Water Blessing for Evendine Well

Hi, I'm Acharya Kaspalita. Everybody calls me Kaspa. This is Reverend Satyavani or Satya. We're from the Buddhist temple in Morvern, and every year we do a well blessing, often at Even Dine Well on the other side of the hills from us. And this year we're not able to because we're all in lockdown because of the global pandemic, so we're going to bless the waters remotely from here in the shrine room of our Buddhist temple. I'll begin by making an offering to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, calling forth their energies to support us. Then we will do some chanting together to bless the waters, the spring waters on the other side of the hill.

Time has passed with the swiftness of light. It is already morning. Impermanence rushes upon us every moment. Mara follows every step. O practitioners of the way, strive diligently, attain nirvana. Rare is it to meet with the Dharma, ultimate and profound, even though one may seek for hundreds and thousands of eons. Fortunately, we now hear and receive it. We pray that we may understand the Tathagata's true meaning, Let the Blessed One teach the Dharma. Let the Sublime One teach the Dharma. There are beings with little dust in their eyes who are wasting through not hearing the Dharma. There will be those who will understand. The Buddha has said, 'Open for them are the doors of the deathless.' Let those with ears now show their faith. Buddhas throughout space and time, reverently do we adore you. Dharmas to the end of time, reverently do we adore you. Sangha so exemplary, reverently do we adore you. To this holy place, Amida Buddha, Highest One, bring your presence now, we pray. To this holy place, Shakyamuni, Enlightened One, bring your presence now, we pray. To this holy place, to Tathagatas of all worlds, bring your presence now, we pray.

So in a moment, Satya and I are going to recite a verse together, a verse that describes how one particular Buddhist was inspired and became enlightened and offered that loving-kindness he received, vowed to offer it to all beings in the universe. So it's a story about inspiration, about about transmission, about receiving light and offering light. And for us as Buddhists, this is where we draw our strength from, from the light that supports us. And today we're using that inspiration to ground us in this world and invite gratitude, to invite blessings for the natural resources that support all of us, and particularly to bless the water, the spring water at Even Dine Well.

Your radiant face, like a mountain peak catching the first burst of morning light, has awesome and unequalled majesty, like black ink by comparison. Are the sun, the moon, or the Māni treasure to Tārgeta? Such is your incomparable face. The melody of your enlightenment fills the world.

Rare and precious are your precepts, learning, energy, meditation, wisdom, and amazing virtue.

The oceanic Dharma of all Buddhas, which you fathomed to its deepest depths, dispels the three poisons from the heart.

You are like a lion, valiant and divinely pure.

Great power, deep wisdom, awesome light, reverberation. A prayer I make, a Buddha to become, equal to you, my Dharma King, to lead all beings to the other shore, leaving none behind. The six paramitas to perfect, with Prajna at their head. Should I become Buddha, I will fulfill this prayer completely. To everyone I'll bring great peace. To Buddhas countless as sand grains, my offerings I make, and do not flinch from the trials of the incomparable way, powerful, straight, and true. Though Buddha lands and worldly realms be numberless like sand, by sheer power of aspiration, I'll fill them all with light. Let me become a Buddha, And the multitude of beings will all enjoy my primordial nirvana world. By indiscriminate compassion, I will enlighten all, reborn here from no matter where. In my country, my hearts will lighten and be joyful, happy and at ease. Oh, you Buddha, witness my vow, my true aspiration. Establishing my vow on you gives me the strength to fulfill it. Buddhas throughout space and time of unimpeded wisdom always witness my heart's practice. No matter the obstacles, the hardships, my practice will endure through all without regret.

Tam-bo tsu ye.

So we call on the Buddhas of the three times, the past, the present, the future, exemplified by Shakyamuni Buddha, by Amida Buddha, by Maitreya Buddha. We call upon the bodhisattvas and the great teachers of the Buddhist tradition. We call upon the holy sages and teachers of all spiritual traditions that support us with their wisdom and kindness, and invite them to support us in blessing the well the spring water whose life sustains all of us. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. So while we do some chanting, my suggestion is that people might want to imagine tying some red thread around their wrist, which is something that we do every year. We bless some red cotton and then people tie it around their wrist and everybody kind of links in a circle and then cuts it off and ties it on. So what we'll be doing with this chanting is sending blessings to any cotton or thread that you happen to have in your house, whatever color it is. After you finish watching, you can go and put a bit around your wrist and know that it's blessed, or you can imagine an imaginary— an ethereal thread, which is a mystical thread, so very powerful also.

Namah Amitabha. Namah Amitabha. Namah Amitabha. Namah Amitabha. Namah Amitabha. Namah Amitabha. Namah Amitabha. Namah Amitabha. Namoh Amitabh. Namoh Amitabh. Namoh Amitabh. Namoh Amitabh.

I was going to say thank you for joining us for this virtual blessing, but it's not a virtual blessing, it's a real blessing done at a distance. So thank you for joining us for this distant blessing, socially distant blessing. We hope that we'll be able to meet with you in person at the Well next year and that all the Wells will be dressed for May Day next year. In the meantime, that you and your loved ones stay safe.

And there is only just one bit missing from the ceremony that we haven't done, which is the asperging.

So here we go. A bit of blessed water for everybody.

Namaste, baby. Take care.