[eBook] Prayers of the Heart

Introduction

"May all people's hearts be purified; may all societies be in harmony; and may the world be free of disasters." 

Year after year, Dharma Master Cheng Yen offers these three prayers. In this book, she shares how her three prayers can become reality--by practicing good speech, doing good deeds and making good vows.

Through good speech, we can purify people's hearts. Positive words bring blessings, and negative words bring misfortune. If we hope to purify people's hearts, we must constantly speak good words as a way of blessing ourselves and others. Practicing good deeds brings harmony to society. The state of society depends on every individual; if everyone performs good deeds, then society will naturally be harmonious. Good vows have the power to eliminate disasters from the world. Forming aspirations brings blessings, and making vows brings strength. If all our thoughts and efforts are oriented toward goodness, and our prayers are followed by great aspirations and vows, we can eliminate the negative collective karma of sentient beings and, thus, free the world from disasters.

Master Cheng Yen hopes that everyone continue to create good conditions and nurture good affinities every day, every hour, and every second. If we can always be mindful of doing this, the world will be free from disasters, all societies will be in harmony, and every family will live in peace. Then everyone will be blessed!

About Author

Dharma Master Cheng Yen was born in 1937 in a small town in Taichung County, Taiwan. When she was twenty-three years old, she left home to become a Buddhist nun, and was instructed by her mentor, Venerable Master Yin Shun, to work “for Buddha’s teachings, for sentient beings.” In 1966, she founded a charity, which later turned into the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, to “help the poor and educate the rich”—to give material aid to the needy and inspire love and humanity in both givers and recipients.


In recent years, Master Cheng Yen’s contributions have been increasingly recognized by the global community. In 2011, she was recognized with the Roosevelt Institute’s FDR Distinguished Public Service Award and was named to the 2011 TIME 100 list of the world’s most influential people. In 2014, she was presented with Rotary International’s Award of Honor in recognition of her humanitarian efforts and contributions to world peace.