What is Zen?

As expressed in the famous description of Zen attributed to Bodhidharma, “A special transmission outside the scriptures, not relying on words and letters / Direct pointing to the human mind, seeing one’s true nature and attaining Buddhahood,” the essential standpoint of the Zen school is not to depend on words and letters. Nevertheless, it does regard the study and chanting of sacred texts as an important part of Zen practice. The texts and sutras most often used in Zen temples are the following:

 

• Sutra-Opening Verse

• Purification

• Tisarana: Taking Refuge in the Three Treasures

• Heart Sutra

• The Dharani to Protect Against Misfortune

• Avalokiteśvara Sutra

• Dharani of Great Compassion

• Prayer on the Occasion of Feeding the Hungry Ghosts

• Dharani of the Victorious Buddha-Crown

• The Diamond Sutra

• Śurangama Dharanī

• The Ten-phrase Kanzeon-sutra for Extending Life

• The Four Bodhisattva Vows

• Verse of Homage to Buddha’s Relics

• Hakuin Zenji’s Song Of Zazen

This verse is usually read prior to reciting the Diamond Sutra.

MUJO JINJIN MIMYO NO HO HYAKU SEN MAN GO NAN SOGU GA KON KENMON TOKU JUJI GAN GE NYORAI SHINJITSU GI

The Dharma, incomparably exquisite and profound, is rarely met with even in hundreds of thousands of millions of kalpas. We are now permitted to hold it, see it, hear it, and accept it. May we awaken to the deep true Mind of the Tathagata.

This is read three times with the hands in the gassho position.

GA SHAKU SHO ZO SHOAKUGO KAIYU MUSHI TONJINCHI JUSHIN GUI SHI SHOSHO ISSAI GAKON KAI SANGE

All the evil karma ever created by me in the past;
on account of my beginningless attachment, aversion, and ignorance;
arising from my actions, speech and thought;
I now confess openly and fully.

This is read at funerals three times following recitation of the “Purification.” In it the devotee pledges to seek awakening with the help of the Three Treasures: the Buddha (the fully liberated being); the Dharma (the truth to which the Buddha has awakened and the teachings through which he expresses it); and the Sangha (the community of fellow beings seeking awakening).

NAMU KIE BUTSU / NAMU KIE HO / NAMU KIE SO
KIE BUTSU MU JO SON / KIE HO RI YOKU SON / KIE SO WAGO SON
KIE BUKKYO / KIE HO KYO / KIE SO KYO
NYORAI SHI SHIN TO SHOKAKU ZE GA DAISHI GA KON KIE JU KON I O SHO BUTSU I SHI KO FU KIE JAMA GEDO JI MIN KO JI MIN KO DAJI MIN KO

I take refuge in the Buddha
I take refuge in the Dharma
I take refuge in the Sangha

I take refuge in the Buddha, honorable above all
I take refuge in the Dharma, honorable for its freedom from attachment
I take refuge in the Sangha, honorable for its harmony

I have taken refuge in the Buddha
I have taken refuge in the Dharma
I have taken refuge in the Sangha

The Heart Sutra, translated by Xuanzang 玄奘 (600?–664), is the shortest of the texts that constitute the Mahayana prajna-paramita literature, consisting of only 276 characters in its Chinese version. One of the most important and popular sutras of East Asian Buddhism, it is recited by the believers of nearly every Mahayana school. Its teaching centers on the “heart” of the Mahayana Buddhist teaching, the doctrine of sunyata (emptiness), expressed in its teaching that “form is no other than emptiness, emptiness is no other than form).

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 ZE 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 BO DAI SAT TA E HAN YA HA RA MI TA KO SHIN MU KE GE MU KE GE KO MU U KU FU ON RI IS SAI TEN DO MU SO KU GYO NE HAN SAN ZE SHO BUTSU E HAN YA HA RA MI TA KO TOKU A NOKU TA RA SAM MYAKU SAN BO DAI KO CHI HAN YA 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 HA RA SO GYA TEI BO JI SOWA KA HAN NYA SHIN GYO

