Soto School Scriptures

For Daily Services

And Practice

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 ©Copyright 2001 by Sotoshu Shumucho

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system,or transcribed in any form or by any means - electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise - without the prior
written permission of the publisher.

First Printing, 20,August 2001

Published by Sotoshu Shumucho

and the Soto Zen Text Project

Sotoshu Shumucho
The Administrative Headquarters of
Soto Zen Buddhism
5-2, Shiba 2-chōme
Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8544
Japan

Printed in Japan
Originally published in Japanese under the title
Sōtōshū nikka gongyō Seiten
©Sotoshu Shumucho, Tokyo, 1973

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 Table of Contents

Foreword 10
About This Book 13

Part One
Texts for Sutra-Chanting Services

Verse of the ‘‘Universal Gateway” Chapter

(Fumonbon ge 普門品偈) 19
Great Compassion Dharani
(Daihi shu 大悲呪) 24
Disaster-Preventing Dharani
(Shōsai shu 消災呪) 27

Heart Sutra
(Hannya shingyō 般若心経) 28
Harmony oj Difference and Equality
(Sandōkai 参同契） 30
Precious Mirror Samadhi
(Hōkyō zanmai 宝鏡三昧) 33
Verse of the “Life Span “ Chapter
(Juryōhon ge 寿量品偈） 38
Victor''s Dharani
(Sonshō darani 尊勝陀羅尼) 42
Ambrosia Gate
(Kanromon 甘露門） 45

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 Part Two
Eko for Sutra-Chanting Services

A. Morning Service
(chōka fugin 朝課諷経）
Buddha Hall Sutra Chanting
(butsuden fugin 仏殿諷経） 54
Sutra Chanting for the Arhats
(ōgu fugin 応供諷経） 56
Ancestors Hall Sutra Chanting
(sodo fugin 祖堂諷経） 57
Sutra Chanting for Founding and Former Abbots
(kaisan rekijū fugin 開山歴住諷経) 60
Mortuary Hall Sutra Chanting
(shidō fugin 祠堂諷経） 61

B. Abbreviated Morning Service

(ryaku chōka fugin 略朝課諷経）
Sutra Chanting for Repaying Blessings
(hōon fugin 報恩諷経) 62
Sutra Chanting for All Spirits
(banrei fugin 万霊諷経） 63

C. Other Sutra-Chanting Services

Kitchen Sutra Chanting
(sōkō fugin 竈公諷経） 64
Midday Sutra Chanting
(nitchū fugin 日中諷経) 64
Evening Sutra Chanting
(banka fugin 晩課諷経） 65

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 Prayers Sutra Chanting
(shukutōfugin 祝禱諷経） 65
Sutra Chanting for Tutelary Deities
(chinj'ii fugin 鎮守諷経） 66
Sutra Chanting for Idaten
(Idaten fugin 韋駄天諷経） 67
Offering to the Main Object of Veneration
(honzon jōgu 本尊上供） 67
Sutra Chanting for Mortuary Hall Patrons
(shidō danna fugin 祠堂檀那諷経） 68
Sutra Chanting for Patrons' Ancestors
(dannotsu senmō ruidai fugin 檀越先亡累代諷経） 69

Part Three
Verses and Texts for Other Occasions

A. Verses
Verse of Homage to Buddha’s Relics
(Shari raimon 舎利礼文） 71
Sutra-Opening Verse
(Kaikyō ge 開経偈） 71

Robe Verse
(Takkesa ge 搭袈裟偈) 72
Repentance Verse
(Sange mon 懺悔文） 72
Three Refuges Verse
(Sankie mon 三帰依文) 72
Three Refuges Prayer
(Sanki raimon 三帰礼文） 73

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 Verse in Worship of the Three Venerable Ones
(Sanzon raimon 三尊礼文) 73
Prostrations Verse
(Raihai ge 礼拝偈） 74
Four Vows
(Shigu seigan mon 四弘誓願文） 74
Formal Meal Verses
(Gyōhatsu nenju 行鉢念誦) 75
Bath Verse
(Nyūyoku no ge 入浴之偈) 78
Face-Washing Verse
(Senmen no ge 洗面之偈） 78

B. Eko
Abbreviated Transfer of Merit to Lay People
(Zaike ryaku ekō 在家略回向） 80
Transfer of Merit at a Lay Person’s Grave
(Zaike bozen ekō 在家墓前回向） 80
Universal Transference of Merit
(Fuekō 普回向） 80

C. Other Texts
Universally Recommended Instructions for Zazen
(Fukan zazengi 普勧坐禅儀) 81
The Meaning of Practice and Verification
(Shushōgi 修証義) 85

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 Part Four
Roman Letter Transliterations
Fumonbon ge 普門品偈
(Verse of the “Universal Gateway” Chapter) 97
Daihi shu 大悲呪
(Great Compassion Dharani ) 102

Shōsai shu 消災呪

(Disaster-Preventing Dharani) 105
Hannya shingyō 般若心経
(Heart Sutra) 106
Sandōkai 参同契
(Harmony of Difference and Equality) 108
Hōkyō zanmai 宝鏡三昧
(Precious Mirror Samadhi ) 110
Juryōhon ge 寿量品偈
(Verse of the “Life Span” Chapter) 114
Sonshō darani 尊勝陀羅尼
(Victor’s Dharani ) 118
Kanromon 甘露門
(Ambrosia Gate) 121
Fuekō 普回向
(Universal Transference of Merit) 128
Gojūshichi butsu 五十七仏
(Fifty-seven Buddhas) 129
Shari raimon 舎利礼文
(Verse of Homage to Buddha’s Relics) 131
Kaikyō ge 開経偈
(Sutra-Opening Verse) 131

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Takkesa ge 搭袈裟偈
(Robe Verse) 132
Sange mon 懺悔文
(Repentance Verse) 132
Sankie mon 三帰依文
(Three Refuges Verse) 132
Sanki raimon 三帰礼文
(Three Refuges Prayer) 133
Sanzon raimon 三尊礼文
(Verse in Worship of the Three Venerable Ones) 134
Raihai ge 礼拝偈
(Prostrations Verse) 134
Shigu seigan mon 四弘誓願文
(Four Vows) 134
Gyōhatsu nenju 行鉢念誦
(Formal Meal Verses) 135
Nyūyoku no ge 入浴之偈
(Bath Verse) 139
Senmen no ge 洗面之偈
(Face-Washing Verse) 139
Fukan zazengi 普勧坐禅儀
(Universally Recommended Instructions for Zazen) 141
Shushōgi 修証義
(The Meaning of Practice and Verification 144

About Soto Zen Liturgy 153

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Foreword

Since 1996,the Soto Zen Text Project has been

dedicated to the task of rendering into English the Zen
texts and Buddhist su tras that are regarded as most
important within the Soto school. The present work,
Soto School Scriptures for Daily Services and Practice, is the
first publication to result from this project.

The scriptures contained herein have a very deep signifi-

cance for our lives, and especially for the life of practice
that takes place in Soto monasteries. They include not
only texts used in sutra-chanting services, but also many
verses for chanting in connection with donning robes,
taking meals, entering the bath, washing the face, and so
on. In our Soto school, which advocates the principle
that "the buddha-dharma manifests itself in the deport-
ment of practitioners’” we must approach all of our daily
behaviors and activities as integral parts of the Buddhist
path. These scriptures provide guidelines for accom-
plishing that, while at the same time constituting words
of prayer that we use to express the ideals and aspi-
rations of our practice.

In the monasteries and temples of Japan, the traditional

Buddhist scriptures written in classical Chinese are used,
and everywhere one goes in the country the texts are
basically the same, so there is no inconvenience. In
Europe and America, however, the situation is different.
As is well known, many Zen centers have been estab-
lished and grown since the 1960s. Leaders in each of the
centers have come to prepare and use their own partic-
ular translations of Zen texts and Buddhist sutras for
chanting and study. This situation is truly inconvenient

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when it comes to holding joint sesshins or cooperative
ritual observances. It also makes it difficult for people
from different Zen centers to maintain a sense of
solidarity and identity as members of the Soto school at
large.

For these reasons,publication of these Soto School Scriptures

for Daily Services and Practice and the forthcoming Standard
Rites of the Soto Zen School, which treats monthly and
annual as well as daily observances, has been a priority
since the start of the Soto Zen Text Project.

This book is the result of a cooperative effort. Technically

accurate, scholarly translations of the various liturgical
texts were initially prepared by Rev. Taigen Leighton,
Rev. Shohaku Okumura, and the project editors, Carl
Bielefeldt and T. Griffith Foulk. Under the leadership of
Rev. Tenshin Anderson, a series of conferences were
then held at Green Gulch Farm, bringing together the
translators, the leaders of many Soto Zen centers in North
America, and representatives of the Soto Zen Education
Center. At the conferences, the draft translations were
discussed, recited, and modified to make them as clear,
aesthetically pleasing, and easy to chant as possible.

The movement that is taking place today in the Zen cen-

ters of America and Europe has a different significance
than the philosophical or psychological investigations of
Zen that occurred in the past. The Zen centers, some of
which have monks and nuns as well as lay people as
members, actually carry out the practice of the Buddhist
path that is centered on zazen. Thus,the centers fulfill a
function similar to that of Zen monasteries in Japan. In
this sense, the genuinely transmitted buddha-dharma

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has begun to take root in America and Europe, and the
first steps toward its permanent establishment have been
taken. We are now welcoming a new phase in the process
referred to by the old saying： "the buddha-dharma pro-
gresses eastward" (from India to China, Korea, and
Japan).

Thus, this publication of the Soto School Scriptures for

Daily Services and Practice has a great deal of significance.
It will be an aid to the actual practice of Zen, facilitate
exchange and joint activities between the various Zen
centers of America and Europe, and foster a sense of
unity among practitioners of Soto Zen.

As chair of the board of directors of the Soto Zen Text

Project, I am most pleased by this publication and the
promise it holds for the global development of our school.
I wish to sincerely thank the people of the Administrative
Headquarters of Soto Zen Buddhism (Sotoshu Shumucho)
for their promotion and budgeting of the project. I also
wish to express my appreciation to the other members of
the editorial board, and especially to the editors, for
their effort and enthusiasm. Finally, I wish to thank
from the bottom of my heart all those who have shared
their wisdom and time in contributing to the work of
translation.

Nara Yasuaki
Chairperson
Soto Zen Text Project

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About This Book

This book is based on the Japanese edition of the Soto

School Scriptures for Daily Services and Practice (Sōtōshū
nikka gongyō selten 曹洞宗日課勤行聖典),also published by
the Administrative Headquarters of Soto Zen Buddhism
(Sotoshu Shumucho) in 1 okyo. 1 hat text, as its name
implies, contains only those scriptures that are chanted
on a daily basis in Soto Zen monasteries and temples.
Numerous other scriptures that are used in monthly,
annual, and occasional rites are not included in it but
may be found in the much longer Standard Rites of the
Soto Zen School (Sōtōshū gyōji kihan 曹洞宗行持軌範),also
rorthcominff from the Administrative Headquarters in
English translation.

This book contains exactly the same scriptures as the

Japanese edition of the Soto School Scriptures for Daily
Services and Practice, but the contents have been reorgan-
ized in a way that helps to distinguish the various types
of liturgical literature and eliminates the redundancy of
the original (the Heart Sutra, for example, is printed
there four times). Part One of this book contains all of
the texts — sutxas, treatises, and dharanis — that are
recited to generate merit in daily sutra-chanting services.
Part Two lists the various sutra-chanting services that
are performed daily. For each service, the scriptures to
be chanted to generate merit are named (the ftill texts
are all found in Part One),and the eko,or verse for trans-
ferring merit, is given in its entirety. Part Three contains：
(A) numerous verses that are chanted on various ritual
occasions,(B) three eko that are used in rituals other than
sutra-chanting services, and (C) two treatises attributed
to Dogen.

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 All the scriptures included in Parts One, Two, and Three,
with the exception of the dharanis, have been translated
into English from the Chinese and Japanese texts that
appear in the Japanese edition of the Soto School Scriptures
for Daily Services and Practice. The dharanis have simply
been transliterated, using roman letters to represent the
pronunciations given (in the kana syllabary) in the Japanese
edition. The pronunciations differ in some places from
ones used at Eiheiji and Sojiji (the two head temples of
the Soto school), but they are the ones recommended by
the Administrative Headquarters for use in joint
services.

Attempts have been made in the past to "translate"

dharanis into English. Because dharanis have no meaning
in the classical Chinese in which they are written, however,
any such attempt must begin by reconstructing a text in
the original Indie language (usually presumed to be San-
skrit) and then proceed to translate that text into English.
It is true that certain combinations of Chinese characters
in dharanis, even when chanted by Japanese today, are
recognizable as Sanskrit words such as "tathagata" or
"bodhisattva." From the standpoint of critical scholar-
ship, however, the reconstruction of a complete, ostensibly
original text is a highly dubious process, for there is no
way of knowing for sure which Indie or Central Asian
language served as the starting point for any given Chinese
transliteration, and there is no reason to assume that even
the original Indie version had a clear enough syntax or
meaning to support translation. That, and the fact that
Buddhists in East Asia have never attempted to translate
dharanis, has persuaded the board of editors of the Soto
Zen Text Project to stick with the tradition of trans-
literating them. Some Zen practitioners in the West

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believe that dharanis should at least be restored to their
"original" Sanskrit pronimciations,but in most cases
that is not a critically viable option. The only dharani
presented here in romanized Sanskrit is the one that
appears at the end of the Heart Sutra translation： "Gate
Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha."

Part Four of this book contains roman letter transliter-

ations of all the sutras, treatises, dharanis, and verses that
appear in Parts One and Three. These are given for the
benefit of people who do not read Japanese but may have
occasion to participate in Soto Zen services conducted in
that language. The eko translated in Part Two have not
been transliterated in Part Four because they are generally
recited by the cantor (ino) alone, not by a group. When
services are conducted in Japanese, non-speakers of the
language would rarely be called upon to act as cantor.

This book employs two different systems of

romanization.

First, the romanization of all titles, and all texts that are
chanted in Japanese, follows the Hepburn system that is
standard in modern scholarship. In that system, roman
letter words of varying numbers of syllables are formed
in accordance with the pronunciation and grammar of
the original Japanese. The five basic vowel sounds in
Japanese are represented by the letters “a” (as in “pasta”),
“I” (as in “liter”), “u” (as in “lute”),“ē” (as in “egg”),and
"o" (as in "tote"). Macrons over the “o” and “u” (e.g. o,
kō, ū, kū) indicate a lengthening of those vowel sounds,
with no change of basic pronunciation. Consonants in
romanized Japanese have the same pronunciation as in
English.

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Second, the romanization of all texts that are chanted in
the Chinese (kanbun) word order employs a modified
version of the Hepburn system that retains the same
basic pronunciation of all vowels and consonants but
uses a different means of indicating long and short
syllables. The following four rules apply： (1) syllables in
one-syllable words are to be regarded as "long" and
chanted using one full beat; (2) syllables in multi-syllable
words, unless otherwise marked, are to be regarded as
"short" and chanted using half-beats (thus, for example,
the words “shi” and "shiki" take exactly the same
amount of time to chant — one full beat); (3) syllables in
hyphenated two-syllable words (e.g. sep-po, bus-shi) are
both "long," but the consonant sounds that end the first
syllable and begin the second are run together； (4) in
multi-syllable words, syllables marked by a macron over
the vowel are "long." Some examples follow：

bu (long = 1 beat)
shi (long = 1 beat)
bus-shi (long long = 2 beats)
bushi (short short = 1 beat)
gyataya (short short short = 1.5 beats)
tori (long short = 1.5 beats)
tatā (short long = 1.5 beats)
mujōi (short long short = 2 beats)

All of the dharanis in Part One have been transliterated

in accordance with the rules for the romanization of
texts chanted in the Chinese (kanbun) word order. Each
of the texts transliterated in Part Four is marked as
either “Japanese” or “Chinese” to indicate which of the
two systems of romanization applies to it.

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Symbols：

◎ strike large bowl-bell

● strike small bowl-bell
▲ muffle hand-bell with striker
◎3 strike large bowl-bell, 3rd chanting only
●3 strike small bowl-bell, 3rd chanting only
▲3 muffle hand-bell with striker, 3rd chanting only

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 Part One
Texts For Sutra-Chanting Services

18
Verse of the “Universal Gateway” Chapter
(Fumonbon ge 普門品偈）
Full title: Verse of the “Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva Universal Gateway”
Chapter of the Lotus Sutra (Myōhōrengekyō kanzeon bosatsu fumonbon ge
妙法蓮華経観世音菩薩普門品偈)

Bodhisattva Akshayamati
asked a question in verse：

◎ “Oh World-honored One,of wondrous form,

I inquire again of that buddha-child:
what are the causes of his name,
‘Regarding the Cries of the World’?”

The Honored One, of wondrous form,

replied m verse to Akshayamatd：
“Listen to the deeds of Avalokiteshvara,
who aptly responds in every quarter.

With vast pledge as deep as oceans,

throughout kalpas beyond reckoning,
he served many thousands of millions of buddhas,
◎ bringing forth this great pure vow.

For you I explain it briefly：

hearing the name or seeing the form of
Avalokiteshvara with mindful remembrance is not in vain,
for the woes of existence can thus be relieved.

Even if someone with harmful intent

should push you into a fieiy pit,
by mindfully invoking Avalokiteshvara's power
the pit of fire will tum into a pool.
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If floating on a vast sea,
menaced by dragons, fish, or demons,
by mindfully invoking Avalokiteshvara's power
the billowing waves cannot drown you.

If from Mount Sumeru's lofty peak,

someone were to throw you down,
by mindfully invoking Avalokiteshvara's power
like the sun you would stand firm in the sky.

If pursued by wicked men,

down from Diamond Mountain,
by mindfully invoking Avalokiteshvara,s power
they could not harm a single hair.

If surrounded by vicious bandits,

each with a sword drawn to strike,
by mindfully invoking Avalokiteshvara's power
at once their hearts will tum to compassion.

If,persecuted by rulers,
you face torture and execution,
by mindfully invoking Avalokiteshvara's power
their weapons will thereby shatter to pieces.

