In this heartbreaking time of unleashed evil I want to share this prayer that still speaks for my heart.
Yes, I have decamped [moved to] to the Theravada, this one prayer I have retained from my 1985-2009 stay with a Tibetan sangha.
The Auspicious Prayer
For all the people and nations of the Earth,
may not even the names of disease, famine, war and suffering be heard,
but rather may Dharma, merit, wealth and prosperity increase,
and may supreme good fortune
and well-being always arise for them.
Prayer by Jñana
(the 2nd Dudjom Rinpoche, Jikdrel Yeshe Dorje)
Translation by Losawa Richard Barron
I think it obscures the direction of the four noble truths to assess hardship based on whether or not circumstances are ideal. Point is, circumstances could always turn uncomfortable, and that never changes. That level is always present. Sure, what is specifically happening right now in the Middle East is far more enhanced than it was a month ago, but liability to suffering was never in a diminished state, and that is really helpful to always bear in mind.
May your compassionate wishes touch all who are suffering, and bring some ease and brightness into the world
I’ll add the Karaniya Metta Sutta (Snp 1.8)to your auspicious prayer
"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,
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 or 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 at ease.
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 at ease!
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."
