Chanting from the Heart: Buddhist Ceremonies and Daily Practices

by Thich Nhat Hanh (Compiler)

Overview

This Plum Village Chanting and Recitation Book is a most valuable resource for anyone interested in liturgy and everyone who just wants to celebrate life and practice the art of mindful living. It contains chants and recitations for daily spiritual practice and for such occasions as blessing a meal, celebrating a wedding, comforting the sick and remembering the deceased. Also included are more than twenty discourses comprising some of the most fundamental teachings of the Buddha and his enlightened students, including the Heart Sutra, The discourse on the Mindfulness of Breathing, the Discourse on Happiness, the Discourse on Taking Refuge in Oneself and the Discourse on Love. Many of the chants include sheet music.

An unprecedented collection of traditional and contemporary Buddhist chants, recitations, and ceremonial texts for daily spiritual practice when first published in the Fall of 2000, this new paperback edition was completely revised in Plum Village, Thich Nhat Hanh's practice center in France. Plum Village Chanting and Recitation Book is the quintessential resource and reference book for Buddhist practitioners on any level of experience, and for anyone who wants to celebrate life and practice the art of mindful living.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781888375633
Publisher:	Parallax Press
Publication date:	12/09/2002
Edition description:	First Trade Paper Edition
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	5.94(w) x 8.96(h) x 1.09(d)

About the Author

Thich Nhat Hanh was a world-renowned spiritual teacher and peace activist. Born in Vietnam in 1926, he became a Zen Buddhist monk at the age of sixteen. Over seven decades of teaching, he published more than 100 books, which have sold more than four million copies in the United States alone. Exiled from Vietnam in 1966 for promoting peace, his teachings on Buddhism as a path to social and political transformation are responsible for bringing the mindfulness movement to Western culture. He established the international Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism in France, now the largest Buddhist monastery in Europe and the heart of a growing community of mindfulness practice centers around the world. He passed away in 2022 at the age of 95 at his root temple, Tu Hieu, in Hue, Vietnam.

