Three Prayers
contributed by
A Friend of The Zoo Fence

These are three prayers contributed by a good friend of The Zoo Fence. About them, she writes simply, "they speak to me and open my heart".

The first is adapted from a phowa meditation that appears on page 215 of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche. The second is a prayer of Rumi's, and appears in the same book, at page 364. The third is from "Sun Days, Moon Days", a book by TZF's Anna which is now out of print.

[When reciting this prayer, our friend invokes the Presence of such Teachers as Ramakrishna, Padmasambhava, Holy Mother, and Vivekananda.]

Through your blessing, grace, and guidance, through the power of the light that streams from you:

May all my negative karma, destructive emotions, obscurations, and blockages be purified and removed,

Let love envelope all my self-grasping, yearning, and attachment,

May I forgive myself and know that I am forgiven for all the harm I may have thought and done,

May I forgive others for all the harm they may have thought and done against me,

May I accomplish this profound practice of phowa, and die a good and peaceful death,

And through the triumph of my death, may I be able to benefit all other beings, living or dead.

O love, O pure deep love, be here, be now
Be all; worlds dissolve into your stainless endless radiance,
Frail living leaves burn with you brighter than cold stars:
Make me your servant, your breath, your core.

My Beloved, help me to hold only Your thoughts.
Help me to think only of You.
Help me to remember You always.
Help me to remain in Your hands at all times, at all moments.
Help me to discipline the mind to remain firmly in Your grasp.
Help me to hear and see You in all things and to hear and see nothing else.
Help me to grow in strength with Your grace.
Teach me to know that You are with me always.
Show me Your face from moment to moment.