The Sam Nguyen Sutra

Namo Shakyamuni Buddha (3 times)(B)

Sutra Opening Verse

The Dharma is deep and incomparable.

Throughout eternity the chance

to know it is so rare.
Now with great fortune we recognize it
and vow to practice deeply, sincerely. (BB)

Sam Nguyen

(Look back to see our mistakes, and take a vow)

We kneel in front of the Buddha.

From our whole being, we offer incense.

Head pressed down upon

Shakyamuni Buddha’s feet,

We sincerely offer this confession and vow.(B)

For many lifetimes,

we made the mistake

of ignorantly chasing desire,

creating suffering for many people,

hatred in ourselves,

and increasing our holding as well.

We only know hunger for praise,

and thirst for self-benefit.

Day by day, our holdings harden

into strong life habits.

In our lives, there is only

greed for love, greed for possessions,

and clinging to satisfaction,

but we don’t know it.

Lost in the whirlpool of right/wrong,

good/not good, addicted to

the deadliness of win/lose,

we already have everything,

but it is still not enough.

So many deceitful schemes,

yet we don’t care.

When we get what we want,

there is joyful enthusiasm to interact.

When things are opposite our way,

instant blame and angry outbursts

with hurtful words and in regretful ways,

creating many wounds

in ourselves and others.

After that, many times we are remorseful,

anxious, restless, and bitter.

And with just a glance at the other’s face,

we argue more, and make it worse.

Because we don’t know yet

we have a problem,

we fool ourselves and fool others

as ego constantly vies for the best position,

always skillfully covering the problems.

Addicted to others satisfying us

and satisfying ourselves,

we get what we want and want more.

We don’t know we are just continuing to feed

ignorance, holding, and suffering. (B)

We looked at beautiful things so many times,

but we still keep looking.

We hold onto sweet gestures

and compliments given.

With delicious food, we eat so much,

but still want it again later,

good taste only nourishing

the craving and expectations.

With one sleepless night,

we worry about getting sick.

Missing one meal, we fear not being well.

We are constantly preoccupied

to warm or cool our body,

worried about the effects of sun, rain,

dampness, and wind on our health. (B)

Whatever our body wants, we satisfy it,

just creating more suffering

and its consequences in this lifetime.

Looking like a staggering drunk,

we chase after what we think is happiness,

and yet we catch only suffering.

Because we don’t know

the treasure is inside us,

we go wandering about looking for wealth.

Meandering further away from our

true home, we forget the way back.

Now homeless, we just blindly

continue forward.

After so much wandering,

now what do you have?

In the end, where will you go when you die?

We spend our lives just ignorantly

bobbing on the water, passing time,

even though we already

made a mess of things.

Now in front of Buddha, we take a vow.

Head down, with sincerity,

we look back, regret, confess. (B)

Fortunately, we have touched

the true dharma and realize

suffering is from ourselves.

Because of satisfaction, ignorance,

and holding, we sink and float

in the cycle of birth and death.

Now, close to a clear teacher

and good dharma friends,

We take a vow to see all the way through

to our original, greed-driven

holding and ignorance. (BB)

The Three Refuges

Refuge is taken in the Buddha.

I vow, on behalf of all sentient beings,

to recognize the core teaching

and dedicate everything to it.

Namo Buddhaya (3 times) (B)

Refuge is taken in the Dharma.

I vow, on behalf of all sentient beings,

to practice deeply and sincerely the core teaching,

allowing great wisdom to rise up.

Namo Dharmaya (3 times) (B)

Refuge is taken in the Sangha.

I vow, on behalf of all sentient beings,

to live with ease and harmony

in any situation, disturbed by nothing.

Namo Sanghaya (3 times) (BB)

Sutra Closing Verse

Whole heartedly

we want to end our suffering.

Through review, we realize that

for many lifetimes we have created

the system of suffering

that has controlled us.

We take a vow to practice

to realize the root, the nature of suffering.

We ask the Buddhas to verify our vow. (BBB)