A Prayer for Peace
BY Thich Nhat Hanh
In beauty, sitting on a lotus flower,
is Lord Buddha, quiet and solid.
Your humble disciple,
calm and pure of heart,
forms a lotus flower with his hands,
faces you with deep respect,
and offers this heartfelt prayer:
Homage to all Buddhas in the ten directions.
Please have compassion for our suffering.
Our land has been at war for two decades.
Divided, it is a land of tears
and blood and bones of young and old.
Mothers weep till their tears are dry
while sons on distant fields decay.
Its beauty torn apart,
only blood and tears now flow.
Brothers killing brothers
for promises from outsiders.
Homage to all Buddhas in the ten directions.
Because of your love for all people,
have compassion on us.
Help us remember we are just one family,
North and South.
Help us rekindle our compassion and brotherhood,
and transform our separate interests
into loving acceptance for all.
May your compassion help us overcome our hatred.
May Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva’s love
help the flowers bloom again in the soil of our country.
Humbly, we open our hearts to you,
so you may help us transform our karma
and water the flowers of our spirits.
With your deep understanding,
help our hearts grow light.
Homage to Shakyamuni Buddha
whose great vows and compassion inspire us.
I am determined to cultivate only thoughts
that increase trust and love,
to use my hands to perform only deeds
that build community,
to speak only words of harmony and aid.
May the merit of this prayer
be transformed into peace in Vietnam.
May each of us realize this,
our deep aspiration.
the Middle East
A Prayer for World Peace
By Venerable Master Hsing Yun
Oh great, compassionate Buddha!
As your students and followers,
We are sincerely kneeling here before you;
Please listen to these words from our hearts;
The rumbling of wars between nations,
The clamor of discord between people,
The roar of greed in the rapids of craving,
The growl of hatred among races.
These sounds are
Like tidal waves storming against our hearts!
The sound are
Like hurricanes pounding against our hearts!
As we observe all of this,
We realize that all human suffering
Originates from our self-conceit, prejudice, and
delusion.
As we contemplate all of this,
We realize that all worldly turmoil
Is caused by our attachment to things, Dharma
and relationships.
Disagreement between different people
Has caused so many arguments;
Discrimination between different races
Has caused so many disasters;
Intolerance between different religions
Has caused so many misfortunes;
Conflict of interest between different nations
Has caused so much chaos and upheaval.
Living in this kind of world,
Every day we live in fear, with no ease;
Every day we live in senselessness, with no
peace.
Oh great, compassionate Buddha!
Please listen to our sincere prayer:
We sincerely wish that, in this world, there be:
No jealousy, only admiration;
No hatred, only harmony;
No greed, only generosity;
No harm, only achievement.
Oh great, compassionate Buddha!
Let people of different ages
Live in harmony;
Let people of different social stations
have mutual respect;
Let people of different professions
Work in cooperation;
Let people of different religions
Practice with tolerance.
Oh great, compassionate Buddha!
You once said,
"The mind, Buddha, and all sentient beings
Are no different from one another."
"You, I, and others are all equal."
We need to learn from you the wisdom
To close the distance between self and others;
We need to learn from you the selflessness
To eliminate all of our attachments;
We need to learn from you the truth
To resolve the confrontations between races;
We need to learn from you the compassion
To reconcile the conflicts between nations;
We need to learn from you the Buddha light
To illuminate the darkness of the world.
Oh great, compassionate Buddha!
Please hear my sincere and pious prayer!
Please bestow peace upon the world!
Please bless all sentient beings with harmony!
Oh great, compassionate Buddha,
Please accept our sincere prayer!
Oh great, compassionate Buddha,
Please accept our sincere prayer!
Namo Shakyamuni Buddha.
