Daily Prayer Practice

[hamlin81]

I've been trying to develop a practice of putting prayer requests in a "prayer jar" on my altar. Can you all recommend a good Buddhist prayer to say over the names?

I was thinking maybe The Metta Prayer or even the Disaster Preventing Dharini. I'd love your thoughts. I've been wanting to do something like this for a while, to honor prayer requests.

Gassho,
Michael

[Mp]

I've been trying to develop a practice of putting prayer requests in a "prayer jar" on my altar. Can you all recommend a good Buddhist prayer to say over the names?

I was thinking maybe The Metta Prayer or even the Disaster Preventing Dharini. I'd love your thoughts. I've been wanting to do something like this for a while, to honor prayer requests.

Gassho,
Michael

Hello Michael,

We have a few things on that topic ... here are some that might be helpful for you. =)

Home Liturgy: http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showt...t-home-liturgy
Daily Metta Practice: http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showt...Metta-PRACTICE
Daily Nurturing Seeds Practice: http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showt...Seeds-PRACTICE

Also, here are some chants that you could add to your daily practice if you so choose.

Heart Sutra
The Heart of the Perfection of Great Wisdom Sutra ◎

A/vo/lo/ki/tes/va/ra/ Bo/dhi/satt/va/, A/wa/kened/ One/ of/ Com/pas/sion/,
In/ Praj/na/ Pa/ra/mi/ta/, the/Deep/ Prac/tice/ of/ Per/fect/ Wis/dom/ ◎
Per/ceived/ the/ emp/ti/ness/ of /all /five /con/di/tions/,
And/ was/ free/ of/ suf/fer/ing/.
O/ Sha/ri/pu/tra/, form/ is/ no/ o/ther/ than/ emp/ti/ness/,
Emp/ti/ness/ no/ o/ther/ than/ form/;
Form/ is/ pre/cise/ly/ emp/ti/ness/, emp/ti/ness/ pre/cise/ly/ form/.
Sen/sa/tions/, per/cep/tions/, for/ma/tions/ and/ con/scious/ness/ are/ al/so/ like/ this/.
O/ Sha/ri/pu/tra/, all/ things/ are/ ex/pres/sions/ of/ emp/ti/ness/,
Not/ born/, not/ des/troyed/, not/ stained/, not/ pure/;
Nei/ther/ wax/ing/ nor/ wan/ing/.
Thus/ emp/ti/ness/ is/ not/ form/; not/ sen/sa/tion/ nor/ per/cep/tion/,
Not/ for/ma/tion/ nor/ con/scious/ness/.
No/ eye/, ear/, nose/, tongue/, bo/dy/, mind/;
No/ sight/, sound/, smell/, taste/, touch/, nor/ ob/ject/ of/ mind/;
No/ realm/ of/ sight/, no/ realm/ of/ con/scious/ness/;
No/ ig/no/rance/, no/ end/ to/ ig/no/rance/;
No/ old/ age/ and/ death/,
No/ ces/sa/tion/ of/ old/ age/ and/ death/;
No/ suf/fer/ing/, nor/ cause/ or/ end/ to/ suf/fer/ing/;
No/ path/, no/ wis/dom/ and/ no/ gain/.
No/ gain/ – thus/ Bod/dhi/satt/vas/ live/ this/ Praj/na/ Pa/ra/mi/ta/ ◎
With/ no/ hin/drance/ of/ mind/ –
No/ hin/drance/ there/fore/ no/ fear/.
Far/ be/yond/ all/ de/lu/sion/, Nir/va/na/ is/ al/rea/dy/ here/.
All/ past/, pre/sent/ and/ fu/ture/ Budd/has/
Live/ this/ Praj/na/ Pa/ra/mi/ta/ ◎
And/ re/al/ize/ su/preme/ and/ com/plete/ en/light/en/ment/.
There/fore/ know/ that/ Praj/na/ Pa/ra/mi/ta/
Is/ the/ sac/red/ man/tra/, the/ lu/min/ous/ man/tra/,
the/ sup/reme/ man/tra/, the/ in/com/pa/ra/ble/ man/tra/
by/ which/ all/ suf/fe/ring/ is/ clear/.
This/ is/ no/ o/ther/ than/ Truth/.
There/fore/ set/ forth/ the/ Praj/na/ Pa/ra/mi/ta/ man/tra/.
Set/ forth/ this/ man/tra/ and/ pro/claim/: ◎

(1x)
Gate! Gate! (Already Gone, Gone)
Paragate! (Already Gone Beyond)
Parasamgate! (Already Fully Beyond)
Bodhi! Svaha (So-wah-kah)! ◎ (Awakening, Rejoice)

Hannya Shingyo


Verse of Atonement
* All harmful acts, words and thoughts ever created by me since of Old
On account of beginning-less greed, anger and ignorance
Born of my body, mouth and mind
Now I atone for them all.


