Translation of the modern Japanese language version of the “Prayer for Light” (Provisional) [光明祈願 (暫定)] used at Ittōen [一燈園]
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The main entrance to Ittōen, taken by Miki Nakura |
The English language Ittōen website can be found at this link
The Japanese language Ittōen website can be found at this link
“Prayer for Light” (Provisional) [光明祈願 (暫定)]
The one, non-dual Light is like the sunlight that fills the universe. [Though sunlight itself is invisible,] when it strikes objects, they reflect a multitude of colours. In the same way, the Prayer for Light presented below is merely a reflection of the invisible non-dual Light within the author’s consciousness. Therefore, it should be open to addition, deletion, and correction. Rewriting is also permitted. This is the reason for calling it “Provisional”.
1) May we be reborn and allowed to live by the one, non-dual Light.
We must, first and foremost, be revived and reborn through the one, non-dual Light, entrust ourselves to God/Kami, be nurtured by Buddha, and endeavour to live a life that is no impediment to other people.
2) May we revere the heart of all religions, and participate in the Great Vow of Returning-to-One (Kiitsu).
When we respectfully consider the true purport of all religions, regardless of their origin or age, the one greatest wish common to them all is as follows:
- The fundamental wish: That all people may together attain Great Perfect Enlightenment.
- The further wish: To bring true peace to the world.
We have not founded a new, distinct religion, nor do we stubbornly adhere to any single established religion. We simply look up to the light of the saints of all ages, praise their virtue, and aim to bring to completion the work they have bequeathed to us.
3) May we freely serve others in the spirit of repentance and in gratitude for the gifts we have received.
No one is entirely free from responsibility for the vices/evils and sufferings that pervade the world. Our wish is to constantly strive in service at the crossroads with a heart of repentance, to go on alms-round seeking enlightenment and the salvation of humanity, and to live in accordance with the fundamental vow to realise a world of truth.
4) May we make our way in the everyday world by following the Dharma, the sacred laws of nature.
We aim to keep the rules naturally and spontaneously, engage in the six practices of aspiration [see end note], practise the true path within our everyday social and economic activities, personally demonstrate a lifestyle capable of bringing about true and permanent peace, and realise the truth of secular society as laypeople.
5) And, in this way, may we return to our home [the Fragrant Cave of Heavenly Flowers], always rambling leisurely in the formless paradise of light.
If one sees thoroughly, this world is in fact itself a pure land filled with the serene light of Truth and Wisdom, a heavenly garden of utmost peace and joy. Both the rise and progress of civilisation and personal spiritual practices following the pure rules are, from this perspective, merely a single, free and spontaneous activity. Regrettably, its essential nature cannot be fully captured in words. Thus, we provisionally name this true reality the Fragrant Cave of Heavenly Flowers [天華香洞 Tenkakōdō].
This entrance to the Fragrant Cave of Heavenly Flowers is provisionally called the Garden of the One Light [一燈園 Ittōen]. This garden can be thought of as a “provisional castle”—a temporary refuge established for those who seek the Path but are not yet strong enough to walk it alone, and for the elderly, the sick, and children. Its existence depends on the pure donations of supporters. Residence within the garden is granted to those who follow its Pure Rules.
The activity of managing and operating the assets and enterprises entrusted to us, while being grounded in the Fragrant Cave of Heavenly Flowers, is provisionally named the Society for Spreading Light [宣光社 Senkōsha]. The Society’s aim is to eradicate the world’s attachments and delusions, conflicts, and complications, and thereby work towards the harmonisation of families, the governance of nations, and the bringing of peace to the world. The Fragrant Cave of Heavenly Flowers, the Garden of the One Light, and the Society for Spreading Light are three positions forming a single entity; in their ultimate essence, they are formless and not to be separated.
END NOTE
Rokuman Gyōgan [六萬行願]—The six practices are: paying homage, “geza” (taking the lower seat, humility), service, consolation, “sange” (penitence), and “gyokotsu” (to do mendicant labour—which we have attempted to capture in the phrase “freely serve” used in the third prayer of the Prayer for Light). And since 10,000 households were counted as a basic unit of this service, it was named “Rokuman Gyogan” (six prayer practice for 10,000).
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