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The Gathas of Thich Nhat Hanh - small sayings to use in your daily life that invoke peace & joy

Embracing Mindfulness Through Gathas

Gathas are small poems or phrases that enrich our meditation routines, providing mindful reminders for everyday activities. These simple expressions can be adapted for various moments throughout the day—whether it’s waking up, turning on a light, or driving.

The Importance of Gathas

Renowned Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh popularized the use of gathas to cultivate mindfulness. By focusing on the present moment, we can appreciate the beauty and wonders around us—a child’s smile, the sun rising, or the autumn leaves. Memorizing these gathas can help anchor our awareness in daily life.


As you recite a gatha, breathe in with the first line and breathe out with the second. Continue your activity afterward, and you’ll notice a deepened sense of mindfulness. Much like how road signs guide us while driving, gathas can support us in living with awareness throughout our day.


Gathas for Everyday Activities


Morning Routine

  1. Waking Up:Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at beings with eyes of compassion.

  2. Taking the First Steps of the Day:Walking on the Earth is a miracle! Each mindful step reveals the wondrous Dharmakaya.

  3. Stepping out of Bed:If today I inadvertently step on a small insect, may it not suffer too much. May it be liberated. Homage to the Bodhisattva of the Land of Great Happiness.

  4. Opening the Window:Opening the window, I look out onto the Dharmakaya. How wondrous is life! Attentive to each moment, my mind is clear like a calm river.

  5. Turning on the Water:Water comes from high mountain sources. Water runs deep in the Earth. Miraculously, water comes to us and sustains all life. My gratitude is filled to the brim.

  6. Washing Your Hands:Water flows over these hands. May I use them skillfully to preserve our precious planet.

  7. Brushing Your Teeth:Brushing my teeth and rinsing my mouth, I vow to speak purely and lovingly. When my mouth is fragrant with right speech, a flower blooms in the garden of my heart.

  8. Rinsing Your Mouth:Rinsing my mouth, my heart is cleansed. The universe is perfumed by flowers. Actions of body, speech, and mind are calmed.

  9. Using the Toilet:Defiled or immaculate, increasing or decreasing—these concepts exist only in our mind. The reality of interbeing is unsurpassed.

  10. Bathing:Unborn and indestructible, beyond time and space—both transmission and inheritance lie in the wonderful nature of Dharmadhatu. Dharmadhatu is a Sanskrit term that refers to the realm of the Dharma, or Absolute Reality.


Mindful Actions

  1. Looking in the Mirror:Awareness is a mirror reflecting the four elements. Beauty is a heart that generates love and a mind that is open.

  2. Washing Your Feet:The peace and joy of one toe is peace and joy for my whole body.

  3. Putting on the Monk’s/Nun’s Robe:Putting on this monk’s/nun’s robe, my heart is at ease. I live a life of freedom, bringing joy to the world.

  4. Putting on the Sanghati Robe:How wonderful is the robe of a nun (monk), a field of precious seeds. I vow to receive it and wear it lifetime after lifetime.

  5. Entering the Meditation Hall:Entering the meditation hall, I see my true self. As I sit down, I vow to cut off all disturbances.

  6. Sitting Down:Sitting here is like sitting under a Bodhi tree. My body is mindfulness itself, free from all distraction.

  7. Finding a Stable Posture:In the lotus posture, the human flower blooms. The udumbara flower is here, offering its true fragrance.

  8. Calming the Breath:Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is a wonderful moment!

  9. Adjusting Posture:Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.

  10. Greeting Someone:A lotus for you, a Buddha to be.


Compassionate Offerings

  1. Holding the Alms’ Bowl:The bowl of the Tathagata is in my two hands. Giver, receiver, and gift held in perfect oneness.

  2. Blessing the Offering to the Hungry:The ways of the Awakened One are wondrous. His limitless compassion transforms seven grains of rice into food enough for everyone.

  3. Offering to the Hungry:Great garuda bird, hungry spirits in immense wastelands, mother and child starving in the desert, the balm of compassion satisfies all their hunger.

  4. Before Eating:The Buddha advises us to be mindful while we eat, to be in touch with the Sangha and the food. Brothers and sisters, when you hear the bell, meditate on the Five Contemplations: This food is the gift of the whole universe—the earth, the sky, and much hard work. May we be worthy to receive it.

  5. Holding the Empty Bowl:Looking at this bowl, I see how fortunate I am to have enough to eat to continue the practice.

  6. Serving Food:In this food, I see clearly the entire universe supporting my existence.

  7. Before Eating:Beings all over the Earth are struggling to live. I aspire to practice deeply so all may have enough to eat.

  8. Beginning to Eat:With the first taste, I offer joy. With the second, I help relieve the suffering of others. With the third, I see others’ joy as my own. With the fourth, I learn the way of letting go.

  9. Looking at Your Plate or Bowl after Eating:The meal is finished, and I am satisfied. The four gratitudes are deeply in my mind.

  10. Bathing the Buddha:Today we bathe the Tathagata. So much happiness comes from awakened understanding. We have drifted a long time in the three realms.


Inviting Mindfulness

  1. Inviting the Bell to Sound (Version 1):Body, speech, and mind held in perfect oneness, I send my heart along with the sound of the bell. May the hearers awaken from forgetfulness and transcend all anxiety and sorrow.

