Ever Wonder What Buddhist Monks are Chanting?

To give you a tiny sampling, a flavor of what Theravada Buddhist monks chant every morning, following are a few stanzas of the Buddha's exact teachings in his native Pali language (with translations), which have been precisely kept intact by his order of monks for over 2500 years, or since three months after the Buddha's death. Chanting these words as a group insures that the words never become altered or embellished over the centuries, assuring that these words are what the Buddha actually spoke.

Jatipi dukkha jarapi dukkha maranampi dukkham. Birth is stressful, ageing is stressful, death is stressful,

Soka-parideva-dukkha-domanassupayasapi dukkha, Sorrow, lamentation. Pain, distress, and despair are stressful.

Appiyehi sampayogo dukkho piyehi vippayogo dukkho yamp iccham na labhati tampi dukkham Association with things disliked is stressful, separation from things liked is stressful, not getting what one wants is stressful,

Sankhittena pancpadanakkhnada dukkha, In short, the five aggregates for clinging are stressful.

Seyyathidam: Namely;

Rupupadanakkhandho, Bodily form as an aggregate of clinging,

Vedanupadanakkhandho, Feeling as an aggregate for clinging,

Sannupadanakkhandho, Perception as an aggregate for clinging,

Sankharupadanakkhandho Mental processes as an aggregate for clinging,

Vinnanupadanakkhando. Consciousness as an aggregate for clinging. nn. . . Rupam aniccam Bodily Form is inconsistent

Vedana anicca Feeling is inconsistent

Sanna anicca Perception is inconsistent

Sankhara anicca Mental processes are inconsistent

Vinnanam aniccam Consciousness is inconsistent

Rupam anatta Bodily form is not self

Vedana anatta Feeling is not self

Sanna anatta Perception is not self

Sankhara anatta Mental processes are not self

Vinnanam anatta Consciousness is not self

Sabbe sankhara anicca All processes are inconstant

Sabbe dhamma anattati All phenomena are not-self

Te mayam otinnamha jatiya jara-maranena, sokehi paridevehi dukkhehi domanassehi upayasehi, dukkh'otinna dukkha-pareta. All of us, beset by birth, ageing, and death, by sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, and despairs, beset by stress, overcome with stress

Appeva nam'imassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa antakiriya pannayethati O, that the end of this entire mass of suffering and stress might be known. nn(And then, of course, the Buddha, the great physician, goes on to tell us exactly how, step by step, to get beyond all of this)! n