Read, reflect, pray
Praise of original awakening
本覚讃
Eight lines praising the awakening understood as originally present.
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.
I take refuge in the Dharma body, the heart of original awakening.
From the beginning it possesses the virtues of the three Buddha bodies: Dharma, reward, and manifested bodies.
Samadhis as numerous as dust, opening in every direction,
and the boundless ocean of merit are originally complete within it.
Upon the heart’s lotus seat of the eternally unchanging wondrous Dharma,
the thirty-seven deities of the Vajra Realm dwell within the heart’s citadel.
Beyond cause and effect, this is present from the beginning just as it is.
Therefore, turning inward, I bow with my head to the ground before the Buddhas of my own 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.
帰命本覚心法身
kimyouhongakushinhosshin
本来具足三身徳
honraigusokusanjintoku
普門塵数諸三昧
fumonjinjushosanmai
無辺徳海本円満
muhentokkaihon'enman
常住妙法心蓮台
joujuumyouhoushinrendai
三十七尊住心城
sanjuushichisonjuushinjou
遠離因果法然具
onriingahounengu
還我頂礼心諸仏
gengachouraishinshobutsu
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.