Buddhist Prayers  

Founded in India 2,500 years ago, Buddhism remains the dominant religion of the Far East and is increasingly popular in the West. Over its long history Buddhism has developed into a wide variety of forms, ranging from an emphasis on religious rituals and worship of deities to a complete rejection of both rituals and deities in favor of pure meditation. But all share in common a great respect for the teachings of the Buddha, "The Enlightened One". 1

A Buddhist Prayer for Peace

May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings of body and mind quickly be freed from their illnesses.
May those frightened cease to be afraid, and may those bound be free.
May the powerless find power and may people think of befriending one another.
May those who find themselves in trackless, fearful wildernesses - the children, the aged, the unprotected - be guarded by beneficent celestials, and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood. 
 - U.N. Day of Prayer for World Peace 2

______________________________________________________________________________

Earth Prayer

We gently caress you, the Earth, our planet and our home.
Our vision has brought us closer to you, making us aware of the harm we have done to the life-network upon which we ourselves depend.
We are reminded that we have poisoned your waters, your lands, your air. 
We have filled you with the bones of our dead from war and greed. 
Your pain is our pain.
Touching you gently, we pray that we may become peace-bringers and life-bringers so that our home in its journey around the Sun not become a sterile and lonely place. 
May this prayer and its power last forever.   
 - Sensei Ulrich, Manitoba Buddhist Temple 3

Water Flows

Water flows over these hands.
May I use them skillfully
to preserve our precious planet.
 - Thich Nhat Hahn

Over Cherry Blossoms

Over cherry blossoms
white clouds
over clouds
the deep sky
over cherry blossoms
over clouds
over the sky
I can climb on forever
once in spring
I with god
had a quiet talk.
 - Shuntaro Tanikawa

Golden Chain

I am a link in Lord Buddha’s golden chain of love that stretches around the world.
I must keep my link bright and strong.
I will try to be kind and gentle to every living thing, and protect all who are weaker than myself. 
I will try to think pure and beautiful thoughts, to say pure and beautiful words, and to do pure and beautiful deeds, knowing that on what I do now depends my happiness and misery.
May every link in Lord Buddha’s golden chain of love become bright and strong and may we all attain perfect peace.
 - Buddhist Prayer

Prayer of Lovingkindness

May all beings be peaceful.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be safe.
May all beings awaken to
the light of their true nature.
May all beings be free.
 - Metta Prayer

May Peace Harmonious

May peace harmonious bless this land;
May it be ever free from maladies and war;
May there be harvest rich, and increased yield of grain;
May everyone delight in righteousness;
May no perverted thought find entry to your minds;
May all your thoughts e’er pious be and lead
to your success religiously.
 - Tibetan Great Yogi, Milarepa

Tibetan Wind Horse Prayer

As Wind carries our prayers for Earth and All Life, may respect and love light our way.
May our hearts be filled with compassion for others and for ourselves.
May peace increase on Earth. May it begin with me.
 - Tibetan prayer flag is 'Lung ta', meaning 'Wind Horse'

______________________________________________________________________________

Mikkyo Prayer

May we realize Buddhahood in this very life.
May we dedicate ourselves to the well-being of people.
May we establish the World of Buddha on this earth.
 -  Practitioner Vows

Buddhist Prayer

We reverently pray for
eternal harmony in the universe.
May the weather be seasonable,
may the harvest be fruitful,
may countries exist in harmony,
and may all people enjoy happiness. 
 - Buddhist Prayer

______________________________________________________________________________

Bodhisattva Prayer for Humanity

May I be a guard for those who need protection
A guide for those on the path
A boat, a raft, a bridge for those who wish to cross the flood
May I be a lamp in the darkness
A resting place for the weary
A healing medicine for all who are sick
A vase of plenty, a tree of miracles
And for the boundless multitudes of living beings
May I bring sustenance and awakening
Enduring like the earth and sky
Until all beings are freed from sorrow
And all are awakened.
 - Shantideva, Indian Buddhist sage 700 A.D.  Prayer performed each morning by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

______________________________________________________________________________

Well, Happy, and Peaceful

May I be well, happy, and peaceful.
May my teachers be well, happy, and peaceful.
May my parents be well, happy, and peaceful.
May my relatives be well, happy, and peaceful.
May my friends be well, happy, and peaceful.
May the indifferent persons be well, happy, and peaceful.
May the unfriendly persons be well, happy, and peaceful.
May all meditators be well, happy, and peaceful.
May all beings be well, happy, and peaceful.
 - Buddhist Prayer

Being Peace

If we are peaceful.
If we are happy.
We can smile and blossom
Like a flower.
And everyone
In our family,
Our entire society
Will benefit
From our peace.
 - Thich Nhat Hanh

______________________________________________________________________________

A Buddhist Prayer

Evoking the presence of great compassion, let us fill our hearts with our own compassion – towards ourselves and towards all living beings.
Let us pray that all living beings realize that they are all brothers and sisters, all nourished from the same source of life. 
 - Buddhist Prayer

