Dying Well Prayers

The King of Prayers
Prayer to be Reborn in the Land of Bliss

These prayers have been recommended by Geshe Tashi and should be recited at the time of death and as many times as possible during the 49 day period after death. It can also be said for those who have died some time ago. The "I" in the prayer refers to the dead or dying person, so you are saying it on their behalf. 

The King of Prayers

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THE PRAYER OF WAYS HIGH AND SUBLIME
(Skt: Arya bhadra charya prani dana raja)
(Tib: phag pa bzang po spyod pai smon lan gyi rgyal po)

O lions amongst men
Buddhas, past, present and future
To as many of your as exist in the ten directions
I bow with my body, speech and mind.

On waves of strength of this king
Of prayers for exalted, sublime ways
With bodies numerous as atoms of the world
I bow to the Buddhas pervading space

On every atom is found a Buddha
Sitting amidst countless Buddha sons
I look with eyes of faith to the Victorious ones
Thus filling the entire Dharmadatu.

Of these with endless oceans of excellences
Endowed with an ocean of wondrous speech
I sing praises of the greatness of all Buddhas
An eulogy to those gone to bliss.

Garlands of flowers I offer them
And beautiful sounds, supreme perfumes
Butter lamps and sacred incense
I offer to all victorious ones.

Excellent food, supreme fragrances
And a mound of mystic substances high as Mt Meru
I arrange in special formation
And offer to those who have conquered themselves.

And all peerless offerings I hold up
In admiration of those gone to bliss
With strength of faith in sublime ways
I prostrate and make offerings to the conquerors.

Long overpowered by attachment, aversion and ignorance
Countless evils I have committed
With acts of body speech and mind
Each and every one of there I now confess.

In the perfections of the Buddhas, the Bodhisattvas
The Arhats training and beyond
And in the latent goodness of every living being
I lift up my heart and rejoice.

O lights unto the ten directions
Buddhas who have found the passionless stage of Enlightenment
To all of you I direct this request
Turn the incomparable wheel of Dharma.

O Masters wishing to show parinirvana
Stay with us and teach, I pray.
For as many aeons as there are specks of dust
In order to bring goodness and joy to beings.

May any small merits that may have amassed
By thus prostrating, making offerings, confessing, rejoicing
And asking the Buddhas to remain and teach the Dharma
Be dedicated now to supreme and perfect Enlightenment.

May my offerings be received by all passed Buddhas
And by all those now abiding in the ten directions
And may all the Buddhas who have not yet come
Quickly perfect their minds and reach Buddhahood, the state of full awakening.

May all the Buddha realms of the ten directions
Remain forever vast and completely pure
May the world be completely filled with Buddhas
Who have attained illumination under sacred trees
And may they all be surrounded by Bodhisattvas.

May all living beings of the ten directions
Always abide in health and joy
May they live in accord with the ways of Dharma
And may their every wish become fulfilled.

By my living in the ways of Enlightenment
May I remember my past lives in all my reincarnations
And in all cycles of death, migration and rebirth
May a sensitivity for truth be ever strong within me.

By my following in the footsteps of the Buddhas
May I utterly perfect the sublime ways of the Bodhisattvas
And may I practice the faultless un-degenerating stainless and pure ways of self control

May I master all languages that exist, including those of the gods, nagas, yakshas, spirits and the varieties of men
As well as all forms of communication of living beings
That I may be able to show Dharma in every way.

Striving thus and in the transcending perfections
May I never forget the Bodhi mind
And may I totally cleanse from within my mind stream
All negativities and mental veils.

May I gain freedom from karma, delusion and karmic maras
To be able to live in the world unaffected by its stains
like a stainless lotus grows out he mud
And like the sun and moon shine without obstruction in the sky.

For long as there are Buddha fields and directions
May I strive to quell the misery of the lower realms,
May I place the living beings only in happiness
And bring them all only benefits and joy.

May I strive to complete the ways of Enlightenment
And to abide in ways harmonious with the world
May I expose others to the ways most sublime
And myself abide in them throughout all future aeons.

May my ways and the ways of a Bodhisattva
Always go together hand in hand
In body, speech and also in mind
May I attune to their sublime ways.

May I never be separated from the good friends
Who reveal the path of sublime ways
And who wish only to benefit me
May I never disappoint them even for a moment.

