Inori no Mori祈りの杜working title

Read, reflect, pray

Verse of bowing

礼拝偈らいはいげ

A verse reflecting on the emptiness and non-separation of the one who bows and the one honored, and wishing liberation for all beings.

English meaning and source text

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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.

Both I who bow and the Buddha who receives the bow are, in their nature, still emptiness without fixed essence.

My body and the other’s body are not fundamentally divisible into two.

Together with all beings, I aspire to be released from delusion’s bonds,

arouse the heart seeking unsurpassed awakening, and return to reality just as it is.

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.

能礼(のうらい)所礼(しょらい)性空寂(しょうくうじゃく)

nourai shorai shoukuujaku

自身他身(じしんたしん)体無二(たいむに)

jishintashin taimuni

願共衆生(がんぐしゅじょう)得解脱(とくげだつ)

gangushujou tokugedatsu

発無上意(ほつむじょうい)帰真際(きしんさい)

hotsumujoui kishinsai

Sources and edition (3)

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.

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