Table of Contents

Introduction     9
Basic Exercises     13
Sitting Meditation     15
Walking Meditation     15
Inviting the Bell     16
Reciting Gathas     17
Touching the Earth     17
Deep Relaxation     18
Hugging Meditation     21
Daily Practice     23
Daily Practice Session     25
Verses for Sitting Meditation     25
Incense Offering     26
Touching the Earth     27
Opening Verse     29
The Heart of Perfect Understanding     29
Sutra Recitation     30
Invoking the Bodhisattvas' Names     30
The Three Refuges     32
Sharing the Merit     33
Silent Meal Practice     34
Looking at Your Empty Plate or Bowl     34
Serving Food     34
Sitting Down     34
Looking at the Plate of Food before Eating     35
Contemplating the Food     35
Introducing the Five Contemplations     35
The Five Contemplations     35
Beginning to Eat     36
When the Plate or Bowl Is Empty     36
DrinkingTea     36
Washing the Dishes     36
Gathas     37
Entering the Meditation Hall     37
Inviting the Bell     37
Listening to the Bell     38
Lighting a Candle     39
Praising Buddha     39
Sitting Down     39
Finding a Stable Sitting Posture     39
Calming the Breath     39
Breathing     39
Adjusting Meditation Posture     41
Cleaning the Meditation Hall     41
Sweeping     41
Greeting Someone     41
Exercises and Recitations     42
Love Meditation     42
Fourteen Verses on Meditation     43
The Five Earth-Touchings     45
The Three Earth-Touchings     48
The Five Remembrances     51
The Five Awarenesses     52
Repentance Gatha     52
Gatha on Impermanence     52
Visualizing Buddha     53
Praising the Three Jewels     53
Praising the Buddha     54
Chant of Praise and Aspiration     55
Praising the Bodhisattva of Compassion     56
Verses of Consecration      57
May the Day Be Well     57
We Are Truly Present     58
The Four Recollections     59
The Refuge Chant     60
Nourishing Happiness     61
Turning to the Tathagata     63
Protecting and Transforming     66
Loving Speech and Deep Listening     67
Repentance and Taking Refuge for Life     69
Happiness in the Present Moment     72
Watering Seeds of Joy     74
Awakening the Source of Love     75
Mastering Anger     77
Joyfully Sharing the Merit     79
Beginning Anew     80
Meditation Before a Sangha Meeting     83
Meditation Before a Shining Light Session     83
Ceremonies     85
Opening Practices     87
Incense Offering     87
Touching the Earth     88
Ceremonies     91
Ceremony to Recite the Three Refuges, Two Promises, and Five Mindfulness Trainings     91
Ceremony to Recite the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings     100
Ceremony to Transmit the Three Refuges, Two Promises, and Five Mindfulness Trainings     111
Ceremony to Transmit the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings      122
Beginning Anew Ceremony     136
Buddha's Birthday Ceremony     144
Rose Ceremony     152
New Year's Ceremony     164
Wedding Ceremony     167
Blessing Ceremony     175
Midday Offering     180
Formal Meal Ceremony     183
Offering to the Hungry Ghosts Ceremony     188
Ceremony of Invitation     194
Aspiration and Praise     199
Praising Ancestral Teachers     210
Ceremony to Support the Sick     223
Ceremony for Closing the Coffin     229
Burial Ceremony     237
Cremation Ceremony     242
Ceremony for the Deceased     246
Ceremony for the Deceased on the Seventh and Forty-Ninth Days     257
Discourses     267
Discourse on Love     269
Discourse on Happiness     270
Elder Discourse     272
Discourse on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone     274
Discourse on the Four Kinds of Nutriments     277
Discourse on the Middle Way     279
Anuradha Discourse     281
Discourse on the Full Awareness of Breathing     283
Discourse on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness     289
Discourse on the Five Ways of Putting an End to Anger     296
Discourse on the White-Clad Disciple     299
Discourse on Measuring and Reflecting     303
Discourse on the Teachings to Be Given to the Sick     306
Discourse on Taking Refuge in Oneself     310
Discourse on Knowing the Better Way to Catch a Snake     312
Discourse on Youth and Happiness     317
Discourse on the Dharma Seal     320
Discourse on the Eight Realizations of the Great Beings     322
Flower Garland Discourse: The Ten Great Aspirations of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva     324
Discourse on the Lotus of the Wonderful Dharma: Universal Door Chapter     327
Store of Precious Virtues Discourse: Practice of the Highest Understanding     331
The Diamond That Cuts through Illusion     337
Discourse on the Land of Great Happiness     342
Discourse on Emptiness in the True Sense of the Word     346
Discourse on the Absolute Truth     347
Music     349
Chants     351
Discourse on Love     351
Evening Chant     355
The Four Gratitudes     358
The Four Recollections     359
From the Depths of Understanding     363
The Heart of Perfect Understanding     365
Incense Offering     369
Invocation of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas     371
Joyfully Sharing the Merit     374
May the Day Be Well     380
Morning Chant     383
Namo'valokiteshvaraya     386
Opening Verse     387
The Refuge Chant     389
Sharing the Merit     392
The Three Refuges     394
Touching the Earth     398
We Are Truly Present     404
Songs     407
The Five Remembrances     407
Invoking Avalokiteshvara     408
The Song of No-Coming and No-Going     410
The Three Refuges Song     412
The Two Promises     413
Watering Seeds of Joy     414
Gathas     418
Drinking Tea     418
Entering the Meditation Hall     418
Impermanence     419
Inviting the Bell     420
Lighting a Candle     420
Listening to the Bell     421
Sweeping     422
Glossary     423
Index     428

Editorial Reviews

This practical, easy-to-use prayer book will assist both new and experienced Buddhists in claiming nirvana.
—Beliefnet

From the Publisher