I take refuge in awakening.
I take refuge in the way.
I take refuge in my companions.


Buddham saranam gacchami.
Dhammam saranam gacchami.
Sangham saranam gacchami.
Buddham, Dhamman, Sangham.

These are the Refuge Vows in Pali; the ancient Indo-European language in which they were first written down.

The noble Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara,
while practicing deep Prajnaparamita,
observed the five ways of knowing the world
and saw they had no existence in themselves.


She said, "Here, Shariputra,
form is emptiness, emptiness is form;
form is exactly emptiness, emptiness is exactly form;
whatever is form is emptiness, whatever is emptiness is form.
The same is true for feeling,perception, memory and consciousness.
Here, Shariputra, all ways of being are defined by emptiness,
not by birth or destruction, purity or contamination, completeness or deficiency.

So, Shariputra, in emptiness there's no form, no feeling,
no perception, no memory, no consciousness;
no eye, no ear, no nose,
no tongue, no body, and no mind;
no shape, no sound, no smell,
no taste, no touch, and no thought;
no eye nor mind, nor any other means of perception,
no ignorance nor old age and death, nor any causal link,
and also no end of causal links,
no suffering, no source of suffering, no relief from suffering, and no way out of suffering,
no wisdom, no gaining wisdom, no failing to gain wisdom.


So, Shariputra, without gaining anything,
bodhisattvas find refuge in Prajnaparamita,
living without walls in the mind, and so without fears,
seeing through delusions and finally seeing through nirvana.


All buddhas of the past, present, and future also take refuge in Prajnaparamita,
realizing unexcelled, perfect enightenment.


Here, then, is the great mantra of Prajnaparamita,
the mantra of great magic,
the unexcelled mantra,
the mantra equal to the unequalled,
which heals all suffering
and isn't false but true.
The mantra in Prajnaparamita 
is spoken like this:
'Gone, gone, into the gone beyond, completely into the gone 
beyond, awakening at last!
Gate, gate, paragate, parasangate, bodhi svaha!'"

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 soha ja soha ja
sen chi gya shiri ei so mo ko


This is an ancient chant to ward off misfortunes.

Cantor:  Buddha nature pervades the whole universe,
existing right here now.
The wind blows, waves fall on the shore,
and Guanyin finds us in the dark and broken roads.
We give thanks to all the ancestors of meditation
in the still halls,
the unknown women, centuries of enlightened women,
ants and sticks and cactus wren.
Let wisdom go to every corner of the house,
let people have joy in each other's joy.

All:
All Buddhas throughout space and time,
all Awakened Beings, Great Beings,
the Heart of Perfect Wisdom.

                                                                                          --Hakuin Ekaku
All beings are Buddha by nature,
just as water and ice are the same.
Without water there's no ice;
outside of beings, no Buddha.

People miss what's in front of them
and go searching far from home.
It's sad, like someone standing in water
and crying out in thirst,
or a child from a rich family
struggling among the poor.

We cycle through heavens and hells
because we keep setting out 
on the dark roads of ignorance –
dark road after dark road,
when will we be free from birth and death? 

Meditation 
can't be praised enough.
The good effects of generosity and discipline,
prayer, self reflection, and practice,
have their source in meditation.
With what you gain from just one sitting,
all your crimes are wiped away.

Then where are those heaven and hells?
The Pure Land comes near.

If this way moves you 
the first time you hear it,
and you simply follow it,
endless blessings come to you.

Even more, if you turn the light inward
and witness your own nature,
your nature which is empty nature,
you go beyond any doctrine.


The gate opens: cause and effect are one,
there's no two, no three.
The formless form comes into form;
going or returning, we are in the right place.
Thinking thoughts without thought ,
singing are the voice of the way.


The vast emptiness of deep meditation,
the brightness of the bright moon of wisdom –
is anything missing from this moment?
Nirvana appears before us.
This very place is paradise,
this very body, the Buddha.

                                                                            —Torei Enji

When I look deeply
into the form of the universe,
everything reveals the mysterious truth of the Tathagata.
This truth never fails:
in every moment and every place,
things can’t help but shine with this light.

Realizing this, our ancestors gave reverent care
to animals, birds, and all beings.
Realizing this, we ourselves know that our daily food,
clothing and shelter are the warm body and beating heart of the Buddha.
How can we be ungrateful to anyone or anything?
Even though someone may be a fool,
we can be compassionate.
If someone turns against us,
speaking ill of us and treating us bitterly,
it’s best to bow down:
this is the Buddha appearing to us,
finding ways to free us from our own attachments –
the very ones that have made us suffer
again and again and again.

Now on each flash of thought
a lotus flower blooms,
and on each flower: a Buddha.

The light of the Tathagata
appears before us, soaking into our feet.

May we share this mind with all beings
so that we and the world together
may grow in wisdom.

Cantor:
All living things are one seamless body
and pass quickly from dark to dark.
We remember you who cared for us and are gone.
You who are ill,  
you who are at war,
who are hungry and who are in pain –
may you heal and have peace.

We especially dedicate our service to:

All:
Speak names of personal dedications

All:
Cross on over,
cross that river,
set us free.