The Buddha-Recitation Service
Everything we chant on a monthly retreat day, in the order we chant it. Each passage is given in Chinese with pinyin beneath every character, followed by its meaning in plain English — so you can join in with your voice and know what you are saying.
How to use this page
Follow the pinyin under each character to chant along. The wooden fish keeps the beat: one character, one strike. If you lose your place, simply listen and rejoin at the next line.
Read the English under each passage for its meaning. It is a plain rendering for understanding, not a word-for-word translation.
Use the buttons in the bar below to hide the pinyin or the English, or to make the text larger.
- 5:00 AMMorning Service早課 · The Sutra on Impermanence
- 9:00 AMFirst Incense第一支香 · Amitābha Sutra, Praise of the Buddha, walking recitation
- MiddayNoon Offering午供 · The petition read before the Buddha
- 1:30 PMAfternoon · First Incense下午第一支香 · Praise of the Buddha, walking recitation
- 3:00 PMAfternoon · Second Incense下午第二支香 · Praise of the Buddha, walking recitation
Morning Service
The day begins before dawn with The Sutra on Impermanence, translated into Chinese by the Tang-dynasty monk Yijing (義淨). Its message is short and direct: everyone ages, falls ill, and dies — and it is exactly because of this that a Buddha appears in the world to teach. We chant it to begin the day awake to how precious the day is.
Opening verses · Homage to the Three Jewels
I bow and take refuge in the Unsurpassed One, who always rouses great vows and a heart of great compassion. To carry beings across the river of birth and death, he leads them to the safe ground of nirvana. Tireless in giving, in moral discipline, and in patience; single-minded, skillful, and truly wise — his own good and the good of others are both made complete. So he is called the Tamer, the Teacher of gods and humans.
I bow and take refuge in the treasury of the wonderful Dharma. Its three fours and two fives shine with complete clarity; its seven and its eight open the gate of the Four Noble Truths. (Together these are the thirty-seven factors of awakening.) All who practice it reach the far shore of the unconditioned. Like cloud and rain, the Dharma nourishes everything that lives, cooling the fever of affliction and curing every ill. Those who are hard to teach it gently tames, guiding each according to capacity and never by force.
I bow and take refuge in the true noble Sangha — the eight kinds of noble ones who have left every stain behind. With the diamond pestle of wisdom they shatter the mountain of wrong views and cut forever the bonds that have held us since time without beginning. From the Deer Park to the twin sal trees they followed the Buddha, spreading the true teaching through his whole lifetime. Each one, having finished the work of teaching, laid body and mind to rest in the stillness of the unborn.
I bow in reverence to all Three Jewels together — the true cause by which everyone can be rescued. Beings lost in birth and death, long sunk in confusion: may they all be led out and reach awakening.
Verses on impermanence
All who are born return to death. Every fair face fades. Even the strong are overtaken by illness. No one escapes.
Even Mount Sumeru will crumble when the eon ends. The bottomless ocean will run dry. The earth, the sun, the moon — when the time comes, all are gone. There has never been a single thing that impermanence did not swallow.
From the highest heaven, beyond all perception, down to the wheel-turning king — always with his seven treasures, encircled by a thousand sons — when the lifespan is used up, it does not pause for an instant. Back they drift into the sea of death, to meet whatever suffering their actions bring.
Round and round within the three realms we turn, like a wheel drawing water from a well; like a silkworm spinning its cocoon, wrapped in its own thread.
Even the unsurpassed Buddhas, the solitary awakened ones, and the noble disciples gave up their impermanent bodies. How much more so we ordinary people!
Father and mother, wife and children, brothers, sisters, all our kin — we watch death part us from them. How could we not grieve?
So I urge everyone: listen closely to the true Dharma. Together let us leave the place of impermanence and walk through the gate of the deathless. The Buddha’s teaching is like sweet dew: it cools the fever and brings relief. Listen with one mind — it can put out every affliction.
The sutra
Thus have I heard. At one time the Blessed One was staying at Śrāvastī, in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park. There the Buddha said to the monks: “There are three things in this world that no one loves, that have no luster, that no one wants to think about, and that please no one. What three? Old age, sickness, and death.
“Monks, old age, sickness, and death are truly unloved, truly without luster, truly unwelcome in thought, and truly pleasing to no one. Yet if there were no aging, sickness, and death in the world, a Tathāgata — worthy and fully awakened — would not appear in the world to teach beings the truth he has realized and the way to train the mind.
