These are some of the gathas and chants we use as part of our practice

Morning Gatha

Waking up this morning I smile

Twenty-Four brand new hours are before me

I vow to live fully present in every moment

And look upon all beings with eyes of compassion.

Gatha of Atonement

All evil karma ever created by me of old

On account of my beginning-less greed, hatred and ignorance

Born of my conduct, speech and thought

I atone for it now.

Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo

Kanzeon Na Mu Butsu

Yo Butsu U In

Yo Butsu U En Bup Po So En

Jo Raku Ga Jo

Cho Nen Kanzeon

Bo Nen Kanzeon

Nen Nen Ju Shin Ki

Nen Nen Fu Ri Shin

(Translation)

Kanzeon, At One with Buddha

Related to all Buddhas in cause and effect

And to Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha

Joyful, pure, eternal being!

Morning Mind is Kanzeon

Evening Mind is Kanzeon

This very moment arises from Mind

This very moment is not separate from Mind.

Heart Sutra

Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, doing deep prajna paramita,

Clearly saw emptiness of all the five conditions,

Thus completely relieving misfortune and pain

0 Shariputra, form is no other than emptiness,

Emptiness no other than form;

Form is exactly emptiness, Emptiness exactly form

Sensation, conception, discrimination, awareness are likewise like this

0 Shariputra, all dharmas are forms of emptiness:

Not born, not destroyed; not stained, not pure, without loss, without gain

So in emptiness there is no form,

No sensation, conception, discrimination, awareness;

No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind;

No color, sound, smell, taste, touch, phenomenon;

No realm of sight, no realm of consciousness;

No ignorance and no end to ignorance

No old age and death, no end to old age and death;

No suffering, no cause of suffering, no extinguishing, and no path;

No wisdom and no gain

No gain - thus the bodhisattva lives Prajna Paramita

With no hindrance in the mind

No hindrance, therefore no fear,

Far beyond deluded thoughts this is Nirvana

All past, present, and future Buddhas live Prajna Paramita,

And therefore attain annuttara-samyak-sambodhi [supreme perfect enlightenment]

Therefore know, prajna paramita is the great mantra,

The vivid mantra, the best mantra, the unsurpassable mantra

It completely clears all pain

This is the truth not a lie

So set forth the Prajna Paramita Mantra,

Set forth this mantra and say

Gate! Gate! Paragate! Parasamgate! Bodhi Svaha! Heart Sutra.

Evening Gatha

Let me respectfully remind you

Life and death are of supreme importance

Time swiftly passes and opportunity is lost

Each of us must strive to awaken; Awaken!!

This night your days will have diminished by one

Take heed; do not squander your life.

Dedication Chant

The Buddha turns the Dharma Wheel and so reality is shown in all its many forms.

The Enlightened One liberates all suffering sentient beings and brings them to great joy.

We sincerely seek the beneficent guidance of the Three Treasures.

In reciting this morning's service we dedicate its merits to all Zen Center members and guests

and to all beings of the Dharma World.

We especially pray for the health and well-being of:

[ SILENCE FOR HEALING INTENTIONS ]

May they be serene through all their ills and may we realize the Buddha Way together.

All Buddhas Throughout Space and Time

All Bodhisattvas, Mahasattvas

Maha Prajna Paramita

Identity of Relative and Absolute

The mind of the Great Sage of India was intimately conveyed from west to east.

Among human beings are wise ones and fools,

But in the Way there is no northern or southern ancestor.

The subtle source is clear and bright;

the tributary streams flow through the darkness.

To be attached to things is illusion;

To encounter the absolute is not yet enlightenment.

Each and all, the subjective and objective spheres are related,

and at the same time, independent.

Related, yet working differently, though each keeps its own place.

Form makes the character and appearance different;

Sounds distinguish comfort and discomfort.

The dark makes all words one; the brightness distinguishes good and bad phrases.

The four elements return to their nature as a child to its mother.

Fire is hot, wind moves, water is wet, earth hard.

Eyes see, ears hear, nose smells, tongue tastes the salt and sour.

Each is independent of the other; cause and effect must return to the great reality

[Like leaves that come from the same root]

The words high and low are used relatively.

Within light there is darkness, but do not try to understand that darkness;

Within darkness there is light, but do not look for that light.

Light and darkness are a pair, like the foot before

and the foot behind, in walking. Each thing has its own intrinsic value

and is related to everything else in function and position.

Ordinary life fits the absolute as a box and its lid.

The absolute works together with the relative like two arrows meeting in mid-air.

Reading words you should grasp the great reality. Do not judge by any standards.

If you do not see the Way, you do not see it even as you walk on it.

When you walk the Way, it is not near, it is not far.

If you are deluded, you are mountains and rivers away from it.

I respectfully say to those who wish to be enlightened:

Do not waste your time by night or day.

Gatha on Opening the Sutra

The Dharma, incomparably profound and infintely subtle

is rarely encountered, even in millions of ages

Now we see it, hear it, receive and maintain it

May we completely realize the Tathagata�s true meaning

Gatha for the Women of Zen Who Swam Against the Stream

This Bell Rings For Prajnaparamita, The Mother Of All Buddhas

This Bell Rings For Kwuan Yin, The Goddess Of Mercy And Compassion

This Bell Rings For The Buddha's Step Mother Mahapajapati

This Bell Rings For The Women Of Zen Whose Names, Throughout History

    Have Been Forgotten Or Left Unsaid

This Bell Rings For The Women Teachers Of The Present So That They Will

    Always Be Remembered

This Bell Rings To Remind Us That The Way Excludes No One . . .

Hungry Hearts (Gates of Sweet Nectar)

by Krishna Das

Calling out to Hungry Hearts

Everywhere through endless time

You who wander, you who thirst

I offer you this Bodhi Mind.

Calling out to hungry spirits

Everywhere through endless time

Calling out to hungry hearts

All the lost and left behind

Gather round and share this meal

Your joy and sorrow

I make it mine.