If imprisoned in shackles and chains,

hands and feet bound in restraints,
by mindfully invoking Avalokiteshvara's power
suddenly you shall be released.

If by curses or poisonous herbs

someone wishes to hurt your body,
by mindfully invoking Avalokiteshvara's power
the harmful intent will return to its source.

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If you meet evil creatures,
poison dragons, or various demons,
by mindfully invoking Avalokiteshvara's power
none will dare to harm you.

If surrounded by raging beasts

with sharp fangs and dreadful claws,
by mindfully invoking Avalokiteshvara's power
they will quickly scatter in all directions.

If venomous snakes or scorpions

threaten with deadly breath of fire,
by mindfully invoking Avalokiteshvara's power
at the sound of your voice they will turn and depart.

If clouds thunder and lightning strikes,

hailstones fall, and it rains in torrents,
by mindfully invoking Avalokiteshvara's power
instantly they will dissipate.

When living beings suffer hardships,

burdened by immeasurable woes,
the power of Avalokiteshvara's wondrous wisdom
can relieve the suffering of the world.

Fully endowed with miraculous powers,

widely practicing wisdom and skillful means,
in every land in all directions,
in no realm does Avalokiteshvara not appear.

In all the various evil destinies

of hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals,
the sufferings of birth, old age, sickness, and death
are gradually relieved by Avalokiteshvara.

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Oh you of the true gaze, of the pure gaze,
of the gaze of broad and great wisdom,
of the compassionate gaze and the gaze of good will,
ever longed for,ever revered.

Unblemished, serene radiance,

benevolent sun, dispelling all gloom,
Avalokiteshvara can subdue the wind and fire of woes,
clearly illuminating all the world.

The precepts of compassion roar like thunder,

the kind heart is wondrous as great clouds,
pouring dharma rain of sweet dew,
quenching all flames of troubling passion.

In disputes before judges,

or fearful in the midst of battle,
by mindfully invoking Avalokiteshvara's power
◎ all hostilities will be dispersed.

The wondrous voice of Avalokiteshvara,

Brahma-voice, voice of the rolling tides,
surpasses all sounds within the world;
therefore ever keep it in mind.

In each thought, with never a doubt,

Avalokiteshvara, the pure sage,
in pain, agony, or death's distress,
can provide a sure support.

Fully endowed with all virtues,

his eyes of compassion behold all beings,
assembling a boundless ocean of happiness；
thus, with reverence, you should make prostrations."

22
◎ Then Bodhisattva Dharanimdharo arose from his seat,
went before the Buddha and said:

"Oh World-honored One, if there are living beings who

hear this chapter of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, the
benefits will not be slight for those people who come to
know his deeds, his manifestation of a universal gateway,
and his supernatural powers."

When the Buddha had preached this "Universal

Gateway" chapter, ●the eighty-four thousand beings in
the assembly all aroused the thought of unsurpassed,
●complete, perfect enlightenment.

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Great Compassion Dharani
(Daihi shu 大悲呪）
Full title: Great Compassionate Mind Dharani
(Daihishin darani 大悲心陀羅尼）

[Chinese]

Namu kara tan no

tora ya ya
namu ori ya
boryo ki chi shifu ra ya
fuji sato bo ya
moko sato bo ya
mo ko kya runi kya ya
◎ en
sa hara ha e shu tan no ton sha
namu shiki ri toi mo
ori ya
boryo ki chi
shifu ra
rin to bo
na mu no ra
kin ji ki ri
mo ko ho do
sha mi sa bo
o to jo shu ben
o shu in
sa bo sa to
no mo bo gya
mo ha te cho
to ji to
en
o bo ryo ki
ru gya chi
24
kya ra chi
i kiri mo ko
fuji sa to
sa bo sa bo
mo ra mo ra
mo ki mo ki
ri to in ku ryo ku ryo
ke mo to ryo to ryo
ho ja ya chi
mo ko ho ja ya chi
to ra to ra
chiri ni
shifu ra ya
sha ro sha ro
mo mo ha mo ra
ho chi ri
i ki i ki
shi no shi no
ora san fura sha ri
ha za ha zan
fura sha ya

mo ra ku ryo ku ryo
ki ri sha ro sha ro
shi ri shi ri
su ryo su ryo
fuji ya
fuji ya
fudo ya fudo ya
mi chiri ya
◎ nora kin ji
chiri shuni no
hoya mono
somo ko

25
shido ya
somo ko
moko shido ya
somo ko
shido yu ki
shifu ra ya
somo ko
◎ nora kin ji
somo ko
mo ra no ra somo ko
shira su omo gya ya
so mo ko
sobo moko shido ya
somo ko
shaki ra oshi do ya
somo ko
hodo mogya shido ya
somo ko
nora kin ji ha gyara ya
somo ko
mo hori shin gyara ya somo ko
namu kara tan no tora ya ya
●namu ori ya
boryo ki chi
shifu ra ya
somo ko
●shite do modora
hodo ya
so mo ko.

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Disaster-Preventing Dharani
(Shōsai shu 消災呪）
Full title: Marvelously Beneficial Disaster Preventing Dharani
(Shōsai Myōkichijō darani 消災妙吉祥陀羅尼）

[Chinese]

No mo san man da
moto nan
oha ra chi koto sha
sono nan ◎ to ji to
en
gya gya
gya ki gya ki
un nun
shifu ra shifu ra
hara shifu ra hara shifu ra
chishu sa chishu sa
chishu ● ri chishu ri
sowa ja sowa ja
● sen chi gya
shiri ei so mo ko.

27
Heart Sutra
(Hannya shingyō 般若心経）
Full title: Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra
(Maka hannya haramitta shingyō 摩訶般若波羅蜜多心経）

Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, when deeply practicing

prajna parami ta, clearly saw ◎ that all five aggregates are
empty and thus relieved all suffering. Shariputra, form
does not differ from emptiness, emptiness does not
differ from form. Form itself is emptiness, emptiness
itself form. Sensations, perceptions, formations, and
consciousness are also like this. Shariputra, all dharmas
are marked by emptiness； they neither arise nor cease,
are neither defiled nor pure, neither increase nor
decrease. Therefore, given emptiness, there is no form,
no sensation, no perception, no formation, no
consciousness; no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no
body, no mind; no sight, no sound, no smell, no taste, no
touch, no object of mind; no realm of sight... no realm
of mind consciousness. There is neither ignorance nor
extinction of ignorance... neither old age and death, nor
extinction of old age and death； no suffering, no cause,
no cessation, no path； no knowledge and no attainment.
With nothing to attain, a bodhisattva relies on prajna
parami ta, ◎ and thus the mind is without hindrance.
Without hindrance, there is no fear. Far beyond all
inverted views, one realizes nirvana. All buddhas of past,
present, and future rely on prajna paramita ◎ and
thereby attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect
enlightenment. Therefore, know the prajna paramita as
the great miraculous mantra, the great bright mantra,
the supreme mantra, the incomparable mantra, which
removes all suffering and is true, not false. Therefore

28
we proclaim the prajna paramita mantra, the mantra that
says： "Gate Gate ● Paragate Parasamgate ● Bodhi
Svaha.”

29
Harmony of Difference and Equality
(Sandōkai 参同契）

The mind of the great sage of India

is intimately transmitted from west to east.

While human faculties are sharp or dull,

the way has no northern or southern ancestors.

The spiritual source shines clear in the light;

the branching streams flow on in the dark.

Grasping at things is surely delusion；

according with sameness is still not enlightenment.

◎ All the objects of the senses

transpose and do not transpose.

Transposing, they are linked together；

not transposing, each keeps its place.

Sights vary in quality and form；

sounds differ as pleasing or harsh.

Darkness merges refined and common words；

brightness distinguishes clear and murky phrases.

The four elements return to their natures,

just as a child turns to its mother.

Fire heats, wind moves,

water wets, earth is solid.

30
Eye and sights, ear and sounds,
nose and smells, tongue and tastes；

thus for each and every thing,

according to the roots, the leaves spread forth.

Trunk and branches share the essence；

revered and common, each has its speech.

In the light there is darkness,

but don't take it as darkness.

In the dark there is light,

but don't see it as light.

Light and dark oppose one another

like the front and back foot in walking.

◎ Each of the myriad things has its merit,

expressed according to function and place.

Existing phenomenally like box and cover joining；

according with principle like arrow points meeting.

◎ Hearing the words, understand the meaning;

don't establish standards of your own.

Not understanding the way before your eyes,

how do you know the path you walk?

Walking forward is not a matter of far or near,

but if you are confused, mountains and rivers block
your way.

31
● I respectfully urge you who study the mystery,
● don't pass your days and nights in vain.

32
Precious Mirror Samadhi
(Hōkyō zanmai 宝鏡三昧）

The dharma of thusness is intimately

transmitted by buddhas and ancestors.

Now you have it;

preserve it well.

◎ A silver bowl filled with snow,

a heron hidden in the moon.

Taken as similar, they are not the same；

not distinguished, their places are known.

The meaning does not reside in the words,

but a pivotal moment brings it forth.

Move and you are trapped,

miss and you fall into doubt and vacillation.

Turning away and touching are both wrong,

for it is like a massive fire.

Just to portray it in literary form

is to stain it with defilement.

In darkest night it is perfectly clear；

in the light of dawn it is hidden.

It is a standard for all things；

its use removes all suffering.

33
Although it is not constructed,
it is not beyond words.

Like facing a precious mirror；

form and reflection behold each other.

You are not it,

but in truth it is you.

Like a newborn child,

it is fully endowed with five aspects.

No going, no coming, no arising, no abiding;

"Baba wawa" - is anything said or not?

In the end it says nothing,

for the words are not yet right.

In the hexagram "double fire,"

when main and subsidiary lines are transposed,

piled up they become three；

the permutations make five.

Like the taste of the five-flavored herb,

like the five-pronged vajra.

Wondrously embraced within the complete,

drumming and singing begin together.

Penetrate the source and travel the pathways,

embrace the territory and treasure the roads.

34
You would do well to respect this;
do not neglect it.

Natural and wondrous,

it is not a matter of delusion or enlightenment.

Within causes and conditions, time and season,

it is serene and illuminating.

So minute it enters where there is no gap,

so vast it transcends dimension.

A hairsbreadth deviation,
and you are out of tune.

Now there are sudden and gradual,

in which teachings and approaches arise.

With teachings and approaches distinguished,

each has its standard.

Whether teachings and approaches are mastered or not,

reality constantly flows,

Outside still and inside trembling,

like tethered colts or cowering rats.

The ancient sages grieved for them,

and offered them the dharma.

Led by their inverted views,

they take black for white.

35
When inverted thinking stops,
the affirming mind naturally accords.

If you want to follow in the ancient tracks,

please observe the sages of the past.

One on the verge of realizing the buddha way

contemplated a tree for ten kalpas.

◎ Like a battle-scarred tiger,

like a horse with shanks gone grey.

Because some are vulgar,

jeweled tables and ornate robes.

Because others are wide-eyed,

cats and white oxen.

◎ With his archer's skill,

Yi hit the mark at a hundred paces.

But when arrows meet head-on,

how could it be a matter of skill?

The wooden man starts to sing,

the stone woman gets up dancing.

It is not reached by feelings or consciousness;

how could it involve deliberation?

Ministers serve their lords,

children obey their parents.

36
Not obeying is not filial,
Failure to serve is no help.

With practice hidden, function secretly,

like a fool, like an idiot.

● Just to continue in this way

● is called the host within the host.

37
Verse of the “Life Span” Chapter
(Juryōhon ge 寿量品偈)
Full title: Verse of the “Life Span of the Tathāgata
Chapter” of the Lotus Sutra (Myōhōrengekyō nyorai juryōhon ge
妙法蓮華経如来寿量品偈)

◎ Since I attained buddhahood,

the number of kalpas that have passed
is incalculable hundreds, thousands, myriads,
and billions of long eons.

Constantly I have voiced the dharma, teaching

countless millions of living beings.
so that they entered the buddha way；
◎ all tnis for immeasurable kalpas.

In order to liberate all beings,

as skillful means I appear to have entered nirvana;
yet truly I am not extinct,
ever dwelling here to voice the dharma.

I forever abide in this world,

but use my powers of spiritual penetration
so that confused living beings,
though nearby, fail to see me.

All those viewing me as extinct

everywhere venerate my relics；
all harbor feelings of yearning,
and arouse adoring hearts.

When beings have become sincerely faithful,

honest and upright, with gentle intention,

38
wholeheartedly wishing to behold the Buddha,
not begrudging their own bodily lives,
then I and the assembled sangha
appear together on sacred Vulture Peak.

Then I tell the living beings

that in this world I abide without end,
by the power of expedient means,
appearing to be extinct, or not.

Other lands contain living beings,

reverent with faith aspiring;
among them as well,
I give voice to supreme dharma.

You who do not hear this

only suppose I am passed into extinction.
I behold the living beings,
drowning in the sea of suffering.

Hence I do not reveal myself,

but set them all to yearning,
till when their hearts are filled with longing,
I then emerge and proclaim the dharma.

With such pervasive spiritual power,

for uncountable kalpas
I abide on sacred Vulture Peak
and every other dwelling place.

When living beings see the kalpa's end,

with all consumed in a great blaze,
my domain stays serene and calm,
ever filled with human and heavenly beings,

39
gardens and groves, pavilions and palaces,
adorned with every kind of gem,
and jeweled trees lush with flowers and fruit,
where living beings delight and play.

The heavenly beings beat celestial drums,

ever making pleasing music,
showering white mandarava flowers
over Buddha and the great assembly.

My pure land is not destroyed,

yet all view it as ravaged by fire,
so that fear and distress
pervade everywhere.

The beings vexed with their offenses,

caused by their unwholesome karma,
through vast rounds of kalpas,
hear not the name of the three treasures.

But those who practice virtuous deeds,

are gentle,upright, and sincere;
these all see that I exist,
abiding here, proclaiming dharma.

At times for the sake of that assembly,

I describe Buddha's life span as immeasurable;
for those who after great lengths see the Buddha
I explain how rarely Buddha is encountered.

Such is the power of my wisdom,

with beams of insight shining beyond measure;
this life span of countless kalpas
was gained from long-cultivated practice.

40
You who are possessed of wisdom,
in regards to this, entertain no doubts;
◎ cast them off, forever ended,
for Buddha's words are true, not false.

Like the good physician who with skillful means,

in order to cure his delirious children,
although truly alive spreads word he is dead,
yet cannot be charged with falsehood.

I too, as parent of the world,

savior of all suffering and afflicted,
◎ for the sake of confused, worldly people,
although truly living, I am thought extinct.

If due to always seeing me,

their hearts become selfish and arrogant,
dissolute and set on the five desires,
they would fall into evil destinies.

I always know which living beings

practice the way, and which do not;
in accord with what their salvation requires,
I give voice to the various teachings.

● I ever make this my thought：

how can I cause the living beings
● to enter into the unsurpassed way
and promptly embody buddha?

41
Victor’s Dharani
(Sonshōdarani 尊勝陀羅尼）
Full title: Crown of the Victor Dharani
(Butchō sonshō darani 仏頂尊勝陀羅尼）

[Chinese]

No bo bagya ba tei
tare roki ya
hara chi bishi shu daya
bo daya
bagya ba tei tani ya ta
◎ on bishu daya bishu daya
sama sama san man da
haba sha soha ran da gyachi gyaga no
sowa han ba
bishu tei
abi shin sha to man
sogya ta hara hasha no a min ta
bi sei ke maka man dara ha dai
a kara a kara
ayu san dara ni
shuda ya shuda ya
gyagya no bishu tei
u shu nisha bisha ya
bishu tei
saka sara ara shin mei
san soni tei
sara ba tada gya ta
baro gya ni
sata hara mita
hari hora ni
sara ba tatagya ta
kiri ta ya

42
jishu tan no
jishu chi ta
maka boda rei
ba zara gya ya
sugya ta no
bishu tei
sara ba hara da
haya tori
gyachi hari bishu tei
hara chini hara daya
a yoku shu tei
san ma ya
jishu chi tei
mani mani maka mani
tatan da bota kuchi
hari shu tei
biso bo da
bo jishu tei ◎ sha ya sha ya
bisha ya bisha ya
san mora san mora
sara ba bo da
jishu chi te shudei
ba jiri ba zara
kyara bei ba zara ban ba
◎ to mama shari ran
sara ba sato ban nan shagya ya
hari bishu tei
sara ba gyachi hari shu tei
sara ba tata gya ta
shitsu sha mei
san ma jin ba sa en to
sara ba tata gya ta
san ma jin ba sa
jishu chitei

43
bo jiya
bo jiya
bibo jiya bibo jiya
bo daya bo daya
bibo daya bibo daya
san man da
hari shu tei
sara ba tata gya ta
● kiri ta ya
jishu tan no
jishu chi ta
● maka boda rei so wa ka.

44
Ambrosia Gate
(Kanromon 甘露門）
[Note: *double asterisks* mark the tides of sections,
which are not chanted.]

*Inviting the Three Treasures*

(Bushō sanbō 奉請三宝）
[chant 3 times]
◎3 Homage to the buddnas of the ten directions;
Homage to the dharma of the ten directions;
Homage to the sangha of the ten directions；
◎3 Homage to the original teacher,Shakyamuni Buddha;
Homage to Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, of great
love and great compassion, reliever of suffering；
▲ 3 Homage to the Venerable Ananda, reciter of tihe
teachings.

*Invoking the Vow to Awaken*

(Chōshō hotsugan 招請発願）

◎ By all the members of this assembly.

Giving rise to the thought of awakening, we present a

vessel of pure food, offering it to all the hungry ghosts in
every country of the innumerable lands in the dharma
realm throughout all space in the ten directions. Please
come and gather here, you departed long ago, and all
spirits, from earth gods of mountains and rivers to
demons and wraiths of barren wastes. Taking pity on
you all, with this food we feed you now.

45
We pray that every one of you, having received this food
of ours, offers it in tum to all the buddhas, holy ones, and
sentient beings throughout all realms of empty space, that
all may be satisfied. We also pray that your bodies, conveyed
by this dharani-food, may leave suffering behind and gain
liberation； that you may attain the joy of birth in heavens;
that you may, in accordance with your wishes,be delivered
to one of the pure lands in the ten directions； that you
may give rise to the thought of awakening, practice the
path to awakening, and in the future become buddhas;
that you may never backslide； and that whoever first
attains the way may vow to lead the others to liberation
as well. We also pray that day and night without cease
you shall protect us and completely answer our prayers.