“Know, then, that aging, sickness, and death are what no one in the world loves or welcomes. And it is exactly because of these three that a Buddha appears in the world and teaches the Dharma he has realized and the way to tame the mind.”
Then the World-Honored One said it again in verse: “Outer things, however finely adorned, all go to ruin; the body within decays in the same way. Only the supreme Dharma does not perish. The wise should look into this carefully.
“Aging, sickness, and death — everyone dislikes them; their look is ugly and hard to bear. The face of youth stays only a moment; soon it is withered and thin. Even a life of a full hundred years cannot avoid the press of impermanence. The pains of aging, sickness, and death follow us always and never do beings any good.”
When the World-Honored One had spoken this sutra, the monks, the gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, and all the others rejoiced greatly, accepted it in faith, and put it into practice.
Closing verses
Always chasing after pleasures, never doing what is good — how will you protect this body and this life? Do you not see death coming? When the last breath is about to go and the joints come apart, pain arrives together with death. By then regret is useless.
The eyes roll upward; the blade of death falls according to our karma. The mind is in panic, and no one can save us. Long gasps tighten the chest; short breaths dry the throat. The lord of death hurries his messengers, while our relatives can only stand by and watch.
Consciousness grows dim and enters a perilous city. Family and friends all fall away, and one is led off on a rope. Brought before King Yama, each receives what their own actions have earned: good causes lead to a happy birth, harmful deeds to a fall into hell.
No eye is brighter than wisdom; no darkness is deeper than delusion. No enemy is worse than sickness; no terror is greater than death. All who are born must die, and wrongdoing brings pain that cuts close. So work diligently with body, speech, and mind, and keep cultivating merit and wisdom.
Relatives all leave us; wealth is carried off by others. We take with us only our own roots of goodness — provisions for the dangerous road.
Like a tree by the roadside: we rest a moment and do not stay. Carriages, horses, spouse, and children are soon just like that. Like birds roosting together: gathered at night, flown apart at dawn. So death parts us from those we love.
Only the Buddha’s awakening is a true place of refuge. I have said this briefly, following the sutras; let the wise reflect on it well.
Gods, asuras, yakṣas, and all who have come to hear the Dharma: listen with a sincere heart. Protect the Buddha’s teaching so that it may long endure, and each of you diligently practice what the World-Honored One taught. All listeners gathered here, on the ground or in the air: always hold kindness toward the human world, and day and night abide in the Dharma yourselves.
May every world be always at peace. May boundless merit and wisdom benefit all that lives. May all wrongdoing be wiped away; may all leave suffering behind and return to perfect peace. Anoint the body with the fragrance of moral discipline, clothe it in the robe of concentration, adorn it everywhere with the flowers of awakening — and wherever you dwell, may you always be at ease.
First Incense
A practice period is called a “stick of incense” (一支香), after the old way of timing a session by how long one stick takes to burn. The first one has three parts: we chant the Amitābha Sutra, sing the Praise of the Buddha, and then walk in a circle reciting the Buddha’s name.
The Amitābha Sutra
Translated by Kumārajīva around 402 CE. The Buddha describes the Pure Land of Amitābha, explains how to be born there by holding the Buddha’s name with an undistracted mind, and tells how the Buddhas of every direction vouch for this teaching.
The assembly
Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Śrāvastī, in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park, together with a great community of 1,250 monks — all great arhats, well known to everyone.
Among them were the elders Śāriputra, Mahāmaudgalyāyana, Mahākāśyapa, Mahākātyāyana, Mahākauṣṭhila, Revata, Śuddhipanthaka, Nanda, Ānanda, Rāhula, Gavāṃpati, Piṇḍola Bhāradvāja, Kālodāyin, Mahākapphiṇa, Vakkula, and Aniruddha — these and other great disciples.
There were also great bodhisattvas — Mañjuśrī the Dharma Prince, Ajita (Maitreya), Gandhahastin, and Ever-Diligent — along with Śakra, lord of the gods, and countless heavenly beings.
The Land of Utmost Bliss
Then the Buddha said to the elder Śāriputra: “West of here, beyond a hundred thousand million Buddha-lands, there is a world called Utmost Bliss (Sukhāvatī). In that land there is a Buddha named Amitābha, who is teaching the Dharma right now.
“Śāriputra, why is that land called Utmost Bliss? The beings there know no suffering at all; they experience only happiness. That is why it is called Utmost Bliss.
“That land is ringed by seven tiers of railings, seven layers of netting, and seven rows of trees, all made of the four precious things. That, too, is why it is called Utmost Bliss.
