Chanting Book

The Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Dhammaloka Buddhist Centre

18-20 Nanson Way
Nollamara. WA 6061. Australia

Chanting files (MP3 format) associated with this book, are available for download:

• 01_dedication_of_offerings.mp3 , file size: 2.4 Mb

• 02_preliminary_homage.mp3 , file size: 600 Kb
• 03_recollection_of_the_buddha.mp3 , file size: 750 Kb
• 04_recollection_of_the_dhamma.mp3 , file size: 620 Kb
• 05_recollection_of_the_sangha.mp3 , file size: 1.4 Mb
• 06_metta_sutta.mp3 , file size: 3.5 Mb
• 07_three_refuges_and_five_precepts.mp3 , file size: 5.1 Mb

1. DEDICATION OF OFFERINGS [* Download: 01-Chanting file]

Yo so bhagavaa araha"m To the Blessed One, the Lord who

sammaasambuddho
Svaakkhaato yena bhagavataa
dhammo
Supa.tipanno yassa bhagavato
saavakasa"ngho
Tammaya"m bhagavanta"m
sadhamma"m sasa"ngha"m
Imehi sakkaarehi yathaaraha"m
aaropitehi abhipuujayaama
Saadhu no bhante bhagavaa
suciraparinibbutopi
Pacchimaa-janataa-
nukampamaanasaa
Ime sakkaare duggata-pannaakaara-
bhuute pa.tigga.nhaatu
Amhaaka"m diigharatta"m hitaaya
sukhaaya
fully attained perfect enlightenment,
To the Teaching which he expounded
so well,
And to the Blessed One's disciples,
who have practised well,
To these - the Buddha, the Dhamma
and the Sangha -
We render with offerings our rightful
homage.
It is well for us, Blessed One, that
having attained liberation,
You still had compassion for later
generations.
Deign to accept these simple offerings
For our long-lasting benefit and for
the happiness it gives us.

Araha"m sammaasambuddho The Lord, the Perfectly Enlightened

bhagavaa and Blessed One -
Buddha"m bhagavanta"m I render homage to the Buddha, the
 abhivaademi
-(bow)-
Svaakkhaato bhagavataa dhammo
Dhamma"m namassaami
-(bow)-
Supatipanno bhagavato
saavakasa"ngho
Sa"ngha"m namaami
-(bow)-
2. PRELIMINARY HOMAGE [* Download: 02-Chanting file]
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato
sammaasambuddhassa -(three times)-
a. RECOLLECTION OF THE BUDDHA [* Download: 03-Chanting file]
Itipi so bhagavaa araha"m sammaa-
sambuddho
Vijjaa-cara.na-sampanno sugato
lokaviduu
Anuttaro purisa-damma-saarathi
satthaa deva-manussaana"m buddho
bhagavaa
Tamaha"m bhagavanta"m
abhipuujayaami
Tamaha"m bhagavanta"m sirasaa
namaami
-(bow)-
b. RECOLLECTION OF THE DHAMMA [*Download: 04-Chanting file]
Svaakkhaato bhagavataa dhammo
Sandi.t.thiko akaaliko ehipassiko
Blessed One.
-(bow)-
The Teaching so completely explained
by him -
I bow to the Dhamma.
-(bow)-
The Blessed One's disciples who have
practised well - I bow to to the
Sangha.
-(bow)-
Homage to the Blessed, Noble and
Perfectly Enlightened One.
He, the Blessed One, is indeed the
Noble Lord, the Perfectly Enlightened
One;
He is impeccable in conduct and
understanding, the Serene One, the
Knower of the Worlds;
He trains perfectly those who wish to
be trained; he is Teacher of gods and
men; he is Awake and Holy.
I chant my praise to the Blessed One,
I bow my head to the Blessed One.
-(bow)-
The Dhamma is well-expounded by
the Blessed One,
 Opanayiko paccatta"m veditabbo
vi~n~nuuhii
Tamaha"m dhamma"m
abhipuujayaami
Tamaha"m dhamma"m sirasaa
namaami
-(bow)-
c.RECOLLECTION OF THE SANGHA [* Download: 05-Chanting file]
Supa.tipanno bhagavato saavaka-
sa"ngho
Uju-pa.tipanno bhagavato saavaka-
sa"ngho
~Naaya-pa.tipanno bhagavato
saavaka-sa"ngho
Saamiici-pa.tipanno bhagavato
saavaka-sa"ngho
Yadida"m cattaari purisa-yugaani
a.t.tha purisa-puggalaa
Esa bhagavato saavaka-sa"ngho
Aahuneyyo paahuneyyo dakkhi.neyyo
añjali-kara.niiyo
Anuttara"m puññakkhetta"m lokassa
Tamaha"m sa"ngha"m
abhipuujayaami
Tamaha"m sa"ngha"m sirasaa
namaami
-(bow)-
3. METTA SUTTA - The Buddha's Words on Loving-Kindness [* Download: 06-
Chanting file]
This is what should be done
By one who is skilled in goodness,
And who knows the path of peace:
Let them be able and upright,
Apparent here and now, timeless,
encouraging investigation,
Leading to liberation, to be
experienced individually by the wise.
I chant my praise to this Teaching,
I bow my head to this Truth.
-(bow)-
They are the Blessed One's disciples
who have practised well,
Who have practised directly,
Who have practised insightfully,
Those who are accomplished in the
practice;
That is the four pairs, the eight kinds
of noble beings,
These are the Blessed One's disciples.
Such ones are worthy of gifts, worthy
of hospitality, worthy of offerings,
worthy of respect;
They give occasion for incomparable
goodness to arise in the world
I chant my praise to this Sangha,
I bow my head to this Sangha
-(bow)-
Straightforward and gentle in speech.
Humble and not conceited,
Contented and easily satisfied.
Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.
Peaceful and calm, and wise and skillful,
Not proud and demanding in nature.