May the merit generated by giving this food be dedicated

to sentient beings of the dharma realm,so that those
various beings may exist in equality, and together dedi-
cate these blessings to the dharma realm of suchness, to
supreme awakening, and to omniscience, with the prayer
that together with all sentient beings we may quickly
attain buddhahood and not seek any other rewards.

May all sentient beings of the dharma realms, conveyed

by this rite,swiftly attain buddhahood.

*Dharani for Inviting the Cloudlike Hosts of Spirits*

(Unshū kijin chōshō darani 雲集鬼神招請陀羅尼）
[Chinese, chant 3 times]
◎ No bo
bohori
gyari tari
▲3 tatā gyataya.

46
*Dharani for Breaking Down the Gates of Hell
and Opening Throats*
(Ha jigokumon kai inkō darani 破地獄門開咽喉陀羅尼）
[Chinese, chant 3 times]
◎ On boho teiri
gyatari
▲3 tatā gyataya.

*Dharani for Sanctifying the Food with the Unimpeded Radiance

of Innumerable Virtues*
(Muryō itoku jizai kōmyō kaji onjiki darani
無量威徳自在光明加持飲食陀羅尼）
[Chinese, chant 3 times]
◎ No maku
saraba
tatā gyata
baro kitei
on
▲3 san barā
san bara un.

*Dharani for Bestowing the Ambrosial Taste

of the Dharma*
(Mō kanro hōmi darani 蒙甘露法味陀羅尼）
[Chinese, chant 3 times]
◎ No maku
soro baya
tatā gyataya
tanyata
on
soro soro
47
 hara soro
▲3 hara soro
sowaka.

*Dharam for Contemplating Vairocana through

the Graph “Heart” on a Disk of Water*
(Birushana ichiji shin suirin kan darani 毘盧舎那一字心水輪観陀羅尼）
[Chinese, chant 3 times]
◎ No maku
san manda
▲ 3 bota nan ban.

*Dharani for Invoking the Precious Names

of the Five Tathagatas*
(Go nyorai hōgō chōshō darani 五如来宝号招請陀羅尼）
[Chinese, chant 3 times]
◎ Homage to the Tathagata Abundant Treasures.
No bo
bagya batei
hara bota
ara tan no ya
tatā gyataya.
Quell deeds of greed;
let blessings and wisdom be replete.

◎ Homage to the Tathagata Wondrously Hued Body.

No bo
bagya batei
soro baya
tatā gyataya.
Remove ugly forms；
endow with pleasing looks.

48
◎ Homage to the Tathagata Ambrosia King.
No bo
bagya batei
ami ritei
aran jaya
tatā gyataya.
Anoint bodies and minds,
giving joy and ease.

◎ Homage to the Tathagata Expansive Body.

No bo
bagya batei
biho ragya
taraya
tatā gyataya.
Throats opened wide,
with drink and food be satisfied.

◎ Homage to the Tathagata Freedom From Fear.

No bo
bagya batei
●3 aba en
gyaraya
tatā gyataya.
●3 Fear utterly eradicated, be freed from the state of
hungry ghost.

*Dharani for Producing the Thought ofEnlightenment*

(Hotsu bodaishin darani 発菩提心陀羅尼）
[Chinese, chant 3 times]

On
bo jishitta

49
 boda
hada yami.

*Dharani of Giving the Bodhisattva Samaya Precepts*

(Ju bosatsu sammayakai darani 授菩薩三摩耶戒陀羅尼）
[Chinese, chant 3 times]

On
san maya
sato ban.

*Secret Root Dharani for Dwelling in the

Great Jewelled Pavilion *
(Daihō rōkaku zenjū himitsu konpon darani
大宝楼閣善住秘密根本陀羅尼）
[Chinese, chant 3 times]
◎3 No maku
saraba tatā gyata nan
◎3 on
bihora
gyarabei
mani hara bei
tata tani tashani
mani mani
soha rabei
bima rei shagyara
genbi rei
un nun jin bara jin bara
boda
biroki tei
kugya
chishut-ta
gyara bei

50
 sowaka
on mani
baji rei un
▲ on manida rei
un bat-ta.

*Dharani for Initiation into the Mantra

of the Radiance of the Buddhas*
(Shobutsu kōmyō shingon kanchō darani 諸仏光明真言灌頂陀羅尼)
[Chinese, chant 3 times]

◎3 on
abogya
bei rosha no
maka bodara
mani han doma
● jin bara hara bari
● taya un.

*Dharani for Bequeathing Liberation*

(Hakken gedatsu darani 撥遣解脱陀羅尼)
[Note: Usually this dharani is not chanted]

On
basara
bold shaboku.

* Verse for Dedicating Merit*

(Ekōge 回向偈）

With the good karma gathered in this practice, we repay

the virtuous toils of our fathers and mothers, that the
living may be blessed with joy and long life without dis-
tress, and the deceased freed from suffering and born in

51
the pure land. May the four benefactors, sentient beings
in the three classes of existence, and those born in the
three evil destinies and eight difficulties all be able to
repent their transgressions, purify their defects, entirely
escape the round of rebirth, and be bom in the pure land.

52
 Part Two
Eko For Sutra-Chanting Services

53
A. Morning Service
(chōka fugin 朝課諷経）

Buddha Hall Sutra Chanting

(butsuden fugin 仏殿諷経）
Texts chanted:
“Universal Gateway” Chapter (Fumonbon 普門品）
Great Compassion Dharani (Daihi shu 大悲呪）
Disaster-Preventing Dharani( Shōsai shu 消災呪)[3 times]
Eko:

Having chanted the “Universal Gateway of Avalo-

kiteshvara Bodhisattva” Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Great
Compassionate Mind Dharani, and Marvelously Beneficial
Disaster-Preventing Dharani, we reverently offer the
merit generated thereby to our Great Benefactor and
Founder of the Doctrine, the Original Teacher Shakya-
muni Buddha [or whatever other figure is currently enshrined as the
main object of veneration in the practice place], to the Eminent An-
cestor Dogen, and to the Great Ancestor Keizan,that it
may adorn their awakening, the unsurpassed fruit of
buddhahood. We further offer it to all the dharma-
protecting devas； to the dharma-protecting saints； to the
earth spirit of this place and to the monastery-protecting
spirits； to the Bodhisattva Joho Shichiro Daigen Shuri;
and to the tutelary deities enshrined in all halls.

What we pray for is peace in the land, harmony among

nations, prosperity and longevity for donors throughout
the ten directions, tranquility within the monastery, and
ample sustenance for the community; may all sentient
beings throughout the dharma realm equally perfect
omniscience.

54
◎ All buddhas throughout space and time,
all honored ones, bodhisattvas, mahasattvas,
◎ wisdom beyond wisdom, maha-prajnaparamita.

55
Sutra Chanting for the Arhats
(ōgu fugin 応供諷経）
Text chanted:
Heart Sutra (Hannya skingyō 般若心経）

Eko:

We humbly beg your illumination and sympathetic

response.

Having chanted the Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra,

we transfer the merit generated thereby to the eternal
three treasures in the ten directions； to the countless
sages in the ocean of buddhahood; to the sixteen great
arhats； and to all beings associated with the class of
worthy ones.

What we pray is that you will use your three knowledges

and six supernatural powers to turn the age of the end of
the dharma into the age of the true dharma; use your
five powers and eight liberations to lead living beings to
the uncreated; continuously turn the two wheels of the
monastery； and forever prevent the three disasters from
afflicting the land.

56
Ancestors Hall Sutra Chanting
(sodō fugin 祖堂諷経）
Texts chanted:
Harmony of Difference and Equality (Sandōkai 参同契)
Precious Mirror Samadhi (Hōkyō zanmai 宝鏡三昧)

Eko:

We humbly beg your true compassion and illumination.

Having chanted the Harmony of Difference and Equality

and the Precious Mirror Samadhi, we dedicate this service
to the successive generations of buddhas and ancestors
who transmitted the flame, that we may repay their
compassionate blessings：

Great Teacher Vipashyin Buddha

Great Teacher Shikhin Buddha
Great Teacher Vishvabhu Buddha
Great Teacher Krakucchanda Buddha
Great Teacher Kanakamuni Buddha
Great Teacher Kashyapa Buddha
Great Teacher Shakyamuni Buddha
Great Teacher Mahakashyapa
Great Teacher Ananda
Great Teacher Shanavasa
Great Teacher Upagupta
Great Teacher Dhritaka
Great Teacher Miccaka
Great Teacher Vasumitra
Great Teacher Buddhanandi
Great Teacher Buddhamitra
Great Teacher Parshva
Great Teacher Punyayashas
Great Teacher Ashvaghosna
57
Great Teacher Kapimala
Great Teacher Nagarjuna
Great Teacher Kanadeva
Great Teacher Rahukata
Great Teacher Sanghanandi
Great Teacher Gayashata
Great Teacher Kumarata
Great Teacher Jayata
Great Teacher Vasubandhu
Great Teacher Manorhita
Great Teacher Haklenayashas
Great Teacher Simha Bhikshu
Great Teacher Basiasita
Great Teacher Punyamitra
Great Teacher Prajnatara
Great Teacher Bodhidharma
Great Teacher Dazu Huike
Great Teacher Jianzhi Sengcan
Great Teacher Dayi Daoxin
Great Teacher Daman Hongren
Great Teacher Dajian Huineng
Great Teacher Qingyuan Xingsi
Great Teacher Shitou Xiqian
Great Teacher Yaoshan Weiyan
Great Teacher Yunyan Tansheng
Great Teacher Dongshan Liangjie
Great Teacher Yunju Daoying
Great Teacher Tongan Daopi
Great Teacher Tongan Guanzhi
Great Teacher Liangshan Yuanguan
Great Teacher Dayang Jingxuan
Great Teacher Touzi Yiqing
Great Teacher Furong Daokai
Great Teacher Danxia Zichun

58
Great Teacher Changlu Qingliao
Great Teacher Tiantong Zongjue
Great Teacher Xuedou Zhijian
Great Teacher Tiantong Rujing
Great Teacher Eihei Dōgen
Great Teacher Koun Ejō
Great Teacher Tettsū Gikai
Great Teacher Keizan Jōkin
Great Teacher ___[name]___
Great Teacher ___[name]___
Great Teacher ___[name]___
Great Teacher ___[name]___
Great Teacher ___[name]___
Great Teacher ___[name]___
Great Teacher ___[name]___

(etc.)

59
Sutra Chanting for Founding and Former Abbots
(kaisan rekijū fugin 開山歴住諷経）
Text chanted；
Great Compassion Dharani (Daihi shu 大悲呪）

Eko:

We humbly beg your true compassion and illumination.

Having chanted the Great Compassionate Mind Dha-

rani, we dedicate this service to each of the following
great teachers, that we may repay their compassionate
blessings:

Great Teacher___[name]___
Great Teacher___[name]___
Great Teacher___[name]___
(etc.)
We also offer this karma to Great Teachers [names],
that it may enhance their names.

60
Mortuary Hall Sutra Chanting
(shidō fugin 祠堂諷経）
Text chanted:
Verse from the “Life Span” Chapter (Juryōhon ge 寿量品偈）

Eko;

We humbly beg the three treasures for their

illumination.

Having chanted the verse from the “Life Span of the

Tathagata” Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, we transfer the
merit generated thereby to the names of the deceased
monks of this monastery and the deceased sangha
members throughout the dharma realm； to the spirits of
the founding patrons of this monastery, (names), and the
martyrs of every nation； to the donors enshrined in the
mortuary hall； to the six close kin and seven generations
of parents of the pure assembly gathered at this
monastery； and to sentient beings throughout the
dharma realm.

May they equally perfect awakening.

61
B. Abbreviated Morning Service
(ryaku chōka fugin 略朝課諷経）

Sutra Chanting for Repaying Blessings

(hōon fugin 報恩諷経）
Text chanted:
Heart Sutra (Hannya shingyō 般若心経）

Eko：

Having chanted the Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra,

we reverently offer the merit generated thereby to our
Great Benefactor and Founder of the Doctrine, the
Original Teacher Shakyamuni Buddha [or whatever other
figure is currently enshrined as the main object of veneration in the practice
place],to the Eminent Ancestor Dogen, to the Great
Ancestor Keizan,to the successive generations of buddhas
and ancestors who transmitted the flame, to the found-
ing abbot of the monastery, Great Teacher (name), and
to the eternal three treasures in the ten directions, that
we may repay their compassionate blessings. We further
offer it to the tutelary deities of this monastery, the
dharma-protecting devas, and good spirits.

What we pray for is the flourishing of the true dharma,

harmony among all nations, tranquility within the
monastery, and that all conditions may be favorable.

62
Sutra Chanting for All Spirits
(banrei fugin 万霊諷経）
Text chanted:
Great Compassion Dharani (Daihi shu 大悲呪）

Eko:

We humbly beg the three treasures for their

illumination.

Having chanted the Great Compassionate Mind Dharani,

we transfer the merit generated thereby to names of the
deceased monks throughout the dharma realm； to the
founding patrons of this monastery, (names); to the
donors enshrined in the mortuary hall; and to sentient
beings throughout the dharma realm.

May they equally perfect awakening.

63
C. Other Sutra-Chanting Services

Kitchen Sutra Chanting

(sōkō fugin 竈公諷経）
Text chanted;
Great Compassion Dharani (Daihi shu 大悲呪）

Eko:

Having chanted the Great Compassionate Mind Dharani,

we transfer the merit to the kitchen god of this monas-
tery, that he may guard the dharma and protect the
people.

Midday Sutra Chanring

(nitchū fugin 曰中諷経）

Victor’s Dharani (Sonshō darani 尊勝陀羅尼）

Eko:
Having chanted the Crown of the Victor Dharani, we rever-
ently offer the merit generated thereby to our Great
Benefactor and Founder of the Doctrine, the Original
Teacher Shakyamuni Buddha [or whatever other figure is
currently enshrined as the main object of veneration in the practice place],
to the Eminent Ancestor Dogen, to the Great Ancestor
Keizan, to the three treasures in the ten directions, and
the myriad spirits of the triple world.

What we pray for is tranquility within the monastery, a

calm setting for cultivation of the way, the avoidance of
all calamities, and that all conditions may be favorable.

64
Evening Sutra Chanting
(banka fugin 晚課諷経）
Texts chanted:
Great Compassion Dharani (Daihi shu 大悲呪）
Ambrosia Gate (Kanromon 甘露門）
Eko：
Universal Transference of Merit (Fuekō 普回向）
May this merit extend universally to all,so that we
together with all beings realize the buddha way.

Prayers Sutra Chanting

(shukutō fugin 祝禱諷経）
Text chanted:
Heart Sutra (Hannya shingyō 般若心経）

Eko:
He of majestic golden visage, stately king of awakening,
uniquely honored in the triple world, revered by the
myriad spirits. On every occurrence of this auspicious
day, the pure assembly reverently gathers in its entirety,
fills the great buddha hall, and chants the Heart of Great
Perfect Wisdom Sutra. We reverently offer the merit to
our Great Benefactor and Founder of the Doctrine, the
Original Teacher Shakyamuni Buddha [or whatever other
figure is currently enshrined as the main object of veneration in the practice
place], to
the Eminent Ancestor Dogen, and to the Great
Ancestor Keizan.

Gazing up, we beg their vast compassionate blessings.

Bowing down, we are moved by their everlasting
spiritual virtue.

65
We wholeheartedly pray for the flourishing of the true
dharma, peace in the land, harmony among all nations,
and that all conditions may be favorable.

Sutra Chanting For Tutelary Deities

(chinju fugin 鎮守諷経）
Text chanted:
Great Compassion Dharani (Daihi shu 大悲呪）

Eko:

Supernatural merits vast and wide, sacred virtues clear

and brignt, prayed to by all, and always responsive.

Seeking your sacred wisdom, we beg your illumination.

Having chanted the Great Compassionate Mind Dharani,
we transfer the blessings generated thereby to (name),
the tutelary deity of this monastery； and to the earth
spirit and protecting spirits of this monastery; to the
dharma-protecting devas and good spirits. May it increase
their majestic light and their virtues, immeasurable as the
ocean.

What we pray for is tranquility within the monastery,

practice without hindrance, peace in the land, and har-
mony among all nations.

66
Sutra Chanting For Idaten
(Idaten fugin 韋駄天諷経）
Texts chanted：
Heart Sutra (Hannya shingyō 般若心経）
Disaster-Preventing Dharani (Shōsai shu 消災呪）[3 times]

Eko:

Having chanted the Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra

and Marvelously Beneficial Disaster-Preventing Dharani,
we offer the merit generated thereby to the dharma-
protecting Venerable Deva Idaten, the envoy who over-
sees meals in the kitchen, the god in charge of hot water
and fire.

What we pray for is tranquility within the monastery,

safety inside and out, the prevention of fire and theft,
and the support of donors and believers.

Offering to the Main Object of Veneration

(honzon Jōgu 本尊上供）
Text chanted:
Heart Sutra (Hannya shingyō 般若心経）

Eko：

Having chanted the Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra,

we offer the merit to our Great Benefactor and Founder
of the Doctrine,the Original Teacher Shakyamuni
Buddha [or whatever other figure is currently enshrined as the main
object of veneration in the practice place], tO the Eminent Ancestor
Dogen, and to the Great Ancestor Keizan,that it may
adorn their awakening, the unsurpassed fruit of buddha-
hood.
67
We humbly pray that the blessings of the four bene-
factors may be fully requited, that the three classes of
existences may all be saved, and that sentient beings
throughout the triple world equally perfect omniscience.

(What we hope for is prosperity for the household, long

continuity of the family line, prevention of disasters, and
that all conditions may be favorable.)

Sutra Chanting for Mortuary Hall Patrons

(shidō danna fugin 祠堂檀那諷経）
Texts chanted: not specified
[Note: For use in the annual memorial service for the founding
patron of each monastery.]

