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"At Plum Village, chants and recitations are part of everyday life and are also important for special occasions. They help to strengthen our practice of mindfulness, nourishing the wholesome seeds of love and understanding within us and renewing our determination to be aware and awake to the present moment."  -Chanting from the Heart

The chants in this page are examples in which you can use to perform each day. They may be performed with your community of fellow practitioners, your family, or on your own.  The chants and discourses can be replace with other chants and discourses that you can find available in this site.

Here in Plum Village, the format in which we usually follows are: Incense offering, Chanting, which consist of the Sutra Opening Verse, We are truly present can be replace with May the day be well, Discourse reading, and closing verse...

Incense Offering

(Incense Offering)

The fragrance of this incense
invites the awakened mind
to be truly present
with us now.
The fragrance of this incense
fills our practice center,
protects and guards our mind
from all wrong thinking.
The fragrance of this incense
collects us and unites us.
Precepts, concentration, insight
we offer for all that is:
Namo Bodhisattvebhyah
Namo Mahasattvebyah (Bell)

(Praising the Buddha)

The one who bows and the one who is bowed
to are both, by nature, empty.
Therefore, the communication between them
is inexpressibly perfect.
Our practice center is the Net of Indra
reflecting all Buddhas everywhere.
And my own person reflects in all Buddhas,
to whom with my whole life I go for refuge.
(B)

(Touching The Earth Before The Three Jewels)

(chanted together)
I take refuge in the Buddha, the one who
shows me the way in this life. (B)
I take refuge in the Dharma, the way of
understanding and of love. (B)
I take refuge in the Sangha, the community
that lives in harmony and awareness. (BB)

Chanting

(Praising The Bodhisattva of Great
Compassion)

From the depths of understanding, the flower
of great eloquence blooms:
The bodhisattva stands majestically upon
the waves of birth and death, free from all
afflictions.
Her great compassion eliminates all sickness,
even that once thought of as incurable.
Her wondrous light sweeps away all obstacles
and dangers.
Her willow branch, once waved, reveals
countless Buddha lands.
Her lotus flower blossoms a multitude of
practice centers.
We bow to her. We see her true presence in
the here and now.
We offer her the incense of our heart.
May the Bodhisattva of Deep Listening
embrace us all with great compassion:
Namo ’valokiteshvaraya (3x) (B)

(Sutra Opening Verse)

Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma
Sambuddhassa (3x) (B)

The Dharma is deep and lovely.
We now have a chance to see, study, and to practice it.
We vow to realize its true meaning. (B)

(The Refuge Chant)

Incense perfumes the atmosphere.
A lotus blooms, and the Buddha appears.
The world of suffering and discrimination is filled with the light of the Rising Sun.
As the dust of fear and anxiety settles, with open heart, one-pointed mind, I turn to the Three Jewels. (B)
The Fully Enlightened One, beautifully seated, peaceful and smiling, a living source of understanding and compassion,
to the Buddha I go for refuge. (B)
The path of mindful living, leading to healing, joy, and enlightenment, the way of peace,
to the Dharma I go for refuge. (B)
The loving and supportive community of practice, realizing harmony, awareness, and liberation, to the Sangha I go for refuge. (B)
I am aware that the Three Gems are within my heart.
I vow to realize them, practicing mindful breathing and smiling, looking deeply into things.
I vow to understand living beings and their suffering,
to cultivate compassion and loving kindness, to practice joy and equanimity. (B)
I vow to offer joy to one person in the morning, to help relieve the grief of one person in the afternoon,
living simply and sanely with few possessions, keeping my body healthy.
I vow to let go of all worries and anxiety in order to be light and free. (B)
I am aware that I owe so much to my parents, teachers, friends, and all beings.
I vow to be worthy of their trust, to practice wholeheartedly so that understanding and compassion will flower,
helping living beings to be free from their suffering.
May the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha support my efforts. (BB)

(We Are Truly Present)

With hearts established in mindfulness, we are truly present
for sitting and walking meditation, and for reciting the sutras.
May this practice center with its four-fold Sangha be supported by the Three Jewels and Holy Beings,
well-protected from the eight misfortunes and the three paths of suffering.
May parents, teachers, friends, and all beings within the Three Realms be filled with the most divine grace,
and may it be found that in the world there is no place at war.
May the winds be favorable, the rains seasonable, and the people’s hearts at peace.
May the practice of the Noble Community, diligent and steady, ascend the Ten Bodhisattva Stages with ease and energy.
May the Sangha body live peacefully, fresh and full of joy, a refuge for all, offering happiness and insight. (B)
The wisdom of the Awakened Mind shines out like the full moon. (B)
The body of the Awakened One is pure and clear as crystal. (B)
In the world, the Awakened One relieves bitterness and suffering. (B)
In every place, the Awakened Mind reveals love and compassion:
Namo Shakyamunaye Buddhaya (3x) (BB)

Sutra Reading

(Discourse on Knowing The Better Way To
Live Alone)

I heard these words of the Buddha one time when the Lord was staying at the monastery in the Jeta Grove, in the town of Savatthi. He called all the monks to him and instructed them, “Bhikkhus!”

