Read, reflect, pray
Ten-line Kannon text
延命十句観音経
A short text recollecting Kannon, distinct from the Lotus Sutra’s Universal Gateway chapter. “Permanence, bliss, self and purity” are terms for nirvana, not an endorsement of selfishness.
English meaning and source text
English meaning
About this English rendering
This site’s English rendering of the Japanese meaning guide, aligned with this edition. It is separate from the source words for recitation and is not an official liturgy. Sacred sounds are explained where possible, not given speculative literal translations. Historical beliefs, royal authority, illness and protection claims belong to the text; they are not present-day judgments, medical advice or guarantees of results.
Kanzeon Bodhisattva,
I wholeheartedly take refuge in the Buddha.
We have causes connecting us with the Buddha
and various conditions through which we encounter the Buddha.
Through our connection with Buddha, the teaching, and those who live it,
we are joined to the virtues of permanence, the unchanging Buddha state; bliss, peace beyond suffering; true self, beyond attachment; and purity.
Permanence, bliss, self, and purity are Buddhist terms for four virtues of nirvana. Self here does not affirm a selfish ego.
In the morning I hold Kanzeon Bodhisattva in mind;
in the evening too I hold Kanzeon Bodhisattva in mind.
Each thought arises from this heart;
each thought is never apart from this heart.
Source text and reading aid
Roman letters are provided for every line of this source text.
How to use the Roman letters
Roman letters follow the kana displayed in this site’s Japanese reader; some readings are editorial additions documented on the Japanese page. These are a reading aid, not restored Sanskrit or a recording of a temple’s chanting. Historical spellings (such as wo, wi, we and ha used as a particle) are kept. Double vowels and repeated vowels mark the written kana; rhythm and pronunciation can differ by tradition.
You can simply read the meaning or sit quietly. No recitation is required. For a temple or shrine’s own recitation, follow that tradition’s published guidance.
観世音
kanzeon
南無仏
namubutsu
与仏有因
yobutsuuin
与仏有縁
yobutsuuen
仏法僧縁
buppousouen
常楽我浄
jourakugajou
朝念観世音
chounenkanzeon
暮念観世音
bonenkanzeon
念念従心起
nennenjuushinki
念念不離心
nennenfurishin
Connected kami and buddhas
These connections include figures addressed, mentioned, or associated by tradition. They do not assign a universal recitation practice.
- Shō Kanzeon Bosatsu (Shō Kannon)聖観世音菩薩
- Anoku Kannon阿耨観音
- Amadai Kannon阿麼堤観音
- Ichinyo Kannon一如観音
- Ichiyō Kannon一葉観音
- Itoku Kannon威徳観音
- Iwato Kannon岩戸観音
- Enkō Kannon円光観音
- Enmei Kannon延命観音
- Gasshō Kannon合掌観音
- Gyoran Kannon魚籃観音
- Ruri Kannon瑠璃観音
- Kōri Kannon蛤蜊観音
- Shasui Kannon灑水観音
- Shūhō Kannon衆宝観音
- Shōkyō Kannon青頸観音
- Jikyō Kannon持経観音
- Jūichimen Kannon十一面観音
- Juntei Kannon準提観音
- Jiren Kannon持蓮観音
- Suigetsu Kannon水月観音
- Seyaku Kannon施薬観音
- Senju Kannon千手観音
- Takimi Kannon瀧見観音
- Tarason Kannon多羅尊観音
- Tokuō Kannon徳王観音
- Nyoirin Kannon如意輪観音
- Nōjō Kannon能静観音
- Batō Kannon馬頭観音
- Byakue Kannon白衣観音
- Fukūkenjaku Kannon不空羂索観音
- Funi Kannon不二観音
- Fuhi Kannon普悲観音
- Merō Kannon馬郎婦観音
- Yōryū Kannon楊柳観音
- Yuge Kannon遊戯観音
- Yōe Kannon葉衣観音
- Ryūzu Kannon龍頭観音
- Renga Kannon蓮臥観音
- Rokuji Kannon六時観音
- Roku Kannon, Shichi Kannon and Hachidai Kannon六観音・七観音・八大観音
- Sanjūsan Kannon (the Thirty-Three Kannon)三十三観音
- Kanzeon Bosatsu (of the Twenty-Five Bodhisattvas)観世音菩薩（二十五菩薩）
Sources and edition (1)
English explanations on this page were prepared by Inori no Mori from the cited text and its Japanese explanations. They are not an official translation or a prescribed liturgy.