23 Apr
2014
Posted in: Practice
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Blessings to All

Because the retreat I just came back from was led by monastics, we did quite a bit of bowing and chanting and other ritualized ways of showing respect and gratitude. I loved it. Especially when we chanted the Verses of Sharing and Aspiration, in which we offered blessings to absolutely everyone…..to those who are friendly, indifferent, or hostile, to gods and evil forces, and even to death itself!

Through the goodness that arises from my practice,
May my spiritual teachers and guides of great virtue,
My mother, my father, and my relatives,
The Sun and the Moon, and all virtuous leaders of the world,
May the highest gods and evil forces,
Celestial beings, guardian spirits of the Earth, and the Lord of Death,
May those who are friendly, indifferent, or hostile,
May all beings receive the blessings of my life.
May they soon attain the threefold bliss and realize the Deathless.
Through the goodness that arises from my practice,
And through this act of sharing,
May all desires and attachments quick cease
And all harmful states of mind.
Until I realize Nibanna,
In every kind of birth, may I have an upright mind,
With mindfulness and wisdom, austerity and vigor.
May the sources of delusion not take hold nor weaken my resolve.
The Buddha is my excellent refuge,
Unsurpassed is the protection of the Dhamma,
The solitary Buddha is my noble Lord,
The Sangha is my supreme support.
Through the supreme power of all these,
May darkness and delusion be dispelled. 

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