A Prayer in Honor of Service Personnel Killed in Action

By Category: PrayersTags: ,

Oh great, compassionate Buddha!
With sadness, pride, and gratitude,
We would like to honor service personnel
Who have given their lives to save others.
We have seen them file onto ships, climb into
The cockpits of fighter jets, and
Join long convoys.
With a final salute, they disappeared
From our vision, and from our lives.

Oh great, compassionate Buddha!
In order to save the country and its people,
These troops sacrificed themselves.
Their lives and heroic spirits will go down in history.
In order to complete their missions,
They engaged in dangerous action with bravery and loyalty.
The undaunted courage and wisdom left in their wakes
Are enough to startle the universe and move all beings.

Oh great, compassionate Buddha!
These service personnel sacrificed their lives for their homeland.
Please bless them with your loving-kindness.
May they be reborn in the upper realms.
May they return to the earth by taking vows.
May their bereaved families receive proper support.
May their descendants learn of their brave deeds.

Oh Buddha!
We want to eulogize the aspirations
Of the brave service personnel who gave their lives.
Yet, we must also denounce those
Who attempt to expand their domination,
And bring great suffering to people.
We condemn the actions of those who drive their ambitions
Over the lives of innocent victims.

Oh great, compassionate Buddha!
We pray that we learn wisdom of your teachings.
May all humankind coexist peacefully.
May all sentient beings in all dharma realms be as one family.
In the future, may the world
See no tyrants who burn, kill, and plunder,
And create no warriors to face each other across vicious weapons.
In the future, may the world
See only compassionate, generous people,
And consist only of beings who enjoy peace and happiness.

Oh great, compassionate Buddha,
Please accept our sincere prayer!
Oh great, compassionate Buddha,
Please accept our sincere prayer!

This was originally published in Pearls of Wisdom: Prayers for Engaged Living II, written by Venerable Master Hsing Yun.

Image from Pixabay.


Transformed by the Precepts
The Buddhist precepts are here to protect us from wrongdoing, lead us away from what is bad, and towards what is good. Vinaya Master Daoxuan of the Tang dynasty composed the Simplified and Amended Handbook of the Four-Part Vinaya [Sifenlü Shanfan Buque Xingshi Chao], in which he analyzed the precepts in terms of their “rules,” “essence,” “practice,” and “characteristics.” When one puts the actual rules Read more
Putting Teachings into Practice
Dharma is for people. There is one thing about the Dharma that I am completely sure of: the Dharma is for people. The Buddha’s teachings are not a cold philosophy designed merely to rearrange the concepts in our minds, they are a living act of compassion intended to show us how to open our hearts. I learned this truth just as everyone must learn it—by Read more
Transcend the Ordinary and the Sacred
What, exactly, is the meaning contained within this gong’an? For instance, some have asked, what are people like? This is a very difficult question to answer because if there are things they are like, then there are things they are not like. If we answer that people are like ghosts, then there are also people among ghosts. If we say ghosts are like people, then Read more
A Good Reputation
We should always try to see the good in others, not the bad. On the samsaric level of this saha world alone, back-biting and faultfinding are known by most people to be totally counter-productive. Not only does faultfinding produce nothing but anger and mistrust, but the effects of negative speech also create an environment in which it becomes difficult to do anything positive. Read more
Be Satisfied with What You Have
Greed narrows our vision as it obscures the wealth of wisdom contained in our inherent Buddha nature. Read more
Have Respect for Life
Life is the most precious thing in the world, so it is imperative that we respect it in all its forms. Not only must we have regard for human life, we must also respect animal life and the life of any organism in our ecosystem. The worst offense a person can ever commit is to violate the life of others, or even to cause harm Read more
How To Change Destiny
What we often care most for in life is the self, and the most important aspect of self is none other than destiny. During one’s lifetime, destiny changes frequently because of circumstances that arise. Because of a person, an event, a word, a dollar, or even a thought, entire lives may be altered. Similarly, the development of a country may be changed and the history Read more
Master’s Advice on Daily Practice
As we live, we must strive for a life of value. Buddhism is different from philosophy, for it does not only deal with knowledge and theory. Rather, Buddhism calls for devout faith, developed morality, and most importantly: spiritual practice.All we need is the right intention to begin any form of spiritual practice, whether it is bowing to the Buddha, chanting sutras, repentance, meditation, or other Read more
The Four Contemplations
The first realization of The Eight Realizations of a Bodhisatttva Sutra is concerned with what is generally called the Buddha’s view of this world. This first realization is a description of the basic features of the world we live in. The points made in this realization are made in many other Buddhist sutras.The Buddha emphasized these basic points on many different occasions because it is Read more
The Four Bases of Mindfulness
Meditation is not about sitting quietly with your eyes closed—this is just one method for developing meditative concentration. What matters in meditation is being able to contemplate and focus the mind.  Read more
Wealth in the Present and Happiness in the Future
Everyone in this world wants to have wealth and live a carefree life. They also want a good rebirth. Richness in this life and pleasure in the next are the hallmarks of a successful life.In the Sumati Sutra, the Buddha defined a “successful life” to be wealth in this life and happiness in the next life. Having wealth in the present life includes an elegant, proper appearance, Read more
Observe the Way through Living Simply
In the early days of Buddhism, how did monastics observe the Way and live their lives? As the daily lives of these monastics were not one of material things, emotional ties, or sensory pleasures, they led a lives of few material things and cool emotional ties. The world within their heart was pure and their spiritual life was forever lasting. In more concrete terms, their Read more