And the bhikkhus replied, “We are here.”

The Blessed One taught, “I will teach you what is meant by ‘knowing the better way to live alone.’ I will begin with an outline of the teaching, and then I will give a detailed explanation. Bhikkhus, please listen carefully.”

“Blessed One, we are listening.”

The Buddha taught:

“Do not pursue the past.
Do not lose yourself in the future.
The past no longer is.
The future has not yet come.
Looking deeply at life as it is
in the very here and now,
the practitioner dwells
in stability and freedom.
We must be diligent today.
To wait till tomorrow is too late.
Death comes unexpectedly.
How can we bargain with it?
The sage calls a person who
dwells in mindfulness
night and day ‘the one who knows
the better way to live alone."

“Bhikkhus, what do we mean by ‘pursuing the past’? When someone considers the way her body was in the past, the way her feelings were in the past, the way her perceptions were in the past, the way her mental formations were in the past, the way her consciousness was in the past; when she considers these things and her mind is burdened by and attached to these things which belong to the past, then that person is pursuing the past.

“Bhikkhus, what is meant by ‘not pursuing the past’? When someone considers the way her body was in the past, the way her feelings were in the past, the way her perceptions were in the past, the way her mental formations were in the past, the way her consciousness was in the past; when she considers these things but her mind is neither enslaved by nor attached to these things which belong to the past, then that person is not pursuing the past.

“Bhikkhus, what is meant by ‘losing yourself in the future’? When someone considers the way his body will be in the future, the way his feelings will be in the future, the way his perceptions will be in the future, the way his mental formations will be in the future, the way his consciousness will be in the future; when he considers these things and his mind is burdened by and daydreaming about these things which belong to the future, then that person is losing himself in the future.

“Bhikkhus, what is meant by ‘not losing yourself in the future’? When someone considers the way his body will be in the future, the way his feelings will be in the future, the way his perceptions will be in the future, the way his mental formations will be in the future, the way his consciousness will be in the future; when he considers these things but his mind is not burdened by or daydreaming about these things which belong to the future, then he is not losing himself in the future.

“Bhikkhus, what is meant by ‘being swept away by the present’? When someone does not study or learn anything about the Awakened One, or the teachings of love and understanding, or the community that lives in harmony and awareness; when that person knows nothing about the noble teachers and their teachings, and does not practice these teachings, and thinks, ‘This body is myself; I am this body. These feelings are myself; I am these feelings. This perception is myself; I am this perception. This mental formation is myself; I am this mental formation. This consciousness is myself; I am this consciousness,’ then that person is being swept away by the present.

“Bhikkhus, what is meant by ‘not being swept away by the present’? When someone studies and learns about the Awakened One, the teachings of love and understanding, and the community that lives in harmony and awareness; when that person knows about noble teachers and their teachings, practices these teachings, and does not think, ‘This body is myself; I am this body. These feelings are myself; I am these feelings. This perception is myself; I am this perception. This mental formation is myself; I am this mental formation. This consciousness is myself; I am this consciousness,’ then that person is not being swept away by the present.

“Bhikkhus, I have presented the outline and the detailed explanation of knowing the better way to live alone.” Thus the Buddha taught, and the bhikkhus were delighted to put his teachings into practice.

Bhaddekaratta Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya 131*

(The Three Refuges)

I take refuge in the Buddha, the one who shows me the way in this life.
I take refuge in the Dharma, the way of understanding and of love.
I take refuge in the Sangha, the community that lives in harmony and awareness. (B)
Dwelling in the refuge of Buddha, I clearly see the path of light and beauty in the world.
Dwelling in the refuge of Dharma, I learn to open many doors on the path of transformation.
Dwelling in the refuge of Sangha, shining light that supports me, keeping my practice free of obstruction. (B)
Taking refuge in the Buddha in myself, I aspire to help all people recognize their own awakened nature, realizing the Mind of Love.
Taking refuge in the Dharma in myself, I aspire to help all people fully master the ways of practice, and walk together on the path of liberation.
Taking refuge in the Sangha in myself, I aspire to help all people build four-fold communities, to embrace all beings and support their transformation. (BB)

(Sutra Closing Verse)

Reciting the sutras, practicing the way of awareness,
gives rise to benefits without limit.
We vow to share the fruit with all beings.
We vow to offer tribute to parents, teachers,
friends, numerous beings who give guidance and support along the path.
(BBB)