Eko：
Purity perfected,the light penetrates,
calmly shining throughout the void.
Coming back and viewing the world
like something in a dream.

We humbly beg the three treasures for their illumination.

On this occasion of the monthly/annual day/eve of the

memorial of (dharma name), we have respectfully
prepared offerings ot incense, flowers, lamps, and
candles (sweet tea/hot water/ fruit/tea/delicacies/
savories) and chanted sutras and dharanis, that the merit
generated thereby may assist his/her awakened spirit and
adorn the land of his/ ner reward.

We humbly pray that within the current of birth and

death he/she shall be as the lustrous pearl shimmering

68
undisturbed in the vast sea; that on the shore of nirvana
he/she shall be as a cinnamon moon shining alone in the
azure sky； so that he/she will guide the entire world,
together climbing the path to awakening.

Sutra Chanting for Patrons' Ancestors

(dannotsu senmō ruidai fugin 檀越先亡累代諷経）
Texts chanted: not specified
Eko：

rhe clear cool moon of the bodhisattva

floats in the sky of utter emptiness；
in the pure water of the mind of beings,
the reflection of bodhi will appear.

We humbly beg the three treasures for their illumination.

Having chanted the preceding su tras and dharanis, we

offer the merit generated thereby to the spirits of ances-
tors and deceased family members of the (aharma name)
household, to the six close kin and seven generations of
parents, and to all sentient beings of the dharma realm,
including the myriad spirits or the triple world both with
and without connections to the living.

What we pray for is that their delusion of long kalpas

will now be extinguished; that the marvelous wisdom of
true emptiness will hereby appear; and that they will
immediately comprehend the uncreated and quickly
confirm the fruit of buddhahood.

69
 Part Three
Verses And Texts For Other Occasions

70
A. Verses

Verse of Homage to Buddha’s Relics

(Shari raimon 舎利礼文）

With wholehearted reverence we bow

to the relics of the true body
◎ of the Tathagata Shakyamuni,
who is fully endowed with myriad virtues;
to the dharma body which is the fundamental ground;
and to his stupa, which is the whole
universe. With deep respect we venerate the one
who manifested a body for our sake.
1 hrough the sustaining power of the Buddha,
which enters us even as we enter it,
we verity awakening.
By means of the Buddha's spiritual power,
we benefit living beings,
● arouse the thought of awakening,
cultivate bodhisattva practice,
and together enter perfect peace,
● the knowledge of the equality of all things.
Now let us reverently bow.

Sutra-Opening Verse
(Kaikyō ge 開経偈）

The unsurpassed, profound, and wondrous dharma

is rarely met with, even in a hundred, thousand, million
kalpas.
Now we can see and hear it, accept and maintain it.
May we unfold the meaning of the Tathagata's truth.

71
Robe Verse
(Takkesa ge 搭袈装偈）

How great, the robe of liberation,

a formless field of merit.
Wrapping ourselves in Buddha's teaching,
we free all living beings.

Repentance Verse
(Sange mon 懺悔文）

All my past and harmful karma,

born from beginningless greed, hate, and delusion,
through Dody, speech, and mind,
I now fully avow.

Three Refuges Verse

(Sankie mon 三帰依文）

Hail refuge in buddha;

hail refuge in dharma；
hail refuge in sangha.

I take refuge in buddha, honored as the highest;

I take refuge in dharma, honored as the stainless；
I take refuge in sangha, honored as harmonious.

I have completely taken refuge in buddha;

I have completely taken refuge in dharma；
I have completely taken refuge in sangha.

72
Three Refuges Prayer
(Sanki raimon 三帰礼文）

I take refuge in buddha.

May all beings
embody the great way,
resolving to awaken.

I take refuge in dharma.

May all living beings
deeply enter the sutras,
wisdom like an ocean

I take refuge in sangha.

May all beings
support harmony in the community,
free from hindrance.

Verse in Worship of the Three Venerable Ones

(Sanzon raimon 三尊礼文）

Homage to our great benefactor and lord of the

doctrine,the Original Teacher Shakyamuni Buddha.
Homage to the High Patriarch Dogen.
Homage to the Eminent Patriarch Keizan.
We gather up and receive your great
compassionate pity.
May we encounter and obtain it from life to life
in every world.

73
Prostrations Verse
(Raihai ge 礼拝偈）

The nature of that which can be and is worshiped is

empty and still.
One's own body and the body of the other are in essence
not two.
May we together with all beings obtain liberation,
giving rise to the supreme intention and relying on the
ultimate truth.

Four Vows
(Shigu seigan mon 四弘誓願文）

Beings are numberless； I vow to free them.

Delusions are inexhaustible； I vow to end them.
Dharma gates are boundless； I vow to enter them.
The buddha way is unsurpassable； I vow to realize it.

74
Formal Meal Verses
(Gyōhatsu nenju 行鉢念誦）
[Note: underlined passages are chanted by leader only.]

Verse upon Hearing the Meal signal

(Montsui no ge 聞槌之偈）

Buddha was bom in Kapilavastu,

enlightened m Magadha,
taught in Varanasi,
entered nirvana in Kushmagara.

Verse for Setting Out Bowls

(Tenpatsu no ge 展鉢之偈）

Now we set out Buddha's bowls；

may we, with all living beings,
realize the emptiness of the three wheels：
giver,receiver,and gift.

Ten Buddha Names

(Jūbutsumyō 十仏名）

In the midst of the three treasures

which verify our understanding.
entrusting ourselves to the sangha.
we recall：

Vairochana Buddha, pure Dharmakaya;

Lochana Buddha, complete Sambhogakaya;
Shakyamuni Buddha, myriad Nirmanakaya;
Maitreya Buddha, of future birth;
all buddhas throughout space and time;
Lotus of the Wondrous Dharma, Mahayana su tra.
75
Manjushri Bodhisattva, great wisdom;
Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, great activity;
Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, great compassion；
all honored ones, bodhisattvas, mahasattvas；
wisdom beyond wisdom, maha prajna paramita.

Food Offering Verse <at breakfast>

(Sejiki ge 施食偈)

This morning meal of ten benefits

nourishes us in our practice.
Its rewards are boundless.
filling us with ease and ioy.

Food Offering Verse <at lunch>

(Sejiki ge 施食偈）

The three virtues and six tastes of this meal

are offered to buddha and sangha.
May all sentient beings in the universe
be equally nourished.
[Note: when the preceding verses have been chanted, the food is served.
Prior to eating, the following verses are chanted：]

Verse of Five Contemplations

(Gokan no ge 五観之偈）

We reflect on the effort that brought us this food

and consider how it comes to us.
We reflect on our virtue and practice, and whether
we are worthy of this offering.
We regard greed as the obstacle to freedom of mind.
We regard this meal as medicine to sustain our life.
For the sake of enlightenment we now receive this food.

76
Verse of Food for Spirits <at lunch only>
(Saba ge 生飯偈）

Oh spirits, we now give you an offering；

this food is for all of you in the ten directions.

Bowl-Raising Verse
(Keihatsu no ge 擎鉢之偈）

First, this is for the three treasures；

next, for the four benefactors；
finally, for the beings in the six realms.
May all be equally nourished.

The first portion is to end all evil；

the second is to cultivate every good;
the third is to free all beings.
May everyone realize the buddha way.

[Note: when the preceding verses have been chanted, begin eating
When finished, while washing bowls, chant the following：]

Verse of the Rinse Water

(Sessui no ge 折水之偈)

The water with which we wash our bowls

tastes like ambrosia.
We offer it to the many spirits；
may they be satisfied.
On ma ku ra sai so wa ka.

77
Verse ofPurity While Abiding in the World
(Sho sekai bon no ge 処世界梵之偈）

Abiding in this ephemeral world

like a lotus in muddy water.
the mind is pure and goes beyond.
Thus we bow to buddha.

Bath Verse
(Nyūyoku no ge 入浴之偈）

Bathing the body,

may all living beings
be clean in body and mind,
pure and shining within and without.

Face-Washing Verse
(Senmen no ge 洗面之偈）
<when picking up the toothbrush>
Holding the toothbrush,
may all living beings
attain the true dharma,
and be naturally pure and clean.

<when using the toothbrush>

Brushing the teeth in the morning,
I vow with all beings,
to care for the eyeteeth
that bite through all afflictions.

78
<when rinsing the mouth>
Rinsing the mouth,
may all living beings
approach the pure dharma gate
and accomplish liberation.
<when washing the face>
Washing the face,
I vow with all beings to
attain the pure dharma gate
and be forever undefiled.

79
B. Eko

Abbreviated Transfer of Merit to Lay People

(Zaike ryaku ekō 在家略回向）

We humbly beg the three treasures for their illumination.

Having chanted the preceding sutras and dharanis,we

dedicate the merit generated thereby to the spirit of
(dharma name), that the land of his/her reward may be
adorned.

Transfer of Merit at a Lay Person’s Grave

(Zaike bozen ekō 在家墓前回向）

Having chanted, we dedicate the merit to the spirits

of the ancestors and deceased family members of the
(dharma name) household, that the land of his/her
reward may be adorned.

Universal Transference of Merit

(Fuekō 普回向）

May this merit extend universally to all, so that we

together with all beings realize the buddha way.

80
C. Other Texts

Universally Recommended Instructions for Zazen

(Fukan zazengi 普勧坐禅儀）

The way is originally perfect and all-pervading. How could

it be contingent on practice and realization? The true
vehicle is self-sufficient. What need is there for special
effort? Indeed, the whole body is free from dust. Who could
believe in a means to brush it clean? It is never apart from
this very place； what is the use of traveling around to
practice? And yet, if there is a hairsbreadth deviation, it is
like the gap between heaven and earth. If the least like or
dislike arises, the mind is lost in confusion. Suppose you
are confident in your understanding and rich in enlighten-
ment, gaining the wisdom that knows at a glance, attaining
the way and clarifying the mind, arousing an aspiration to
reach for the heavens. You are playing in the entranceway,
but you are still short of the vital path of emancipation.

Consider the Buddha： although he was wise at birth, the

traces of his six years of upright sitting can yet be seen.
As for Bodhidharma, although he had received the
mind-seal, his nine years of facing a wall is celebrated
still. If even the ancient sages were like this, how can we
today dispense with wholehearted practice?

Therefore, put aside the intellectual practice of investi-

gating words and chasing phrases, and learn to take the
backward step that turns the light and shines it inward.
Body and mind of themselves will drop away, and your
original face will manifest. If you want to realize such,
get to work on such right now.

81
For practicing Zen, a quiet room is suitable. Eat and
drink moderately. Put aside all involvements and sus-
pend all affairs. Do not think "good" or "bad." Do not
judge true or false. Give up the operations of mind,
intellect, and consciousness； stop measuring with
thoughts, ideas, and views. Have no designs on becom-
ing a buddha. How could that be limited to sitting or
lying down?

At your sitting place, spread out a thick mat and put a

cushion on it. Sit either in the full-lotus or half-lotus
position. In the full-lotus position, first place your right
foot on your left thigh, then your left foot on your right
thigh. In the half-lotus, simply place your left foot on
your right thigh. Tie your robes loosely and arrange
them neatly. Then place your right hand on your left leg
and your left hand on your right palm, thumb-tips
lightly touching. Straighten your body and sit upright,
leaning neither left nor right, neither forward nor
backward. Align your ears with your shoulders and your
nose with your navel. Rest the tip of your tongue against
the front of the roof of your mouth, with teeth together
and lips shut. Always keep your eyes open and breathe
softly through your nose.

Once you have adjusted your posture, take a breath and

exhale fully, rock your body right and left, and settle
into steady, immovable sitting. Think of not thinking.
Not thinking - what kind of thinking is that?
Nonthinking. This is the essential art of zazen.
The zazen I speak of is not meditation practice. It is
simply the dharma gate of joyful ease, the practice-
realization of totally culminated enlightenment. It is the
koan realized; traps and snares can never reach it. If you

82
grasp the point, you are like a dragon gaining the water,
like a tiger taking to the mountains. For you must know
that the true dharma appears of itself, so that from the
start dullness and distraction are struck aside.

When you arise from sitting, move slowly and quietly,

calmly and deliberately. Do not rise suddenly or abruptly.
In surveying the past, we find that transcendence of both
mundane and sacred, and dying while either sitting or
standing, have all depended entirely on the power of
zazen.

In addition, triggering awakening with a finger, a banner,

a needle, or a mallet, and effecting realization with a
whisk, a fist, a staff, or a shout - these cannot be under-
stood by discriminative thinking； much less can they be
known through the practice of supernatural power. They
must represent conduct beyond seeing and hearing. Are
they not a standard prior to knowledge and views?

This being the case, intelligence or lack of it is not an

issue; make no distinction between the dull and the
sharp-witted. If you concentrate your effort single-mind-
ediy, that in itself is wholeheartedly engaging the way.
Practice-realization is naturally undefiled. Going forward
is, after all, an everyday affair.

In general, in our world and others, in both India and

China, all equally hold the buddha-seal. While each
lineage expresses its own style, they are all simply devoted
to sitting, totally blocked in resolute stability. Although
they say that there are ten thousand distinctions and a
thousand variations, they just wholeheartedly engage the
way in zazen. Why leave behind the seat in your own

83
home to wander in vain through the dusty realms of
other lands? If you make one misstep, you stumble past
what is directly in front of you.

You have gained the pivotal opportunity of human form.

Do not pass your days and nights in vain. You are taking
care of the essential activity of the buddha-way. Who
would take wasteful delight in the spark from a flintstone?
Besides, form and substance are like the dew on the
grass, the fortunes of life like a dart of lightning - emptied
in an instant, vanished in a flash.

Please, honored followers of Zen, long accustomed to

groping for the elephant, do not doubt the true dragon.
Devote your energies to the way of direct pointing at the
real. Revere the one who has gone beyond learning and
is free from effort. Accord with the enlightenment of all
the buddhas； succeed to the samadhi of all the ancestors.
Continue to live in such a way, and you will be such a
person. The treasure store will open of itself, and you
may enjoy it freely.

84
The Meaning of Practice and Verification
(Shushōgi 修証義）

I. General Introduction

1. The most important issue of all for Buddhists is the

thorough clarification of the meaning of birth and death.
If the buddha is within birth and death, there is no birth
and death. Simply understand that birth and death are in
themselves nirvana； there is no birth and death to be
hated nor nirvana to be desired. Then, for the first time,
we will be freed from birth and death. To master this
problem is of supreme importance.

2.◎ It is difficult to be born as a human being； it is rare

to encounter the buddha-dharma. Now, thanks to our
good deeds in the past, not only have we been bom as
humans, we have also encountered the buddha-dharma.
Within the realm of birth and death, this good birth is
the best; let us not waste our precious human lives,
irresponsibly abandoning them to the winds of
impermanence.

3. Impermanence is unreliable； we know not on what

roadside grasses the dew of our transient life will fall.
Our bodies are not our own； our lives shift with the
passing days and cannot be stopped for even an instant.
Once rosy-cheeked youth has gone, we cannot find even
its traces. Careful reflection shows that most things,
once gone by, will never be encountered again. In the
face of impermanence, there is no help from kings,
statesmen, relatives, servants, spouses, children,or
wealth. We must enter the realm of death alone,
accompanied only by our good and bad karma.
85
4. Avoid associating with deluded people in this world
who are ignorant of the truth of causality and karmic
retribution, who are heedless of past, present and future,
and cannot distinguish good from evil. The principle of
causality is obvious and impersonal; for inevitably those
who do evil fall, and those who do good rise. If there
were no causality, the buddhas would not have appeared
in this world, nor would Bodhidharma have come from
the west.

5. The karmic consequences of good and evil occur at

three different times. The first is retribution experienced
in our present life； the second is retribution experienced
in the life following this one; and the third is retribution
experienced in subsequent lives. In practicing the way of
the buddhas and ancestors, from the start we should
study and clarify the principle of karmic retribution in
these three times. ◎ Otherwise, we will often make
mistakes and fall into false views. Not only will we fall
into false views, we will fall into evil births and undergo
long periods of suffering.

6. ◎ Understand that in this birth we have only one life,

not two or three. How regrettable it is if, falling into
false views, we are subject to the consequences of evil
deeds. Because we think that it is not evil even as we do
evil, ● and falsely imagine that there will be no conse-
quences of evil, ● there is no way for us to avoid those
consequences.

86
II. Repenting and Eliminating Bad Karma

7. ◎The buddhas and ancestors, because of their

limitless sympathy, have opened the vast gates of
compassion in order to lead all beings to awakening.
Among humans and devas, who would not enter?
Although karmic retribution for evil acts must come in
one of the three times, repentance lessens the effects, or
eliminates the bad karma and brings about purification.

8. ◎ Therefore, we should repent before buddha in all

sincerity. The power of the merit that results from
repenting in this way before buddha saves and purifies
us. This merit encourages the growth of unobstructed
faith and effort. When faith appears it transforms both
self and other, and its benefits extend to beings both
sentient and insentient.

9. The gist of repentance is expressed as follows：

"Although we have accumulated much bad karma in the
past, producing causes and conditions that obstruct our
practice of the way, may the buddhas and ancestors who
have attained the way of the buddha take pity on us,
liberate us from our karmic entanglements, and remove
obstructions to our study of the way. May their merit fill
up ◎ and hold sway over the inexhaustible dharma
realm, so that they share with us their compassion."
Buddhas and ancestors were once like us; in the future
we shall be like them.

10. ◎ "All my past and harmful karma,born from begin-

ningless greed, hate, and delusion, through body, speech,
and mind, I now fully avow." If we repent in this way,
we will certainly receive the mysterious guidance of the

87
buddhas and ancestors. ●Keeping this in mind and
acting in the appropriate manner, ●we should openly
confess before the buddha. The power of this confession
will cut the roots of our bad karma.

III. Receiving Precepts and Joining the Ranks

11. ◎ Next, we should pay profound respects to the

three treasures of buddha, dharma, and sangha. We
should vow to make offerings and pay respects to the
three treasures even in future lives and bodies. This
reverent veneration of buddha, dharma, and sangha is
what the buddhas and ancestors in both India and China
correctly transmitted.