Let them not do the slightest thing

That the wise would later reprove.

Wishing: In gladness and in safety,

May all beings be happy.
Whatever living beings there may be;
Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none,
The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,
The seen and the unseen,
Those living near and far away,
Those born and to-be-born,
May all beings be happy!

Let none deceive another,

Or despise any being in any state.
Let none through anger or ill-will
Wish harm upon another.

Even as a mother protects with her life

Her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart
Should one cherish all living beings:
Radiating kindness over the entire world
Spreading upwards to the skies,
And downwards to the depths;
Outwards and unbounded,
Freed from hatred and ill-will.

Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down

Free from drowsiness,

One should sustain this recollection.

This is said to be the sublime abiding.

By not holding to fixed views,
The pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision,
Being freed from all sense desires,
Is not born again into this world.

4. THE REFUGES AND PRECEPTS [* Download: 07-Chanting file]

The "Going for Refuge" and taking the Precepts define a person as a practising Buddhist.

Going for Refuge gives a continual perspective on life by referring one's conduct and
understanding to the qualities of Buddha (wisdom), Dhamma (truth) and Sangha (virtue).
The Precepts are also for reflection and to define one's actions as a responsible human
being.

There is a formal means of requesting the Refuges and Precepts from a bhikkhu, which is
as follows:

After bowing three times, with hands joined in A~njali, recite the following:

Maya"m bhante, ti-sara.nena saha We, Venerable Sir, request the three
pa~nca siilaani yaacaama Refuges and the Five Precepts.

Dutiyampi maya"m bhante, ti- For the second time, we, Venerable
sara.nena saha pa~nca siilaani Sir, request the three Refuges and the
yaacaama Five Precepts.

Tatiyampi maya"m bhante, ti- For the third time, we, Venerable Sir,
sara.nena saha pa~nca siilaani request the three Refuges and the Five
yaacaama Precepts.

(Note: When requesting individually, change Maya"m to Aha"m, and Yaacaama to

Yaacaami)

4.1 GOING TO THE THREE REFUGES

Repeat after the leader:

Namo tassa bhagavato arahato Homage to the Blessed One, the

sammaasambuddhassa Noble One, the Perfectly Enlightened
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato One.
sammaasambuddhassa Homage to the Blessed One, the
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato Noble One, the Perfectly Enlightened
sammaasambuddhassa One.
 Homage to the Blessed One, the
Noble One, the Perfectly Enlightened
One.

Buddha"m sara.na"m gacchaami To the Buddha I go for refuge.

Dhamma"m sara.na"m gacchaami To the Dhamma I go for refuge.
Sa"ngha"m sara.na"m gacchaami To the Sangha I go for refuge.

Dutiyampi buddha"m sara.na"m For the second time, to the Buddha I

gacchaami go for refuge.
Dutiyampi dhamma"m sara.na"m For the second time, to the Dhamma I
gacchaami go for refuge.
Dutiyampi sa"ngha"m sara.na"m For the second time, to the Sangha I
gacchaami go for refuge.

Tatiyampi buddha"m sara.na"m For the third time, to the Buddha I go

gacchaami for refuge.
Tatiyampi dhamma"m sara.na"m For the third time, to the Dhamma 1
gacchaami go for refuge.
Tatiyampi sa"ngha"m sara.na"m For the third time, to the Sangha I go
gacchaami for refuge.

