A Prayer in Honor of Service Personnel Killed in Action

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.


We all have our share of headaches and heartaches. Physically, we all have to face aging, sickness and death. Mentally, we have to deal with problems arising from greed, hatred and ignorance. The Chinese have a saying that aptly describes our predicament: “Heaven and hell sometimes end; the threads of sorrow continue forever.” Our afflictions are as deep as the dark blue sea and are Read more
When there is hope, there is a future. The worst tragedy in life is to live without hope for the future. When there is hope, there is a future. One of the mottoes of the Buddha’s Light International Association is “to give others hope.” That is the highest act of benevolence. On the other hand, to disappoint and render others hopeless is the cruelest act.People live Read more
One of the great advantages of sitting meditation is that you can take it with you wherever you go. Whether you are in a forest deep in the mountains or beside a stream among the grass and reeds, you can develop meditative concentration just by sitting down and crossing your legs.But what is meditation? Does it come from sitting, standing, or lying down? Huineng, the Read more
While the Four Noble Truths explain the phenomena of the universe, the Buddha expounded on them mainly as a guide for life. It is inadequate, however, to merely learn the Four Noble Truths. We must resolve, cultivate and practice accordingly. We must end the causes of suffering, practice the path, and reach the cessation of suffering in order to achieve liberation. Consequently, the Four Universal Read more
Technological progress and advances in modern science have led to material improvements that have enhanced the quality of people’s lives on many levels. Yet, no matter how much we have progressed or how advanced our technology is, there still remain fundamental problems in life that science will never be able to solve.Two of the greatest problems people face are birth and death. No sooner are Read more
Some people may think it is strange that in this scientifically enlightened century anyone would want to talk about ghosts. In the past, even sages avoided the subject of the supernatural if they could. Confucius never spoke about ghosts. At the mere mention of ghosts, frightful images instantly arise in our minds of their pale faces, their wild hair and their sharp fangs. The truth Read more
People suffer from a variety of diseases of the mind, such as being greedy, judgmental, or quick to anger. The Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra says, “There are four kinds of diseases of the body, which are due to excessive wind, heat, phlegm, or other causes. There are also four kinds of diseases of the mind, which are greed, anger, ignorance, and pride.” Truthfully, it Read more
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
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
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
Compassion is the father, the bodhi mind the mother. Good methods are like friends because they save all sentient beings. — Great Collection of True Dharmas Sutra Compassion Is the Father Compassion removes suffering and creates joy. The sutra says, “The power of the Dharma is beyond expression. Nothing can obstruct compassion.” Compassion is the root source of all good. Compassion is the heart of Read more
In Buddhism, the root cause of human suffering and other problems are identified as the mind. It thus proposes to tap into this invaluable resource by transforming any unwholesomeness into wholesomeness. Buddhism instructs sentient beings on how to recognize the mind, calm the mind, and handle the mind. The Buddha taught for forty-nine years during his lifetime. Whether his teachings were about the four noble Read more