“There are pools of the seven jewels, filled with water of eight fine qualities; their beds are covered with gold sand. On all four sides are stairways of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and crystal, and above them stand pavilions adorned with gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, mother-of-pearl, red pearls, and agate. The lotuses in the pools are as large as chariot wheels — blue ones shining blue, yellow shining yellow, red shining red, white shining white — delicate, fragrant, and pure. Śāriputra, the Land of Utmost Bliss is complete with such splendor and virtue.
“In that Buddha-land heavenly music is always playing and the ground is gold. Six times each day and night, mandārava blossoms rain from the sky. In the clear early morning the beings there gather these wonderful flowers in the folds of their robes and offer them to a hundred thousand million Buddhas in other worlds. By mealtime they are home again, to eat and then to walk in meditation. Śāriputra, the Land of Utmost Bliss is complete with such splendor and virtue.
“In that land there are always many kinds of rare and beautiful birds of every color: white cranes, peacocks, parrots, śāri birds, kalaviṅkas, and two-headed jīvaṃjīva birds. Six times each day and night they sing in gentle, harmonious voices, and their song proclaims the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of awakening, the noble eightfold path, and other teachings. Hearing it, the beings of that land all turn their minds to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.
“Do not think these birds were born as the result of bad karma. Why? In that Buddha-land the three lower realms do not exist — not even their names are heard there, let alone the realities. Amitābha Buddha himself brings these birds into being so that the sound of the Dharma may flow everywhere.
“When a soft breeze stirs the rows of jeweled trees and the jeweled nets, they give off delicate, wonderful sounds, like a hundred thousand instruments playing together. In all who hear it, the wish to be mindful of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha arises naturally. Śāriputra, that Buddha-land is complete with such splendor and virtue.
Amitābha: infinite light, infinite life
“What do you think, Śāriputra — why is that Buddha called Amitābha? His light is measureless; it shines on the lands of the ten directions and nothing obstructs it. So he is called Amitābha, ‘Infinite Light.’ And his lifespan, and that of his people, lasts for measureless, boundless, incalculable eons. So he is also called ‘Infinite Life.’ Ten eons have passed since Amitābha became a Buddha.
“That Buddha has countless disciples, all arhats, more than any counting can reckon; the assembly of bodhisattvas is just as vast. Śāriputra, that Buddha-land is complete with such splendor and virtue.
“All beings born in the Land of Utmost Bliss never fall back on the path. Many among them are in their final life before Buddhahood — so many that they cannot be counted; one can only say ‘measureless, boundless, incalculable.’
How to be born there
“Those who hear this should make the vow: ‘May I be born in that land.’ Why? Because there they will be together in one place with people of such supreme goodness.
“One cannot be born there with only a little goodness, merit, or favorable conditions. If a good man or good woman hears of Amitābha Buddha and holds fast to his name — for one day, two days, three, four, five, six, or seven days — with a mind single and undistracted, then at the end of life Amitābha Buddha and the assembly of sages will appear before that person. At the moment of death the mind will not be confused, and that person will at once be born in Amitābha’s Land of Utmost Bliss.
“I see this benefit, Śāriputra, and so I say: all beings who hear this teaching should vow to be born in that land.
The Buddhas of the six directions bear witness
“Just as I now praise the inconceivable merits of Amitābha Buddha, so in the East there are Akṣobhya Buddha, Sumeru-Appearance Buddha, Great Sumeru Buddha, Sumeru-Light Buddha, Wonderful-Sound Buddha, and Buddhas as many as the sands of the Ganges. Each in his own land puts forth his broad, long tongue, covering a billion worlds, and speaks these true words: ‘All of you should trust this sutra, which praises inconceivable merits and which all Buddhas protect and keep in mind.’
“In the worlds of the South there are Sun-Moon-Lamp Buddha, Renowned-Light Buddha, Great-Blazing-Shoulders Buddha, Sumeru-Lamp Buddha, Infinite-Vigor Buddha, and Buddhas as many as the sands of the Ganges. Each in his own land speaks the same true words: ‘Trust this sutra, which all Buddhas protect and keep in mind.’
“In the worlds of the West there are Infinite-Life Buddha, Infinite-Appearance Buddha, Infinite-Banner Buddha, Great-Light Buddha, Great-Brightness Buddha, Jewel-Appearance Buddha, Pure-Light Buddha, and Buddhas as many as the sands of the Ganges. Each in his own land speaks the same true words: ‘Trust this sutra, which all Buddhas protect and keep in mind.’
