Dalai Lama Led The Opening Prayer For The Senate

On March 6, The Dalai Lama led the opening prayer for the Senate. This was the very first time he did that.

He began with,

Firstly, as usual, I am Buddhist monk – simple Buddhist monk. So I pray to Buddha and all other Gods.

The first sentence I will read now in my broken English. The pronunciation may not be correct – at least the North American pronunciation. [laughs]

“With our thoughts we make our world. Our mind is central and precedes  our deeds. Speak or act with your pure mind and happiness will follow you like a shadow that never leaves. [Tibetan…]

“May there be joy in the world with bounty harvest and spiritual wealth. May every good fortune come to be and may all our wishes be fulfilled.” [Tibetan]

This is my favorite prayer. Daily I pray this. That gives me inner strength to serve sentient beings or humanity.

“As long as space remains and as long as sentient beings remain, until then, may I too remain and help dispel the misery of the world.” Thank you.

The last part of the prayer is often quoted by Pema Chodron from Shantideva in The Way of the Bodhisattva from the 8th Century. It goes like this:

And now as long as space endures,
As long as there are beings to be found,
May I continue likewise to remain
To drive away the sorrows of the world.

This opening prayer by the Dalai Lama fits nicely with his recent visit to San Francisco. It is probably no coincidence that the Dalai Lama led the 0pening prayer for the Senate because Senator Dianne Feinstein was there and her husband, Richard C. Blum helped sponsor the Dalai Lama’s visit to San Francisco.

I, too, am moved by the emotion in the Dalai Lama’s voice when he recited, “”As long as space remains and as long as sentient beings remain, until then, may I too remain and help dispel the misery of the world.” How about you? Please share.

Pema Chodron’s Talks on Shatideva – Well Worth It !