Exploring the Path - Pāli Course

[The paritta] whose authority is accepted by the devas in the myriad world systems;
which, in the city of Vesāli,
the three fears resulting from: disease, non- human beings and famine,
it quickly caused to disappear;
Let us recite that paritta.

Whatever beings are here assembled,
whether terrestrial or celestial,
may these beings be happy;
Moreover, may they carefully listen to these words.

Therefore let all beings listen!
Have mettā for human beings.
Day and night they bring offerings to you,
therefore guard them diligently.

Whatever treasure there is in this world or beyond,
whatever precious jewel is in the heavens;
There is none equal to the Tathāgata.
In the Buddha is this precious jewel.
By the utterance of this truth, may there be happiness.

Cessation of defilements, freedom from passion, and the deathless state,
the serene Sage of the Sakyas realized these;
There is nothing equal to this Dhamma.
In the Dhamma is this precious jewel.
By the utterance of this truth, may there be happiness.

That purity praised by the supreme Buddha,
called concentration without interruption;
There is nothing equal to that concentration.
In the Dhamma is this precious jewel.
By the utterance of this truth, may there be happiness.

The eight individuals praised by the virtuous,
constituting four pairs,
these disciples of the Buddha are worthy of offerings;
Gifts made to them yield abundant fruit.
In the Sangha is this precious jewel.
By the utterance of this truth, may there be happiness.

Those passionless ones, with a steadfast mind,
who apply themselves to the teachings of Gotama,
having attained that which should be attained,
plunging into the deathless,
enjoy the peace they have gained without expense
In the Sangha is this precious jewel.
By the utterance of this truth, may there be happiness.

Just as a firm post sunk in the earth
cannot be shaken by the winds from the four directions,
so, I declare, is a pure-minded person who thoroughly realizes the Noble truths,
In the Sangha is this precious jewel.
By the utterance of this truth, may there be happiness.

Those who have clearly understood the Noble truths,
well-taught by him of deep wisdom, however heedless they
may be, Do not take an eighth rebirth.
In the Sangha is this precious jewel.
By the utterance of this truth, may there be happiness.
With the attainment of the first Path,
three things are abandoned in him:
illusion of self, doubt,
And [clinging to] rites and rituals and such things.

He is free from the four woeful realms and
is incapable of committing the six heinous crime
s. In the Sangha is this precious jewel.
By the utterance of this truth, may there be happiness.

If he does an unwholesome deed,
whether by body, speech, or thought,
he is incapable of hiding it, for it is said that
Such concealment is not possible for one who has seen the state of nibbāna.
In the Sangha is this precious jewel.
By the utterance of this truth, may there be happiness.

As the woodland grove is crowned with blossoms
in the first heat of summer,
so the sublime doctrine that he expounded leads to nibbāna,
Highest good of beings.
In the Buddha is this precious jewel.
By the utterance of this truth, may there be happiness.

The Sublime One, the knower of the sublime,
the bestower of the sublime, the bringer of the s
ublime, Has taught the unsurpassed Dhamma.
In the Buddha is this precious jewel.
By the utterance of this truth, may there be happiness.

With the old [kamma] destroyed and no new arising,
the mind is unattached to a future birth.
The seeds destroyed, the desire [for becoming] does not grow:
These wise ones go out even as this lamp is extinguished.
In the Sangha is this precious jewel.
By the utterance of this truth, may there be happiness.

Whatever beings are here assembled,
whether terrestrial or celestial,
the Tathāgata is revered by gods and men;
we pay respects to the Buddha;

[by the utterance of this truth] may there be happiness;
We pay respects to the Dhamma;
[by the utterance of this truth] may there be happiness;

We pay respects to the Sangha;
[by the utterance of this truth] may there be happiness.

^*Ratanasutta: Jewel + sutta