Leader: Leader:
Tisara.na-gamana"m ni.t.thita"m This completes the going to the Three
Refuges.
Response:
-- Aama bhante Response:
-- Yes, Venerable Sir.

4.2 THE FIVE PRECEPTS

To undertake the precepts, repeat each precept after the leader:

1. Paa.naatipaataa verama.nii 1. I undertake the precept to refrain

sikkhaa-pada"m samaadiyaami from destroying living creatures.

2. Adinnaadaanaa verama.nii 2. I undertake the precept to refrain

sikkhaa-pada"m samaadiyaami from taking that which is not given.

3. Kaamesu micchaacaaraa 3. I undertake the precept to refrain

verama.nii sikkhaa-pada"m from sexual misconduct.
samaadiyaami
4. I undertake the precept to refrain
4. Musaavaadaa verama.nii sikkhaa-
 pada"m samaadiyaami from incorrect speech.

5. Suraa-meraya-majja- 5. I undertake the precept to refrain

pamaada.t.thaanaa verama.nii from intoxicating liquors and drugs
sikkhaa-pada"m samaadiyaami which lead to carelessness.

Leader: Leader:
Imaani pañca sikkhaa-padaani These Five Precepts
Siilena sugati"m yanti Have morality as a vehicle for
Siilena bhoga-sampadaa happiness,
Siilena nibbuti"m yanti Have morality as a vehicle for good
fortune,
Tasmaa siila"m visodhaye Have morality as a vehicle for
liberation.
Response:
-- Saadhu, saadhu, saadhu Let morality therefore be purified.

-(bow three times)- Response:

-- Well said, well said, well said!

-(bow three times)-

About Pali text and pronunciation:

(adopted from Access-to-Insight,

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/misc/chanting/index.html )

In this transcription, Pali diacritical marks are represented using plain ASCII characters
according to a convention widely used on the Internet by Pali students and scholars. Long
vowels (those usually typeset with a bar above them) are doubled: aa ii uu . For
consonants, the diacritic mark precedes the letter it affects. Thus, the retroflex (cerebral)
consonants (usually typeset with a dot underneath) are: .r .t .th .d .dh .n .m .s .l . The
guttural nasals (m or n with a dot above) are represented by "m and "n . The palatal
nasal is represented here as ~n .

Pronunciation

Paali is the original language of the Theravadin Buddhist scriptures, the closest we have
to the dialect spoken by the Buddha himself. It has no written script of its own, and so
every country that has adopted Theravada Buddhism has used its own script to transcribe
it. In Thailand this has meant that Paali has picked up some of the tones of the Thai
language, as each consonant and consonant cluster in the Thai alphabet has a built-in tone
-- high, medium, low, rising, or falling. This accounts for the characteristic melody of
Thai Paali chanting.

Vowels

Paali has two sorts of vowels, long -- aa, e, ii, o, uu, and ay; and short -- a, i, and u.
Unlike long and shorts vowels in English, the length here refers to the actual amount of
time used to pronounce the vowel, and not to its quality. Thus aa and a are both
pronounced like the a in father, simply that the sound aa is held for approximately twice
as long as the sound a. The same principle holds for ii and i, and for uu and u. Thus,
when chanting Paali, the vowels are pronounced as follows:

a as in father
o as in go
e as in they
u as in glue
i as in machine
ay as in Aye!

Consonants

Consonants are generally pronounced as they are in English, with a few unexpected
twists:

c as in ancient
p unaspirated, as in spot
k unaspirated, as in skin
ph as in upholstery
kh as in backhand
t unaspirated, as in stop
"m and "n as ng
th as in Thomas
~n as in canyon
v as w

Certain two-lettered notations -- bh, dh, .dh, gh, jh -- denote an aspirated sound,
somewhat in the throat, that we do not have in English and that the Thais do not have in
their language, either. The Thai solution to this problem is to pronounce bh as a throaty
ph, dh as a throaty th, and gh as a throaty kh.

Paali also contains retroflex consonants, indicated with a dot under the letter: .d, .dh,
.l, .n, .t, .th. These have no English equivalent. They are sounded by curling the tip of the
tongue back against the palate, producing a distinct nasal tone.
The meters of Paali poetry consists of various patterns of full-length syllables alternating
with half-length syllables.

Full-length syllables:

contain a long vowel (aa, e, ii, o, uu, ay); or

end with "m; or
end with a consonant followed by a syllable beginning with a consonant (e.g., Bud-dho,
Dham-mo, Sa"n-gho).

In this last case, the consonant clusters mentioned above -- bh, dh, .dh, gh, jh, kh, ph,
th, .th -- count as single consonants, while other combinations containing h -- such as lh
and mh -- count as double.)

Half-length syllables end in a short vowel.