BODHISATTVA'S VOW by Torei Zenji - Guide to Practice
When I, (a student of Dharma) look at the real form of the universe, all is the never-failing manifestation of the mysterious truth of the Tathagata. In any event, in any moment, and in any place, none can be other than the marvelous revelation of its glorious light. This realization made our patriarchs and virtuous Zen masters extend tender care, with the heart of worshipping, even to such beings as beasts and birds. This realization teaches us that our daily food and drink, clothes and protections of life, are the warm flesh and blood, the merciful incarnation of Buddha. Who can be ungrateful or not respectful even to senseless things, not to speak of man? Even though he may be a fool, be warm and compassionate toward him. If by an chance he should turn against us, and become a sworn enemy, and abuse and persecute us, we should sincerely bow down with humble language in reverent belief that he is the merciful avatar of Buddha who uses devices to emancipate us from sinful karma that has been produced and accumulated upon ourselves by our own egoistic delusion and attachment through the countless cycles of Kalpa.
Then on each moment's flash of our thought there will grow a lotus flower, and on each lotus flower will be revealed a Buddha. These Buddhas will glorify Sukhavati, the Pure Land, every moment and everywhere.
May we extend this mind over all beings so that we and the world together may attain maturity in Buddha's wisdom.
ABOUT SUTRAS
SUTRA (pronounced soo-tra) is a sanskrit word (sutta in Pali) literally meaning "thread." They are usually short aphorisms or verses that were used to express Buddhist teachings -- including rituals, philosophies, law and grammatical style.
Popular opinion on sutras is that they are mystical and difficult to understand: "Sutras were composed with an eye to economy of expression and mnemonic ease, and were often couched in technical language; as such they are frequently difficult to comprehend without the aid of a commentary."
In fact, this is not the case. Most sutras "seem" difficult to understand due to the poor translations available before more recent scholarship. For example, "emptiness" or "void" is a common stumbling block for students because in English this implies a "lack of something." A better translation of these terms would be "non-abiding," meaning that all phenomena do not abide, or exist permanently. New translations have taken care of many of these problems.
However, the translations in this series are older and often have the original difficulties in translation. Although veterans of Zen and other Buddhist traditions shouldn't have any problems, I would suggest that anyone having trouble understanding the meaning of these sutras find a more "up to date" source, such as translations published by Dharma Publishing or Shambhala.
As for how to chant these sutras, I can only recommend that you visit a Zen center and experience the wonder for yourself.