Four Vows
(to be recited 3x , vibrant on the second, soft on the third time):

* To save all sentient beings, though beings numberless
To transform all delusions, though delusions inexhaustible
To perceive Reality, though Reality is boundless
To attain the Enlightened Way, a Way non-attainable


Meal Chant
* Hands in Gassho*

This food comes from the efforts
of all sentient beings past and present,
and is medicine for nourishment of our Practice.
We offer this meal of many virtues and tastes
to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha,
and to all life in every realm of existence.
May all sentient beings in the universe
be sufficiently nourished.

I hope this helps ... but I also know that other folks might have some thoughts on this, so keep your eyes open.

Gassho
Shingen

s@today

[Jishin]

I do the Heart Sutra in my head instead of counting sheep when going to sleep. Doesn't take long to knock me out.

Gasho, Jishin, _/st\_

[Jundo]

I've been trying to develop a practice of putting prayer requests in a "prayer jar" on my altar. Can you all recommend a good Buddhist prayer to say over the names?

I was thinking maybe The Metta Prayer or even the Disaster Preventing Dharini. I'd love your thoughts. I've been wanting to do something like this for a while, to honor prayer requests.

Gassho,
Michael

Hi Michael,

In addition to what Shingen wrote, let me say that I do not recite the "Disaster Prevention Dharani" (Shōsai shu) or most Dharani in this Sangha. because, in my view, they were traditionally used as magic spells based on the power of sounds the origin and meaning of which are long long forgotten, much like the words "abracadabra." D.T. Suzuki wrote this about them ...

Properly speaking, the dharani has no legitimate place in Zen. That it has nevertheless crept into its daily service is clue to the general characteristics of Chinese Buddhism of the Sung dynasty, when the Japanese Zen masters visited China and imported it as they found it then, together with the [esoteric Buddhist] elements of Chinese Zen. ... A dharani is considered as holding magical power in it or bearing deep meaning. When it is pronounced, whatever evil spirits there are ready to interfere with the spiritual effect of a ritual, are kept away from it. ... When translated they convey no intelligent signification. They mostly consist of invocations and exclamations. The invocation is an appeal to the higher powers, and the exclamation is to frighten away the evil spirits. That the practical result of these utterances is not to be judged objectively goes without saying.

That being said, if doing so holds some meaning or "power" for you in your heart, then they have meaning and power to that extent. If they have meaning for you, then they have that meaning. We humans all find our meaning and power where we will, and so the Dharani may have meaning and power for you to chant. Here is the official Soto-shu version (untranslated as mentioned, and any translations one would find online are purely the translator's wild guess) ...

http://web.stanford.edu/group/scbs/sztp3/translations/gongyo_seiten/translations/part_1/shosaishu.html

I cut and paste below more of an old rant by me on Dharani, in case anyone is interested.

Gassho, Jundo

SatToday

=======================================

Dharani are chants, sometimes intelligible but often unintelligible as the original Indian meanings have been lost (for example, they are chanted phonetically in Japanese vaguely based on purely phonetic Chinese, itself based on some original long lost Indian words ... something that makes even less sense if one believes that the power is only in the original Indian sounds as is the original belief!! ), often felt to have protective, good fortune bringing or other special powers thought to derive from the power of the sound (more than the lost meaning). Mantra are similar, but typically shorter. Dharani are recited as part of standard Soto rituals, and in most other schools of Buddhism.

I do not recite Dharani here at Treeleaf, for I tend to consider them too much "hocus pocus and abracadarba". I will not chant magic spells, but I do feel at home to chant certain Mantra, such as at the end of the Heart Sutra ...

Gate! Gate! (Already Gone, Gone)
Paragate! (Already Gone Beyond)
Parasamgate! (Already Fully Beyond)
Bodhi! Svaha! * (Awakening, Rejoice)

Let me try to explain the difference:

Much depends how one defines a Mantra or Dharani in one's heart. In much of Buddhism and related religions of India (although something very similar can be found in about all religions really ... e.g., like "God Is Great/Allahu al-Akbar" in Islam, an orthodox Jew's reciting the sacred letters of Torah, or "Praise Jesus" in some corners of Christianity), it is a sound, word or words that create transformation in some way. Mantras and Dharani ... like classical music ... can have a profound meaning often beyond words that is spoken to the heart. That is fine. All sounds arise from and return to Silence! The bare sounds truly can resonate with the heart and outward into space. If you have no problem, and it makes your heart feel good, to walk down the street on a summer day, singing the Beatle's unintelligible "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", then why not the Dharani's equally unintelligible "gya gya gya ki gya ki" if it rings in your heart?

My real objection is to those Dharani and Mantras used quite clearly as abracadabra magic spells and incantations to get some material benefit such as a new job or new car or love or even medical recovery. I believe that, for most people, that is the way they have been primarily thought of and used through the centuries. Often the ways in which we chant "to get stuff" can be much more hidden and subtle, and we should be cautious. The "Disaster Prevention Dharani" was traditionally used as a magic spell to prevent fires and other like disasters in the monastery and life by its alleged mystical power to appease the spirits (I would advise that it is probably better instead to just buy a smoke alarm and do a fire drill).

