West London Buddhist Centre

Sevenfold Puja

(an alternative version)

 

Offerings

I make offerings to the Buddhas

I make offerings to the Dharma

And to the sons and daughters of the Buddha

Who are oceans of excellence.

 

Conjuring them up in my mind

I offer all the flowers in the world

I offer all the fruits

I offer all the fragrant plants

 

I offer the clear refreshing waters

I offer the crystal mountains

The tranquil forests

And the wild places

 

I offer vines bright with flowers

I offer trees heavy with fruit

I offer lakes adorned with lotuses

And the haunting cry of the wild geese.

 

Conjuring these things in my mind

I offer them to the Buddhas

And to their sons and daughters

Who are oceans of excellence.

MANTRA: Om Mani Padme Hum

 

Salutation

 As many atoms as there are

In the thousand million worlds

With so many bodies I bow down

To all the Buddhas of the Three Eras

To the true Dharma

And to the noble Sangha

I pay homage to all the shrines

And places in which the Bodhisattvas have been

I make profound obeisance to the teachers

And those to whom respectful salutation is due.

Bless me with your compassion

Guide me on the path

Grant me accomplishment

Dispel our obstacles with your power,

With great fervour and fierce faith

I bow down to you.

 

 Going for Refuge

 This very day

I go for my refuge

To all the Buddhas

Throughout time and space

Wholeheartedly also I go for my refuge

To the Dharma they teach

Which is our shelter and protection

Against the rounds of rebirth

Likewise to the host of Bodhisattvas

I go for my refuge.

  

Refuges and Precepts

 Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhassa

Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhassa

Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhassa

Buddham Saranam Gacchami

Dhammam Saranam Gacchami

Sangham Saranam Gacchami

Dutiyampi Buddham Saranam Gacchami

Dutiyampi Dhammam Saranam Gacchami

Dutiyampi Sangham Saranam Gacchami

Tatiyampi Buddham Saranam Gacchami

Tatiyampi Dhammam Saranam Gacchami

Tatiyampi Sangham Saranam Gacchami

 

translation

Homage to Him, the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One!

To the Buddha for refuge I go.

To the Dharma for refuge I go.

To the Sangha for refuge I go.

For the second time to the Buddha for refuge I go.

For the second time to the Dharma for refuge I go.

For the second time to the Sangha for refuge I go.

For the third time to the Buddha for refuge I go.

For the third time to the Dharma for refuge I go.

For the third time to the Sangha for refuge I go.

 

five precepts

Panatipata Veramani Sikkhapadam Samadiyami

Adinnadana Veramani Sikkhapadam Samadiyami

Kamesu Micchacara Veramani Sikkhapadam Samadiyami

Musavada Veramani Sikkhapadam Samadiyami

Surameraya Majja Pamadatthana Veramani Sikkhapadam Samadiyami

 

translation

I undertake to abstain from taking life.

I undertake to abstain from taking the not-given.

 I undertake to abstain from sexual misconduct.

I undertake to abstain from false speech.

I undertake to abstain from taking intoxicants.

 

sadhu sadhu sadhu

 

 the positive precepts

With deeds of loving kindness, I purify my body.

With open-handed generosity, I purify my body.

With stillness, simplicity, and contentment, I purify my body.

With truthful communication, I purify my speech.

With mindfulness clear and radiant, I purify my mind.

 

 Confession

 Standing with folded hands

Before the Buddhas in the ten directions

Before the Bodhisattvas of great compassion

I acknowledge the harm I have caused

In this life and past ages

The harm to myself

And the harm to others

Standing with folded hands

Before the Guides of the World

I make this aspiration

Such acts in the future

I will not do.

 

 Rejoicing in Merit

 Having now a pure and joyful heart

I rejoice with delight

In the good done by all beings

Through which they obtain rest

With the end of suffering

May those who have suffered be happy.

I rejoice in the release of all beings

From the sufferings of the rounds of existence;

I rejoice in the nature of

the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas

Who are protectors

I rejoice in the arising of Bodhicitta

And in the teachings of the Dharma

Those oceans that bring happiness to all beings

And are the abode of refuge of all beings

 

 Entreaty and Supplication

 With hands folded in reverence

I entreat the Buddhas in all the quarters

May they make shine the lamp of the Dharma

For those wandering in the suffering of delusion.

With hands folded in reverence

I implore the conquerors desiring to enter

Nirvana

May they remain here for endless ages

So that life in this world does not grow dark.

 

 The Heart Sutra

 The Bodhisattva of Compassion,

When he meditated deeply,

Saw the emptiness of all five skandhas

And sundered the bonds that caused him suffering.

Here then,

Form is no other than emptiness,

Emptiness no other than form.

Form is only emptiness,

Emptiness only form.

Feeling, thought, and choice,

Consciousness itself,

Are the same as this.

All things are by nature void

They are not born or destroyed

Nor are they stained or pure

Nor do they wax or wane

So, in emptiness, no form,

No feeling, thought, or choice,

Nor is there consciousness.

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

No colour, sound, smell, taste, touch,

Or what the mind takes hold of,

Nor even act of sensing.

No ignorance or end of it,

Nor all that comes of ignorance;

No withering, no death,

No end of them.

Nor is there pain, or cause of pain,

Or cease in pain, or noble path

To lead from pain;

Not even wisdom to attain!

Attainment too is emptiness.

 

So know that the Bodhisattva

Holding to nothing whatever,

But dwelling in Prajna wisdom,

Is freed of delusive hindrance,

Rid of the fear bred by it,

And reaches clearest Nirvana.

All Buddhas of past and present,

Buddhas of future time,

Using this Prajna wisdom,

Come to full and perfect vision.

Hear then the great dharani,

The radiant peerless mantra,

The Prajnaparamita

Whose words allay all pain;

Hear and believe its truth!

Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha

 

 Transference of Merit and Self-surrender

 With no sense of loss

I give myself to the Buddhas

I give my merits

For the benefit of all

May I be the doctor

May I be the nurse

For all beings

Until the world is cured

May I be a light

For those who are lost

May I be a harbour

For those that need shelter

Like the earth and the water

Like the fire and the air

May I be a servant

To beings on Earth

Until the world is whole

Just as the Buddhas

Before me

Set their minds on Enlightenment

Just as they trained

On the Buddha’s path

So now I too

For the welfare of the world

Set my mind on Enlightenment

So now I too

Will train on the Buddha’s path

Today my life has born

In the family of the Buddha

Today I have become

One of the Buddha’s clan

Just like a blind person

Who finds by chance

A jewel in a dungheap

So by some chance

This precious attitude

Has arisen in me

This is the elixir of life

That puts an end to death

This is the priceless treasure

That ends all poverty on earth

This is the supreme medicine

That cures the world’s disease

This is the bridge to freedom

That leads from unhappy states

For the whole procession of humanity

Travelling the roads of existence

In search of happiness

This will give them joy

Today in the presence of the Buddhas

I invite the world to be my guest

At a great feast of delight

May all beings rejoice.

 

MANTRA

Om ah hum, Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum