Morning prayers
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Prayers and Practices 
Jan 25, 2003 Setting a positive motivation the first thing in the morning is very beneficial. When we first wake up, our minds are very subtle and delicate. If we set a strong positive motivation at this time, there is a greater chance of it staying with us and influencing us throughout the day. By starting the day this way, we get in touch with ourselves and become our own friend by treasuring and reinforcing our good qualities.
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Refuge
Guru is Buddha, Guru is Dharma. Guru is Sangha also. Guru is the source of all (goodness and happiness.) To all Gurus, I go for refuge.1 (3x)
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Generating the altruistic intention
To accomplish my own and others’ aims, I generate the altruistic intention to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. (3x)
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Purifying the place
Everywhere may the ground be pure, free of the roughness of pebbles and so forth. May it be the nature of lapis and as smooth as the palm of one’s hand.
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Offering prayer
May offering substances human and divine, those actual and those which are emanated, unsurpassed Samantabhadra clouds of offerings fill the entire space.
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Offering dharani
om namo bhagavate bendzay sarwaparma dana tathagataya arhate samyaksam buddhaya tayata om bendzay bendzay maha bendzay maha taydza bendzay maha bidya bendzay maha bodhicitta bendzay maha bodhi mendo pasam kramana bendzay sarwa karma awarana bisho dana bendzay soha
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Power of the truth
By the power of the truth of the Three Jewels, the power of the inspiration of all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, the power of the great might of the completed two collections, and the power of the intrinsically pure and inconceivable sphere of reality, may (these offerings) become suchness.
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Invocation
Protector of all beings without exception, divine subduer of innumerable negative forces, deity, perfect knower of all things, Bhagavan and attendants, please come here.
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Prostration mantra
om namo manjushriye namo sushriye namo uttama shriye soha (3x)
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Homage to the Buddha
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To the guru and founder, the endowed transcendent destroyer, the one gone beyond, the foe destroyer, the completely perfected, fully-awakened being, the glorious conqueror, the subduer from the Shakya clan, I prostrate, go for refuge and make offerings. Please inspire me. (3x)
There are three objects of refuge: the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. The Guru is not a fourth refuge. Guru refers to the blissful omniscient minds of all the Buddhas, and thus encompasses all three refuges. The blissful omniscient mind, which is purified of all obscurations and has developed its good qualities completely, is the Buddha. By being the true path and true cessation, it is the Dharma. By directly realizing emptiness, it is the Sangha ↩
Venerable Thubten Chodron
Venerable Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1977 by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India, and in 1986 she received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan. Read her full bio.
