This is the Morning Blessing, recited by the senior sunim attending the morning ceremony. It’s very close to the traditional version, so not as “zen” as some might prefer, but it’s still a great text, and its message and the direction are still very good for people.
Lighting candles and offering incense
before the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha,
every morning and evening,
May the heavens and the Earth be peaceful,
may warfare and violence disappear
may the land be calm and stable
and the Dharma Wheel always turning.
In this and all future lives,
wherever they may take place,
let me always reside with the great wisdom, the Prajna wisdom
and never step back from this,
so that I may attain the brave wisdom of Sakyamuni Buddha,
so that I may attain the great enlightenment of Vairocana Buddha,
so that I may attain the great wisdom of Manjusri,
so that I may attain the great ability of Samantabhadra to manifest and act,
so that I may attain the great ability of Ksitigarbha to reach out across the world,
so that I may attain the 32 manifestations of Avalokitesvara.
May I attain all of these abilities
so that, without any thought of doing,
I can manifest across the world
and help lead unenlightened beings out of suffering.
Upon hearing my name, may all those still trapped
in the three evil paths
obtain relief from their suffering,
and may those who see my appearance
attain true freedom.
May I help all beings see the path,
may I free them even though it takes a thousand eons,
so that they can grow and move forward,
and all attain the state of great liberation,
where there are no unenlightened beings,
nor Buddhas to save them.
May our temple be serene and at peace,
may all worry and sadness come to an end here.
May this great place of practice be forever untouched by disasters.
May the infinite ability of one mind protect this place of the Buddha, Dharma,
and Sangha.
May the infinite light of one mind always shine within this place.
May even the lowest worm evolve and reach the other shore.
May we throughout all time fulfill the roles of a Bodhisattva.
May we utterly, completely, thoroughly
attain the essence of the Buddha’s teachings.
May we all attain complete and ultimate wisdom.
Homage to Shakyamuni Buddha
Homage to Shakyamuni Buddha
Homage to to my inherent teacher,
which took the form of Shakyamuni Buddha
Wake Up and Laugh! 
This is so beautiful! I didn’t know what was recited in Hanmaum temples in the morning up until now……. This is is very much similar to Tibetan temples prayers and this is even more reason to bring the teachings together.
Thank you for posting this powerful chant Sunim. Just a question. Are there different versions of this chant in Korea? From what I have seen on internet( Although couldn’t understand the language) It looked like there is slight difference when it is changed in different monasteries.
Hi Farid,
Yes, there are slightly different versions of this. Historically there were as well, so part of the difference would depend on which (Chinese character) version someone started with. Then there is the translation into modern Korean, Hangul, which also might be a bit different according to a person’s insight. And then there are changes according to the era. For example, this version has a line raising the intention that people should be safe from car accidents, and we (and the other temples in Korea) have also added a couple of lines raising the intention that people should be safe from the corona virus, that those who are ill should recover quickly, and that those who have passed away from this should be quickly reborn in the best environment for them to grow and develop.