May I constantly envision the perfect Buddhas
The protectors who are surrounded by Bodhisattvas
And in the future may I never weary
Of devoting myself to them with all my strength.

May I forever uphold the holy Dharma of the Buddhas
And illuminate the sublime ways of enlightenment
May I practice throughout all future ages
The ways and deeds of the sublime path.

Circling in the various realms of existence
May I amass inexhaustible goodness and wisdom
And may I become an unending treasure of qualities
Such as methods, wisdom, samadhi and the experiences of the bodhisattva.

On every atom are Buddha fields numberless as atoms
Each field is filled with Buddhas beyond conception
And each Buddha is surrounded by a myriad Bodhisattvas
To all these dwellers in sublime ways I turn my attention.

Thus all atoms within the directions
Abide within a space of a single hair
An ocean of Buddhas in an ocean of Buddha fields
Performing enlightened activities for an ocean of aeons

Each Buddha with his perfected speech releases
An ocean of sounds with every word he says
To satisfy the infinitely diverse tendencies of beings
Thus does the speech of a Buddha constantly flow.

All these conquerors past, present and future
Continually turn the method of Dharma wheels
With all the powers of my mind I listen
For the inexhaustible sound of their works.

All future aeons that could possible be
Manifest within me in a single instant
And I myself in a fraction of a moment
Enter into all aeons of the three times.

All past, present and future lions amongst men
I envision with the instantaneous wisdom
And by the power of the Bodhisattvas examples
I focus upon the objects of their experience.

I manifest Buddha fields past, present and future
Upon a single atom of existence
And then I transform every single atom
Of existence into Buddha field.

By this, when the future lights of the worlds
Eventually gain Bodhi, turn the Dharma wheels
And reveal the passing to nirvanas supreme peace
May I take rebirth in their very presence.

Then may I attain the ten powers:
The power of instant magical emanations
The power which is a vehicle with every door
The power of excellent activity
The power of all pervading love
The power of constantly positive energy
The power of passionless wisdom
The powers of knowledge method and samadhi
And the power of enlightenment itself.

May I purify the powers of karma
May I crush the powers of delusion
May I render powerless the powerful maras
And may I perfect the power of sublime ways.

May I purify an ocean of realms
May I liberate an ocean of sentient beings
May I see an ocean of truths and
May I realize an ocean of wisdom.

May I perform an ocean of perfect deeds
May I perfect an ocean of prayers
May I revere an ocean of Buddhas, and
May I practice untiringly for an ocean of aeons.

Through my practice of the sublime Bodhisattva ways
May I gain the enlightenment of Buddhahood
And then fulfil the enlightened and sublime aspirations
Of the Buddhas past present and future.

In order to match the ways of the sage
Called Samantabhadra, the always sublime one
Chief amongst the awakened one's sons
I now dedicate all virtues that I possess.

Just as the sublime sage Samantabhadra
Dedicated all pure practice of body speech and mind
To the attainment of a pure state and pure realms
So do I now dedicate the fruit of all my efforts.

In order to engage in all sublime virtues
I offer the prayer of Manjushri
In the future may I never become faint
In striving to perfect the exalted Bodhisattva ways.

May my deeds never reach a limit
May my qualities of excellence become boundless
And, by abiding in immeasurable activity,
May I find Buddhahood, the state of limitless manifestation.

Limitless is the extent of space
Limitless is the number of sentient beings
And limitless are the karma and delusion of beings
Such are the limits of my aspirations.

One may offer supreme ornaments of the Buddha fields
Of the ten directions to the conquerors
And also offer the highest joys of men and gods
For aeons numerous as atoms of the world

But to read or hear The Kind of Prayers
With eyes looking to supreme illumination
And faith stirring in ones heart for even an instant
Gives birth to a far more superior merit.

Should anyone recite this aspiration of sublime ways
They will pass beyond all states of sorrow
Will rise above all inferior beings and gain
A vision of Amitabha, Buddha of Boundless Light.

Given in this very lifetime
All sublime joys will be theirs
The experiences of the always sublime Samantabahdra
Without obstruction will quickly be theirs.

Merely by giving voice to these aspirations
Of the sublime ways of a Bodhisattva
All evils, such as the five inexplicable deeds that out of ignorance were done
Will be completely and utterly washed away.

One will gain he wisdom form signs
Marks, family and complexion of a supreme Nirmanakaya
The most revered goal of all three worlds
And thus transcend the harms of devils and fools.