______________________________________________________________________________

We Pray for Peace

We pray for peace in all the world;
We pray that evil may be overcome by good;
We pray for harmony in the Sangha,
and for the cessation of all disaster.
 - From Shasta Abbey

Offering the Mandala

Here is the great Earth,
filled with the smell of incense,
covered with a blanket of flowers,
the Great Mountain, the Four Continents,
wearing a jewel of the Sun and Moon.
In my mind I make them the Paradise of a Buddha,
and offer it all to You.
By this deed, May every living being
Experience the Pure World.
 - Tibetan Prayer

______________________________________________________________________________

New Year Poem and Wishes

Under the glorious canopy of redwood trees
The New Year peacock dances
Sun and moon rise into the blue sky
The earth grows and happinesss increases
In this New Year
 - H.E. Khempo Yurmed Tinly Rinpoche

______________________________________________________________________________

Sky is Free

Sky is free.
Ocean is blissful.
Trees are divine.
Rocks are enlightened.
So are we.
Who is still searching ...
for what?
 - Anam Thubten Rinpoche

______________________________________________________________________________

Enlightenment

Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water.
The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken.
Although its light is wide and great,
The moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide.
The whole moon and the entire sky
Are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass. 
 - Dogen

Quotes and Inspirations

The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.
 - His Holiness the Dalai Lama

May all beings everywhere be happy, peaceful, and free.
 - The Buddha

Display a heart of boundless love for all the world.
 - The Buddha

All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.
 - The Buddha

When you make peace with yourself, you make peace with the world.                                
 - Maha Ghosananda

We are all Buddhas by nature.  We only have to awaken and recognize who and what we are and how we fit perfectly in this world.
 - Lama Surya Das

Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible.  We all wish for world peace, but world peace will never be achieved unless we first establish peace within our own mind.
 - Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

The dedication of a virtuous act for all beings is like a adding a drop of water to the ocean.  As long as the ocean exists, the drop of water exists.  So, too, a small positive action, when directed toward the benefit of all beings, will endure forever.
 - The Buddha 

If the mindset of people in the world became one that was kinder, friendlier and more compassionate towards one another, peace and harmony would definitely result, and there would also be greater harmony and peace between humanity and the environment. This has to be our aspiration.
 - Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, ‘Very Little Needs and Much Contentment' article, Rigpa's summer retreat 2008

I believe that to meet the challenge of our times, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. We must all learn to work not just for our own self, family, or nation, but for the benefit of all humankind. Universal responsibility is the key to human survival. It is the best foundation for world peace, the equitable use of natural resources, and through concern for future generations, the proper care of the environment.
 - His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Buddhism emphasizes the impact our individual actions have on our lives and the world around us, and it follows from this perspective that caring for the natural world begins with each of us.
 - Gil Fronsdal, Vipassana teacher 4

All are nothing but flowers
In a flowing universe.
 - Nakagawa Soen-Roshi

You should entreat trees and rocks to preach the Dharma, and you should ask the rice fields and gardens for the truth.
 - Eihei Dogen

My heart that was rapt away by the wild cherry blossoms - will it return to my body when they scatter?
 - Kotomichi

The color of the mountains is Buddha's body; the sound of running water is his great speech.
 - Dogen

When human beings lose their connection to nature, to heaven and earth, they do not know how to nurture their environment or how to rule their world – which is saying the same thing. Human beings destroy their own ecology at the same time that they destroy one another. From that perspective, healing our society goes hand and hand with healing our personal, elemental connection with the phenomenal world.
 - Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche (Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior)

The escalating threat to the world’s environment and climate stems from a profound predicament that affects all humanity. We are ever more rapidly losing our connection with the sacred nature of our world. This tragedy affects us in so many ways, but at its heart, it is a crisis of the spirit. We are harming our planet and fellow beings because we are losing touch with the basic goodness of our own sacred being.
 - Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche (A Call to Contemplation and Action on Climate Change 2009)

Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.
 - The Buddha

Student - How may I enter the Way?
Teacher - Do you hear the murmur of the mountain stream? There you may enter.
 - Zen Koan

Be aware of the contact between your feet and the Earth. Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet. We have caused a lot of damage to the Earth. Now it is time for us to take good care of her. We bring our peace and calm to the surface of the Earth and share the lesson of love. We walk in that spirit.
 - Thich Nhat Hanh

Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment.
Only this moment is life.
 - Thich Nhat Hanh

Reference Information

1  www.religionfacts.com/compare/religions

2  www.hds.harvard.edu/life-at-hds/religious-and-spiritual-life/peace-and-justice/prayers-for-peace-and-justice

3  www.manitobabuddhistchurch.org/sangha/ourplanet/earthprayer.html

4  www.insightmeditationcenter.org/2013/09/caring-for-the-earth-as-buddhist-practice/