Rationale
Chanting plays an important
role in the practice, preservation and continuation of the Buddha Dharma
throughout the centuries. Various Buddhist traditions have developed
Buddhist chanting over time either in Pali or other national languages
in harmony with their cultural and ethnic traditions
While the Buddha was alive, his
words were recorded by monks and nuns who chanted them and stored them
in their memories. Every day they would meet to chant through their
‘recordings’, thus preserving the Buddha’s words for us today. In time,
especially after the Buddha’s Final Nibbana, these chants became not
only times to check the teachings, but also occasions when devotion was
expressed to the Buddha as Teacher of the past and as inspiration for
one’s own aspirations to be realised in the future.
Pali was perhaps the lingua
franca throughout Northern India in the Buddha’s
days. Buddha taught in the language of the people, forbidding his
disciples to turn his words into learned Sanskrit, which the general
populace could not understand. While Pali has remained the language of
the original texts of Buddha’s Teachings and that of the Commentaries
written upon them, each Buddhist country has a strong tradition on
Dharma in its own language.
This has obviously been a
desirable development because it has allowed a Buddhist tradition and
culture to flourish over the centuries in each country and, this has
been made possible because the Teachings of the Buddha have been
translated and made meaningful to people in their own various national
languages.
Thus, Buddhist Chanting can be said to have the
following benefits:
(a) It reminds one of
Buddha’s teachings and helps in the memorising of the texts to keep
Buddha’s teachings alive in mind;
(b) It helps purify the karma
of body, speech and mind;
(c) It expresses one’s
strong commitment to, and confidence in the Dharma;
(d) It is a direct way to
cultivate respect that the practitioners may better absorb from the
Triple Gem;
(e) It can be used to great
advantage as an extension of meditation in to words to produce calm,
some peace within. Many meditators use chanting as a preparation for
meditation.
Why Common Buddhist
Chanting in English?
At the level of the
international Buddhist General Conferences / forums and other
international gatherings, we are confronted with a practical problem:
while the English language has been accepted as the lingua franca for
oral and written communication, the common culture of such international
conferences or gatherings has not evolved as yet to the point where, at
least in official functions, all participants have a common chanting or
to paraphrase a familiar English saying where we can all chant from the
same chanting sheet.
A Common Buddhist Chanting in
English could become an important tool for effectively propagating
Buddha Dharma and extending the benefits of chanting to a wider audience
that either speaks English as first or second language. The Buddha did
not want fictional stories to be constructed in the content of Buddhist
chants. Therefore the chanting is based on various levels of statements
of truth. Modern science is rediscovering the powerful healing effect
the human voice can have.
Key elements of Buddha’s
Teachings from various Buddhist traditions should be incorporated in the
Common Buddhist Chanting and they can be used skilfully as starting
points to get new people to get a greater appreciation of Buddha Dharma.
This is especially important if we consider that, at the time of the
Buddha, the tools of communication and transfer of knowledge we have
today and we sometimes may take for granted, were not available. The
most common way available to communicate and preserve the teachings was
by the means of the human voice and chanting was an essential part of
this process.
Any final version of a common
Buddhist chanting must be comfortably accepted by Buddhists from
different traditions in relation to the style, content and chanting time
(expected to be about 15 minutes).
WFB endorsed Common
Buddhist Chanting
Herewith enclosed is the
English version of the Common Buddhist Chanting which has been endorsed
by the 24th General Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists
(WFB) held in Tokyo on 14 –
17 November 2008. This Common Buddhist Chanting was originally initiated
by the World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB) Standing Committee on Unity
and Solidarity at the 22nd WFB General Conference in Shah
Alam, Malaysia
in 2002. It is the significant outcome of a year-long collective work
with strong commitment and dedication of the Common Buddhist Chanting
project committee in Australia with the guidance, assistance and support
of the Senior Buddhist Sangha, Buddhist leaders and scholars of various
Buddhist traditions.
Although best possible efforts
have been made to collate, select and refine the choicest statements and
wordings from various Buddhist traditions in order to come off with
this version of the Common Buddhist Chanting, further constructive
comments and amendments are welcomed.
The Common Buddhist Chanting in
English should be used in all international Buddhist ceremonies,
meetings, conferences and other official Buddhist functions, which have
participants of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Buddhist
organizations and interested people in particular, those of English
speaking background are encouraged to use the Common Buddhist Chanting
in their Buddhist practice and functions. Worldwide appropriate
propagation and implementation of this Common Buddhist Chanting would
certainly be regarded as a significant practical work for Buddhist unity
and solidarity purposes.
More than 2,000 participants of
The Australian Observance of the United Nations Day of Vesak 2007 (B.E
2550) held at Sydney Town Hall proudly enjoyed, for the first time in
Australia, this Common Buddhist Chanting, the rhythm / music of which
was dedicatedly composed by the PANCASIKHA (Musicians and singers’ group
in Thailand). Other rhythms of this Common Buddhist Chanting would be
much appreciated and welcomed.
Common Buddhist Chanting (Buddha Puja)
(Homage to the
Buddha)
Nammo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato
Sammasambuddhassa (Repeat all 3 times)
(Taking Refuge
in the Triple Gem)
I take refuge in
the Buddha.
I take refuge in
the Dhamma.
I take refuge in
the Sangha. (Repeat all 3 times)
(Offering Chant)
(If while
offering light)
I pay homage to the
Awakened One, who dispels ignorance.
Like a brightly
shining light, he eliminates the darkness.
(If while
offering incense)
May this cloud of
perfumed incense reach the ends of all spaces.
May its virtue
override the opposing winds of vice and uphold morality
And allow all sentient beings to
develop their Bodhicitta and attain Nirvana.
This offering I
make to the Dharma.
(If while
offering flowers)
I offer to the
Sangha these fresh, fragrant and beautiful flowers.
May its virtue lead
to the liberation of every sentient being.
(Loving
Kindness Chant)
May all sentient
beings be happy.
May they live in
safety and joy
All sentient
beings, whether weak or strong,
Great or small,
Short or tall,
Seen or unseen,
Near or distant,
Born or yet to be
born,
May they all be
happy.
Let no one deceive
or despise another being in any state;
Let none by anger
or hatred wish harm upon another.
Just as a mother
would protect her only child with her life;
Even so, let one
cultivate a boundless love toward all sentient beings.
Let one radiate
that boundless love towards the entire world.
Above, below and in
all directions;
Without hindrance,
without ill will, without enmity.
(Transformation
Verse)
Sentient beings are
countless; May they all be saved
Emotional
afflictions are boundless; May they all be extinguished.
The Dhamma Paths
are many; I aspire to learn them all.
Awakening is the
highest achievement; I aspire to attain it.
(The Heart Sutra)
Form does not
differ from Emptiness;
Emptiness does not
differ from Form.
That which is Form
is Emptiness;
That which is
Emptiness is Form.
Gone, Gone. Gone beyond, Gone
far beyond. Awaken, Rejoice (Repeat 3 times)
(Merit
Dedication)
May the merit made by me,
now or at some other time, be shared by all sentient beings here.
By rejoicing in this cause, this gift of merits given by me, may all
sentient beings live a happy
life, be free from hatred and may they find the path secure, and their
good wishes all succeed.
(Merit dedication may be
extended at this time to include a specific individual or groups and/or a
desirable outcome for a contemporary issue) |