12. ◎ Beings of meager fortune and scant virtue are

unable even to hear the name of the three treasures； how
much less can they take refuge in them. Do not, being
compelled by fear, vainly take refuge in mountain spirits
or ghosts, or in the shrines of non-Buddhists. Those
kinds of refuges do not liberate from sufferings. Quickly
taking refuge in the three treasures of buddha, dharma,
and sangha will not only bring release from suffering, it
will lead to the realization of enlightenment.

13. In taking refuge in the three treasures, we should

have pure faith. Whether during the Tathagata's life-
rime or after, we place our palms together in gassho,
bow our heads, and recite： “We take refuge in buddha,
we take refuge in dharma, we take refuge in sangha."
We take refuge in the buddha because he is the great
teacher. We take refuge in the dharma because it is good
medicine. We take refuge in the sangha because it is an
excellent friend. It is only by taking refuge in the three
88
treasures that we become disciples of the Buddha.
Whatever precepts we receive, they are always taken
after the three refuges. Therefore it is in dependence on
the three refuges that we gain the precepts.

14. The merit of taking refuge in the buddha, dharma,

and sangha is always fulfilled when there is a spiritual
communication of supplication and response. When
there is a spiritual communication of supplication and
response, devas, humans, hell dwellers, hungry ghosts,
and animals all take refuge. Those who have taken
refuge, in life after life, time after time, existence after
existence, place after place, will steadily advance, surely
accumulate merit, and attain unsurpassed, complete,
perfect enlightenment. We should realize that the merit
of the threefold refuge is the most honored, the highest,
the most profound, and inconceivable. The World-
Honored One himself has already borne witness to this,
and living beings should believe in it.

15. Next we should receive the three sets of pure precepts：

the precepts of restraining behavior, the precepts of
doing good, and the precepts of benefiting living beings.
We should then accept the ten grave prohibitions. First,
do not kill; second, do not steal; third, do not engage in
improper sexual conduct; fourth, do not lie； fifth, do not
deal in intoxicants； sixth, do not criticize others； seventh,
do not praise self and slander others； eighth, do not be
stingy with the dharma or property; ninth, do not give
way to anger； and tenth, do not disparage the three
treasures. The buddhas all receive and upheld these three
refuges, three sets of pure precepts, and ten grave
prohibitions.

89
16. Those who receive the precepts verify the unsur-
passed, complete, perfect enlightenment verified by all
the buddhas of the three times, the fruit of buddhahood,
adamantine and indestructible. Is there any wise person
who would not gladly seek this goal? The World-
Honored One has clearly shown to all living beings that
when they receive the buddha's precepts, they join the
ranks of the buddhas, the rank equal to the great awaken-
ing; truly they are the children of the buddhas.

17. ◎The buddhas always dwell in this, giving no

thought to its various aspects； beings long function in
this,the aspects never revealed in their various thoughts.
◎ At this time, the land, grasses and trees, fences and
walls, tiles and pebbles, all things in the dharma realm of
the ten directions, perform the work of the buddhas.
Therefore, the beings who enjoy the benefits of wind
and water thus produced are all mysteriously aided by
the wondrous and inconceivable transformative power of
buddha, and manifest a personal awakening. ●This is
the merit of non-intention, the merit of non-artifice.
● This is arousing the thought of enlightenment.

IV. Making the Vow to Benefit Beings

18. ◎ To arouse the thought of enlightenment is to vow

to save all beings before saving ourselves. Whether lay
person or monk, whether a deva or a human, whether
suffering or at ease, we should quickly form the intention
of first saving others before saving ourselves.

19. ◎ Though of humble appearance, one who has

formed this intention is already the teacher of all living
beings. Even a girl of seven is a teacher to the fourfold
90
assembly, a compassionate father to living beings. Do
not make an issue of male and female. This is a most
wondrous principle of the way of buddha.

20. After arousing the thought of enlightenment, even

though we cycle dirough the six destinies and four modes
of birth, the circumstances of this cycling themselves are
all the practice of the vow of enlightenment. Therefore,
although until now we may have vainly idled away our
time, we should quickly make the vow before the present
life has passed. Even if we have acquired a full measure
of merit, sufficient to become a buddha, we turn it over,
dedicating it to living beings that they may become
buddhas and attain the way. There are some who practice
for countless kalpas, saving living beings first without
themselves becoming buddhas； they only save beings
and benefit beings.

21. There are four kinds of wisdom that benefit living

beings： giving, kind speech, beneficial deeds, and coop-
eration. These are the practices of the vow of the bodhi-
sattva. "Giving" means not to covet. In principle, although
nothing is truly one's own, this does not prevent us from
giving. Do not disdain even a small offering; its giving
will surely bear fruit. Therefore, we should give even a
line or a verse of the dharma,sowing good seeds for this
life and other lives. We should give even a penny or a
single blade of grass of resources, establishing good roots
for this world and other worlds. The dharma is a resource,
and resources are the dharma. Without coveting reward
or thanks from others, we simply share our strength with
them. Providing ferries and building bridges are also the
perfection of giving. Earning a living and producing
goods are fundamentally nothing other than giving.

91
22. "Kind speech" means, when meeting living beings,
to think kindly of them and offer them affectionate
words. To speak with a feeling of tenderness toward
living beings, as if they were one's own infant,is what is
meant by kind speech. We should praise the virtuous
and pity the virtueless. Kind speech is fundamental to
mollifying one's enemies and fostering harmony among
one's friends. Hearing kind speech to one's face
brightens one's countenance and pleases one's heart.
Hearing kind speech indirectly leaves a deep impression.
We should realize that kind speech has the power to
move the heavens.

23. "Beneficial deeds" means to devise good ways of

benefiting living beings, whether noble or humble.
Those who encountered the trapped tortoise and the
injured bird simply performed beneficial deeds for them,
without seeking their reward or thanks. The foolish
believe that their own interests will suffer if they put the
benefits of others first. This is not the case. Beneficial
deeds are one, universally benefiting self and others.

24. ◎ "Cooperation" means not to differentiate; to make

no distinction between self and others. It is, for example,
like the human Tathagata who was the same as other
human beings. There is a way of understanding such
that we ◎ identify others with ourselves and then
identify ourselves with others. At such times self and
other are without boundaries. The ocean does not reject
any water； this is cooperation. It is because of this that
water collects and becomes an ocean.

25. In sum, we should calmly reflect on the fact that the prac-
tice of the vow of arousing the thought of enlightenment

92
has such principles； we should not be too hasty here.
●In working to save others, ● we should venerate and
respect the merit that allows all living beings to receive
guidance.

V. Practicing Buddhism and Repaying Blessings

26. ◎ Arousing the thought of enlightenment is mainly

something that human beings in this world should do.
Should we not rejoice that we have had the opportunity
to be born in this land of the Buddha Shakyamuni and to
have encountered him?

27. We should calmly consider that if this was a time

when the true dharma had not yet spread in the world,
we would not be able to encounter it, even if we vowed
to sacrifice our very lives for it. We who have at present
encountered the true dharma should make such a vow.
Do we not know that the Buddha said,"When you meet
their teachers who expound supreme enlightenment, do
not consider their family background, do not regard
their appearance, do not dislike their faults, and do not
think about their conduct. Simply, out of respect for
wisdom, bow to them three times daily, honor them, and
do not cause them any grief."

28. That we are now able to see the Buddha and hear
the dharma is due to the blessings that have come to us
through the practice of every one of the buddhas and
ancestors. If the buddhas and ancestors had not directly
transmitted the dharma, how could it have reached us
today? We should be grateful for the blessings of even a
single phrase； we should be grateful for the blessings of
even a single dharma. How much more should we be

93
grateful for the great blessings of the treasury of the eye
of the true dharma, the supreme great dharma. The
injured bird did not forget its blessings, but showed its
thanks with the rings of three ministries. The trapped
tortoise did not forget its blessings, but showed its thanks
with the seal of Yubu. If even animals repay their bless-
ings, how could humans ignore them?

29. Our expression of gratitude should not consist in

any other practices； the true path of such expression lies
solely in our daily practice of Buddhism. This means
that we practice without neglecting our lives day to day
and without being absorbed in ourselves.

30. Time flies faster than an arrow, and life is more

transient than the dew. With what skillful means or
devices can we retrieve even a single day that has passed?
A hundred years lived to no purpose are days and months
to be regretted. It is to be but a pitiful bag of bones.
Even if we live in abandon, as slaves to the senses for the
days and months of a hundred years, if we take up
practice for a single day therein, it is not only the practice
of this life of a hundred years, but also salvation in the
hundred years of another life. The life of this day is a life
that should be esteemed, a bag of bones that should be
honored. We should love and respect our bodies and
minds, which undertake this practice. Depending on our
practice, the practice of the buddhas is manifested, and
the ◎ great way of the buddhas penetrates everywhere.
Therefore, the practice of a single day is the seed of the
buddhas, the practice of the buddhas.

94
31. These buddhas are the Buddha Shakyamuni. The
Buddha Shakyamuni is "mind itself is buddha." When
buddhas of the past,present and future together fulfill
buddhahood, they always become the Buddha Shakya-
muni. This is "mind itself is buddha." We should care-
fully investigate who is meant when we say ●"mind
itself is buddha." ● This is how we repay the blessings of
the Buddha.

95
 Part Four
Roman Letter Transliterations

96
Fumonbon ge 普門品偈
(Verse of the “Universal Gateway” Chapter)
Full title: Myōhōrengekyō kanzeon bosatsu fumonbonge
妙法蓮華経観世音菩薩普門品偈

(Verse of the “Avalokitestvara Bodhisattva Universal Gateway”

Chapter of the Lotus Sutra)

[Chinese]

◎ Se son myo so gu
ga kon ju mon pi
bus-shi ga in nen
myo i kan ze on

gu soku myo so son

ge to mu jin ni
nyo cho kan-non gyo
zen no sho ho sho

gu zei jin nyo kai

ryak-ko fu shi gi
ji ta sen noku butsu
◎ hotsu dai sho jo gan

ga i nyo ryaku setsu

mon myo gyu ken shin
shin-nen fu ku ka
no mes-sho u ku

ke shi ko gai i
sui raku dai ka kyo
nen pi kan-non riki
ka kyo hen jo chi
97
waku hyo ru ko kai
ryu gyo sho ki nan
nen pi kan-non riki
ha ro fu no motsu

waku zai shu mi bu

i nin sho sui da
nen pi kan-non riki
nyo nichi ko ku ju

waku hi aku nin chiku

da raku kon go sen
nen pi kan-non riki
fu no son ichi mo

waku chi on zoku nyo

kaku shu to ka gai
nen pi kan-non riki
gen soku ki ji shin

waku so o nan ku
rin gyo yoku ju shu
nen pi kan-non riki
to jin dan dan e

waku shu kin ka sa

shu soku hi chu kai
nen pi kan-non riki
shaku nen toku ge datsu

shu so sho doku yaku

sho yoku gai shin sha
nen pi kan-non riki
gen jaku o hon nin

98
waku gu aku ra setsu
doku ryu sho ki to
nen pi kan-non riki
ji ship-pu kan gai

nyaku aku ju i nyo

ri ge so ka fu
nen pi kan-non riki
shis-so mu hen po

gan ja gyu buk-katsu

ke doku en ka nen
nen pi kan-non riki
jin sho ji e ko

un rai ku sei den

go baku ju dai u
nen pi kan-non riki
o ji toku sho san

shu jo hi kon yaku

mu ryo ku his-shin
kan-non myo chi riki
no gli se ken ku

gli soku jin zu riki

ko shu chi ho ben
jip-po sho koku do
mu setsu fu gen shin

shu ju sho aku shu

ji gok-ki chiku sho
sho ro byo shi ku
i zen shitsu ryo metsu

99
shin kan sho jo kan
ko dai chi e kan
hi kan gyu ji kan
jo gan jo sen go

mu ku sho jo ko
e nichi ha sho an
no buku sai fu ka
fu myo sho se ken

hi tai kai rai shin

ji i myo dai un
ju kan ro ho u
metsu jo bon-no en

jo sho kyo kan sho

fu i gun jin chu
nen pi kan-non nki
◎ shu on shit-tai san

myo on kan ze on
bon-non kai cho on
sho hi se ken non
ze ko shu jo nen

nen nen mos-sho gi

kan ze on jo sho
o ku no shi yaku
no i sa e ko

gu is-sai ku doku
ji gen ji shu jo
fuku ju kai mu ryo
ze ko o cho rai.

100
◎Ni ji
ji ji bo sa
soku ju za ki
zen byaku butsu gon
se son
nyaku u shu jo
mon ze kan ze on bo sa hon
ji zai shi go
fa mon ji gen
jin zu riki sha
to chi ze nin
ku doku fu sho
bus-setsu ze fu mon hon ji
● shu chu hachi man shi sen shu jo
kai hotsu mu to do
● a noku ta ra san myaku san bo dai shin.

101
Daihi shu 大悲呪
(Great Compassion Dharani )
Full tide: Daihishin darani 大悲心陀羅尼
(Great Compassionate Mind Dharani)
[Chinese]
Namu kara tan no
tora ya ya
namu ori ya
boryo ki chi shifu ra ya
fuji sato bo ya
moko sato bo ya
mo ko kya runi kya ya
◎ en
sa hara ha e shu tan no ton sha
namu shiki ri toi mo
ori ya
boryo ki chi
shifu ra
rin to bo
na mu no ra
kin ji ki ri
mo ko ho do
sha mi sa bo
o to jo shu ben
o shu in
sa bo sa to
no mo bo gya
mo ha te cho
to ji to
en
o bo ryo ki
ru gya chi

102
kya ra chi
i kiri mo ko
fuji sa to
sa bo sa bo
mo ra mo ra
mo ki mo ki
ri to in ku ryo ku ryo
ke mo to ryo to ryo
ho ja ya chi
mo ko ho ja ya chi
to ra to ra
chiri ni
shifu ra ya
sha ro sha ro
mo mo ha mo ra
ho chi ri
i ki i ki
shi no shi no
ora san fura sha ri
ha za ha zan
fura sha ya
ku ryo ku ryo
mo ra ku ryo ku ryo
ki ri sha ro sha ro
shi ri shi ri
su ryo su ryo
fuji ya
fuji ya
fudo ya fudo ya
mi chiri ya
◎ nora kin ji
chiri shuni no
hoya mono
somo ko
103
shido ya
somo ko
moko shido ya
somo ko
shido yu ki
shifu ra ya
somo ko
◎ nora kin ji
somo ko
mo ra no ra somo ko
shira su omo gya ya
so mo ko
sobo moko shido ya
somo ko
shaki ra oshi do ya
somo ko
hodo mogya shido ya
somo ko
nora kin ji ha gyara ya
somo ko
mo hori shin gyara ya somo ko
namu kara tan no tora ya ya
● namu ori ya
boryo ki chi
shifu ra ya
somo ko
● shite do modora
hodo ya
so mo ko.

104
Shōsai shu 消災呪
(Disaster Preventing Dharani )
Full tide: Shōsai myōkichijō darani 消災妙吉祥陀羅尼
(Marvelously Beneficiai Disaster Preventine Dharani)

[Chinese]

No mo san man da
moto nan
oha ra chi koto sha
sono nan ◎ to ji to
en
gya gya
gya ki gya ki
un nun
shifu ra shifu ra
hara shifu ra hara shifu ra
chishu sa chishu sa
chishu ● ri chishu ri
sowa ja sowa ja
● sen chi gya
shiri ei so mo ko.

105
Hannya shingyō 般若心経
(Heart Sutra)
Full tide: Maka hannya haramitta shingyō 摩訶般若波羅蜜多心経
(Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra)

[Chinese]

Kan ji zai bo sa
gyo jin han-nya ha ra mi ta ji
sho ken ◎ go on kai ku
do is-sai ku yaku
sha ri shi
shiki fu i ku
ku fu i shiki
shiki soku ze ku
ku soku ze shiki
ju so gyo shiki
yaku bu nyo ze
sha ri shi
ze sho ho ku so
fu sho fu metsu
fu ku fu jo
fu zo fu gen
ze ko ku chu
mu shiki mu ju so gyo shiki
mu gen ni bi zes-shin ni
mu shiki sho ko mi soku ho
mu gen kai nai shi mu i shiki kai
mu mu myo yaku mu mu myo jin
nai shi mu ro shi
yaku mu ro shi jin
mu ku shu metsu do
mu chi yaku mu toku
i mu sho tok-ko
106
bo dai sat-ta
e han-nya ha ra mi ta ◎ ko
shin mu kei ge
mu kei ge ko
mu u ku fu
on ri is-sai ten do mu so
ku gyo ne han
san ze sho butsu
e han-nya ha ra mi ta ◎ ko
toku a noku ta ra san myaku san bo dai
ko chi han-nya ha ra mi ta
ze dai jin shu
ze dai myo shu
ze mu jo shu
ze mu to do shu
no jo is-sai ku
shin jitsu fu ko
ko setsu han-nya ha ra mi ta shu
soku setsu shu watsu
gya tei gya tei
● ha ra gya tei
hara so gya tei
● bo ji sowa ka
han-nya shin gyo.

107
Sandōkai 参同契
(Harmony of Difference and Equality)

[Japanese]

Chikudo daisen no shin

tōzai mitsu ni aifu su.

Ninkon ni ridon ari,

dō ni nanboku no so nashi.

Reigen myō ni kō kettari；

shiha an ni ruchū su.

Ji o shū suru mo moto kore mayoi;

ri ni kanō mo mata satori ni arazu.

◎ Mon mon issai no kyō

ego to fu ego to.

Eshite sarani ai wataru;

shikarazareba kurai ni yotte jū su.

Shiki moto shitsu zō o kotoni shi；

shō moto rakku o koto ni su.

An wa jōchū no koto ni kanai;

mei wa seidaku no ku o wakatsu.

Shidai no shō onozukara fukusu,

kono sono haha o uru ga gotoshi.

Hi wa nesshi, kaze wa dōyō,

mizu wa uruoi, chi wa kengo.
108
Manako wa iro, mimi wa onjō,
hana wa ka,shita wa kanso.

Shikamo ichi ichi no hō ni oite,

ne ni yotte habunpu su.

Honmatsu subekaraku shū ni kisubeshi;

sonpi sono go o mochiyu.

Meichū ni atatte an ari,

ansō o motte ō koto nakare.