Avalokiteshvara Boddhisattva, when practicing deeply the Prajna Paramita, perceived that all five skandhas in their own being are empty and was saved from all suffering. O Shariputra, form does not differ from emptiness, emptiness does not differ from form. That which is form is emptiness, that which is emptiness, form. The same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, consciousness. O Shariputra, all dharmas are marked with emptiness. They are without birth or death; are not tainted nor pure, do not increase nor decrease. Therefore, in emptiness: no form, no feelings, no perceptions, no impulses, no consciousness, no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind, no color, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no object of mind, no world of eyes, through to no world of mind consciousness. No ignorance and also no extinction of it, through to no old age and death and also no extinction of it. No suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path, no cognition, also no attainment, with nothing to attain. The Bodhisattvas depend on Prajna Paramita and their minds are unhindered. Without any hindrance, no fears exist. Far apart from every deluded view they dwell in Nirvana. In the Three Worlds all Buddhas depend on Prajna Paramita and attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect Enlightenment. Therefore know: the Prajna Paramita is the great transcendent mantra, is the great bright mantra, is the utmost mantra, is the supreme mantra, which is able to relieve all suffering and is true, not false. So proclaim the Prajna Paramita mantra, proclaim the mantra that says: Gyate, gyate, paragyate, parasam gyate, bodhi svaha!

This dharani, translated in the eighth century by the esoteric Buddhist master Amoghavajra (C., Pukung 不空; 705–774), is said to have been preached by the Buddha in the Jogo-ten (the fourth dhyana heaven in the world of form, inhabited by beings who will never return to the world of desire). The Buddha taught it as a means to avoid all misfortune and attain all good fortune. As it is a dharani, that is, a text whose efficacy depends on the sounds of the words rather than their meaning, it is left untranslated and chanted in the Sino-Japanese pronunciation, which is in turn a transliteration from the original Sanskrit.

NA MU SA MAN DA MO TO NAN O HA RA CHI KO TO SHA SO NO NAN TO JI TO EN GYA GYA GYA KI GYA KI UN NUN SHI FU RA SHI FU RA HA RA SHI FU RA HA RA SHI FU RA CHI SHU SA CHI SHU SA SHI SHU RI SHI SHU RI SO HA JA SO HA JA SE CHI GYA SHI RI EI SO MO KO

The Avalokiteśvara Sutra is actually the twenty-fifth chapter of Kumarajava’s translation of the Lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra, highly revered in Mahayana Buddhism and often called the “King of Sutras,” consists of a prologue and twenty-eight chapters, but the only one of these chapers that is read on a daily basis in the Rinzai school is the twenty-fifth chapter, the “Guanshiyin pusa pumen pin” 觀世音菩薩普門品 (Chapter on the universal gate of Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara). The Avalokiteśvara Sutra is thus regarded as an independent sutra by many devotees. Within the twenty-fifth chapter, the latter portion, written in verse, is known as the “Verse of the World-Honored One” 世尊偈 (Seson ge), and is often read separately during ceremonies.

Avalokiteśvara is the bodhisattva of compassion (karuna), which, along with wisdom (prajñA), is one of the two fundamental virtues of the Mahayana Buddhist path of liberation for all beings. Avalokiteśvara is regarded as having thirty-three different manifestations in order to help sentient beings in a manner best corresponding to the circumstances.

The text of the Avalokiteśvara Sutra is too long to reproduce here, but excellent English translations are available on the Internet; search using “Lotus Sutra Chapter 25.” The Japanese reading, romanized, is available at:
http://onedropzendo.org/sutras/SogenjiSutrabook.pdf

The Dharani of Great Compassion is one of the most frequently recited sutras in the Zen canon, being offered during morning services, rituals for departed priests and laypeople, and on many other occasions. It comprises the dharani section of a longer text, the Thousand-armed, Thousand-eyed Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara’s Sutra of Dharanis on the Vast, Perfect, and Unobstructed Mind of Great Compassion 千手千眼観自在菩薩広大円満無礙大悲心陀羅尼経, which, as the title suggests, is the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva’s dharani to arouse the mind of infinite compassion.

