Seven Branch Prayer

I take refuge till my purified state,
In the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.
By the positive force of my giving and so on,
May I actualize Buddhahood to help those who wander.

May the surface of the land in every direction
Be pure, without even a pebble,
As smooth as the palm of a child’s hand,
Naturally polished, as is a beryl gem.
May divine and human objects of offering,
Actually arrayed and those envisioned
Arise as peerless clouds of Samantabhadra offerings, 

Completely filling the sphere of space.

1
To the Buddhas of the past, present and future,
And to the Dharma and Sangha,
With bodies as many as the grains of sand
Upon the earth, I will prostrate and bow.

2
Just as Manjughosha and others
Made offerings to all the Conquerors,
I do likewise to all the Buddhas, our protectors,
And to your spiritual children.

3
In this and all my other lives,
While turning round without beginning,
Blindly I have brought forth evil,
And incited others to commit the same.
Deceived and overmastered by my ignorance,
I have taken pleasure in such wrong doing,
And seeing now the blame of it,
O great protectors, I confess it earnestly!

4
With pleasure, I rejoice in the ocean of great virtue
From having developed the awakened mind
That seeks to place all beings in a state of bliss,
And every action for the benefit of beings.

5
And so I join my hands and pray:
Buddhas who reside in every quarter,
Kindle now Dharma’s lamp
For those who grope, bewildered in the dark of suffering!

6
I join my hands beseeching the enlightened ones
Who wish to pass into nirvana:
Do not leave us wandering in blindness,
Stay among us for unnumbered ages!
7
Through these actions now performed
And all the virtues I have gained,
May all suffering of every living being
Be wholly scattered and destroyed!

By directing and offering to the Buddha-fields
This base, anointed with fragrant waters, strewn with flowers,
And ornamented with Mount Meru, four islands, a sun, and a moon,
May all those who wander be led to pure lands.

Om idam guru ratna mandala-kam nir-yatayami.



By Shantideva, Bodhisattvacharya-avatara.

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