Anchū ni atatte mei ari,

meisō o motte miru koto nakare.

Meian ono ono aitai shite

hisuru ni zengo no ayumi no gotoshi.

◎ Banmotsu onozukara kō ari,

masani yō to sho to o iu beshi.

Jison sureba kangai gasshi；

riōzureba senpō sasō.

◎ Koto o ukete wa subekaraku shū o e subeshi；

mizukara kiku o rissuru koto nakare.

Sokumoku dō o e sezunba,
ashi o hakobu mo izukunzo michi o shiran.

Ayumi o susumureba gonnon ni arazu,

mayōte senga no ko o hedatsu.

● Tsutsushinde san gen no hito ni mōsu,

● kōin munashiku wataru koto nakare.
109
Hōkyō zanmaì 宝鏡三昧
(Precious Mirror Samadhi )

[Japanese]

Nyoze no hō
busso mitsu ni fusu.

Nanji ima kore o etari；

yoroshiku yoku hōgo subeshi.

◎ Ginwan ni yuki o mori,

meigetsu ni ro o kakusu.

Rui shite hitoshikarazu;

konzuru toKinba tokoro o shiru.

Kokoro kotoni arazareba,

raiki mata omomuku.

Dōzureba kakyū o nashi,

tagaeba kocho ni otsu.

Haisoku tomoni hi nari；

taikaju no gotoshi.

Tada monsai ni arawaseba,

sunawachi zenna ni zokusu.

Yahan shōmei,
tengyō furo.

Mono no tame ni nori to naru;

mochiite shoku o nuku.

110
Ui ni arazu to iedomo,
kore go naki ni arazu.

Hōkyō ni nozonde,
gyōyō ai miru ga gotoshi.

Nanji kore kare ni arazu,

kare masani kore nanji.

Yo no yōni no gosō
gangu suru ga gotoshi.

Fuko furai fuki fuju;

baba wawa： uku muku.

Tsuini mono o ezu,

go imada tadashi karazaru ga yue ni.

Jūri rikkō,
henshō ego,

Tatande san to nari;

henji tsukite go to naru.

Chisō no ajiwai no gotoku,

kongō no cho no gotoshi.

Shōchū myōkyō,
kōshō narabi agu.

Shū ni tsūji to ni tsūzu,

kyōtai kyōro.

Shakunen naru tokinba kitsu nari;

bongo subekarazu.
111
Tenshin ni shite myō nari,
meigo ni zoku sezu.

Innen jisetsu,
jakunen toshite shōcho su.

Sai ni wa muken ni iri,

dai ni wa hōjo o zessu.

Gōkotsu no tagai,
ritsuryo ni ōzezu.

Ima tonzen ari,

shūshu o rissuru ni yotte.

Shūshu wakaru,
sunawachi kore kiku nari.

Shū tsūji shu kiwamaru mo,

shinjō ruchū.

Hoka jaku ni uchiugoku wa,

tsunageru koma, fukuseru nezumi.

Senshō kore o kanashinde,

hō no dando to naru.

Sono tendō ni shitagatte,

shi o motte so to nasu.

Tendō sō messureba,
kōshin mizukara yurusu.

Kotetsu ni kanawan to yōseba,

kō zenko o kanzeyo.
112
Butsudō o jōzuru ni nannan toshite,
jikkōju o kanzu.

◎ Tora no kaketaru ga gotoku,

uma no yome no gotoshi.

Geretsu aru o motte,

hōki chingyo.

Kyōi aru o motte,

rinu byakko.

◎ Gei wa gyōriki o motte,

ite hyappo ni atsu.

Senpō ai ō,
gyōriki nanzo azukaran.

Bokujin masa ni utai,

sekijo tatte mō.

Jōshiki no itaru ni arazu,

mushiro shiryo o iren ya.

Shin wa kimi ni bushi,

ko wa chichi ni junzu.

Junzezareba kō ni arazu,
busezareba ho ni arazu.

Senkō mitsuyō wa,

gu no gotoku ro no gotoshi.

● Tada yoku sōzoku suru o

● shuchū no shu to nazuku.
113
Juryōhon ge 寿量品偈
(Verse of the “Life Span” Chapter)
Full tide: Myōhō rengekyō nyorai juryōhon ge 妙法蓮華経如来寿量品偈
(Verse of the “Life Span of the Tathagata” Chapter of the Lotus Sutra)

[Chinese]

◎ Ji ga toku butsu rai

sho kyo sho ko shu
mu ryo hyaku sen man
oku sai a so gi

jo sep-po kyo ke
mu shu oku shu jo
ryo nyu o butsu do
◎ ni rai mu ryo ko

i do shu jo ko
ho ben gen ne han
ni jitsu fu metsu do
jo ju shi sep-po

ga jo ju o shi
i sho jin zu riki
ryo ten do shu jo
sui gon ni fu ken

shu ken ga metsu do

ko ku yo sha ri
gen kai e ren bo
ni sho katsu go shin

114
shu jo ki shin buku
shitsu jiki i nyu nan
is-shin yok-ken butsu
fu ji shaku shin myo
ji ga gyu shu so
gu shutsu ryo ju sen

ga ji go shu jo
jo zai shi fu metsu
i ho ben riki ko
gen nu metsu fu metsu

yo koku u shu jo
ku gyo shin gyo sha
ga bu o hi chu
i setsu mu jo ho

nyo to fu mon shi

tan ni ga metsu do
ga ken sho shu jo
motsu zai o ku kai

ko fu i gen shin
ryo go sho katsu go
in go shin ren bo
nai shutsu i sep-po

jin zu riki nyo ze

o a so gi ko
jo zai ryo ju sen
gyu yo sho ju sho

115
shu jo ken ko jin
dai ka sho sho ji
ga shi do an non
ten nin jo ju man

on rin sho do kaku

shu ju ho sho gon
ho ju ta ke ka
shu jo sho yu raku

sho ten kyaku ten ku

jo sa shu gi gaku
u man da ra ke
san butsu gyu dai shu

ga jo do fu ki
ni shu ken sho jin
u fu sho ku no
nyo ze shitsu ju man

ze sho zai shu jo

i aku go in-nen
ka a so go ko
fu mon san bo myo

sho u shu ku doku

nyu wa shitsu jiki sha
sok-kai ken ga shin
zai shi ni sep-po

waku ji i shi shu

setsu butsu ju mu ryo
ku nai ken bus-sha
i setsu butsu nan chi

116
ga chi riki nyo ze
e ko sho mu ryo
ju myo mu shu ko
ku shu go sho toku

nyo to u chi sha

mot-to shi sho gi
◎ to dan ryo yo jin
butsu go jitsu fu ko

nyo i zen ho ben

i ji o shi ko
jitsu zai ni gon shi
mu no sek-ko mo

ga yaku i se bu
gu sho ku gen sha
◎ i bon bu ten do
jitsu zai ni gon metsu

i jo ken ga ko
ni sho kyo shi shin
ho itsu jaku go yoku
da o aku do chu

ga jo chi shu jo
gyo do fu gyo do
zui o sho ka do
i setsu shu ju ho

● mai ji sa ze nen
i ga ryo shu jo
● toku nyu mu jo do
soku jo ju bus-shin.

117
Sonshō darani 尊勝陀羅尼
(Victor’s Dharani)
Full title： Butchō sonshō darani 仏頂尊勝陀羅尼
(Crown of the Victor Dharani)

[Chinese]

No bo bagya ba tei
tare roki ya
hara chi bishi shu daya
bo daya
bagya ba tei tani ya ta
◎ on bishu daya bishu daya
sama sama san man da
haba sha soha ran da gyachi gyaga no
sowa han ba
bishu tei
abi shin sha to man
sogya ta hara hasha no a miri ta
bi sei ke maka man dara ha dai
a kara a kara
ayu san dara ni
shuda ya shuda ya
gyagya no bishu tei
u shu nisha bisha ya
bishu tei
saka sara ara shin mei
san soni tei
sara ba tada gya ta
baro gya ni
sata hara mita
hari hora ni
sara ba tata gyatā
kiri ta ya
118
jishu tan no
jishu chi ta
maka boda rei
ba zara gya ya
sugya ta no
bishu tei
sara ba hara da
haya tori
gyachi hari bishu tei
hara chini hara daya
a yoku shu tei
san ma ya
jishu chi tei
mani mani maka mani
tatan da bota kuchi
hari shu tei
biso bo da
bo jishu tei ◎ sha ya sha ya
bisha ya bisha ya
san mora san mora
sara ba bo da
jishu chi te shudei
ba jiri ba zara
kyara bei ba zara ban ba
◎ to mama shari ran
sara ba sato ban nan shagya ya
hari bishu tei
sara ba gyachi hari shu tei
sara ba tata gya ta
shis-sha mei
san ma jin ba sa en to
sara ba tata gya ta
san ma jin ba sa
jishu chitei

119
bo jiya
bo jiya
bibo jiya bibo jiya
bo daya bo daya
bibo daya bibo daya
san man da
hari shu tei
sara ba tata gya ta
● kiri ta ya
jishu tan no
jishu chi ta
● maka boda rei so wa ka.

120
Kanromon 甘露門
(Ambrosia Gate)

[Note: *double asterisks* mark the titles of sections, which are not chanted.]

*Bushō sanbō* 奉請三宝

(Invitmg the Three Jewels)
[Chinese, chant 3 times]
◎3 Namu jip-po butsu
namu jip-po ho
namu jip-po so
◎3 namu hon shi shaka muni butsu
namu dai zu dai hikyu kukan zeon bosa
▲3 namu kei kyo a nan son ja.

*Chōshōkotsugan* 招請発願
(Invoking the Vow to Awaken)
◎ Ze sho shu to [leader only]
[Japanese]
Hosshin shite ikki no jōjiki o buji shite,
amaneku jippō,
gūjin kokū,
shūhen hokkai,
mijin setchū,
shou kokudo no issai no gaki ni hodokosu,
senmō ku on,
san sen chishu,
naishi kōya no shokijin tō,
kō kitatte koko ni atsumare,
ware ima himin shite,
amaneku nanji ni jiki o hodokosu.

121
Negawaku wa nanji kakkaku,
waga kono jiki o ukete,
tenji motte jinko kūkai no shobutsu gyūshō,
issai no ujō ni kuyō shite,
nanji to ujō to,
amaneku mina bōman sen koto o,
mata negawaku wa nanji ga mi,
kono shujiki ni jōjite,
ku o hanarete gedasshi,
ten ni shōjite raku o uke,
jippō no jōdo mo
kokoro ni shitagatte yuō shi,
bodaishin o hasshi,
bodaidō o gyōji,
tōrai ni sabusshite,
nagaku taiten naku,
saki ni dō o uru mono wa,
chikatte aido dassen koto o,
mata negawaku wa nanjira,
chūya gōjō ni,
ware o yōgo shite,
waga shogan o manzen koto o.

Negawaku wa kono jiki o hodokosu,

shoshō no kudoku,
amaneku motte hokkai no ujō ni ese shite,
moro moro no ujō to,
byōdōgu u naran,
moro moro no ujō to tomo ni,
onajiku kono fuku o motte,
koto gotoku motte shinnyo hokkai,
mujō bodai,
issai chichi ni ekō shite,

122
negawaku wa sumiyaka ni jōbusshite,
yoka o maneku koto nakaran.

(Hokkai no ganjiki)
negawaku wa kono hō ni jōjite,
toloi jōbussuru koto o en.
*Unshū kijin chōshō daranì* 雲集鬼神招請陀羅尼
(Dharani for Inviting the Cloudlike Hosts of Spirits)
[Chinese, chant 3 times]

◎ No bo
bohori
gyari tari
▲3 tatā gyataya.

*Ha jigokumon kai inkō darani*破地獄門開咽喉陀羅尼

(Dharani for Breaking Down the Gates ofHell and Opening Throats)

[Chinese, chant 3 times]

◎ On boho teiri
gyatari
▲3 tatā gyataya.

*Muryō itoku jizai kōmyō kaji onjiki darani*

無量威徳自在光明加持飲食陀羅尼
(Dharani for Sanctifying the Food with the Unimpeded Radiance
of Innumerable Virtues)
[Chinese, chant 3 times]

◎ No maku
saraba
tatā gyata
baro kitei
123
 on
▲3 san barā
san barā un.

*Mō kanro hōmi darani* 蒙甘露法味陀羅尼

(Dharani for Bestowing the Ambrosial Taste ofthe Dharma)
[Chinese, chant 3 times]

◎ No maku
soro baya
tatā gyataya
tanyata
on

soro soro
hara soro
▲3 hara soro
sowaka.

*Birushana ichiji shin suirin kan darani*

毘盧舎那一字心水輪観陀羅尼
(Dharani for Contemplating Vairocana through the Graph "Heart"
on a Disk of Water)
[Chinese, chant 3 times]

◎ No maku
san manda
▲3 bota nan ban.

124
*Go nyorai hōgō chōshō darani* 五如来宝号招請陀羅尼
(Dharani for Invoking the Precious Names of the Five Tathagatas)
[Chinese, chant 3 times]

◎ Namu tahō nyorai.

No bo
bagya batei
hara bota
ara tan no ya
tatā gyataya.
Joken ton go fuku chi en man.

◎ Namu myo shiki shin nyorai.

No bo
bagya batei
soro baya
tatā gyataya.
Hashi yu rogyō en man so ko.

◎ Namu kanro o nyorai.

No bo
bagya batei
ami ritei
aran jaya
tatā gyataya.
Kan po shin jin ryo juke raku.

◎ Namu ko haku shin nyorai.

No bo
bagya batei
biho ragya
taraya
tatā gyataya.
In ko ko dai on jiki ju bo.

125
◎ Namu rifui nyorai.
No bo
bagya batei
●3 aba en
gyaraya
tatā gyataya
●3 Kufu shitsu jori gakishu.

*Hotsu bodaishin darani* 発菩提心陀羅尼

(Dharani for Producing the Thought of Enlightenment)
[Chinese, chant 3 times]

On
bo jishitta
boda
hada yami.

*Ju bosatsu sanmayakai darani*授菩薩三摩耶戒陀羅尼

(Dharani of Giving the Bodhisattua Samaya Precepts)
[Chinese, chant 3 times]

On
san maya
sato ban.

*Daihō rōkaku zenjū himitsu konpon darani*

大宝楼閣善住秘密根本陀羅尼
(Secret Root Dharani for Dwelling in the Great Jewelled Pavilion)
[Chinese, chant 3 times]

◎3 No maku
saraba tatā gyata nan
◎3 on
bihora

126
 gyarabei
mani hara bei
tata tani tashani
mani mani
soha rabei
bima rei shagyara
genbi rei
un nun jin bara jin bara
boda
biroki tei
kugya
chishut-ta
gyara bei
sowaka
on mani
baji rei un
▲ on manida rei
un bat-ta.

*Shobutsu kōmyō shingon kanchō darmi*

諸仏光明真言灌頂陀羅尼
(Dharani for Initiation into the Mantra of the Radiance of the Buddhas)
[Chinese, chant 3 times]

On
abogya
bei rosha no
maka bodara
mani han doma
● jin bara hara bari
● taya un.

127
*Hakken gedatsu darani*撥遣解脱陀羅尼
(Dharani for Bequeathing Liberation)
[Note： Usually this dharani is not chanted.]

On
basara
boki shaboku.

*Ekō ge*回向偈
(Verse for Dedicating Merit)
[Chinese]

◎ I su shu an shu sen gen

● ho to bu mo ki ro te
● son sha fu ra ju mu kyu
● mo sha ri ku san nan yo
● su in san yu shi an shi
● san zu ha nan ku shu san
● kyu mo kui ko sen nan su
● jin shu rin nui ● san jin zu.

Fuekō 普回向
(Universal Transference of Merit)

[Japanese]

Negawaku wa kono kudoku o motte, amaneku issai ni

oyoboshi, warera to shujō to, mina tomo ni butsudō o
jōzen koto o.

128
Gojūshichi butsu 五十七仏
(Fifty-seven Buddhas)

[Japanese]

Bibashi Butsu Daioshō

Shiki Butsu Daioshō
Bishafu Butsu Daioshō
Kuruson Butsu Daioshō
Kunagonmuni Butsu Daioshō
Kashō Butsu Daioshō
Shakamum Butsu Daioshō
Makakashō Daioshō
Ananda Daioshō
Shōnawashu Daioshō
Ubakikuta Daioshō
Daitaka Daioshō
Mishaka Daioshō
Bashumitta Daioshō
Butsudanandai Daioshō
Fudamitta Daioshō
Barishiba Daioshō
Funayasha Daioshō
Anabotei Daioshō
KaDimora Daioshō
Nagyaharajuna Daioshō
Kanadaiba Daioshō
Ragorata Daioshō
Sōgyanandai Daioshō
Kayashata Daioshō
Kumorata Daioshō
Shayata Daioshō
Bashubanzu Daioshō
Manura Daioshō

129
Kakurokuna Daioshō
Shishibodai Daioshō
Bashashita Daioshō
Funyomitta Daioshō
Hannyatara Daioshō
Bodaidaruma Daioshō
Taiso Eka Daioshō
Kanchi Sōsan Daioshō
Daii Dōshin Daioshō
Daiman Kōnin Daioshō
Daikan Enō Daioshō
Seigen Gyōshi Daioshō
Sekitō Kisen Daioshō
Yakusan Igen Daioshō
Ungan Donjō Daioshō
Tōzan Ryōkai Daioshō
Ungo Dōyō Daioshō
Dōan Dōhi Daioshō
Dōan Kanshi Daioshō
Ryōzan Enkan Daioshō
Taiyō Kyōgen Daioshō
Tōshi Gisei Daioshō
Fuyō Dōkai Daioshō
Tanka Shijun Daioshō
Chōro Seiryō Daioshō
Tendo Sōkaku Daioshō
Setchō Chikan Daioshō
Tendo Nyojō Daioshō
Eihei Dōgen Daioshō
Koun Ejō Daioshō
Tettsū Gikai Daioshō
Keizan Jōkin Daioshō

130
Shari raimon 舎利礼文
(Verse of Homage to Buddha’s Relics)

[Chinese]

Is-shin cho rai

man toku en man
◎ sha ka nyo rai
shin jin sha ri
hon ji hos-shin
hok-kai to ba
ga to rai kyo
i ga gen snin
nyu ga ga nyu
butsu ga ji ko
ga sho bo dai
i butsu jin riki
ri yaku shu jo
● hotsu bo dai shin
shu bo satsu gyo
do nyu en jaku
● byo do dai chi
kon jo cho rai.