“In the worlds of the North there are Blazing-Shoulders Buddha, Supreme-Sound Buddha, Hard-to-Defeat Buddha, Sun-Born Buddha, Net-of-Light Buddha, and Buddhas as many as the sands of the Ganges. Each in his own land speaks the same true words: ‘Trust this sutra, which all Buddhas protect and keep in mind.’
“In the worlds below there are Lion Buddha, Renown Buddha, Famed-Light Buddha, Dharma Buddha, Dharma-Banner Buddha, Upholder-of-the-Dharma Buddha, and Buddhas as many as the sands of the Ganges. Each in his own land speaks the same true words: ‘Trust this sutra, which all Buddhas protect and keep in mind.’
“In the worlds above there are Brahma-Sound Buddha, Constellation-King Buddha, Supreme-Fragrance Buddha, Fragrant-Light Buddha, Great-Blazing-Shoulders Buddha, Body-Adorned-with-Many-Colored-Jewel-Flowers Buddha, Sāla-Tree-King Buddha, Jewel-Flower-Virtue Buddha, Seeing-All-Meanings Buddha, Like-Mount-Sumeru Buddha, and Buddhas as many as the sands of the Ganges. Each in his own land speaks the same true words: ‘Trust this sutra, which all Buddhas protect and keep in mind.’
Faith and the vow
“Why is this called ‘the sutra protected and kept in mind by all Buddhas’? Any good man or woman who hears this sutra and holds to it, and who hears the names of these Buddhas, is protected and kept in mind by all the Buddhas, and will never turn back from supreme, perfect awakening. Therefore, Śāriputra, all of you should trust and accept my words and the words of all the Buddhas.
“Whoever has vowed, now vows, or will vow to be born in Amitābha’s land will never turn back from supreme, perfect awakening; they have been born there, are being born there, or will be born there. So, Śāriputra, every good man and woman who has faith should vow to be born in that land.
“Just as I now praise the inconceivable merits of the Buddhas, they praise mine too, saying: ‘Śākyamuni Buddha has done something extremely difficult and rare. In the Sahā world, in an evil age of five corruptions — of the times, of views, of afflictions, of beings, and of lifespan — he attained supreme, perfect awakening, and for the sake of all beings he teaches this Dharma that the whole world finds hard to believe.’
“Know this, Śāriputra: in this evil age of five corruptions I did this difficult thing, attained supreme, perfect awakening, and taught the whole world this hard-to-believe Dharma. That is difficult indeed.”
When the Buddha had finished speaking this sutra, Śāriputra, the monks, and all the gods, humans, and asuras of the world rejoiced at what they had heard, accepted it in faith, bowed, and departed.
The Rebirth Dhāraṇī
Chanted three times after the sutra. A dhāraṇī is a string of Sanskrit sounds kept for its sound rather than translated; the Chinese characters only spell out the syllables. Its full title means “the dhāraṇī that pulls out karmic obstacles by the root and brings birth in the Pure Land.”
Praise of the Buddha
Eight sung lines describing Amitābha Buddha, ending with a line of homage. The melody is slow; each character is held for several beats.
Amitābha Buddha’s body is the color of gold; the radiance of his noble features is beyond compare.
The white curl between his brows winds like five Mount Sumerus; his deep-blue eyes are as clear as the four great oceans.
Within his light appear countless millions of Buddhas, and bodhisattvas without number.
By his forty-eight vows he carries living beings across; through nine grades of lotus birth he brings them all to the other shore.
Homage to Amitābha Buddha of great kindness and great compassion, in the Western Land of Utmost Bliss.
Walking Recitation
After the praise we leave our places and walk slowly, clockwise and in single file, palms joined, reciting the Buddha’s name together. Follow the person in front of you. We begin with the six-syllable name and, as the pace quickens, shorten it to four syllables. When the bell signals, we return to our places and sit to continue reciting in stillness.
“Homage to Amitābha Buddha” — I take refuge in the Buddha of Infinite Light and Infinite Life.
“Amitābha Buddha” — the name alone, repeated with one mind.
Dedication of Merit
A session closes by giving away whatever good has come of it.
May the merit of this practice adorn the Buddha’s Pure Land.
May it repay the four great kindnesses above, and relieve the suffering of the three lower realms below.
May all who see or hear of it give rise to the mind of awakening.
And when this one life is over, may we be born together in the Land of Utmost Bliss.
Noon Offering
Before the midday meal, food, flowers, and incense are offered to the Buddha. During the offering the Master reads aloud a formal petition (文疏) on behalf of everyone present: who we are, where we have gathered, what we have practiced today, and what we pray for.
