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Online Zen Group Sutras

Liberation within obstruction

This sutra is a recent addition to our Zen Open Circle Sutra Book.

This sutra is a recent addition to our Zen Open Circle Sutra Book.

In the presence of Sangha,
in the light of Dharma,
in oneness with Buddha –
may my path to realization
benefit all beings!

In this passing moment karma ripens
and all things come to be.
I vow to affirm what is:

If there’s cost, I choose to pay.
If there’s need, I choose to give.
If there’s pain, I choose to feel.
If there’s sorrow, I choose to grieve.
When burning, I choose heat.
When calm, I choose peace.
When starving, I choose hunger.
When happy, I choose joy.
Whom I encounter, I choose to meet.
What I shoulder, I choose to bear.
When it’s my birth, I choose to live.
When it’s my death, I choose to die.
Where this takes me, I choose to go.
Being with what is, I respond to what is.

This life is as real as a dream;
the one who knows it can not be found;
and truth is not a thing, therefore I vow
to choose this constant Dharma open gate!

May all Buddhas and all beings
help me live this vow.