Buddhist Temple of Toledo Daily Liturgy

Preliminaries
Before each liturgy,
offer flowers, incense, water and candlelight at your household altar;
then make three bows.
Practice zazen according to the Temple instructions.

Morning Liturgy

Zazen before the Morning Liturgy.

Verse of the Kesa

Vast is the robe of liberation,
a formless field of benefaction.
I wear the Tathagatha's teaching,
saving all sentient beings. (3x)

Daily Liturgy

Gata of Atonement

All evil karma ever committed by me since of old,
on account of my beginningless
greed, anger, and ignorance
born of my body, mouth, and thought,
now I atone for it all. (3x)

Nikaya Three Refuges

Buddham saranam gacchami;
Dhamman saranam gacchami;
Sangham saranam gacchami.
I take refuge in Buddha;
I take refuge in Dharma;
I take refuge in Sangha.

The Five Remembrances

I am of the nature to grow old;
There is no way to escape growing old.

I am of the nature to have ill health;
There is no way to escape having ill health.

I am of the nature to die;
There is no way to escape death.

All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature of change;
There is no way to escape being separated from them.

My deeds are my closest companions;
I am the beneficiary of my deeds;
My deeds are the ground on which I stand.

(Repeat The Five Remembrances 3x)

This precious human life,
rarely encountered, is easily lost.
Now that I have life and opportunity,
may I practice the Dharma wholeheartedly.

Mahayana Refuge

In my heart I take refuge in
Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
May I liberate suffering beings
and bring them to great joy.
May the compassionate spirit of love
grow within me
That I may actualize the Great Way. (3x)

Invocation of the Lineage

I give thanks for the guidance of my teachers,
for the lineage of teachers before them.

I give thanks and offerings for their devoted practice of
generosity, moral discipline, patience, joyful effort,
concentration, wisdom, skillful means, unshakeable vow,
spiritual powers and awakened awareness for my benefit.

May their years of life be lengthened;
may their vows be completely realized;
and may I cultivate these perfections with their guidance.

Seven Practices of the Bodhisattva

I bow down in body, speech and mind.

I offer the best I have to give
both real and imagined
to fill the space between us.

I regret and purify all transgressions.

I rejoice in all virtues.

I request you to remain until total enlightenment.

I request wise and compassionate guidance.

I dedicate my merit for the sake of all beings.

Generating Love and Compassion

May all sentient beings be free from clinging and hatred –
being close to some and distant from others.
How wonderful it would be. May this be accomplished.
I will free them from clinging and hatred.
Bless me to accomplish this.

May all sentient beings enjoy happiness and the causes of happiness.
How wonderful it would be. May this be accomplished.
I will bring them happiness and the causes of happiness.
Bless me to accomplish this.

May all sentient beings be free from suffering
and the causes of suffering.
How wonderful it would be.
May this be accomplished.
I will free them from suffering
and the causes of suffering.
Bless me to accomplish this.

May all sentient beings have the joy
that has never known suffering.
May they be free from clinging,
hatred, jealousy, miserliness,
doubt, pride, wrong view,
ignorance and dualistic thoughts.

How wonderful it would be.
May this be accomplished.
I will bring them to this state.
Bless me to accomplish this.

Invoking Wisdom

-(0)- Great Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra –_-O

Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva,
practicing deep prajna paramita
clearly saw that all five skandhas are empty
transforming all suffering and distress.

Shariputra, form is no other than emptiness,
emptiness no other than form;
form is exactly emptiness, emptiness exactly form;
sensation, perception, mental reaction, consciousness are also like this.

Shariputra, all things are essentially empty—
not born, not destroyed, not stained, not pure;
without loss, without gain.

Therefore in emptiness there is no form;
no sensation, perception,
mental reaction, consciousness;
no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind;
no color, sound, smell, taste,
touch, object of thought;
no seeing and so on to no thinking;
no ignorance and also no ending of ignorance;
and so on to no old age and death,
and also no ending of old age and death;
no suffering, cause of suffering, cessation, path;
no wisdom and no attainment.

Since there is nothing to attain,
the Bodhisattva lives by prajna paramita,
with no hindrance in the mind,
no hindrance, and therefore no fear;
far beyond delusive thinking,
right here is nirvana.

All Buddhas of past, present and future
live by prajna paramita,
attaining anuttara-samyaksambodhi.

Therefore know that prajna paramita
is the great sacred mantra,
the great vivid mantra,
the unsurpassed mantra,
the supreme mantra,
which completely removes all suffering.

This is truth, not mere formality.
Therefore set forth the prajna paramita mantra.
Set forth this mantra and proclaim:

Gaté Gaté Paragaté Parasamgaté Bodhi Svaha!
Gaté Gaté Paragaté Parasamgaté Bodhi Svaha!
Gaté Gaté Paragaté Parasamgaté Bodhi Svaha!
(Gatha may be repeated 3x, 21x, or 108x)

Dedication

Infinite realms of light and dark convey the Buddha mind.
All that is and we ourselves
come forth in perfect harmony.
I offer this sincere and devoted practice for the many beings of the six worlds
and dedicate it in grateful thanks to the strength and sound practiceof the
Great Heartland Sangha and its teachers.
May our virtuous actions
be clear from all interferences
and may our vows be fully realized.

I especially dedicate these merits to
all those affected by cruelty, calamity, and illness;
and to: (voice your own intentions here)

May we live in perfect peace with Buddhadharma,
and may we realize the Buddha Way together.

All Buddhas throughout space and time,
All honored ones,
bodhisattva-mahasattvas,
Wisdom beyond wisdom,
Maha Prajna Paramita.

Three Bows. Zazen after the Daily Liturgy

Evening Liturgy

Zazen before the Evening Liturgy.

The Four Bodhisattva Vows

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 embody it.

Evening Gata

Let me respectfully remind you:
Life and death are of supreme importance.
Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost.
Each of us should strive to awaken.
Awaken! Take heed!
Do not squander your life.