As it is a dharani, that is, a text whose efficacy depends on the sounds of the words rather than their meaning, it is left untranslated and chanted in the Sino-Japanese pronunciation, which is in turn a transliteration of the original Sanskrit. A translation is available at: http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/mzb/mzb02.htm

NA MU KA RA TAN NO TO RA YA YA NA MU O RI YA BO RYO KI CHI SHI FU RA YA FU JI SA TO BO YA MO KO SA TO BO YA MO KO KYA RU NI KYA YA EN SA HA RA HA EI SHU TAN NO TON SHA NA MU SHI KI RI TO I MO O RI YA BO RYO KI CHI SHI FU RA RI TO BO NA MU NO RA KI 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 RYO GYA CHI KYA RYA CHI I KI RI MO KO FU JI 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 CHI RI NI SHI FU RA YA SHA RO SHA RO MO MO HA MO RA HO CHI RI YU KI YU KI SHI NO SHI NO O RA SAN FU RA SHA RI HA ZA HA ZA FU RA 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 FU JI YA FU JI YA FU DO YA FU DO YA MI CHI RI YA NO RA KIN JI CHI RI SHU NI NO HO YA MO NO SO MO KO SHI DO YA SO MO KO MO KO SHI DO YA SO MO KO SHI DO YU KI SHI FU RA YA SO MO KO NO RA KIN JI SO MO KO MO RA NO RA SO MO KO SHI RA SUN O MO GYA YA SO MO KO SO BO MO KO SHI DO YA SO MO KO SHA KI RA O SHI DO YA SO MO KO HO DO MO GYA SHI DO YA SO MO KO NO RA KIN JI HA GYA RA YA SO MO KO MO HO RI SHIN GYA RA YA SO MO KO NA MU KA RA TAN NO TO RA YA YA NA MU O RI YA BO RYO KI CHI SHI FU RA YA SO MO KO SHI TE DO MO DO RA HO DO YA SO MO KO

This text is chanted during Rinzai morning services and at the Sanmon Segaki-e ceremony, a ritual performed at temples during the time of Obon in mid-July or -August for the liberation of those who suffer in the realm of the preta, the hungry ghosts.

JYA JIN NYU RYO SHI. SAN SHI I SHI FU IN KAN HA KAI SHIN I SHI YUI SHIN ZO NA MU JI HO FU NA MU JI HO HA NA MU JI HO SEN NA MU HON SU SHI KYA MU NI FU NA MU DAI ZU DAI HI KYU KU KAN SHI IN BU SA NA MU KI KO O NAN SON SHA NA MU SA BO TO TO GYA TO BO RYO KI CHI EN SAN MO RA SAN MO RA KIN NA MU SU RYO BO YA TO TO GYA TO YA TO JI TO EN SU RYO SU RYO BO YA SU RYO BO YA SU RYO SO MO KO NA MU SA MAN DA HO DO NAN BAN NA MU HO SHIN JI RAI NA MU TO HO JI RAI NA MU MYO SHI SHIN JI RAI NA MU KO HA SHIN JI RAI NA MU RI FU I JI RAI NA MU KAN RO YO JI RAI NA MU O MI TO JI RAI NA MU 0 MI TO BO YA TO TO GYA TO YA TO NI YA TO O MI RI TSU BO BI O MI RI TO SHI TA BO MI O MI RI TO BI GYA RA CHI O MI RI TO BI GYA RA TO KYA MI NI GYA GYA NO SHI TO O YA RI SO MO KO JIN SHU KYA JI JIN NIN SHI FU SHI O SA SHU KI JIN GEN KAI BO MAN SHA KEN SHIN SHI DO YU MIN SAN ZEN DO KI I SAN BO HA BU JI KYU KIN TE SHIN BU JO KA KUN TE BU HEN JIN MI RAI I SHI SHUN SAN ZUN PA SHI JI TEN KI JIN SHU GO KIN SU JI KYU SU JI HEN JI HO I SHI KI JIN KYO I SU SHU AN SHU SEN GEN HO TA BU MO KI RO TE SON SHA FU RA JU BU KYU MO SHA RI KU SAN NAN NYO SU IN SAN NYU SHI AN SHI SAN ZU HA NAN KU SHUN SAN KYU MO KYU KO SEN NA SU JIN SHU RIN NUI SAN JIN ZU GEN NI SU KUN TEI FU GYU O I SHI GO TEN NI SHUN SAN KAI KYU JIN BU DO JI HO SAN SHI I SHI SHI BU SHI SON BU SA MO KO SA MO KO HO JYA HO RO MI.
 

