Beginning Anew Prayer
With great respect we turn inward to
Our Buddha Nature that lies within us.
We have lived in forgetfulness for a long time,
As we have not had the opportunity to encounter the Teachings of the Path.
We have brought about our own suffering.
We have been blinded by our wrong perceptions for a very long time.
Our heart’s garden is sown with attachment, hatred, and pride.
In us are seeds of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and lies.
Our everyday deeds and words do damage.
All these wrong actions are obstacles to our peace and joy.
Let us begin anew. (Bell)
We are often thoughtless, straying from the Path of Mindfulness.
We are a storehouse of suffering, worries, and anxieties due to wrong perceptions.
And we have become weary of life.
Because we don not understand others,
We maintain ill-will against them.
Even after our dispute with them has been resolved,
We continue to feel enmity,
Making the rift greater.
There are days when we are unwilling to speak to each other,
Unwilling to look each other in the face,
And we create negative internal formations.
Now we turn inward to our own Buddha Nature.
Sincerely recognizing our errors, we bow our heads. (Bell)
We know so well that in our consciousness
Are buried all the wholesome seeds-
Seeds of love and understanding,
And seeds of peace and joy.
But if we do not know how to water them,
And we always allow sorrow to overwhelm them,
How can they spring up fresh and green?
When we chase after a distant happiness,
Life becomes but a shadow of the reality.
Our mind is always occupied by the past
Or worrying about this and that in the future.
We cannot let go of our anger,
And we long for what we have to be permanent,
Thereby trampling on real happiness.
As month follows month, we are sunk in sorrow.
So now we recognize our errors and begin anew,
Fragrant as a breath of fresh air. (Bell)
With all of our heart we go for refuge,
Turning to the Buddha within us
And to all those who practice their Bodhisattva Vows.
Very sincerely we recognize our errors
And the mistakes of our wrong judgments.
Please bring the balm of clear water
To pour on the roots of our afflictions.
Please bring the raft of the true teachings
To carry us over the ocean of sorrows.
We vow to live an awakened life,
To learn the path of true happiness
And to practice smiling and conscious breathing.
Diligently, we live in mindfulness. (Bell)
We come back to live in the wonderful present;
To plant our heart’s garden with good seeds’
And to make strong foundations of understanding and love.
We follow the way of Mindfulness,
The practice of looking and understanding deeply
To be able to see the nature of all that is,
And so to be free of the bonds of birth and death.
We learn to speak lovingly, to be affectionate,
To care for others whether it is early morn or late afternoon,
To bring the roots of joy to many places, helping people to abandon sorrow/
To respond with deep gratitude to the kindness of parents, teachers, and friends. (Bell)
We ask the Buddha within us to be our guide
On the wonderful path of practice.
We vow to practice all aspects of the path with energy
So that our practice may bear fruit.
(Three sounds of the Bell)