One will travel to the great tree of illumination
And there, for the sake of living beings will make ones seat,
Then one will turn the mighty wheel of Dharma
And tame evil Mara and his forces.

Should anyone touch, read or teach to others
This prayer of the sublime way of a Bodhisattva
The effects can be known only by an omniscient Buddha
Therefore, doubt not that it leads to enlightenment.

In order to follow the excellent examples set
By the wisdom of the Bodhisattva Manjushri
And the always sublime
All virtue I dedicate to their peerless ideals.

All conquerors passed into the three times
Have praised as supreme this peerless dedication
Therefore I also surrender all roots of my activities
To the sublime goals of a Bodhisattva.

When the moment of my death arrives
May I remain free from spiritual obscurations
May I perceive the countenance of Amitabha
And transmigrate to sukavati, the pure land of joy.

Having arrived there, may I fulfil
All aims of this prayer of aspirations
And benefit the countless living beings
Residing throughout the ten directions.

In the joyous mandala of Amitabha Buddha
May I be reborn from a beautiful lotus
And may I there have the pleasure of gaining
A pure prophesy from Amitabha himself.

Having won his words of prophesy
By the power of mind may I fill all directions
With many millions of mystical emanations
And bring limitless benefits to the world.

If by reciting this prayer of sublime ways
I have amassed a tiny fragment of goodness]
May it work immediately to fulfil
All dharmic hopes of the living beings...

Thus is complete The Great King of Prayers,
The Prayer of Ways High and Sublime.

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Prayer to be Reborn in the Land of Bliss

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With deeds exalted, you grant splendor unending;
once remembered, you hurl far all fear of the lord of death;
with constant love, you look on others as sons and daughters.
Amitayus, teacher of gods and men, I bow before you.

I will write, swayed by compassion, as best I can
a prayer for birth in Sukhavati, land of bliss,
praised again and again by the mighty Buddha
as the highest of realms.

All knowledge of right and wrong covered by layers of ignorance,
all future life in higher realms murdered by the weapons of anger,
lying trussed by the ropes of desire in the prison of samsara,
I am carried helplessly to the oceans of existence by rivers of karma,
tossed by endless waves of aging, sickness, and other suffering,
thrown to the jaws of that savage monster the lord of death,
to languish under the weight of unwanted suffering.

Without protector and with anguished cries I ask with devotion,
as witnesses to the yearnings of my mind,
Amitabha, guide and sole friend to the deprived,
powerful Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, Vajrapani and entourage,
to not forget the vows of the supreme bodhi mind
made over countless eons for our sakes
and like the mighty garuda hawk swooping through the skies,
to come, with the power of miracles, in great compassion before me.

By the power of the immense twin accumulation of spiritual merit stored by others and myself in past, present, and future, I pray that when death draws near I see before me my guide Amitabha, his two main disciples, his entourage, and others. At that time may I have strong faith in this great conqueror and his entourage and be free from the pains of dying.

By recalling and holding in my mind objects of faith, I pray that as soon as my consciousness has left this body, the eight bodhisattvas arrive by miraculous power to show the way to Sukhavati, there to be born within a jeweled lotus, of intelligent mind and of Mahayana family.

Once born in Sukhavati may I gain immediately the powerful dharani memory, meditative concentration, the objectless bodhi mind, inexhaustible confidence, and countless other qualities. By pleasing the highest of teachers, Amitabha and all buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions, may I take with propriety the Mahayana teachings.

When I have absorbed and understood the true meanings of these teachings, may I be able to travel in an instant and without hindrance to limitless Buddha realms by miraculous power, there to perfect every powerful practice of the bodhi­sattva.

Though born in pure Sukhavati, I pray that I be able to journey, with unhindering miraculous power motivated by fierce compassion, to impure realms, there to teach every living being the Dharma according to disposition and so bring them to that immaculate path hailed by the Buddha.

By quickly perfecting these exalted practices may I, for the benefit of countless living beings, easily attain the enlightened state of a buddha.

When the amalgamations of this life are spent,
may I plainly behold in my path of vision
Amitabha encircled by vast entourage,
and may my mind be filled with faith and compassion.
Once the bardo visions have appeared,
may I be shown the path by the eight bodhisattvas
and, born in Sukhavati, may I by manifestation
become a spiritual guide for impure realms.

