Ceremonies

THEE JEWELS AND TWO PROMISES:
RECITATION FOR CHILDREN

INCENSE OFFERING

Head of Ceremony: In gratitude we offer this incense to all Buddhas and bodhisattvas throughout space and time. May it be fragrant as Earth herself, reflecting our careful effots, our wholehearted awareness, and the fruit of understanding, slowly ripening in us. May we and all beings be companions of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. May we awaken from forgetfulness and realize our true home.

(bell)

TOUCHING THE EARTH

Teaching and living the way of awareness in the very midst of suffering and confusion, Shakyamuni Buddha, the Enlightened One, to whom we bow in gratitude.

(bell)

Cutting through ingnorance, awakening our heats and minds, Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Great Understanding, to whom we bow in gratitude.

(bell)

Working mindfully and joyfully for the sake of all beings, Samantabhadra, the Bodhisattva of Great Action, to whom we bow in grattitude.

(bell)

Responding to suffering, serving beings in countless ways, Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of great Compassion, to whom we bow in gratitude.

(bell)

Seed of awakening and loving kindness in children and all beings, Maitreya, the Buddha To Be Born, to whom we bow in gratitude.

(bell)

Showing the way fearlessly and compassionately, the stream of ancestral teachers, to whom we bow in gratitude.

(two sounds of the bell)

OPENING CHANT

(Head of the Ceremony chants each line, echoed by whole assembly):

The Dharma is deep and lovely.

We now have a chance to see it

study it, and practice it.

We vow to realize its true meaning.