Translation by D. T. Suzuki:

If one wishes to know all the Buddhas of the past, present, and future, one should contemplate the nature of this Dharmadhatu essentially as the creation of Absolute Mind.

Adoration to the Buddhas in the ten quarters; adoration to the Dharma pervading the ten quarters; adoration to the Sangha in the ten quarters; adoration to Sakyamuni the Buddha who is our Master; adoration to Kwanzeon the Bodhisattva, who is the great compassionate and pitying one, ready to save beings from afflictions; adoration to Ananda the Arhat who is the expounder of the Teaching.

 

Namu sabo totogyato boryakite, yen! Sammola sammola, un! Namu suryoboya totogyatoya tojito, yen! Suryo suryo boya suryo boya suryo, somoko! Namu samanda motonan, ban![1]

 

Adoration to Hoshin[2] the Tathagata; adoration to Taho[3] the Tathagata; adoration to Myoshishin[4] the Tathagata; adoration to Kohashin[5] the Tathagata; adoration to Rifui[6] the Tathagata; adoration to Kanroo[7] the Tathagata; adoration to Omito[8] the Tathagata.

 

Namu omitoboya totogyatoya, Toniyato, Omiritsubomi, Omirito, Shitabomi, Omirito bigyaratei, Omirito bigyarato gyamini, Gyagyano shitogyari, Somoko![9]

 

By the supernatural power of this Dharani the food and drink is purified, and this we offer to the spiritual beings as numerous as the sands of the Ganga. We pray that they shall all be fully satisfied and abandon their greed; that they shall all leave their abodes of darkness and be born in the blissful paths of existence; and further that taking refuge in the Triple Treasure they shall awaken the desire for supreme enlightenment and finally come to the realization of it. The merit they thus attain is inexhaustible and will continue on to the end of time, making all beings equally share in this Dharma-food. O you hosts of spiritual beings, we make this offering of food to you all, which we pray will fill the ten quarters and that all beings of your kind will partake of it. By the practice of this meritorious deed we pray that we repay what we owe to our parents, who have done all they could for our sakes. May those who are still alive continue to enjoy their happy and prosperous lives for ever, while those who are no more with us be released from suffering and born in the land of bliss.

We pray that all sentient beings in the triple world who are recipients of the fourfold benefaction, together with those beings suffering in the three evil paths of existence and tormented with the eight kinds of calamities, may repent of all their sins and be cleansed of all their sores, so that they may all be released from the cycle of transmigration and be born in the land of purity. We pray to all the Buddhas, all the Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas in the ten quarters, of the past, present, and future, and to Mahaprajna-paramita, that by virtue of this merit universally prevailing, not only we but all beings shall equally attain Buddhahood.

 

Notes

1. It is difficult to tell how this dharani came to be inserted here. As most dharanis are, it is devoid of sense from the human point of view; but it may not be necessarily so to the hungry ghosts, for whom the prayer is offered. Can this be restored to the original Sanskrit as follows? “Namah sarva-tathagatavalokite! Om! Sambala, sambala! Hum! Namah surupaya tathagataya! Tadyatha, Om, suru[paya], surupaya, surupaya, suru[paya], svaha! Namah samantabuddhanam, vam!” “Be adored! O all the Tathagatas who are regarded [as our protectors]; Om! Provision, provision! Hum! Adored be the Tathagata Beautifully Formed! Namely: Om! To the Beautifully-formed One! To the Beautifully formed One! To the Beautifully-formed One! Hail! Adored be all the Buddhas! Vam!”

 

2. "Jewel-excelled" (ratnaketu).

 

3. "Abundant-in-jewel" (prabhutaratna).

 

4. "Fine-form-body" (surupakaya).

 

5. "Broad-wide-body" (vipulakaya).

 

6. "Freed-from-fear" (abhayankara).

 

7. "Nectar-king" (amritaraja).

 

8. "Amida" (amitabha).

 

9. “Namo ’mitabhaya tathagataya! Tadyatha, amritodbhave, amritasiddhe, (?)-bhave, amritavikrante, amrita-vikranta-gamine, gaganakirtikare! Svaha!” “Adored be the Tathagata of Infinite Light! Namely: O Nectar-raising one! O Nectar-perfecting one! [O Nectar-] producing one! O One who makes nectar pervade! O One who makes nectar universally pervade! O One who makes nectar known as widely as space! Hail!”