No pinyin here. The Master reads this text in Taiwanese (Hokkien), not Mandarin, so Mandarin pinyin would not match what you hear. Simply listen, palms joined, and follow the meaning in English.
The merit of the gathering
The power of merit from keeping the fast and practicing together gathers blessings too wonderful to measure. May the Buddhas rejoice, and may the nāgas and gods who protect the Dharma send down good fortune.
The teaching and its many gates
With deep respect we say: the great teaching has flowed down through the ages, showing the One Vehicle — the road back to the source. Its power is beyond measuring, and it opens for living beings many gates of skillful means.
Where we are, and why we have come
Here in this human world of Jambudvīpa — at No. 80, Yanghe Lane, Xinyi Township, Nantou County, Taiwan — we honor the Buddha to plant blessings and extend good fortune, and we recite the sutra so that calamities may be averted and hardships resolved, that the road ahead may be smoother, and that life may be safe and long.
Those who are gathered
Today, led by the monastic Da-hui of Ru-Yi Meditation Center, all the good men and faithful women who have come to recite the Buddha’s name — the whole assembly together — sincerely offer incense and bow.
Calling on the Buddhas and bodhisattvas
Homage to our original teacher in this Sahā world, Śākyamuni Buddha. Homage to the Medicine Buddha, who dispels calamity and lengthens life. Homage to the Buddha of Infinite Life (Amitābha) in the Land of Utmost Bliss. Homage to the greatly compassionate Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin). Homage to Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha of the great vow. Homage to the Dharma protector Skanda (Weituo). Homage to the guardian sages of the monastery. Homage to all Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions and the three times — before each of your jeweled golden lotus thrones.
Our condition
We respectfully state our intention. We who have come to recite the Buddha’s name and to light the lamps of brightness are humbled to have been born human and to have been touched, undeserving, by the holy teaching. Yet ignorance blocks us from within, and day by day we pile up the causes of further suffering; illusory things shake us from without, and the grime of our faults gathers. Alone and stumbling on a rough road, how are we to find the way home? Clinging to a crumbling house, we find it hard to seek the way out.
Turning toward the Dharma
Having had the joy of meeting the holy teaching, how could we not give it our whole heart? And so we have chosen this day, come to Ru-Yi, and respectfully invited our good companions in practice.
What we practice today
We begin our recitation: the Amitābha Sutra in full, a whole day of reciting the Buddha’s name, and the mantras of the Buddhas.
The offering
On this day we present incense, flowers, and fruit, offering them up to the Three Jewels of the ten directions and to the countless holy ones of perfect virtue, and also to the heavenly Dharma protectors and all guardian spirits. May you grace this Dharma gathering with your presence and, in your compassion, accept these offerings.
Light and rain
May the Buddha’s light shine everywhere, and may the bodhisattvas protect and bless us. May the karmic obstacles of a thousand lifetimes melt away at once, and the faults of many lives be washed clean. May the Buddha’s light shelter us far and wide, bringing brightness back to a darkened room. May the rain of the Dharma fall on all, so that the withered branch turns green again.
For the world
We pray further: may wind and rain come in their season; may the country be at peace and its people safe; may the four seasons pass without disaster, and every festival of the year be a time of joy.
For each person and family
May the men gain a hundred blessings and the women receive a thousand kinds of good fortune. May all have true faith in the Three Jewels; may the wisdom of prajñā arise, and may the mind of awakening never fall back. May each one’s life shine bright and be long. May livelihoods prosper and the way ahead be open. May every wholesome wish be fulfilled, and may great good fortune descend.
Closing
With reverence, this petition is offered up to be heard. Dated this day, Ru-Yi Meditation Center once more bows to the ground and respectfully submits it.
Afternoon · First Incense
The afternoon sessions are simpler. There is no sutra: we sing the Praise of the Buddha, then walk and sit reciting the Buddha’s name.
1. Praise of the Buddha (讚佛偈) 2. Walking recitation (繞佛)
Go to the Praise of the Buddha ↑Afternoon · Second Incense
The same as the 1:30 session: the Praise of the Buddha, then walking and seated recitation, closing the day with the dedication of merit.
1. Praise of the Buddha (讚佛偈) 2. Walking recitation (繞佛) 3. Dedication of merit (迴向)
Go to the Praise of the Buddha ↑ Go to the Dedication ↑Chinese texts: Foshuo Wuchang Jing (Taishō 801) and Foshuo Amituo Jing (Taishō 366). The English renderings were prepared by Ru-Yi Meditation Center to convey the meaning for those chanting along; they are not word-for-word translations.