  2. Inviting the Bell (Version 2):May the sound of this bell penetrate deeply into the cosmos. In even the darkest spots, may living beings hear it clearly.

  3. Inviting the Bell (Version 3):May the sound of this bell penetrate deeply into the cosmos so that beings, even those in dark places, may hear it and be free from birth and death.

  4. Listening to the Bell (Version 1):Listen, listen, this wonderful sound brings me back to my true home.

  5. Listening to the Bell (Version 2):Listening to the bell, I feel my afflictions begin to dissolve. My mind is calm, my body relaxed, a smile is born on my lips.

  6. Listening to the Bell (Version 3):Hearing the bell, I am able to let go of all my afflictions. My heart is calm, my sorrows ended.

  7. Morning Meditation:The Dharmakaya is bringing morning light. Sitting still, my heart at peace, I smile. This is a new day.

  8. Evening Meditation:At the foot of the Bodhi tree, I keep my back straight and my posture stable. Body, speech, and mind are calmed.

  9. Impermanence:The day is ending and our life is one day shorter. Let us practice diligently, putting our whole heart into the path of meditation.

  10. Praising the Buddha:The Buddha jewel shines infinitely. He has realized perfect enlightenment for countless lifetimes.

  11. Praising the Dharma:The Dharma jewel is infinitely lovely. It is the precious words spoken by the Buddha himself, like fragrant flowers.

  12. Praising the Sangha:The Sangha jewel is infinitely precious, a field of merit where good seeds can be sown.

  13. Breathing (Version 1):Going back to the island of self, I see Buddha is my mindfulness shining near, shining far.

  14. Breathing (Version 2):Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.

  15. Breathing (Version 3):I have arrived. I am home in the here, in the now. I am solid. I am free.

  16. Smiling at Your Anger:*Breathing in, I know that anger makes me not beautiful


  1. Smiling at Your Anger:Breathing in, I know that anger makes me not beautiful. Breathing out, I smile. I stay with my breathing so I won’t lose myself.

  2. Turning on the Computer:Turning on the computer, my mind gets in touch with the store. I vow to transform habit energies to help love and understanding grow.

  3. Driving the Car:Before starting the car, I know where I’m going. The car and I are one. If the car goes fast, I go fast.

  4. Making a Short Journey Safely:Two-thirds of accidents take place near home. Knowing this, I am very careful even on a short trip.

  5. Looking at the Buddha Image before Touching the Earth:In the realm of suchness, the one who bows and the one who is bowed to are equally empty of a separate self. With deep respect, I bow to Buddha in this spirit.

  6. Drinking Tea:This cup of tea in my two hands, mindfulness held perfectly. My mind and body dwell in the very here and now.

  7. Watering the Plants:Don’t think you are cut off, dear plant. This water comes to you from the Earth and sky. You and I have been together since beginningless time.

  8. Looking at My Hand:Whose hand is this that has never died? Has anyone been born? Will anyone die?

  9. Using the Telephone:Words can travel thousands of miles. May my words create mutual understanding and love. May they be as beautiful as gems, as lovely as flowers.

  10. Watering the Garden:The sunshine and the water have brought about this luxurious vegetation. The rain of compassion and understanding can transform the dry desert into a vast fertile plain.

  11. Walking Meditation:The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace. With each step, a cool wind blows. With each step, a flower blooms.

  12. Turning on the Light:Forgetfulness is the darkness, mindfulness is the light. I bring awareness to shine upon all life.

  13. Washing Vegetables:In these vegetables I see a green sun. All dharmas join together to make life possible.

  14. Gardening:Earth brings us to life and nourishes us. Earth takes us back again. We are born and we die with every breath.

  15. Planting a Tree:I entrust myself to Earth; Earth entrusts herself to me. I entrust myself to Buddha; Buddha entrusts herself to me.

  16. Cleaning the Bathroom:How wonderful to scrub and clean. Day by day, my heart and mind grow clearer.

  17. Sweeping:As I carefully sweep the ground of enlightenment, a tree of understanding springs up from the Earth.

  18. Cleaning the Meditation Hall:As I clean this fresh, calm room, boundless joy and energy arise!

  19. Throwing Out the Garbage:In the garbage, I see a rose. In the rose, I see compost. Everything is in transformation. Impermanence is life.

  20. Cutting a Flower:May I cut you, little flower, gift of Earth and sky? Thank you, dear bodhisattva, for making life so beautiful.

  21. Arranging Flowers:Arranging these flowers in the saha world, the ground of my mind is calm and pure.

  22. Changing Water in a Vase:Water keeps the flower fresh. The flower and I are one. When the flower breathes, I breathe. When the flower smiles, I smile.

  23. Lighting a Candle:Lighting this candle, I offer the light to countless Buddhas; the peace and the joy I feel brighten the face of the Earth.


Conclusion

Incorporating gathas into your daily routine can transform mundane activities into moments of mindfulness. By practicing these expressions, we cultivate a deeper connection to ourselves and the world around us, fostering compassion and awareness in every moment. Consider starting with a few and gradually adding more as your practice deepens. Embrace the beauty of each moment through these simple yet profound reminders. you can even make your own ♡ - AJ

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