By Venerable Master Hsing Yun
Founder of Fo Guang Shan
Oh great, compassionate Buddha!
We would like to tell you of an unjust situation on our mind:
The world that we live in has been ruined and fallen ill.
Flowers are no longer emitting fragrance;
Birds are no longer singing;
The green mountains are no longer smiling;
The flowing water is no longer crystal-clear.
Please look:
Excessive logging has stripped vast areas of vegetation;
Exhaust pollution has tainted the beautiful and delicate appearance of our mountains and rivers;
The once lush forests have now become the houses and mansions of people,
Taking away the only sanctuary of many species;
The once crystal-clear lakes have now been polluted everywhere;
And the once leaping marine species can now no longer move freely.
Our natural resources have been decreasing sharply day by day;
How will future generations survive?
The air that we breathe is not clean,
Our health has been threatened.
Oh great, compassionate Buddha!
We have five sense organs: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body;
We have five poisons: greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt;
We are on the verge of destroying our beautiful earth
And disintegrating the ecological relations of nature.
Too many rare birds and animals
Have disappeared into humankind’s meals and mouths;
Too many dainties of land and sea
Have gone missing under humankind’s guns and knives.
Oh great, compassionate Buddha!
Please let us and our future generations:
Be able to play with fireflies
Under the radiance of star-brimmed skies;
Be able to sing and dance with great nature
On the shore of an emerald sea;
Be able to enjoy fresh air
In the thick forests of towering trees;
And be able to grow together with all things under the sun
On a field that extends out far beyond the horizon.
This is not just for the natural environment,
But also for the hometowns of humankind;
This is not just for the earth’s existence,
But also for our future generations.
Please grant us tender hands
To soothe all sentient beings on earth;
Please grant us ears that listen attentively
To the wondrous sounds of the world and natural phenomena;
Please grant us bright and keen eyes
To discover the limitless treasures of the universe;
Please grant us compassionate hearts
To preserve the ecology of our world.
Oh great, compassionate Buddha!
We can no longer allow mountains and rivers to be tainted;
We can no longer allow the earth to weep;
We can no longer allow living things to be frightened;
We can no longer allow the air to be polluted.
We must strive to let mountains and rivers be splendorous and green again;
We must strive to let the beauty of the earth reappear;
We must strive to restore fragrant, fresh air;
We must strive to let nature become a solemn Pure Land again.
Oh great, compassionate Buddha,
Please accept our heartfelt prayer!
Oh great, compassionate Buddha,
Please accept our heartfelt prayer!
(Excerpted from “A Prayer for Our Natural Environment (為自然生態祈願文)” from Pearls of Wisdom: Prayers for Engaged Living I by Venerable Master Hsing Yun)