Kaikyō ge 開経偈
(Sutra-Opening Verse)

[Chinese]

Mu jo jin jin mi myo ho

hyaku sen man go nan so gu
ga kon ken mon toku ju ji
gan ge nyo rai shin jitsu gi.

131
Takkesa ge 搭袈裟偈
(Robe Verse)

[Chinese]

Dai sai gedap-puku

musō fuku den e
hi bu nyorai kyo
ko do shoshu jo.

Sange mon 懺悔文

(Repentance Verse)

[Chinese]

Gashaku shozō shoaku go

kai yu mushi ton jin chi
ju shin kui shisho sho
is-sai gakon kai san ge.

Sankie mon 三帰依文

(Three Refuges Verse)

[Chinese]

Namu kie butsu

namu kie ho
namu kie so.

Kie butsu mujō son

kie ho rijin son
kie so wagō son.

132
Kie buk-kyo
kie ho kyo
kie so kyo.

Sanki raimon 三帰礼文

(Three Refuges Prayer)

[Chinese]

Ji kie butsu
to gan shujō
tai ge dai do
hotsu mujōi.

Ji kie ho
to gan shujō
jin nyu kyo zo
chie nyo kai.

Ji kie so
to gan shujō
tōri daishu
is-sai mu ge.

[Japanese]

Mizukara hotoke ni Kie shi tatematsuru.

Masa ni negawaku wa shujō to tomo ni,
daidō o taige shite, mujō i o okosan.

Mizukara hō ni kie shi tatematsuru.

Masa ni negawaku wa shujō to tomo ni,
fukaku kyōzō ni irite,
chie umi no gotoku naran.
133
Mizukara sō ni kie shi tatematsuru.
Masa ni negawaku wa shujō to tomo ni,
daishu o tōri shite, issai muge naran.

Sanzon raimon 三尊礼文

(Verse in Worship of the Three Venerable Ones)

[Chinese]

Namu aai on kyōshu honshi shaka muni butsu

namu kōso jo yo daishi
namu taiso jo sai daishi
namu daizu daihi ai min shōju
sho sho sese chigū cho dai.

Raihai ge 礼拝偈
(Prostrations Verse)

[Chinese]

No rai shorai sho ku jaku

jishin tashin tai mu ni
gangu shu jo toku gedatsu
hotsu mujōi ki shin sai.

Shigu seigan mon 四弘誓願文

(Four Vows)
[Chinese]
Shujō muhen sei gan do
bon-no mujin sei gan dan
ho mon muryō sei gan gaku
butsu do mujō sei gan jo.
134
Gyōhatsu nenju 行鉢念誦
(Formal Meal Verses)
[Note： underlined passages are chanted by leader only.]

Montsui no ge 聞槌之偈
(Verse upon Hearing the Meal Signal )
[Chinese]
Bus-sho kabira
jo do makada
sep-po harana
nyu metsu kuchira.

Tenpatsu no ge 展鉢之偈
(Verse for Setting Out Bowls)
[Chinese]

Nyorai o ryōki
gakon toku futen
gangu is-sai shu
to san rin ku ja ku.

Jūbutsumyō 十仏名
(Ten Buddha Names)
[Chinese]

Nyan nisan po,

ansu inshi,
nyan pin son shu nyan.

Shin jin pashin birū sha no fu

en mon ho shin rushā no fu
sen pai kashin shikyā mu ni fu
135
to rai asan mirū son bu
ji ho san shi ishī shi fu
dai jin myo barin ga km
dai shin tun jusu ri bu sa
dai jin fuen bu sa
daini kan shiin bu sa
shi son bu sa mo ko sa
mo ko hōja ho ro mi.

Sejiki ge 施食偈
(Food Offering Verse) < at breakfast >
[Chinese]

Shu yu iiri
nyoi an jin
kohō buhen
kyu kin io ra.

Sejiki ge 施食偈
(Food Offering Verse) < at lunch >
[Chinese]
Sante rumi
shifu gisun
hakai ujin
fuzun kyun nyo.

[Note: when the preceding verses have been chanted, the food is served.
Prior to eating, the following verses are chanted.]

136
Gokan no ge 五観之偈
(Verse of Five Contemplations)

[Japanese]

Hitotsu ni wa kō no tashō o hakari kano raisho o hakaru.

Futatsu ni wa onore ga tokugyō no zenketto hakatte ku
ni ōzu.
Mitsu ni wa shin o fusegi toga o hanaruru koto wa tontō
o shū to su.
Yotsu ni wa masa ni ryōyaku o koto to suru wa gyōko o
ryōzen ga tame nari.
Itsutsu ni wa jōdō no tame no yue ni ima kono jiki o uku.

Saba ge 生飯偈
(Verse of Food for Spirits ) < not recited at breakfast >
[Chinese]

Jiten kijinshu
gokin suji kyu
suji hen jihō
ishi kijin kyu.

Keihatsu no ge 擎鉢之偈
(Bowl-Raising Verse)
[Chinese]

Jo bun san bo
chu bun shion
gekyū roku do
kai do kuyō.

Ik-ku idan is-sai aku

niku ishu is-sai zen
137
sanku ido shoshu jo
kaigu jo butsu do.
[Note: when the preceding verses have been chanted, begin eating.
When
finished, while washing bowls, chant the following.]

Sessui no ge 折水之偈
(Verse of the Rinse Water)
[Chinese]

Gashi sen pas-sui

nyo ten kan ro mi
seyo kijin shu
shitsu ryo toku bo man.

On makura sai sowaka.

Sho sekai bon no ge 処世界梵之偈

(Verse of Purity While Abiding in the World)
[Chinese]
Shishi kai iiki kun
jiren kafu jashī
shin shin jin cho ihi
kishu rinbu jo son.

138
Nyūyoku no ge 入浴之偈
(Bath Verse)

[Chinese]

Moku yoku shin tai

to gan shujō
shin jin muku
naige ko ketsu.

Senmen no ge 洗面之偈
(Face-Washing Verse)

[Chinese]

<when picking up the toothbrush>

Shujū yōji
to gan shujō
shin toku sho bo
jinen sho jo.

<when using the toothbrush>

Shin shaku yōji

to gan shujō
toku cho bukuge
zeisho bon-no.

139
<when rinsing the inouth>

So so kushi
to gan shujō
ko jo ho mon
kugyō gedatsu.

<when washing the face>

Isui sen men

to gan shujō
toku jo ho mon
yo muku zen.

140
Fukan zazengi 普勧坐禅儀
(Universally Recommended Instructions for Zazen)

[Japanese]

Tazunuru ni sore, dō moto enzū,ikade ka shushō o

karan, shūjō jizai nanzo kufū o tsuiyasan. Iwan ya, zentai
haruka ni jinnai o izu, tare ka hosshiki no shudan o shin
zen. Ōyoso, tōjo o hanarezu, ani shugyō no kyakutō o
mochiuru mono naran ya. Shikare domo, gōri mo sa
areba, tenchi haruka ni hedatari, ijun wazuka ni okoreba,
funnen toshite shin o shissu. Tatoi,e ni hokori,go ni
yutaka ni shite, betchi no chitsū o e, dō o e,shin o
akiramete, shōten no shiiki o koshi,nittō no henryō ni
shōyō su to iedomo, hotondo shusshin no katsuro o
kikessu.

Iwan ya, kano gion no shōchi taru, tanza roku nen no

shōseki mitsu beshi,shōrin no snin in o tsutauru,
menpeki kusai no shōmyō nao kikoyu. Koshō sude ni
shikari,konjin nanzo ben zezaru.

Yue ni subekaraku koto o tazune go o ō no gegyō o kyū

subeshi. Subekaraku ekō henshō no taiho o gaku
subeshi. Shinjin jinen ni datsuraku shite,honrai no
menmoku genzen sen. Inmo no ji o en to hosseba, kyū ni
inmo no ji o tsutomeyo.

Sore sanzen wa jōshitsu yoroshiku, on jiki setsu ari.

Shoen o hōsha shi, banji o kyūsoku shite, zennaku o
omowazu, zehi o kan suru koto nakare. Shin i shiki no
unten o yame, nen so kan no shikiryō o yamete, sabutto
hakaru koto nakare, ani za ka ni kakawaran ya.

141
Yono tsune, zasho ni wa atsuku zamotto shiki, ue ni
futon o mochiu. Arui wa kekka fuza, arui wa hanka fuza.
Iwaku, Kekka fuza wa, mazu migi no ashi o motte hidari
no momo no ue ni anji,hidari no ashi o migi no momo
no ue ni anzu. Hanka fuza wa, tada hidari no ashi o
motte migi no momo o osu nari. Yuruku etai o kakete,
seisei narashimu beshi. Tsugi ni migi no te o hidari no
ashi no ue ni anji, hidari no tanagokoro o migi no
tanagokoro no ue ni anji, ryō no daiboshi,mukaite ai
sasou. Sunawachi shōshin tanza shite, hidari ni sobadachi
migi ni katamuki, mae ni kugumari shirie ni aogu koto o
ezare. Mimi to kata to taishi, hana to hozo to tai
seshimen koto o yōsu. Shita ue no agito ni kakete, shin
shi ai tsukcj me wa subekaraku tsune ni hiraku beshi.
Bisoku kasuka ni tsūji,shinsō sude ni totonoete, kanki
issoku shi, sayū yōshin shite, gotsu gotsu toshite zajō
shite, kono fushiryō tei o shiryō seyo. Fushiryō tei ikan
ga shiryō sen. Hi shiryō. Kore sunawachi zazen no
yōjutsu nari.

Iwayuru zazen wa shūzen ni wa arazu. Tada kore anraku

no hōmon nari, bodai o gūjin suru no shushō nari. Kōan
genjō, rarō imada itarazu. Moshi kono i o eba,ryū no
mizu o uru ga gotoku, tora no yama ni yoru ni nitari.
Masa ni shiru beshi, shōbō onozukara genzen shi,
konsan mazu bokuraku suru koto o.

Moshi za yori tataba, jojo toshite mi o ugokashi, anshō

toshite tatsu beshi, sotsubō naru bekarazu. Katte miru,
chōbon osshō, zadatsu ryūbō mo, kono chikara ni
ichinin suru koto o.

Iwan ya mata, shikan shintsui o nenzuru no tenki,

hokken bō katsu o kosuru no shōkai mo, imada kore

142
shiryō funbetsu no yoku gesuru tokoro ni arazu, ani
jinzū shushō no yoku shiru tokoro to sen ya. Shōshiki no
hoka no iigi tarn beshi,nan zo chiken no saki no kisoku
ni arazaru mono naran ya.

Shikareba sunawachi,jōchi kagu o ronzezu, rijin donsha

o erabu koto nakare. Sen itsu ni kufū seba, masa ni kore
bendō nari. Shushō onozukara zenna sezu, shukō sara ni
kore byōjō naru mono nari.

Oyoso sore, jikai tahō, saiten tōchi,hitoshiku butchin o

ji shi,moppara shūfū o hoshii mama ni su. Tada taza o
tsutomete, gotchi ni saeraru. Manbetsu sensha to iu to
iedomo, shikan ni sanzen bendō subeshi. Nan zo jike no
zajō o bōkyaku shite, midari ni takoku no jinkyō ni
kyorai sen. Moshi ippo o ayamareba, tōmen ni shaka su.

Sude ni ninshin no kiyō o e tari, munashiku kōin o wataru

koto nakare. Butsudō no yōki o honin su, tare ka midari
ni sekka o tanoshiman. Shika nomi narazu, gyōshitsu wa
sōro no gotoku, unmei wa denkō ni ni tari. Shukkotsu
toshite sunawachi kūji, shuyu ni sunawachi shissu.

Koi negawaku wa, sore sangaku no kōru, hisashiku mozo

ni naratte, shinryū o ayashimu koto nakare. Jikishi
tanteki no dō ni shōjin shi, zetsu gaku mu i no hito o
sonki shi, butsu butsu no bodai ni gattō shi, soso no
zanmai o tekishi seyo. Hisashiku inmo nam koto o
nasaba, subekaraku kore inmo naru beshi, hōzō
onozukara hirakete juyō nyoi naran.

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Shushōgi 修証義
(The Meaning of Practice and Verification)

[Japanese]

Dai isshō: Sōjo

(Chapter One： General Introduction)

1. Shō o akirame shi o akiramuru wa bukke ichi daiji no

innen nari, shōji no naka ni hotoke areba shōji nashi,
tada shōji sunawachi nehan to kokoro ete, shōji toshite
ito beki mo naku,nehan toshite nego beki mo nashi,
kono toki hajimete shōji o hanaruru bun ari,tada ichi
daiji innen to gūjin subeshi.

2. ◎ Ninshin uru koto katashi, buppō ō koto mare nari,

ima warera shukuzen no tasukuru ni yorite, sude ni uke
gataki ninshin o uke taru nomi ni arazu,ai gataki buppō
ni ai tatematsureri, shōji no naka no zenshō, saishō no
shō naru beshi,saishō no zenshin o itazura ni shite
romei o mujō no kaze ni makasuru koto nakare.

3. Mujo tanomi gatashi, shirazu romei ikanaru michi no

kusa ni ka ochin, mi sude ni watakushi ni arazu, inochi
wa kōin ni utsusarete shibaraku mo todome gatashi, kōgan
izuku e ka sari ni shi, tazunen to suru ni shōseki nashi,
tsura tsura kanzuru tokoro ni ōji no futa tabi ō bekarazaru
Ō shi, mujō tachimachi ni itaru toki wa kokuō daijin
shinjitsu jūboku saishi chinhō tasukuru nashi, tada hitori
kōsen ni omomuku nomi nari, onore ni shitagai yuku wa
tada kore zen aku gottō nomi nari.

4. Ima no yo ni inga o shirazu goppō o akiramezu, sanze

o shirazu, zen aku o wakimaezaru jaken no tomogara ni

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wa gun subekarazu, ōyoso inga no dōri rekinen toshite
watakushi nashi, zōaku no mono wa ochi shuzen no
mono wa noboru, gōri mo tagawazaru nari, moshi inga
bōjite munashikaran ga gotoki wa, shobutsu no shusse
aru bekarazu, soshi no serai aru bekarazu.

5. Zen aku no ho ni sanji ari, hitotsu ni wa jungen hōju,

futatsu ni wa junji shōju, mitsu ni wa jungo jiju, kore o
sanji to iu, busso no dō o shujū suru ni wa, sono saisho
yori kono sanji no goppō no ri o narai akiramuru nari,
◎ shika arazareba ōku ayamarite jaken ni otsuru nari,
tada jaken ni otsuru nomi ni arazu, akudō ni ochite chōji
no ku o uku.

6. ◎ Masani shiru beshi konjō no waga mi futatsu nashi,

mitsu nashi, itazura ni jaken ni ochite munashiku akugō
o kantoku sen, oshikara zarame ya, aku o tsukuri nagara
aku ni arazu to omoi, ● aku no hō aru bekarazu to jashi
yui suru ni yorite ● aku no hō o kantoku sezaru ni wa
arazu.

Dai nishō: Sange metsuzai

(Chapter Two: Repenting and Eliminating Bad Karma)

7. ◎ Busso awaremi no amari kōdai no jimon o hiraki

okeri,kore issai shujō o shōnyū seshimen ga tame nari,
ninden tare ka irazaran, kano sanji no aku goppō
kanarazu kanzu beshi to iedomo, sange suru ga gotoki
wa omoki o tenjite kyōju seshimu, mata metsuzai shōjō
narashimuru nari.

8. ◎ Shika areba jōshin o moppara ni shite zenbutsu ni

sange subeshi, inmo suru toki zenbutsu sange no kudoku
riki ware o sukuite shōjō narashimu, kono kudoku yoku

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muge no jōshin shōjin o shōchō seshimuru nari,jōshin
ichigen suru toki, jita onajiku tenze raruru nari,sono
riyaku amaneku jō hijō ni kōburashimu.

9. Sono daishi wa,negawaku wa ware ta toi kako no akugō

ōku kasanarite shōdō no innen ari tomo, butsudō ni
yorite tokudō serishi shobutsu shoso ware o awaremite
gōrui o gedatsu seshime, gakudō sawari nakarashime,
sono kudoku hōmon amaneku ◎ mujin hokkai ni jūman
mirin seran, awaremi o ware ni bunpu subeshi, busso no
ōshaku wa warera nari, warera ga tōrai wa busso naran.

10. ◎ Ga shaku shozō sho akugō kai yū mushi ton jin

chi, jū shin ku i shi shoshō,issai ga konkai sange,kaku
no gotoku sange sureba kanarazu busso no myōjo aru
nari,● shinnen shingi horro byaku butsu subeshi, ●
horro no chikara zaikon o shite shōin seshimuru nari.

Dai sanshō: Jukai nyūi

(Chapter Three： Receiving Precepts and Joining the Ranks)

11. ◎ Tsugi ni wa fukaku buppōsō no sanbō o uyamai

tatematsuru beshi, shō o kae mi o kaete mo sanbō o kuyō
shi uyamai tatematsuran koto o negō beshi, saiten tōdo
busso shōden suru tokoro wa kugyō buppōsō nari.

12. ◎ Moshi hakufaku shōtoku no shujō wa sanbō no

myōji nao kiki tatematsurazaru nari, ika ni iwan ya kie
shi tatematsuru koto o en ya. itazurani shohitsu o
osorete sanjin kijin tō ni kie shi, arui wa gedō no sei ta ni
kie suru koto nakare, kare wa sono kie ni yorite shuku o
gedatsu suru koto nashi, hayaku buppōsō no sanbō ni kie
shitatematsurite, shuku o gedatsu suru nomi ni arazu
bodai o jōjū subeshi.

