May every living being,Our minds as one and radiant with light,Share the fruits of peace,With hearts of goodness, luminous and bright. If people hear and see,How hands and hearts can find in giving, unity, May their minds awake,To Great Compassion, wisdom and to joy.May kindness find reward,May all who sorrow leave their grief and pain; May this boundless light,Break the darkness of their endless night. Because our hearts are oneThis world of pain turns into ParadiseMay all become compassionate and wise,May all become compassionate and wise.

Medicine Master Thus Come One Namo Namo Medicine Master Thus Come One Namo Namo  He dispels calamities and lengthens life Namo, Namo He dispels calamities and lengthens life Namo, Namo Medicine Master Thus Come One Namo Namo Medicine Master Thus Come One Namo Namo Buddha of Lapis Lazuli Light Namo, Namo Buddha of Lapis Lazuli Light Namo, Namo Medicine Master Thus Come One Namo Namo Medicine Master Thus Come One Namo Namo Medicine Master Thus Come One Namo Namo Medicine Master Thus Come One Namo Namo

Music: WIlliam Walker “Amazing Grace” Lyrics: Traditional Buddhist verses translated and adapted by Rev. Heng Sure This wonderful song is traditionally sung only on Buddha’s Birthday, during the full moon in May. I translated it and added three verses hoping to make it available to sing year-round. Upon the earth, below the sky, the Buddha has no peer, In Ten Directions everywhere, he is beyond compare. He’s gone beyond duality, he’s never born again, With wisdom bright he blesses me, he knows my joy and pain. He walked the Noble Middle Way, with strength and purity, In dark of night and light of day, his kindness touches me. He’s not…

To end her mother’s misery was her quest,To end her mother’s misery was her quest.Her vows she professed, a filial child so blessed; To end her mother’s misery was her quest. I return, I rely, on the Bodhisattva King of Great Vows; I return, I rely, on the Bodhisattva King of Great Vows. He makes his home deep in the hells,He makes his home deep in the hells.Well, it’s deep in the hells that this Bodhisattva dwells, He makes his home deep in the hells. I return, I rely…

Music and Lyrics: Jennifer Berezan This song was written by Canadian-American artist, songwriter and Berkeley neighbor, Jennifer Berezan. Of all the songs written about Guan Yin Bodhisattva, the Awakened Being of Great Compassion, this one touches more hearts than any other. I’ve sung it with audiences from Shanghai to Sydney, from Berkeley to Boston and no matter where, the scope of Guan Yin’s vows seems to unlock the spirit of kindness in our hearts. Guan Yin wants to carry us to the other side of trouble, fears, affliction and pain. Visit https://jenniferberezan.com for more information about this song and Jennifer Berezan’s music. She is a boat, she is a light,…

Music: Le Livre Vermeil de Montserrat Lyrics: David Rounds In Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra, Guan Shi Yin Bodhisattva, the Awakened Being of Great Compassion appears with a thousand eyes, a thousand ears and a thousand hands to rescue beings from suffering. Guan Shi Yin in Chinese means “One Who Hears the Voices/Sounds/Cries of Beings in the World.” Guan Yin responds to those entreaties with whatever each being needs to resolve their troubles. David Rounds set these lyrics to a melody from a hymn to the Catholic Saint, the Blessed Virgin Mary, from a 14th century Catalan oratorio Le Livre Vermeil de Montserrat. She who hears the voices of…

Music and Lyrics: Rev. Heng Sure While meditating at Buddha Root Farm, a summer camp in the coastal mountains of Oregon, I witnessed deforestation, “clear-cutting” of the forest. This terrible practice harms the entire ecosystem; the land can no longer support the myriad species that depend upon it to survive. Humans are a part of the whole; when we level the forest, we tear away the lungs of the planet and destroy our own Earth household. We sing lullabies to send children to sleep; this song was written to apologize to the eagles, the deer, the salmon, the insects and the trees. My tall fir trees touched the sky, Where…

Music: Rev. Heng Sure Lyrics: Adapted from The Shurangama Sutra by Rev. Heng Sure In the Shurangama Sutra, twenty-five Sages each tell Manjushri Bodhisattva their preferred method for reaching “Perfect Understanding”. Venerable Sundarananda gives advice on meditation through mindfulness of the breath. Sundarananda tried to meditate, But he couldn’t get it straight, So he asked the World Honored One, To teach him how to concentrate. Breathing in, breathing out, Outside in, inside out, Buddha’s mind, big and bright, Watch your breath, and fill with light. My mind was scattered, too many outflows, The Buddha pointed to the tip of my nose, Focus on the whiteness, patiently, Observe your breath how…

The Buddha got enlightened, underneath the tree. His mind was like a round full moon,‘Cause he entered samadhi. Chorus: He put on samadhi shoes, put on samadhi shoes; Walkin’ all the way to Buddhahood,Put on samadhi shoes.Calm your mind and body, say goodbye to the blues; Walkin’ all the way to Buddhahood, Put on samadhi shoes. Samadhi concentration comes from precepts pure, Tame your body, mouth and mind,And walk through samadhi’s door. Chorus: When you put on samadhi shoes, put on samadhi shoes, Walkin’ all the way to Buddhahood,Put on samadhi shoes.Calm your mind and body, say goodbye to the blues; Walkin’ all the way to Buddhahood, Put on samadhi…

Music: Rev. Heng Sure Lyrics: Elder Master Xuyun’s Enlightenment Verse translated and adapted by Rev. Heng Sure During a twelve-week Chan meditation session in 1896, late at night, a tea cup fell from a monk’s hand, and shattered on the floor. Instantly, the monk, Elder Master Xuyun (Empty Cloud), “lit up his mind and saw his inherent nature,” Buddhist jargon for the experience of spiritual enlightenment. He wrote these three stanzas to memorialize the event. One verse is “True Emptiness,” staring directly into the Void, where the Universe holds no sympathy; the other verse mirrors “Wonderful Existence,” full of compassion and life. The melody is an attempt to place this…