Unitarian Universalist Church of Medford • 147 High Street • Medford, MA 02155

(repeat 3 times)


First Dedication
[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:]

(Speak names of personal dedications; small bell after each name)


Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, when practicing Para Prajnamita,
clearly saw that the 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 or decrease.
Therefore, given emptiness, there is no form, 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 paramita,
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 we proclaim the prajna paramita mantra,
the mantra that says:
"Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha."


Enmei Jikku Kannon Gyo
(The Eight-Line Kanzeon Sutra)

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

(repeat 5 times)

Kanzeon!
One with the Buddha,
Directly Buddha,
Indirectly Buddha.
One with Buddha, Dharma, Sangha.
Joyful, pure, eternal being!
Morning mind, Kanzeon.
Evening mind, Kanzeon.
Mind of this moment, Kanzeon.
There is nothing but this.

(repeat 5 times)


Sho Sai Myo Kichijo Dharani
(The Dharani of Good Fortune that Averts Calamities)

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
SOMO KO

(repeat 5 times)


Dedication of the Enmei Jikku Kannon Gyo
and the Sho Sai Myo Kichijo Dharani
[Buddha-nature pervades the whole universe existing right here, now. Whenever these devoted invocations are sent forth they are perceived and subtly answered. In reciting the ENMEI JIKKU KANNON GYO and the SHO SAI MYO KICHIJO DHARANI, we dedicate their merits to all members of our human family, throughout space and time. We especially dedicate their merits to those who suffer as a result of calamity, cruelty, and war. May we live in perfect peace with Buddhadharma, and may we realize the Buddha way together. ]


Universal Dedication
All buddhas throughout space and time
All honored ones, bodhisattva-mahasattvas
Wisdom beyond wisdom
Maha Prajna Paramita

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.

(repeat three times)

Closing Dedication
[Infinite realms of light and dark convey the Buddha mind.
Birds and trees and stars
and we ourselves come forth in perfect harmony.
We recite our gatha and our sutra
for the many beings of the world
in grateful thanks
to all our many guides along the ancient way.]


Universal Dedication
All buddhas throughout space and time
All honored ones, bodhisattva-mahasattvas
Wisdom beyond wisdom
Maha Prajna Paramita

Additional Chants and Recitations:


Verse of the Kesa
Vast is the robe of liberation,
a formless field of benefaction,
I wear the Tathagata’s teachings,
saving all sentient beings.

Hakuin Zenji's Song of Zazen
All beings by nature are Buddha,
as ice by nature is water;
apart from water there is no ice,
apart from beings no Buddha.
How sad that people ignore the near
and search for truth afar,
like someone in the midst of water
crying out in thirst,
like a child of a wealthy home
wandering among the poor.
Lost on dark paths of ignorance
we wander through the six worlds;
from dark path to dark path—
when shall we be freed from birth and death?

Oh, the zazen of the Mahayana
to this the highest praise:
devotion, repentance, training, the many paramitas,
all have their source in zazen.

Those who try zazen even once
wipe away beginningless crimes—
where are all the dark paths then?
The Pure Land itself is near.

Those who hear this truth even once
and listen with a grateful heart,
treasuring it, revering it,
gain blessings without end.
Much more, those who turn about,
and bear witness to self-nature—
self-nature that is no nature—
go far beyond mere doctrine.
Here effect and cause are the same;
the Way is neither two nor three;
with form that is no form,
going and coming, we are never astray;
with thought that is no thought
singing and dancing are the voice of the Law.

How boundless and free is the sky of samadhi,
how bright the full moon of wisdom.
Truly is anything missing now?
Nirvana is right here, before our eyes;
this very place is the Lotus Land,
this very body, the Buddha.


Torei Zenji's Bodhisattva's Vow
When I look deeply
into the real 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.

Invocation of Great Compassion
(The Great Compassionate Dharani)

Praise to the Three Treasures—Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha!
Praise to Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva Mahasattva,
the Bodhisattva of Compassion!
Praise to the one who removes all fear and suffering!
Having praised Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva,
may we now recite this glorious dharani which purifies
all beings, which fulfills the wishes of all beings.
Welcome to Bodhisattva Mahasattva who embodies the Trikaya,
Who has the transcendental wisdom.
Welcome to Bodhisattva Mahasattva who continues
to save all beings without defilement in his mind.
Welcome to Bodhisattva Mahasattva who sustains the highest,
the most complete wisdom and who is free from all impediments.
Welcome to Bodhisattva Mahasattva
whose deeds reveal the fundamental purity of all beings.
welcome to Bodhisattva Mahasattva, who wipes away
the three evil delusions—greed, anger, and ignorance.
Quick, quick! Come, come! Here, here! A joy springs up in us.
Help us to enter into the realm of great realization.
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, bodhisattva of Compassion,
guide us to spiritual contentment. Victory! Victory!
Having testified to the freedom and compassion
of the mind of Avalokiteshvara, having purified our own body and mind,
having become as brave as a lion,
having become manifest into all beings,
having attained to the Wheel of Dharma and the Lotus Flower,
we can now save all beings without hindrance.
May the understanding of the mysterious nature of
Avalokitesvara prevail forever, ever and ever.
Praise to the Three Treasures—Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha!
Praise to Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva Mahasattva,
the Bodhisattva of Compassion!
May this dharani be effective. Praise!


On Opening the Dharma
The Dharma, incomparably profound and infinitely subtle,
is rarely encountered
even in hundreds of thousands of millions of ages.
Now we see it, hear it, receive and maintain it.
May we completely realize
the Tathagata’s true meaning.

Additional Dedications:


Lineage Dedication
[The Wheel of the Dharma turns and turns, and
reality is revealed in emptiness and form
May all beings be liberated and brought to great joy.
We give thanks for the guidance of our teachers, women and men named and unnamed.
We especially offer the merits of our practice to:]
The Seven Ancient Buddhas Daiosho
Shakyamuni Buddha Daiosho
Bodhidharma Daiosho
Huineng Daiosho
Eihei Dogen Daiosho
Keizan Jokin Daiosho
Hakuin Ekaku Daiosho
Takuju Kosen Daiosho
Keido Chisan Daiosho
Houn Jiyu Kennett Daiosho
And to the teachers of the
Three Treasures Lineage, particularly
Sogaku Harada Daiosho
Haku’un Yasutani Daiosho
Ko’un Yamada Daiosho
Robert Aitken Daiosho
John Tarrant Daiosho


Second Short Dedication
[The Dharma wheel turns and turns and so reality is shown in all its many forms. In reciting (insert name of chant), we dedicated its merits to *the great teacher Shakamuni Buddha Daiosho*, all successive Daiosho, all enlightened women, and all living teachers of the truth. May their years of life be lengthened and may we show our gratitude by accomplishing the Buddha Way together.]