Our Talk this month digests the Chants for Formal Meals ... not bread alone, these Chants guide us for all our Practice and Life ...
Formal Meal Verses (Gyôhatsu nenju 行鉢念誦)
Verse upon Hearing the Meal Signal (Montsui no ge 聞槌之偈)
(Hands in Gassho) Buddha was born in Kapilavastu,
enlightened in Magadha,
taught in Varanasi,
entered nirvana at Kushinagara.
Verse for Setting Out Bowls (Tenpatsu no ge 展鉢之偈))
(Hands in Gassho) Now we set out Buddha's bowls;
may we, with all living beings,
realize the emptiness of self-clinging, and of the three wheels:
giver, receiver, and gift.
(GASSHO, THEN OPEN BOWLS WITH CARE)
Verse of Buddha Names (Butsumyô 十仏名)
(Hands in Gassho) In the midst of the Three Treasures
which verify our understanding,
Entrusting ourselves to the Sangha,
we recall:
Homage to the pure Dharmakaya Vairochana Buddha, boundless
To the complete Sambhogakaya Lochana Buddha, symbol of perfection
To the manifest Nirmanakaya Shakyamuni Buddha, a man of this earth
To Maitreya Buddha, hope for the future
To all Buddhas past, present, and future in the ten directions
To the Mahayana Saddharma Pundarika Lotus Sutra
To Manjusri Bodhisattva, great wisdom
To Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, great activity
To Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, great compassion
To the myriad honored ones, Bodhisattvas, Mahasattvas
To the Perfection of Wisdom, Maha Prajnaparamita.
Food Offering Verses (Sejiki ge 施食偈)
(Hands in Gassho) This food of many benerfits
comes from the efforts
of all sentient beings past and present,
and is medicine for nourishment of our Practice.
We offer this meal of many virtues and tastes
to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha,
and to all life in every realm of existence.
May all sentient beings in the universe
be sufficiently nourished.
Verse of Five Contemplations (Gokan no ge 五観之偈)
(Hands in Gassho) First, we reflect on the labours that brought us this food and
consider how it comes to us.
(Bow in Shashu) Second, as we receive this offering, we should consider whether our
virtue and practice are worthy of its receipt.
(Hands in Zazen Mudra) Third, we regard greed as an obstacle to freedom of mind.
Fourth, we regard this meal as medicine to sustain our life.
Fifth, to attain the Way, we now receive this food.
Verse of Food Offering (Saba ge 生飯偈)
REMOVE A FEW MORSELS, AND PLACE ASIDE
(Hands in Gassho) For all creatures who hunger, and to nourish this world, now we
present you this offering. This food is for all of you in the ten directions.
Bowl Raising Verse (Keihatsu no ge 擎鉢之偈)
(Hands in Gassho) First, this is for the Three Treasures;
Second, it is for our teachers, parents, planet, and all sentient beings.;
Third, it is for every being in all realms of existence.
Thus we eat this food with everyone. We eat to
end all suffering, to practice the harmless and beneficial, to save all sentient beings,
and to accomplish the Buddha Way.
The first portion is to end all evil;
the second is to cultivate every good;
the third is to free all beings.
May everyone realize the Buddha Way.
End of meal:
(Sessui no ge 折水之偈)
(Hands in Gassho) The water with which we wash our bowls tastes like ambrosia.
We offer it to all who thirst, that they may be satisfied.
And may the fires of greed and our excess desires be quenched.
[On ma ku ra sai so wa ka]
Verse of Purity While Abiding in the World (shose kaibon no ge 処世界梵之偈)
(Hands in Gassho) Abiding in this ephemeral world
May we exist in muddy water with purity like a lotus
Nothing escapes the boundless mind
Thus we bow to Buddha.