This dharani is read together with the “Dharani to Protect Against Misfortune” as an invocation to ward off disease and misfortune, dispel evil, encourage good, and promote health and long life. Its full title is the “Dharani of the Victorious Buddha-Crown for Purifying and Eliminating All Evil Paths” 浄除一切悪道仏頂尊勝陀羅尼; it is the dharani section of the “Sutra on the Dharani of the Victorious Buddha-Crown” 仏頂尊勝陀羅尼経.

As it is a dharani, that is, a text whose efficacy depends on the sounds of the words rather than their meaning, it is left untranslated and chanted in the Sino-Japanese pronunciation, which is in turn a transliteration of the original Sanskrit. A translation is available at: http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/mzb/mzb02.htm

NO BO BA GYA BA TEI TA RE RO KI YA HA RA CHI BI SHI SHU DA YA BO DA YA BA GYA BA TEI TA NI YA TA OM BI SHU DA YA BI SHU DA YA SA MA SA MA SA MAN DA HA BA SHA SO HA RA DA GYA CHI GYA KA NO SO BA HAN BA BI SHU TEI A BI SHIN SHA TO MAN SO GYA TA HA RA BA SHA NO A MI RI TA BI SEI KEI MA MAN DA RA HA DA I A KA RA A KA RA A YU SAN DA RA NI SHU DA YA SHU DA YA GYA GYA NO BI SHU TEI U SHU NI SHA BI SHA YA BI SHU TEI SA KA SA RA A RA SHIN MEI SAN SO NI TEI SA RA BA TA TA GYA TA BA RO GYA NI SA TA HA RA MI TA HA RI HO RA NI SA RA BA TA TA GYA TA KI RI DA YA CHI SHU TA NO CHI SHU CHI TA MA KA BO DA REI BA SA RA GYA YA SO GYA TA NO BI SHU TEI SA RA BA HA RA DA HA YA TO RI GYA CHI HA RI BI SHU TEI HA RA CHI NI HA RA DA YA A YU KU SHU TEI SAN MA YA CHI SHU CHI TEI MA NI MA NI MA KA MA NI TA TA DA BO DA KU CHI HA RI SHU TEI BI SO BO DA BO CHI SHU TEI JA YA JA YA BI JA YA BI JA YA SA MO RA SA MO RA SA RA BA BO DA JI SHU CHI TA SHU TEI BA JI RI BA ZA RAN GYA RA BEI BA ZA RAN HA BA TO BA MAN SHA RI RAN SA RA BA SA TO BA NAN SHA GYA YA HA RI BI SHU TEI SA RA BA GYA CHI HA RI SHU TEI SA RA BA TA TA GYA TA SHI SHA MEI SAN MA JIN BA SO EN TO SA RA MA TA TA GYA TA SAN BA JIN BA SO JI SHU CHI TEI BO JI YA BO JI YA BI BO JI YA BI BO JI YA BO DA YA BO DA YA BI BO DA YA BI BO DA YA SAN MAN DA HA RI SHU TEI SA RA BA TA TA GYA TA KI RI DA YA CHI SHU TA NO CHI SHU CHI TA MA KA BO DA REI SO WA KA

The Diamond Sutra, one of the most important and popular of the PrajñA-paramita sutras, exists in several Chinese translations, the most popular being that of Kumarajiva (350–ca. 409). In Zen the Diamond Sutra is famous as the text heard by the Sixth Patriarch Huineng when, as a youth, he was carrying a load of firewood into town and heard a man chanting a Buddhist sutra. Deeply struck by the line “Give rise to the mind that does not abide in anything,” he was inspired to seek instruction from the Fifth Patriarch, Hongren. The sutra records Shakyamuni’s discourse to Subhuti in the Jetavana Monastery in Shravasti, teaching the fundamental emptiness of all phenomena and the importance of non-abiding. The sutra has been popular in the Zen school throughout its history.

