7-Limbed Prayer

[Ngawang Drolma]

7-Limbed Prayer

Respectfully I prostrate with body, speech and mind;
I present clouds of every type of offerings, actual and imagined;
I declare all the negative actions I have done since beginningless time,
and rejoice in the merit of all Aryas and ordinary beings.
Please teacher, remain until cyclic existence ends
and turn the wheel of Dharma for all sentient beings.
I dedicate the virtues of myself and others to the great Enlightenment.

[malalu]

Here is another version of the Seven Limbed Prayer composed by Shantideva...

I prostrate to all the Buddhas who have graced the three times,
To the Dharma and to the Highest Assembly,
Bowing down with bodies as numerous
As all the atoms of the world.

Just as Manjushri and others
Have made offerings to the Triumphant,
So do I make offerings to the Thusly Gone Ones
And to our Guardians, their Spiritual Offspring.

From beginningless samsara, in this and other lives,
I have unwittingly committed destructive acts,
Or caused others to do likewise,
Bewildered by the confusion of naivety.
I have even rejoiced in all this.
Seeing these mistakes, I openly declare them
To you, our Guardians, from the depth of my heart.

With happiness I rejoice at the ocean of virtues
of developing bodhichitta,
Wishing to bring joy to all limited beings
And working for everyone's sake.

With hands pressed together,
I request the Buddhas of all directions
To light the lamp of Dharma for those who are groping
In the darkness of suffering.

Triumphant Ones, wishing to pass beyond sorrow,
I beseech you with hands pressed together:
These beings wander blindly with no one to guide them;
Please live for eons beyond all count.

By the positive force built up
From all I have done in this way,
May all sufferings
Of every limited being disappear.

[ground]

I bow down with a clear mind, body, and speech
To all the lions-among-humans, leaving none out -
Those who traverse the three times in the worlds
Of the ten directions, however many there may be.

I make obeisance to all the conquerors,
With bowing bodies as numerous as the particles of those worlds,
Perceiving all of the conquerors
Through the strength of prayers that aspire to auspicious deeds.

Upon one particle there are buddhas as numerous as the
particles of these worlds, and
All are seated in the midst of their children.
In this way, all are spheres of reality.
I imagine conquerors filling all of those particles.

In praise of all the sugatas,
I express the excellence of all the conquerors
With all the sound of an ocean of voices in song
And oceans of inexhaustible praise.

I offer to the conquerors
Exquisite flowers, the best garlands,
Musical instruments, ointments, excellent umbrellas,
Superior lamps, and choice incences.

I make offerings to the conquerors
With the best garments, superior perfumes,
Fragrant powders piled as high as Mount Meru -
All in the most excellent arrangements.

I imagine all unsurpassable and vast offerings
For all the conquerors.
With the strength of my faith in auspicious deeds
I bow down and make offerings to all the conquerors.

Whatever sins I have done
With body, speech, and mind
Under the influence of attachment, hostility, or ignorance
I confess each and every one of them.

I rejoice in all merit, whatever it may be,
Of all the conquerors of the ten directions, conqueror's
children,
Pratyekabuddhas, those with more to learn,
Those with no more to learn, and all ordinary beings.

I implore all the protectors,
Lights in the worlds of the ten directions
Who have reached buddhahood, which is without
attachment,
To turn the peerless wheel of the teaching.

I supplicate with palms joined in prayer
Those wishing to demonstrate their final nirvana -
Please stay for eons equal in number to the particles of
the universe
In order to bring happiness and benefit to all beings.

Whatever merit I have accumulated, however slight,
From obeisance, offering, confession,
Rejoicing, imploring, and supplication -
I dedicate it all to enlightenment.






Prayer of Samantabhadra (Samantabhadra-carya-pranidhana), from Ganda-vyuha-sutra, as cited in Lam Rim Chen Mo

[Ngawang Drolma]

Thanks a lot, Malalu and TMingyur. These are beautiful