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.
Great Vows for All
Creations are numberless
I vow to free them
Delusions are inexhaustible
I vow to put an end them
Dharmas are boundless
I vow to perceive them
The Enlightened Way is unsurpassable
I vow to embody it.
Shigu Seigan Mon (Great Vows In Japanese)
Shu jo mu hen sei gan do
Bon no mujin sei gan dan
Ho mon mu ryo sei gan gaku
Butsu do mu jo sei gan jo
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.