Pray

Recently, I asked for prayers. Thank you.   ‘…not my will, but thine, be done.  And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.’     ~ Luke 22: 42-43

“…It doesn’t matter whom you’re praying to… asking for help allows the heart to open and invite the world in… Often we supplicate because we don’t know what to do. Praying can be a way of giving over to the mystery and movement of life. It expresses an acceptance that we don’t know everything and never will—that we only ever see a little piece of things. We don’t see the infinite web of interconnected relationships. Still, we have our part to play in that bigger picture, and everything we do in life matters. It takes a big mind to live in the heart of this paradox— to be awake and responsive while accepting the indeterminate nature of things. This is the spirit of prayer… Prayer helps us move forward with some sanity—a practice that helps us utilize the world to wake up…

We pray to be able to turn obstacles into fuel for enlightenment. We pray to cultivate a mind like a lotus, growing pure and upright out of the muddy water of delusion… our deepest prayer is to be firm in our determination to give ourselves completely to the … Way… however long the road seems to be… our further prayer is not to be extremely ill… So that we can quiet the mind to abandon the body and merge infinitely into the whole universe…

We pray to the whole that gives rise to, and has agency through, the many. We pray that enlightened qualities become our continual way of living, bringing benefit to us and all we encounter… may I be free from fear and anxiety. May I be at ease. May I be happy. We also recite vows… a kind of prayer-wrapped intention. Beings are numberless, I vow to free them… The way is unsurpassable, I vow to become it. In humility, we say, Please make me simple. Please make me free…

Our purest form of prayer is zazen… everything-that-is settles. Boundaries dissolve and we become light and transparent, completely receptive… each breath is the sacred… There is nothing lacking, nothing to ask for—except that everyone else be able to experience this perfect ease… When we pray, it’s important not to get caught up in magical thinking or to become attached to specific outcomes. Just praying is enough… rather than say “pray for,”… you might simply say, “I’m holding her in my thoughts”…

… the ultimate realization is boundless compassion and oneness. When we put our palms together, it is not just one pair of hands meeting palm to palm. Paying close attention, it is as if we can feel the gentle touch of our teacher herself, her palms gently caressing the back of our hands, helping bring our palms together, teaching us the feeling of boundless compassion and wisdom. In that moment, whether we live or die, achieve health or not, become “enlightened” or not becomes secondary to knowing the power of awakening is fully present—that everything we need is between our palms as we bow, that the working of great compassion is already unfolding, here and now. We can call that prayer if we like.”

~ Mark Unno is an ordained priest in the shin buddhist tradition and an associate professor of buddhism at the University of Oregon.