Should I not attain such exalted states, may I in every life incarnate solely in a form capable of engaging in authentic study, contemplation, and meditation upon scripture and practice of the Buddhadharma.
May that form be endowed always with the seven desirable features of higher realms.
In every such existence may I gain the memory that recalls perfectly all my past lives.
In every life may I see all existence as being without essence, be driven by a mind captivated by the virtues of nirvana, and be ordained into the monastic discipline so excellently taught by the Buddha.

Once ordained may I live as the monk Akshobhya who, unsullied by the slightest fault, perfected morality and gained great enlightenment.

Furthermore, in every life having fully comprehended the ways of deluded states of mind and the paths of purification and freedom, may I develop the powerful and accomplished dharani memory to maintain total recall over every word and meaning of every branch and division of the teachings. And in the same way that I retain these dharmas, may I gain a pure and unhindered confidence to teach them likewise to others.

Furthermore, in every life may I master and never be apart from the ways of meditative concentrations such as the warrior­-like shurangama samadhi. May I acquire supernatural sight such as that unhindered by matter, as well as clairvoyance such as that which knows the ways of miraculous powers.

Furthermore, in every life may I develop that great wisdom that, self-reliantly and unaided, is able to separate right from wrong.

May I develop the clear wisdom that unerringly separates to the subtlest degree deluded states of mind from paths of purification and freedom.
May I develop the swift wisdom that holds the power to counter, as soon as they appear, all doubts, fallacious views, and incomprehension.
May I develop the deep wisdom that penetrates unopposed the meanings of scripture unfathomable to others.

In short, with wisdom stripped of all deluded insight may I rise to the wisdom skillful in unlocking the meanings of scripture in order to travel, as the noble Manjushri has done, to the perfection of every bodhisattva practice.

Having gained without difficulty great, clear, swift, and deep wisdom may I, in order to gather the fortunate, crush false orators, and to please the wise, perfect the arts of teaching, debating, and composition that focus upon the entire teachings of the Buddha.

Furthermore, in every life, having put an end to a way of thinking primarily concerned with self, to all laziness and weakness regarding the powerful practices of the bodhisattva, may I possess a bodhi mind wise in the accomplishment of supreme courage and the willingness to dedicate myself to others, and may I travel, as the noble Avalokiteshvara has done, to the consummation of every bodhisattva practice.

Furthermore, in every life, whenever I apply myself to the welfare of self and others, may I possess a skillful ability to demolish the hordes of Mara, defeat those of extreme views, thwart all enemies, and may I travel, as the noble Vajrapani has done, to the consummation of every bodhisattva practice.

To perfect the bodhisattva practice that dispels all laziness, may I in every life first create the bodhi mind, and by powerful endeavor undistracted for even an instant, may I reach great enlightenment as the unparalleled Shakyamuni has done.

To eradicate obstacles to practices of enlightenment such as illness to body or mind, may I in every life pacify, as the King of Physicians, the Medicine Buddha, has done, all pain of body, speech, and mind, merely by mentioning his name.

Furthermore, in every life may I have the power to live out my span of life as I would wish and, merely by mentioning his name, may I destroy all untimely death as the conqueror Amitayus has done.

Whenever life-threatening obstacles approach, may I behold in all clarity Amitayus in appropriate manifestation, who curbs the threat by way of the four kinds of Buddha activity, and with such a vision, may every hindrance to life be at once removed.
Recognizing such an appropriate manifestation to be none other than Amitayus, may I develop firm, uncontrived faith by whose power I will forever be in the presence of Amitayus as my spiritual teacher.

Furthermore, in life after life may I, pleasing him in return, be forever fostered by an accomplished Mahayana spiritual master, the source of every virtue of this world and beyond.
In his care, may I acquire in him a firm unshakable faith, pleasing him by every means possible, doing nothing, even for an instant, to disappoint him.
May my spiritual master impart to me every instruction and every teaching in its entirety.

Having understood them faultlessly, may I practice them and be able to bring them to perfection.
May I never, even for a moment, fall under the sway of malevolent teachers and misleading friends.

Having developed, in every life, belief in cause and effect, renunciation, the bodhi mind, and the pure view, may I embark upon them continually with effortless experience.
In every life may every virtuous act gathered by way of body, speech, and mind be causes solely for the welfare of others and for the purest and highest enlightenment.