An Introduction to BuddhismTo do no evil;
To cultivate good;
To purify one's mind:
This is the teaching of the Buddhas.
--The Dhammapada
With about 365 milliion followers -- 6% of the world's population -- Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world. It is exceeded in numbers only by Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.
Mahabodi Temple In Bodhgaya
Buddhist Hymns and Prayers
On Opening the Sutra
The Dharma incomparably profound and exquisite Is rarely met with, even in hundreds of thousands of millions of kalpas; We are now permitted to see it, to listen to it, to accept and hold it; May we truly understand the meaning of the Tathagata’s words!
Confession
All the evil karma ever committed by me since of old,
On account of greed, anger, and folly, which have no beginning,
Born of my body, mouth, and thought --
I now make full open confession of it.
The Threefold Refuge
I take refuge in the Buddha;
I take refuge in the Dharma;
I take refuge in the Sangha.
I take refuge in the Buddha, the incomparably honoured one;
I take refuge in the Dharma, honourable for its purity;
I take refuge in the Sangha, honourable for its harmonious life.
I have finished taking refuge in the Buddha;
I have finished taking refuge in the Dharma;
I have finished taking refuge in the Sangha.
The Four Great Vows
However innumerable beings are, I vow to save them;
However inexhaustible the passions are, I vow to extinguish them;
However immeasurable the Dharmas are, I vow to master them;
However incomparable the Buddha-truth is, I vow to attain it.
The Teaching of the Seven Buddhas
Not to commit evils,
But to do all that is good,
And to keep one’s thought pure --
This is the teaching of all the Buddhas
The Gatha of Impermanence
All composite things are impermanent,
They are subject to birth and death;
Put an end to birth and death,
And there is blissful tranquility.
[The preceding quoted in D. T. Suzuki, Manual of Zen Buddhism. N.Y.: Grove, 1960.]
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