The text of the Diamond Sutra is too long to reproduce here, but excellent English translations are available on the Internet, e.g., http://www.buddhistinformation.com/diamondsutra.htm
The Japanese reading, romanized, is available at:
http://onedropzendo.org/sutras/SogenjiSutrabook.pdf

The Śurangama Dharanī (Ryogon Shu) used in Zen temples is the dharani portion of the seventh fascicle of the ten-fascicle Śurangama Sutra translated by Hanla Midi 般刺蜜帝 in 705. It is generally recited, either while sitting or performing gyodo (walking in line inside the ceremonial hall), at services honoring the Zen ancestors and other important rituals. The text explains the powers accruing from meditation and the recitation of dharani, and extolls the mind that remains unmoved regardless of what distractions or temptations confront it.

The text of the Ryogon shu is too long to reproduce here, but the Sino-Japanese reading, romanized, is available at:
http://onedropzendo.org/sutras/SogenjiSutrabook.pdf

The Enmei Jikku Kannongyo is a short text much recited in Rinzai Zen. Hakuin, especially, encouraged its use. Hakuin identified it as an excerpt from the Gaowang Guanshiyin jing, but its actual origins are unclear. Hakuin promoted it as a means of averting misfortune and extending life, as long life is important for deep attainment in whatever path one takes, whether that of good works or meditative practice.

KAN ZE ON NA MU BUTSU YO BUTSU U IN YO BUTSU U EN BUP PO SO EN JO RAKU GA JO CHO NEN KAN ZE ON BO NEN KAN ZE ON NEN NEN JU SHIN KI NEN NEN FU RI SHIN

Avalokitesvara, Perceiver of the cries of the world! We take refuge in the Buddha! We have our source in Buddha; We are joined with Buddha,
With Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, permanence, joy, self, and purity. In the morning our every thought is Kanzeon; in the evening our every thought is Kanzeon. Thought after thought arises in mind. Thought after thought is one with mind.

The Four Bodhisattva Vows are the fundamental vows of the Zen Buddhist path, expressing the bodhisattva’s resolution to attain awakening in order to liberate all sentient beings. With enlightenment comes a realization of the fundamental equality of all things, and the understanding that to liberate oneself one must liberate other beings, and that to liberate other beings is none other than to liberate oneself. In this lies the unity of wisdom and compassion. The Four Boddhisattva Vows are chanted in Zen monasteries at the end of daily services, and of memorial services for the departed.

SHU JO MU HEN SEI GAN DO
BON NO MU JIN SEI GAN DAN
HO MON MU RYO SEI GAN GAKU
BUTSU DO MU JO SEI GAN JO

Sentient beings are numberless: I vow to liberate them all.
Desires are inexhaustible: I vow to end them all.
The Dharma gates are infinite: I vow to master them all.
The Buddha way is unsurpassable: I vow to attain it.

Relics (śarira) are generally of three types: bones, hair, or flesh. The word śarira, however, usually refers to the remains of Shakyamuni following his cremation, remains that were divided up among his followers and enshrined in stupas in various parts of India. In Zen, the “Verse of Homage to Buddha’s Relics” is chanted primarily at funerals following the actual cremation. The verse is a declaration of our desire to give rise to true bodhicitta through our own faith and the supernatural grace of the Buddha, and to fully pursue the path of the bodhisattva.

ISSHIN CHORAI MANTOKU ENMAN SHAKA NYORAI SHINJIN SHARI HONJI HOSHIN HOKKAI TOBA GATO RAIKYO IGA GENSHIN NYUGA GANYU BUTSUGA JIKO GASHO BODAI IBUTSU JINRIKI RIYAKU SHUJO HATSU BODAISHIN SHU BOSATSUGYO DONYU ENJAKU BYODO DAICHI KONSHO CHORAI

Wholeheartedly we pay reverence to the relics of the true body of the Tathagata Shakyamuni, endowed with all the virtues; to the dharma body which is the fundamental ground; and to his stupa, which is the entire universe. We venerate the one who manifested a body for our sake, entering us as we enter him. Through the compassion of the Buddha, we realize awakening. By means of the Buddha’s spiritual power, we benefit living beings, arouse the thought of liberation, cultivate bodhisattva practice, and together enter perfect nirvana and attain knowledge of the equality of all things. Now let us reverently bow.

