So the vow points to something like that. At least, that's my view of it. Value is ascribed to something based on a comparison with something else. My watch is better than your watch, so it's worth more. That's relative value.
Absolute value has no basis like that.
We can't compare with anything, so it stands on its own just as it is. At that time, there's no comparison of anything with anything else, so the absolute value of something emerges at that point. It just stands or sits on its own. Your story about the bodhisattva with the teaspoon reminds me of a similar story of the sparrow who tries to put out a forest fire by carrying water in his beak. He didn't have a bucket.