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13. Sono kie sanbō to wa masani jōshin o moppara ni
shite, a rui wa nyorai genzai se ni mo are, arui wa nyorai
metsugo ni mo are, gasshō shi teizu shite kuchi ni
tonaete iwaku, namu kie butsu, namu kie hō, namu kie
sō, hotoke wa kore daishi naru ga yue ni kie su, hō wa
ryōyaku naru ga yue ni kie su, sō wa shōyū naru ga yue
ni kie su, butsu deshi to naru koto kanarazu sanki ni
yoru, izure no kai o ukuru mo kanarazu sanki o ukete
sono nochi shokai o ukuru nari, shika areba sunawachi
sanki ni yorite tokkai aru nari.

14. Kono kie buppōsō no kudoku, kanarazu kannō dōkō

suru toki jōjū sure nari, tatoi tenjō ningen jigoku ki
chiku nari to iedomo,kannō dōkō sureba kanarazu kie
shi tatematsuru nari, sude ni kie shi tatematsuru ga
gotoki wa shōshō sese zaizai shosho ni zōchō shi,
kanarazu shakku ruitoku shi, a noku tara san myaku san
bodai o jōjū suru nari, shiru beshi sanki no kudoku sore
saison saijō jinjin fuka shigi nari to iu koto, seson sude ni
shōmyō shima shimasu, shujō masa ni shinju subeshi.

15. Tsugi ni wa masa ni san jujō kai o uke tatematsuru

beshi, dai ichi shō ritsugi kai,dai ni shō zenbō kai, dai
san shō shujō kai nari, tsugi ni wa masa ni jū jūkin kai o
uke tatematsuru beshi, dai ichi fu sesshō kai, dai ni fu
chūto kai, dai san fu jain kai, dai shi fu mōgo kai, dai go
fu koshu kai, dai roku fu sekka kai, dai shichi fu jisan kita
kai, dai hachi fu ken hōzai kai, dai ku fu shini kai, dai jū
fu bō sanbō kai nari, jōrai sanki, san jujō kai, jū jūkin kai,
kore shobutsu no juji shitamō tokoro nari.

16. jukai suru ga gotoki wa, sanze no shobutsu no

shoshō naru a noku tara san myaku san bodai kongō fue
no bukka o shō suru nari, tare no chinin ka gongu

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sezaran, seson akiraka ni issai shujō no tame ni shime
shima shimasu, shujō bukkai o ukureba, sunawachi
shobutsu no kurai ni iru, kurai daigaku ni onajūshi
owaru, makoto ni kore shobutsu no miko nari to.

17. ◎ Shobutsu no tsune ni kono naka ni jūji taru,

kakkaku no hōmen ni chikaku o nokosazu, gunjō no
tokoshinae ni kono naka ni shiyō suru, kakkaku no
chikaku ni hōmen arawarezu, ◎ kono toki jippō hokkai
no tochi sōmoku shōheki garyaku mina butsuji o nasu o
motte, sono okosu tokoro no fūsui no riyaku ni azukaru
tomogara, mina jinmyō fuka shigi no bukke ni myōshi
serarete chikaki satori o arawasu, ● kore o mui no
kudoku to su, kore o musa no kudoku to su, ● kore
hotsu bodaishin nari.

Dai yonshō: Hotsugan rishō

(Chapter Four： Making the Vow to Benefit Beings)

18. ◎ Bodaishin o okosu to iu wa, onore imada

watarazaru saki ni issai shujō o watasan to hotsugan shi
itonamu nari, tatoi zaike ni mo are, tatoi shukke ni mo
are, arui wa tenjō ni mo are, arui wa ningen ni mo are,
ku ni ari to iu to mo raku ni ari to iu to mo, hayaku ji mi
tokudo sen dota no kokoro o okosu beshi.

19. ◎ Sono katachi iyashi to iu to mo, kono kokoro o

okoseba, sude ni issai shujō no dōshi nari, tatoi shichi sai
no nyoryū nari to mo sunawachi shishu no dōshi nari,
shujō no jifu nari, nannyo o ronzuru koto nakare, kore
butsudō gokumyō no hōsoku nari.

20. Moshi bodaishin o okoshite nochi,rokushu shishō ni

rinden su to iedomo, sono rinden no innen mina bodai

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no gyōgan to naru nari, shika areba jūrai no kōin wa
tatoi munashiku sugosu to iu to mo, konjō no imada
sugizaru aida ni isogite hotsugan subeshi, tatoi hotoke ni
naru beki kudoku juku shite enman subeshi to iu to mo,
nao megurashite shujō no jōbutsu tokudō ni ekō suru
nari, arui wa muryō gō okonaite shujō o saki ni watashite
mizukara wa tsui ni hotoke ni narazu, tadashi shujō o
watashi shujō o riyaku suru mo ari.

21. Shujō o riyaku su to iu wa shimai no hannya ari,

hitotsu ni wa fuse, futatsu ni wa aigo, mitsu ni wa rigyō,
yotsu ni wa dōji,kore sunawachi satta no gyōgan nari,
sono fuse to iu wa musaborazaru nari, waga mono ni
arazaredomo fuse o saezaru dōri ari, sono mono no
karoki o kirawazu, sono kō no jitsu naru beki nari, shika
areba sunawachi ikku ichige no hō o mo fuse subeshi,
shishō tashō no zenshu to naru, issen issō no takara o mo
fuse subeshi, shise tase no zengon o kizasu, hō mo takara
naru beshi,takara mo ho nam beshi, tada kare ga hōsha
o musaborazu, mizukara ga chikara o wakatsu nari, fune
o oki hashi o watasu mo fuse no dando nari, chishō
sangyō moto yori fuse ni arazaru koto nashi.

22. Aigo to iu wa, shujō o miru ni, mazu jiai no kokoro o

okoshi,koai no gongo o hodokosu nari, jinen shujō
yūnyo shakushi no omoi o takuwaete gongo suru wa aigo
nari, toku aru wa homu beshi, toku naki wa awaremu
beshi, onteki o gōbuku shi, kunshi o waboku
narashimuru koto aigo o konpon to suru nari, mukaite
aigo o kiku wa omote o yorokobashime, kokoro o
tanoshikusu, mukawazu shite aigo o kiku wa kimo ni
meiji tamashii ni meizu, aigo yoku kaiten no chikara aru
koto o gaku subeki nari.

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23. Rigyō to iu wa kisen no shujō ni okite riyaku no
zengyō o megurasu nari, kyūki o mi byōjaku o mi shi toki,
kare ga hōsha o motomezu, tada hitoe ni rigyō ni moyo
osaruru nari, gunin omowaku wa rita o saki to seba
mizukara ga ri habukarenu beshi to, shika ni wa arazaru
nari, rigyō wa ippō nari, amaneku jita o ri suru nari.

24. ◎ Dōji to iu wa fui nari, ji ni mo fui nari, ta ni mo fui

nari, tatoeba ningen no nyorai wa ningen ni dōzeru ga
gotoshi, ◎ ta o shite ji ni dōze shimete nochi ni ji o shite
ta ni dōze shimuru dōri aru beshi, jita wa toki ni shitagōte
mukyū nari, umi no mizu o jisezaru wa dōji nari,kono
yue ni yoku mizu atsumarite umi to naru nari.

25. Ōyoso bodaishin no gyōgan ni wa kaku no gotoku no

dōri shizuka ni shiyui subeshi, sotsuji ni suru koto nakare,
● saido shōju ni issai shujō mina ke o kōburan ● kudoku
o raihai kugyō subeshi.

Dai goshō： Gyōji hōon

(Chapter Five； Practicing Buddhism and Repaying Blessings)

26. ◎ Kono hotsu bodaishin, ōku wa nan enbu no

ninshin ni hosshin subeki nari, ima kaku no gotoku no
innen ari, ganshō shi shaba kokudo shi kitareri, ken
shakamuni butsu o yorokobazaran ya.

27. ◎ Shizuka ni omō beshi, shōbō yo ni rufu sezaran

toki wa, shinmei o shōbō no tame ni hōsha sen koto o
negō to mo ō bekarazu, shōbō ni ō konnichi no warera o
nego beshi, mizu ya, hotoke no notamawaku, mujō bodai
o enzessuru shi ni awan ni wa, shushō o kanzuni koto
nakare, yōgan o miru koto nakare, hi o kirō koto nakare,
okonai o kangauru koto nakare, tada hannya o sonjū suru

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ga yue ni, nichi nichi sanji ni raihai shi, kugyō shite, sara
ni gennō no kokoro o shōze shimuni koto nakare to.

28. Ima no kenbutsu monpō wa busso men men no gyōji

yori kitareru jion nari,busso moshi tanden sezuba, ika ni
shite ka konnichi ni i taran, ikku no on nao hōsha subeshi,
ippō no on nao hōsha subeshi, iwan ya shōbōgenzō mujo
daihō no daion kore o hōsha sezaran ya, byōjaku nao on
o wasurezu sanpu no kan yoku hōsha ari, kyūki nao on o
wasurezu, yofu no in yoku hōsha ari,chikurui nao on o
hōzu, jinrui ikade ka on o shirazaran.

29. Sono hōsha wa yoge no hō wa ataru bekarazu, tada

masa ni nichi nichi no gyōji, sono hōsha no shōdō naru
beshi, iwayuru no dori wa nichi nichi no seimei o naozari
ni sezu, watakushi ni tsuiyasazaran to gyōji suru nari.

30. Kōin wa ya yori mo sumiyaka nari, shinmei wa tsuyu

yori mo moroshi, izure no zengyō hōben arite ka sugi ni
shi ichi nichi o futa tabi kaeshi etaru, itazura ni hyaku sai
ikeran wa uramu beki jitsu getsu nari, kanashimu beki
keigai nari, tatoi hyaku sai no jitsu getsu wa shōshiki no
nubi to chisō su to mo, sono naka ichi nichi no gyōji o
gyōshu seba isshō no hyaku sai o gyōshu suru nomi ni
arazu, hyaku sai no tashō o mo doshu subeki nari, kono
ichi nichi no shinmei wa, tōtobu beki shinmei nari,
tōtobu beki keigai nari, kono gyōji aran shinjin mizukara
mo ai subeshi, mizukara mo uyamō beshi, warera ga
gyōji ni yorite shobutsu no gyōji genjō shi, shobutsu no
◎ daidō tsūdassuru nari, shika areba sunawachi ichi nichi
no gyōji kore shobutsu no shushi nari, shobutsu no gyōji
nari.

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31. ◎ Iwayuru shobutsu to wa shakamuni butsu nari,
shakamuni butsu kore soku shin ze butsu nari, kako
genzai mirai no shobutsu, tomo ni hotoke to naru toki
wa kanarazu shakamuni butsu to naru nari, kore soku
shin ze butsu nari, soku shin ze butsu to iu wa ● tare to
iu zo to shinsai ni sankyū subeshi, ● masa ni butsuon o
hōzuru ni te aran.

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About Soto Zen Liturgy

The main genres of Buddhist literature used in Soto Zen

liturgy in Japan are: sutras (kyō 経),dharanis (āarani 陀羅
尼),treatises (ron 論),eko (ekōmon 回向文),and verses
(ge 偈,mon 文).The scriptures in question are many in
number, varied in literary form and derivation, and
extremely rich and diverse in philosophical, ethical, and
spiritual content. When chanted in the context of formal
Zen ritual and practice, however, they have a limited
number of functions that can be clearly distinguished.

Sutras are texts revered as sermons of the Indian Buddha,

Shakyamimi. Those used in the Zen tradition are mainly
Mahayana scriptures,such as the Heart Sutra and Lotus
Sutra, They are written and recited in classical Chinese,
albeit using Japanese phonetics (on yorni 音読み),which
means that the chanting is incomprehensible to the
average listener. Most well-educated Japanese can read
classical Chinese to some extent, so the chanting may be
understood it they also have a written text to follow or if,
having memorized the text by chanting it many times,
they can visually recall the Chinese characters as they
are intoned. When sutras are studied, they are usually
read in Japanese translation. While many of the teach-
ings and beliefs expressed m them are very important in
the Zen tradition, the main reason for chanting sutras in
liturgical settings is not to broadcast their meaning out
rather to produce spiritual merit (kudoku 功徳)for sub-
sequent ritual offering and dedication to a variety of
beings and purposes. In some elaborate rites, merit is
produced by "revolving reading" (tendoku 転読),which
entails flipping through the pages of a long sutra without
actually chanting the words.

153
Dharanis (also called mantras) are magical spells:
strings of sounds that are deemed sacred and powerful,
although they often have little or no discernible
semantic value. Proper pronunciation of the sounds is
deemed necessary for them to be effective. The classical
Chinese characters in which the dharanis used in Soto
liturgy are written were all selected for their phonetic
values (not their meanings) as a device to transliterate
(not translate) spells that were originally written and/or
chanted in Indic languages. Japanese liturgical hand-
books always include a pronunciation guide, written in
the kana syllabary, that runs alongside the Chinese
characters. Dharanis employ a mode of speech that is
performative rather than communicative: they are
believed to magically accomplish things, such as appeas-
ing spirits or preventing disasters. But their main
function in Soto liturgy, like sutras, is to produce merit
for ritual dedication.

Treatises are commentaries on sutras or independent

presentations of Buddhist doctrine attributed to eminent
teachers other than the Buddha himself. Two treatises
used regularly in Soto liturgy are the Harmony of Differ-
ence and Equality, by Shitou Xiqian (700—790),and the
Precious Mirror Samadhi, by Dongshan Liangjie (807-869).
These texts, originally written in classical Chinese, are
recited in Japanese translation. When chanted in the con-
text of ritual offerings to ancestral teachers (soshi 祖師),
they serve the dual purposes of generating merit and
honoring the authors, who belong to and are represen-
tative of the Soto Zen lineage. Two other treatises used
in Soto liturgy are Dogen's Universally Recommended
Instructions for Zazen, and The Meaning of Practice and
Verification, a modern compilation of passages taken

154
from his Shōbōgenzō. Although the former is written in
Chinese, both works are chanted in classical Japanese.
Their function in Soto liturgy is to commemorate
Dogen, the founder of the Soto school in Japan, and to
present a capsule summary of his most important
teachings.

Eko are verses for transferring merit,written in classical

Chinese but usually chanted in Japanese translation. The
verses generally have two parts. The first states how the
merit was generated (naming the particular texts chanted
for that purpose), who it is to be transferred to,and the
specific ends to which it is dedicated. The second part is
a prayer that asks for something in exchange for the
merit just given.

Verses are short poems, composed in classical Chinese,

that express Buddhist ideals and values. Some, such as
the Formal Meal Verses,Bath Verse, and Face-Washing
Verse, are used in the context of Zen monastic training
to sanctify and give religious meaning to otherwise mun-
dane activities. They are always recited when and where
the activity in question takes place,either by a group (as
in the case of meals) or by individuals (as when entering
the bath or toilet). Others verses, such as the Three Refuges
Verse, Four Vows,Repentance Verse, and Verse of Homage to
Buddha’s Relics,are chanted as acts of commitment and
worship in and of themselves. They are usually intoned
by groups in conjunction with sutra-chanting and other
services, but in essence their recitation is an individual
act of devotion. The verses used in Soto liturgy are not
unique to the Zen school; almost all derive from the
Chinese Buddhist tradition at large. Most are chanted in
the original classical Chinese word order, but a few

155
(such as the Verse of Five Contemplations recited at meals)
are translated into and chanted in Japanese.

Among the most common settings in which texts are

chanted in Soto monasteries and temples are the daily,
monthly, and annual sutra-chanting services (fugin 諷経).
These are rites in which spiritual merit (kudoku 功徳）is
first generated by chanting Buddhist sutras, dharanis,or
treatises and then ritually transferred (ekō 回向）to various
recipients who are named in a formal verse for trans-
ferring merit. Sutra-chanting services are used to make
offerings of merit to a wide range of beings： the Buddha
Shakyamuni； his immediate disciples, the arhats； the
lineage of ancestral teachers through whom the Zen
dharma has been transmitted; the two leading founders
of the Soto Zen tradition in Japan, Dogen and Keizan；
the founding abbot and other former abbots of partic-
ular monasteries； various dharma-protecting and monas-
tery-protecting deities, including Indian devas, Chinese
spirits, and Japanese kami； the ancestors of lay patrons of
Soto temples； and hungry ghosts, denizens of hell, and
various other benighted and suffering spirits. Particular
sutra-chanting services are distinguished by (and some-
times named after) the main figures to whom merit is
transferred, but it is common for a single service to in-
clude offerings to a number of ancillary or minor figures
at the same time.

Other ritual settings in which texts are chanted to

produce and dedicate merit include: monthly memorial
services (gakki 月忌）for Dogen,Keizan, and the found-
ing aobot of each monastery； annual memorial services
(nenki 年忌)for them, other ancestors in the Soto Zen
lineage, and lay patrons; funerals (sogi 喪儀）for monks

156
and lay followers; and various routine and occasional
recitation services (nenjū 念誦）and prayer services (kitō
祈禱).

All sutra-chanting, memorial, and funeral services are

held before altars on which images or name tablets of
the major recipients of the offerings are enshrined, The
chanting that produces the merit is generally done in
unison by all the monks (and sometimes laity) present at
a service, whereas the eko, or verse for transferring the
merit, is recited by a single person, a monastic officer
known as the cantor (ino 維那).The oral performance in
which merit is generated and transferred is often accom-
panied by other, more physical offerings at an altar, such
as the burning of incense or the presentation of food and
drink.

Recitation and prayer services are somewhat different in

that the merit produced is dedicated not to individuals,
but rather in support of specific benefits that are prayed
for,such as recovery from illness, harmony in the
community, or the success of a monastic retreat. There
being no named recipients of offerings, such services
need not be performed before an altar, but may be held
in other places, such as an infirmary or meditation hall.

To summarize, the three most important ritual functions

of Soto Zen liturgy are the production and dedication of
merit, the commemoration of ancestral teachers, and the
sanctification of routine activities in the daily lives of
Zen practitioners. But regardless of how they are used in
ritual settings, most of the texts that are chanted in Soto
Zen services and practice can also be read for their mea-
ning, as works of philosophy,ethics,and/or inspirational

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religious literature. Far from being mutually exclusive,
the various functions that the scriptures have are mu-
tually supportive and enriching.

T. Griffith Foulk
Editor
Soto Zen Text Project

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