The “Song Of Zazen” was written by Hakuin Ekaku 白隱慧鶴 (1686–1769), the great Zen master who revived the Japanese Rinzai school. Zazen is the central practice of the Zen tradition, but the meditative mind should be maintained not only during seated meditation but in all activities, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying. “Singing or dancing, we are the voice of the Dharma”—wherever we are is the Pure Land, and our own bodies are the body of the Buddha. The “Song of Zazen” conveys this teaching in easy to remember, easy to recite verses, making it one of the most frequently chanted texts at sermons and meditation sessions for laypeople and clergy alike.

HAKUIN ZENJI ZAZEN WASAN SHUJO HONRAI HOTOKE NARI MIZU TO KORI NO GOTOKU NITE MIZU O HANARETE KORI NAKU SHUJO NO HOKA NI HOTOKE NASHI SHUJO CHIKAKI O SHIRAZU SHITE TOKU MOTOMURU HAKANASA YO TATOEBA MIZU NO NAKA NI ITE KATSU O SAKEBU GA GOTOKU NARI CHOJA NO IE NO KO TO NARITE HINRI NI MAYOU NI KOTONARAZU ROKUSHU RINNE NO INNEN WA ONORE GA GUCHI NO YAMIJI NARI YAMIJI NI YAMIJI O FUMISOETE ITSUKA SHOJI O HANARU BEKI SORE MAKAEN NO ZENJO WA SHOTAN SURU NI AMARI ARI FUSE YA JIKAI NO SHOHARAMITSU NENBUTSU ZANGE SHUGYO TO SONO SHINA OKI SHOZENGYO MINA KONO UCHI NI KISURU NARI ICHIZA NO KO O NASU HITO MU TSUMISHI MURYO NO TSUMI HOROBU AKUSHU IZUKU NI ARINU BEKI JODO SUNAWACHI TOKARAZU KATAJIKENAKUMO KONO NORI O HITOTABI MIMI NI FURURU TOKI SANDAN ZUIKI SURU HITO WA FUKU O URU KOTO KAGIRI NASHI IWANYA MIZUKARA EKO SHITE JIKI NI JISHO O SHO SUREBA JISHO SUNAWACHI MUSHO NITE SUDENI KERON O HANARETARI INGA ICHINYO NO MON HIRAKE MUNI MUSAN NO MICHI NAOSHI MUSO NO SO O SO TO SHITE YUKUMO KAERUMO YOSO NARAZU MUNEN NO NEN O NEN TO SHITE UTAU MO MAU MO NORI NO KOE ZANMAI MUGE NO SORA HIROKU SHICHI ENMYO NO TSUKI SAEN KONO TOKI NANI O KA MOTOMU BEKI JAKUMETSU GENZEN SURU YUE NI TOSHO SUNAWACHI RENGEGOKU KONO MI SUNAWACHI HOTOKE NARI

All sentient beings are essentially Buddhas. As with water and ice, there is no ice without water; apart from sentient beings, there are no Buddhas. Not knowing how close the truth is we seek it far away—what a pity! We are like one who in the midst of water cries out desperately in thirst. We are like the son of a rich man who wandered away among the poor. The reason we transmigrate through the Six Realms is because we are lost in the darkness of ignorance. Going further and further astray in the darkness, how can we ever be free from birth-and-death? As for the samadhi of the Mahayana, there are no words to praise it fully; the six paramitas, such as giving, maintaining the precepts, and various other good deeds like invoking the Buddha’s name, repentance, and spiritual training, all finally return to this. Even those who have experienced it for only a single sitting will see all karma erased. Nowhere will they find evil paths, and the Pure Land will not be far away. If we listen even once with open heart to this truth, then praise it and gladly embrace it, how much more so then if on reflecting within ourselves we directly realize Self-nature, giving proof to the truth that Self-nature is no nature. We will have gone far beyond idle speculation. The gate of the oneness of cause and effect is thereby opened, and not-two, not-three, straight ahead runs the Way. Realizing the form of no-form as form, whether going or returning we cannot be any place else. Realizing the thought of no-thought as thought, whether singing or dancing, we are the voice of the Dharma. How vast and wide the unobstructed sky of samadhi! How bright and clear the perfect moonlight of the Fourfold Wisdom! At this moment what more need we seek? As the eternal tranquility of Truth reveals itself to us, this very place is the Land of Lotuses and this very body is the body of the Buddha.