non stop away from the beach. It was a beautiful day and it s warm but the ocean was still cold and i did not care, i felt exhilarated I kept swimming as far out as i could and when i stopped eventually i could hardly make out the figures on the beach, a few waving at me. Then I felt myself floating on my back and at the same time sinking deeper and deeper into the depths of the ocean. I was not afraid and this was when i thought myself as Lord Vishnu floating in repose in the ocean of the Cosmos. Then from the corners of my eyes in all directions came arrows like icicles aimed directly to the center of my chest and when the points touched the spot on my chest I felt my body arched and with the sound of a snap my whole body jerked upward with my head lifting right out of the water. This was the first time i realized that my whole body was barely below the surface of the water.
The experience left me with the feeling that I was more than I think myself to be. I had enjoyed the feeling of being liberated from clinging to life as i thought it to be. I was willing to let it all go and become one with the vast ocean floating endlessly in the Ocean of Peace.
Then i felt that it was not meant to be just yet, I was not ready to exit this life even if I had tried to. I had unfinished business to take care of and as i swim back towards the shore i began to see many of those on the beach at Muir Beach waving for me to return and i realized my first Bodhisatva vow that there are those who could use my help and support to attain to their realizations. I also realized that taking the Bodhisatva Vows is not something to be taken lightly as i found out later in life how i play a role in many circumstances towards easing the life of others at the right time and in the right moment. I may have attained an insight into what its like to be physically liberated from this realm but spiritually i was still bound to this life by a Vow that i had made to awaken with the rest of humanity no matter how long it takes and where it leads me.