Recitation Preliminary to Teaching

To the Bhagavan Tathagata Arhat Samyak Sambudda

Endowed with wisdom and merit, Gone to Bliss,

Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed.

Steersman taming beings,

Teacher of humans and gods,

Bhagavan, Buddha, glorious

Conqueror Shakyamuni I prostrate,
offer and go for refuge.

 

To the Bhagavan Tathagata Arhat Samyak Sambudda

Endowed with wisdom and merit, Gone to Bliss,

Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed.

Steersman taming beings,

Teacher of humans and gods,

Bhagavan, Buddha, glorious

Conqueror Shakyamuni I prostrate,
offer and go for refuge.

 

To the Bhagavan Tathagata Arhat Samyak Sambudda

Endowed with wisdom and merit, Gone to Bliss,

Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed.

Steersman taming beings,

Teacher of humans and gods,

Bhagavan, Buddha, glorious

Conqueror Shakyamuni I prostrate,
offer and go for refuge.

 

When You, Chief on two legs, were born.

Taking seven strides on this great earth.

You said, “I am supreme in this world”

And then, to You, the wise paid homage!

 

Endowed with pure body, form, supremely excellent.

Ocean of wisdom, like a golden Mount Sumeru

Renown outstanding in these three realms,

Supremely Realized Protector, homage to you.

 

Endowed with supreme signs, stainless moon of face,

Like gold in color, homage to you.

Unsullied, there are none like you in these three realms,

One of Peerless Wisdom, homage to you!

 

Greatly Compassionate Protectors,

Omniscient Teachers,

A merit field of oceanic qualities,

Homage to the Tathagatas

 

From clinging parted through purity.

From lower realms freed thru virtue.

The single supreme ultimate object.

I prostrate to Dharma which is peace.

 

Freed yet showing the liberating path.

Fully abiding in pure trainings.

Best of fields, endowed with qualities.

I prostrate to the Sangha as well.

 

Commit not one unwholesome action

and perfectly engage in virtuous action.

Fully subdue one’s own mind

this is Buddha’s teaching.

 

Stars, blurry vision, butter lamps,

illusion, dew, and bubbles,

dreams, lightning and clouds,

view composed phenomena like that.

 

Through this merit, having attained

the all-seeing state, having subdued the enemy faults,

from the ocean of existence with its disturbing waves

of aging, sickness, and death may I free all beings!