Prayer

What is Buddhist Prayer?

'I seek not thy refuge for the sake of gain,

Nor because of fear of thee,

nor for the love of fame,

Nor for divine favours or undeserved position,

But drawn by the power of boundless love and Compassion,

And thy all-embracing peerless wisdom,

The vast Samsara's sea safe to cross,

I bend low, O lord, and become thy devotee.

I take Refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.

Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!'.

The purpose of Buddhist prayer is to awaken our inherent inner capacities of strength, compassion and wisdom rather than to petition external forces based on fear, idolizing, and worldly and/or heavenly gain.

Buddhist prayer is a form of meditation; it is a practice of inner reconditioning. It replaces the negative with the virtuous.

It inspires our hearts towards wisdom and compassion for others and ourselves. It allows us to turn our hearts and minds to the beneficial, rousing our thoughts and actions towards Awakening. Constant and repetitive wholesome thoughts when intentionally cultivated becomes us, we become what we believe, we are the result of our causes and conditioning.