The Prayer of St Francis with the Bodhisattva vow.
 

Lord,

Make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

May I be a safeguard for those who have no protection,
A guide for those who journey along the way,
For those who wish to go across the water,
May I be a boat, a raft, a bridge.

May I be a home port for those who yearn for landfall,
And a lamp for those who long for the light;
For those who are tired, may I be a resting place,
For all who need help, their servant.

O Divine Master,

Grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled, as to console,

To be understood, as to understand;

To be loved, as to love.

Like the great earth itself and other eternal things,
Enduring as the sky itself endures,
For the boundless multitude of living beings,
May I be the ground and vessel of their lives.

For every single thing that lives,
In number like the boundless reaches of the sky,
May I be their sustenance and nourishment
Until they pass beyond the bounds of suffering.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.

It is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.



Some might enjoy reading this :smile:

Excellent, I'm so glad to see this parallel, the Saint Francis Prayer and Shantideva's Bodhisattva vow alongside one another. I'm familiar with both and have thought about both and their magnitude and importance in my own life and others. Thank you for sharing the inspiration of love and selflessness that both of these prayers bring forth. It is a goal to strive for and to realise here on earth and some might say it is our only goal. Thanks once again. Sadhu, Hooray, Shanti :)

Glad you enjoyed it Joe, it is beautiful.
Here's another you may enjoy.

Serenity Prayer with a Buddhist twist.
 

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time.
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace,
Taking, as the Buddha did, this samsara world,
as it is, - not as I would have it;
Trusting that all things are right
I surrender to a Nature greater then my own small self;
That I may be reasonably happy right now,
to be supremely happy tomorrow,
Amen.

Lovely! Very wise and compassionate. I would like to reciprocate but only can remember a prayer by Saint Theresa of Avila. It speaks about the unconditioned, some people choose to call God, Buddha, or the unconditioned lol. :) Also it speaks about Annica or impermanence.

Let Nothing upset you, let nothing frighten you
Everything is changing,
God alone is changeless,
Patience attains the goal,
Who has God lacks nothing,
God alone meets every need.

Love this!

Shantideva prayer adapted.
 

May I be a guard for those who need protection; when I seek protection, may I find it and share it.

For those who wish to cross to a further shore, may I be a boat, a raft, a bridge.

May I be open to the companionship of others as I make my way to places still before me.

May I be a lamp in the darkness for all who seek it; may that light be never extinguished from my own sight and my own heart.

May I be a resting place for the weary and be healing medicine for all who are sick;

may I know the salve of others for my own afflictions, whether of the body or of the mind, or of the heart.

Where others see scarcity, may I see a vase of plenty, a tree of miracles.

As part of the boundless multitudes of living beings, may I bring sustenance and awakening, freedom from sorrow,

and may I delight in our common existence.

Holding most tenderly those with broken hearts, let us sit together in stillness.

Glad you enjoyed it Frankie.

Thanks Joe, nice. St John writes some lovely poetry..

Thank you sky, I've read a little about St. John but not much of his actual work, i'll definitely take a look. :)