The “Evening” Bell Chant

In 1942, Thich Nhat Hanh became a Buddhist monk in Vietnam when he was 16 years old. He was instructed to memorize a little booklet written in classical Chinese: “Essential Vinaya for Daily Use” (毗尼日用切要). This is a collection of 45 Chinese gathas compiled by Master Jianyue Duti (見月讀體, 1601-1679) during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Source: https://deerparkmonastery.org/thich-nhat-hanh/

The “evening” Bell Chant is the third gatha in the Master Duti’s collection. “Evening” is put into quotes, because Duti’s instruction is

“In the morning and dusk, when walking, standing, sitting or sleeping, as soon as you hear the sound of the bell, recite this verse.”

晨昏於行住坐臥間。一聞鐘聲時。即誦此偈呪。

聞鐘聲  煩惱輕  智慧長  菩提生
離地獄  出火坑  願成佛  度眾生
唵。伽囉帝耶莎訶(三徧)

https://tripitaka.cbeta.org/X60n1115_001

Hear sound bell; kleshas eliminated
Prajna increases; Bodhi arises
Depart earth prison; leave three realms
Vow attain Buddha; save all beings
The mantra of shattering Hell:
Om gara jiya sabaha

문종성 번뇌단
지혜장 보리생
이지옥 출삼계
원성불 도중생
파지옥진언
옴 가라 지야 사바하

mun jong seong beon noe dan
ji hye jang bo ri saeng
ji ji ok chul sam gye
won seong bul do jung saeng
pa ji ok jin eon
om ga ra ji ya sabaha

Zen Master Stanley Lombardo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wtlHbXt3vc#t=4m16s

Kathy Park:
https://www.kwanumeurope.org/talks-resources/chanting-resources/

Zen Master Seung Sahn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-D8yDdnl2c

Hyong Gak Sunim:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R3CnnRgy0w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jYewSTuR0g

Cheong Se Do:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkE6FG4cMp0

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *