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May I attain all of these abilities
so that one with everything,
I can manifest across the world
and help lead unenlightened beings out of suffering.

시방세계 어디든지 마음대로 나투어서
널리 중생들을 무위도에 이끌게 하소서

[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 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.

[원컨대 저희로 하여금 세세생생 나는 곳마다 언제나
반야의 큰 지혜로부터 물러나지 않게 하사 ]
보현보살의 광대한 원행
지장보살님의 끝없는 몸
관세음보살님의 삼십이응신을

(This is all part of one long verse, so I’m including the opening lines in brackets, and the new part in bold text.)

[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,

[원컨대 저희로 하여금 세세생생 나는 곳마다 언제나
반야의 큰 지혜로부터 물러나지 않게 하사 ]
석가모니 부처님의 용맹한 지혜를 얻게 하오며
노사나 부처님의 큰 깨달음을 얻게 하여지이다
문수보살과 같은 큰 지혜

This is just the opening for this verse, and leads to a very nice connected section, but, just as it is, it’s quite nice, so I’m posting it here by itself.

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,

원컨대 저희로 하여금 세세생생 나는 곳마다 언제나
반야의 큰 지혜로부터 물러나지 않게 하사

This week and perhaps next week as well, we’ll be going over the “Morning Prayer” or “Morning Blessing,” that’s recited by sunims every day during the (early!) morning ceremony. It’s a bit long, but try to recite it a few times anyway – It’s very healthy for the lives that make up our body to follow allow with this energy and intention.

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.

조석으로 향과 등불 불전에 올려서
삼보 전에 귀의하여 부처님께 예배하노니
국계는 안녕하고 병혁은 녹아져서
천하가 태평하여 법륜을 굴리게 하소서

This is the conclusion of the seven homages. These are chanted three times a day in temples, but usually in the Sino-korean version (ie Chinese characters), where the meaning isn’t as up-front as the English or Korean translations. To be honest, we at the center don’t actually know who did the Korean translation of this! I suspect it was the first office manager who worked closely with Daehaeng Kun Sunim, but he passed away many years ago. I think everyone at the time knew who had worked on these, but no one actually wrote anything down. But, even if Kun Sunim didn’t do all of the Korean translation herself, she certainly reviewed it and made any changes that were necessary.

Next week, we’ll start on the morning blessing.

In this way,
my greatest wish is that all beings,
every single one of them,
awakens to their great essence.

온 법계 모든 중생 스스로 다같이 성불하여
길 없는 길 두루 하사이다

May I always maintain an upright mind,
and with the great power of one mind,
may I banish all ignorance and dissolve the frozen ice.

바른 마음으로 어두움을 깨고
얼음을 녹이는 가피력도 한마음이니,

If they ever come up with a tattoo ink that lasts for only one or two years, I would be seriously tempted to get some of these verses tattooed on my arm where I’d see them every day! (I wouldn’t want anything much longer than that, because as I grow and change, some other verse would be more suited to me at that point.)

One mind,
the precious treasure of all times,
may I always follow its great love,
its great compassion.

오직 원하건대,
한마음은 삼세의 보배이며
큰 사랑 큰 자비의 뜻을 받들어

(Korean readers might notice that I used the same Korean text for yesterday and today. This isn’t an accident; splitting the Korean into two separate verses was the only way to tease out the nuances in the text, but the Korean itself can’t be split so cleanly.)

Taking care of everything through one mind,
in harmony with the principles of the unseen realms,
is to be a true practitioner.

제 마음을 다 바쳐서
한마음의 지혜로운 통찰력으로 법망에 걸림 없이
찰나찰나 일체 시방 삼세 다스리기에 승가야중이니라

There’s a lot about this verse that aligns with the new subtitled video we posted a couple of days ago. In a sense, it doesn’t matter so much if you can perfectly do this. What’s more important, for the time being, is opening yourself to the possibility of this. Not insisting that I am able to do this, but rather that I want to be able to do this. Just in saying that “I want to be able to do this,” we become more able to see the choices that will lead us forward along this path.
We tend to go in the direction we’re looking. When helping beginning drivers, I always tell them to focus on their own lane, to keep the car “centered” on the right-hand line, especially at night. If they start looking at the oncoming lane too often, they’ll drift that way without even realizing it. We go where we’re looking. So let’s work at having our eyes pointed towards a positive, healthy, and somewhat ambitious target!

With my whole heart,
I vow to become someone who can ceaselessly take care of all things
in every place and time
using the infinite discernment and penetrating wisdom of one mind.

제 마음을 다 바쳐서
한마음의 지혜로운 통찰력으로 법망에 걸림 없이
찰나찰나 일체 시방 삼세 다스리기에 승가야중이니라