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Diamond Sangha
Sesshin Sutra Book

December 1991 version
Translations/revisions by Robert Aitken Roshi
of the Diamond Sangha Zen Buddhist Society,
Koko An, 2119 Kaloa Way, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA 96822

Gathas express an aspects of the Dharma in compact verses. Perhaps the earliest form of Buddhist liturgy. Thich Nhat Hanh (in his foreward for Aitken's The Dragon Who Never Sleeps) notes that gathas are recited "to help us dwell in mindfulness and look more deeply at what we are doing."

PURIFICATION

A gatha-vow from the Hua-yen Sutra (Flower Ornament Scripture) that has become the prologue to most Zen Buddhist services. It is recited at evening services daily and at the morning services during sesshin.

All the evil karma, ever created by me since of old;
on account of my beginningless greed, hatred and ignorance;
born of my conduct, speech and thought;
I now confess openly and fully.

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VANDANA

The traditional gatha of veneration to the Budda, recited in original Pali language at morning services during sesshin.

Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammasambuddhassa.
I venerate the Sacred One, the Great Sage, the Truly Enlightened One.

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TI-SARANA

The traditional Threefold Vow of Refuge recited in the Pali, affirming a home in Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. It is the initiation and reinitiation to the Way of the buddha found in all buddhist centers. It is recited at the morning services during sesshin. Pronounce "gacchami" as "guhchami."

Buddham saranam gaccha-mi;
I take refuge in the Buddha;

Dhammam saranam gaccha-mi;
I take refuge in the Dharma;

Sangham saranam gaccha-mi.
I take refuge in the Sangha.

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SHIGU SIEGAN MON

SHUJO MU HEN SEI GAN DO
BONNO MU JIN SEI GAN DAN
HO MON MU RYO SEI GAN GAKU
BUTSU DO MU JO SEI GAN JO.

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GREAT VOWS FOR ALL

The many beings are numberless, I vow to save them; Greed, hatred, and ignorance rise endlessly, I vow to abandon them; Dharma gates are countless, I vow to wake to them; The Buddha's way is unsurpassed, I vow to embody it fully.

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ON OPENING THE DHARMA

The Dharma,
incomparably profound and minutely subtle,
is rarely encountered,
even in hundreds of thousands of millions of kalpas;
We now can see it, listen to it, accept and hold it;
May we completely realize the Tathagata's true meaning.

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The ascii version of these texts can be acquired from the Electronic Buddhist Archives section of the Coombspapers Social Sciences Research Data Bank