liturgy
Adapted from the Ch’an Retreat Morning Service, Ch’an Center, New York and the Western Zen Retreat Service, Maenllwyd, Wales
Buddham saranam gacharmin Dharmam saranam gacharmin Sangham saranam gacharmin
Buddham dittyam saranam gacharmin Dharmam dittyam saranam gacharmin Sangham dittyam saranam gacharmin
Buddham trittyam saranam gacharmin Dharmam trittyam saranam gacharmin Sangham trittyam saranam gacharmin
To know all the Buddhas Of past, present and future Only perceive that all worlds of experience Are totally created by the mind
THE THREE REFUGES DZ GWAY I FO, DANG YUAN JUNG SHENG, We take refuge in Buddha, and we wish all sentient beings,
TI JIEH DA DAO, FA WU SHANG SIN, Will awaken to the Great Path, and make the Supreme Resolution.
DZ GWAY I FA, DANG YUAN JUNG SHENG, We take refuge in Dharma, and we wish all sentient beings,
SHEN RU JING DZANG, JIH HWAY RU HAI, Will penetrate the Sutras, their wisdom as deep as the ocean.
DZ GWAY I SENG DANG YUAN JUNG SHENG, We take refuge in Sangha, and we wish all sentient beings,
TUNG LI DA JUNG I CHIEH WU AI. Will be brought together in Great Harmony, without any obstructions at all.
MP3: listen to how they do it Dharma Drum style
THE PRAJNAPARAMITA HEART SUTRA
When the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara Was coursing in the deep Prajnaparamita, He perceived that all five skandas are empty, Thereby transcending all sufferings. Sariputra, form is not other than emptiness And emptiness not other than form. Form is precisely emptiness And emptiness precisely form. So also are sensation, perception, volition and consciousness. Sariputra, this voidness of all dharmas is not born, Not destroyed, not impure, not pure, does not increase Or decrease. In voidness there is no form, And no sensation, perception, volition or consciousness; No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind; No sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, thought; There is no realm of the eye All the way up to no realm of mental cognition. There is no ignorance And there is no ending of ignorance Through to no aging and death And no ending of aging and death. There is no suffering, no cause of suffering, no cessation of Suffering, and no Path. There is no wisdom or any attainment. With nothing to attain, Bodhisattvas relying on Prajnaparamita Have no obstructions in their minds. Having no obstructions, there is no fear and departing far from confusion and imaginings, they reach Ultimate Nirvana. All past, present and future Buddhas, relying on Prajnaparamita, attain Anuttara-Samyak-Sambodhi. Therefore, know that Prajnaparamita is the great mantra of power, the great mantra of wisdom, the supreme mantra, the unequalled mantra, which is able to remove all sufferings. It is real and not false. Therefore, recite the mantra of Prajnaparamita:
GATE, GATE, PARAGATE, PARASAMGATE, BODHI SVAHA
MAHA PRAJNAPARAMITA (Chant three times)
MO HO BO RAY PO LO MI DO
ON PURSUING THAT WHICH LEAVES NO TRACKS
From the beginning there is nothing to be sought already within is the complete solution.
There is no sense in travelling no sense in seeking to get from a learned teacher the wisdom you already possess.
No sense in austerity mindlessly sitting sifting and searching for another’s insights.
No sense in adopting ceremonies, rituals, oblations, doing good just to feel good trying to reach a destination hidden in the heart.
No sense in walking to reach a goal that isn’t there. No sense in thinking to solve a problem that doesn’t exist in thought.
All you have to do this minute is to stop - turn the mind upon itself, draw your sense within, turn yourself inside out: gazing in to the lake of awareness, let what is there emerge from its lair, let what is there invade your breathing, let what is there pulsate in your heart, let what is there warm your loins, spin in your skull.
What is this anguish of seeking in the future that which is already lying in the palms of your hands?
Right now - you have it. Hold it close - look directly behind your own face. Grasping the monster firm, let him be or he’ll ride you out again along the paths of time.
And let it all go. Fall. Gone, gone, altogether gone. See within - the Universe ringing in your ears.
Time and space are simply the ring through which the Tiger jumps.
THE FOUR GREAT VOWS
JUNG SHENG WU BIEN SHIH YUAN DU. We vow to deliver innumerable sentient beings.
(however innumerable beings are, we vow to meet them kindness and interest)
FAN NAO WU JIN SHIH YUAN DWAN. We vow to cut off endless vexations.
(however inexhaustible the states of suffering, we vow to touch them patience and love)
FA MEN WU LIANG SHIH YUAN SÜ…H. We vow to master limitless approaches to Dharma.
(however immeasurable the Dharmas are, we vow to explore them deeply)
FO DAO WU SHANG SHIH YUAN CHENG. We vow to attain supreme Buddhahood.
(however incomparable the mystery of interbeing, we vow to surrender to it freely)
Bell to begin zazen
WARNING TO THE ASSEMBLY (read by the time keeper alone)
This day has passed, Our lives, too, are closing. Like fish with little water, Joy will not last. Let us work with pure effort, Work as we would were our heads aflame. Be mindful of impermanence. Be careful of idleness.
TRANSFER OF MERIT (read together)
We wish all merits, Deriving now or in the future, From these our practices, To be distributed everywhere, For the good of all.
We pray
For the flourishing of Buddha Dharma, For peace in the world, For the joy and contentment of all people, For the freedom and ease of body and mind. May sentient beings depart from suffering. May the vows of the donors be fulfilled.