As I Walk with Beauty
(Apparently this is another verion of "Walk in Beauty")
As I walk, as I walk
The universe is walking with me
In beauty it walks before me
In beauty it walks behind me
In beauty it walks below me
In beauty it walks above me
Beauty is on every side
As I walk, I walk with Beauty.
--Traditional Navajo Prayer
AUM.
This eternal Word is all:
what was, what is and what shall be,
and what beyond is in eternity.
All is AUM.
--excerpt from The Mandukya Upanishad. The word "upanishad" comes from the root word upasana, which means "to draw near," and is often interpeted to mean that which was heard when the student sat near the teacher to learn the truths.
Elizabeth Gilbert explained in Pray, Eat, Love, that the chant provided by her Guru was "Om Namah Shivaya" which she explained meant "I honor the divinity with in me." Gilbert is particially correct. Literally, however, the words means, "I bow to Shiva" or "I honor Shiva." In this mantra, Shiva is the supreme reality. Thus, it can also mean "I honor/bow to the Shiva with in me."
Shiva is the true Self, the inner Self--all else is falsehood, doubt, and illusion. Another non-literal translation is "Aum, and salutations to that which I am capable of becoming.'
Aum Namah Shivaya (pronounced as Aum Num-ha Shi-why)
In this mantra, the one who repeats the mantra bows to Shiva--her/his true self. It is said this is a very powerful
mantra and that it can vibrate continually in your heart. This mantra is free of all restrictions. It can be repeated
by anyone, young or old, rich or poor and no matter what state a person is in, it will purify him.
--Panchakshara Mantra
This ritual is one.
The food is one.
We who offer the food are one.
The fire of hunger is also one.
All action is one.
We who understand this are one.
--Hindu prayer
This prayer from an unknown member of the Native American Ute tribe. The Ute people occupied the eastern area of the Great Basin Desert region and the rocky Mountains of most of Utah, Colorado, southern Wyoming and northern New Mexico.
Earth teach me stillness
as the grasses are stilled with light.
Earth teach me suffering
as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility
as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring
as the mother who secures her young.
Earth teach me courage
as the tree which stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation
as the ant which crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom
as the eagle which soars in the sky.
Earth teach me resignation
as the leaves which die in the fall.
Earth teach me regeneration
as the seed which rises in the spring.
Earth teach me
to forget myself as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me
to remember kindness as dry fields weep in the rain.
--Ute Prayer
Kwan Yin is a manifestation of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara . She is "one who hears the cries/tears of the world" The mantra "om mani padme hum," literally means, "Hail to the jewel in the lotus." The compassionate and merciful, Kwan Yin, is the jewel resting in the lotus blossom.
Om Mani Padme Hum.
This six syllable mantra is said to purify karma, remove ignorance and obstruction, remove mental and physical sickness, liberate us from illusion, and repell negative forces. It also is said to be the heart mantra of all the Buddhas.
I once heard this mantra repeatedly recited, and periodcally puntuated with, "Shanti. Shanti. Shanti." The word,
"shanti" means "peace."
--Buddhist Mantra
Kwan Yin (Kuan Yin, Guan Yin) Prayer or Mantra
Her name in Chinese roughly translates as "The One who Hears the Cries of the World" or "The one who observes the tears of the world with compassion." This is another prayer to Kwan Yin, whose name is sometimes rendered as Kuan Yin or Guan Yin. The chant is written here twice--once with "Kuan" and once with "Guan."
Namo Kuan Shi Yin Pusa.
Namo Guan Shi Yin Pusa.
This chant means: "I hail to the Bodhisattva who listens (with mercy) to the sound of the world."
The literal rendition is:
Namo (Sanskrit) - Homage to / Refuge in
Guan (Chinese) - Observe / Care
Shih (Chinese) - World
Yin (Chinese) - Sound / Voice
Pusa (Sanskrit) - Bodhisattva
--Chinese Buddhist
What is Pusa or Bodhisattva? "Bodhisattva" is a sanskrit word which has two parts Pu and Sa. Pu or Bodhi is wisdom and compassion and Sa or sattva means a "being." Thus, the term, "Bodhisattva," (Pu Sa) means "A being with great compassion and wisdom."
May all beings be peaceful.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be safe.
May all beings awaken to the light of their true nature.
May all beings be free.
--Buddhist. The Metta Prayer is adapted from the Buddhist meditation of "metta bhavana." “Metta” is a term that means “friendliness,” or “lovingkindness. "Bhavana” means “cultivation” or “development.” Metta exists in degrees, and can be expressed in such ways as simple as politeness and courtesy. Metta is an attitude, rather than simply an emotion. Metta is a basis for shared joy--joy in other's good fortune and well-being. Metta is a basis for compassion.
Mother of All Peoples, Lady of All Nations, send now Your Spirit over the earth. Let your Spirit live in the hearts of all, that they may be inclined towards peace, well-being, harmony, mirth, and good will.
--MotherSpirit Peace Prayer
Buddha...
Grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Adapted from a prayer apparently written by Reinhold Niebuhr for a sermon somewhere between the 1940's--50's. Niebuhr was ordained as a minister in the German Evangelical Synod of North America in 1913. There have been other claims to authorship--and several versions of the prayer exist, including the one above. Authorship of the prayer has been mistakenly attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. Originally, it was supposed to have invoked "O God and Heavenly Father." Personally, I think the prayer works much better when speaking to the Buddha.
The following prayer is from the Navajo, and can be found in many places, one of which is the Museum at Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, for the Anasazi. Some say that reading the words brings peace and calm.
Walk in Beauty
In Beauty may you walk.
All day long may you walk.
Through the returning seasons may you walk.
On the trail marked with pollen may you walk.
With grasshoppers about your feet may you walk.
With dew about your feet may you walk.
With Beauty may you walk.
With Beauty before you, may you walk.
With Beauty behind you, may you walk.
With Beauty above you, may you walk.
With Beauty below you, may you walk.
With Beauty all around you, may you walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of Beauty,
lively, may you walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of Beauty,
living again, may you walk.
It is finished in Beauty.
It is finished in Beauty.
--Traditional Navajo Prayer