Chants and Readings

Ten Cardinal Precepts of a Zen Practitioner

1. I commit to refrain from killing sentient beings but cultivates and encourages life.
2. I commit to refrain from taking what is not given but cultivates and encourages generosity.
3. I commit to refrain from misusing sexuality but cultivates, encourages honest and caring relationships
4. I commit to refrain from lying but cultivates and encourages truthful communication.
5. I commit to refrain from intoxicating myself or others but cultivates and encourages mental clarity.
6. I commit to refrain from slandering others but cultivates and encourages respectful speech.
7. I commit to refrain from praising myself at the expense of others but cultivates and encourages myself and others to abide in our awakened nature.
8. I commit to refrain from being possessive of anything but cultivates and encourages mutual support.
9. I commit to refrain from harboring ill-will but cultivates and encourages loving-kindness and understanding.
10. I commit to refrain from abusing, disparaging the Three Gems or causing disharmony within the Sangha, but rather cultivates and encourages awakening, the path and teachings of awakening and the community that takes refuge in awakening.

The Great Wisdom Heart Sutra

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Avalokitesvara, an Awakened One of great compassion, experiencing the clear deep truth of the transcendent wisdom of meditative awareness, clearly saw that all of the images, feelings and emotional states of ego mind are empty of any permanent self-nature. Realizing this, he immediately transcended mental confusion and ego suffering and told Śāriputra:

Remember that all manifested forms are no other than this emptiness. Emptiness is no other than all these manifested forms. Form is exactly emptiness; emptiness is exactly form. All of our thoughts, feelings, concepts, conscious states and volitional actions are also like this. We must remember that even spiritual life and practice are fundamentally empty. Within this deep meditative awareness, there is no birth, no death, nothing can be defiled, nothing is pure, nothing can increase, nothing can decrease.

Hence, in this emptiness, there is no form, no feeling, no thought, no volition, and no consciousness. There are no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, and no mind. There is no seeing, no hearing, no smelling, no tasting, no touching, and no thinking. There is no world of sight, no world of consciousness. There is no ignorance and no end to ignorance. There is no aging leading to old age and death and no end to aging leading to old age and death. There is no suffering, no craving, no extinction, no path, no wisdom, and no attainment. Indeed, there is nothing to be attained.

The Awakened Ones rely upon this transcendent wisdom and experience no ego confusion or hindrance in this mind. No hindrance, therefore, no fear. Far beyond distorted perceptions at last, this enlightened mind we call Nirvana.

Past, present and future, all Awakened Ones, all compassionate ones, rely upon this transcendent wisdom of meditative awareness and, therefore, experience the most supreme awakening: Enlightenment. Thus, know that transcendent wisdom is the greatest jewel, the brightest jewel, the incomparable jewel. This practice can completely clear the mind and end all ego suffering. This is the truth, not a deception. So embody this transcendent wisdom, manifest this wisdom, proclaim this jewel and Awaken!

Tadyatha!
Gate, Gate, Para Gate, Parasam Gate, Bodhi Swaha!

Pure Awareness is transcending, ever transcending, transcending transcendence, transcending even the transcendence of transcendence. This is Awakened Mind! Swaha!

Translation by Lex Hixon (Heart Sutra Dharani: the embodiment & manifestation of the teaching it contains, Sanskrit 100-300 C.E.)