We usually chant the Heart Sutra and other Chants at Treeleaf in English as the common language we share in this international Sangha. We also chant in Japanese (to be exact, "Sino-Japanese", the Japanese pronunciation of classical Chinese) from time to time out of respect for tradition and honoring our "roots" (Sometimes, but more rarely, we chant something in Sanskrit). I feel that it is important to understand the philosophy and perspectives presented in the words of the Heart Sutra, the Identity of Relative and Absolute and all of the other chants we chant. (I even translated the little Mantra that closes the Heart Sutra into understandable English in our Chant Book).

However, there is also a point where we "Just Chant" (like "Just Sit") ... throwing one-self into the chanting. In such case, it does not matter if we chant in English, Japanese, Esperanto, Martian or Silently. Got the point?

On the other hand, I do not encourage around here the Chanting of "Dharani", even several traditional to the Soto school and Zen in general. It is just too much "abracadabra" removed from all sense of meaning.

[Jakuden]

Aw, and I almost had the Sho Sai Myo Kichijo Dharani down. Guess I'll go back to Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (for the record, John Lennon hated that song but it proved itself over the test of time, too!) [emoji1]
Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Meian]

There used to be a "small chant book" available on the forum, it was a condensed version of the Weekly/Monthly TreeLeaf Chant Book. But I can't seem to locate it, and my "old" copy is beatup and faded. Does anyone have a link to the download? Or is a new version needed (in which case, I am glad to help with that). The small version was so nice and portable

Gassho
Kim
s/t

[Mp]

There used to be a "small chant book" available on the forum, it was a condensed version of the Weekly/Monthly TreeLeaf Chant Book. But I can't seem to locate it, and my "old" copy is beatup and faded. Does anyone have a link to the download? Or is a new version needed (in which case, I am glad to help with that). The small version was so nice and portable

Gassho
Kim
s/t

Hey Kim,

That old book has been retired into the old sutras of the past! =) Some changes were made to some wording so we removed that copy, but if you are needing a smaller version of our current version, I am more then happy to make one for you. Let me know.

Gassho
Shingen

s@today

[Meian]

Hey Kim,

That old book has been retired into the old sutras of the past! =) Some changes were made to some wording so we removed that copy, but if you are needing a smaller version of our current version, I am more then happy to make one for you. Let me know.

Gassho
Shingen

s@today

Hi Shingen,

If it is not too much trouble, Shingen - I find myself with "lag time" in various places, and my old one on some pages has become unreadable. I can no longer access the original file (my old computer died). I really appreciate it, whenever it is convenient for you. I take TreeLeaf with me everywhere I go

Gassho
Kim
s/t

[Mp]

Hi Shingen,

If it is not too much trouble, Shingen - I find myself with "lag time" in various places, and my old one on some pages has become unreadable. I can no longer access the original file (my old computer died). I really appreciate it, whenever it is convenient for you. I take TreeLeaf with me everywhere I go

Gassho
Kim
s/t

Hey Kim,

No problem, I will get to work and slave away at it. In the meantime, you must be access Treeleaf through your phone? If so here is a PDF version of the chants, so at least you can see them. =)

Chants - PDF: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7...3AwUjh4RkJ6Rlk

Gassho
Shingen

s@today

[Myogan]

I often chant a dharani I learned from Jan Chozen Bays, a zen teacher (and pediatrician like myself) when I need to combine my zen and medical practice.

Perhaps it's not magical, but it centers me when stressing out about a child's care. And as the comics say "it couldn't hoit!"

https://www.zendust.org/monastery/jizo-jizo-garden

Gassho
Sat

[Seido]

I recite heart sutra, verse of attonment, four vows and meta which I practice daily when I sit in the morning. However, outside of that I have found many gathas and have devised my own for specific events and times throughout the day.

I'd encourage you to integrate the daily chants, but also to devise some chants special to you, with meaning that can help you regain focus and peace during your day.

You'll find there are lots of opportunities to pray.

Gassho,
Seido
SatToday

[Kyonin]

Perhaps it's not magical, but it centers me when stressing out about a child's care. And as the comics say "it couldn't hoit!"

Hi guys,

Chanting metta works for me not because I believe in magic powers. Chanting metta makes me sensitive and opens my heart and mind to pay attention to others and acknowledge that all sentient beings can feel sorrow and pain.

Also, chanting metta puts my mind right where it has to be. Here, now. Present.

Gassho,

Kyonin
SatToday

[RichardH]

Whenever the thought of someone being in a potentially unsafe situation comes up, I reflexively think/utter "God forbid". It is cultural conditioning, ingrained habit, that is not believed at all. At the same time it is as real as real can be without being "real" at all. It is just one of those old heart truths. I don't give it much thought.

Gassho
Daizan

sat today