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Appendix II
The Ten Great Practices Of All Bodhisattvas
In the Flower Adornment Sutra, considered the king of kings of Sutras, the Buddha tells how all Bodhisattvas everywhere and throughout all time practice these ten conducts of the Bodhisattva Universal worthy (Samantabhadra), in order to become Buddhas:
Worship all Buddhas
Before the Lions Among Men (the Buddhas)
throughout the worlds of the ten directions,
In the past, present, and future
With body, mouth, and mind entirely pure,
I bow before them all omitting none.
Praise the Thus Come Ones
With each oceanic sound I let fall everywhere
Words and phrases, wonderful and endless,
Which now through all the eons of the future,
Praise the wide, deep ocean of the
Buddha’s merit and virtue.
Extensively Make Offerings
I vow to always meet the Thus Come Ones face to face
And the hosts of disciples who surround them.
Untiringly to the end of future time,
I will make offerings to them vast and great.
Repent of and Reform Karmic Obstacles
All the evil deeds I have done
From beginningless ignorance, greed, and hate,
Created by my body, mouth and mind:
I now repent of and will reform them all.
Rejoice in and Follow Merit and Virtue
I rejoice in the merit and virtue
Of all beings in the ten directions,
Those still learning and those beyond,
And all thus Come Ones and Bodhisattvas.
Request that the Wheel of Dharma Be Turned
Before the Lamps of the Worlds (the Buddhas) of the ten directions,
Those who first Enlightenment won,
I now beseech them all
To turn the supremely wondrous wheel of Dharma.
Beseech the Buddhas to Remain in the World
If there are Buddhas who wish for Nirvana,
I beseech with deep sincerity
That they stay in the world for eons as many
as dust motes in worlds,
To benefit and bring happiness to every living being.
Always Follow the Buddhas and Learn From Them
All future Teachers of gods and Humans (the Buddhas),
Whose quest for happiness has been fulfilled
I will learn from and follow them
throughout the three periods of time,
And quickly attain great enlightenment.
Always Comply With Living Beings
Ending their sufferings in the paths of evil,
And bringing happiness to everyone equally,
May I for eons like the particles of dust in a world
Ever benefit all in the ten directions.
Transfer All Merit to Living Beings
All the merit and virtue that I have acquired from
worshipping the Buddhas,
up to and including according with living beings,
I transfer to all living beings everywhere
Throughout the Dharma Realm and the reaches of space.1__________________________________________________________________
1 Universal Worthy’s Conduct and Vows, Chapter 40, Flower Adornment
Sutra, BTTS.Copyright © Buddhist Text Translation Society
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