The Juseige, Shiseige

In Japanese Pure Land Buddhism, namely Jodo Shinshu and Jodo Shu, one of the most popular chants in religious services is a certain excerpt of the Larger Immeasurable Life Sutra, or daimuryōjukyō (大無量壽經). This excerpt is called the jūseige (重誓偈) or shiseige (四誓偈). In Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, it is called the Juseige meaning “Hymn of the Grave/Serious Vow”, while in Jodo Shu it’s called the Shiseige meaning the “Hymn of the Four Vows”.

The text below is based off of a Jodo Shu prayer book I brought back from Japan recently. The pronunciation of some characters varies just slightly from other online versions I’ve seen, but don’t despair. Many characters have multiple readings, so just use whichever version you’re familiar with. Because this text is so short, people sometimes chant it more than once in a single session, but the number is up to you. Choose what suits you. Feel free to print this out and use it on your own time. Enjoy!

Can’t read the characters?

If you’re having trouble reading the Kanji characters, you might have one or two problems with your computer:

• Your computer may not have Asian fonts installed. In Windows you have to enable UTF8 and East Asian fonts under the Control Panel. Modern Mac computers are fully compatible already.
• Your browser may be assuming the wrong character set. If you use a relatively modern browser and use UTF8 as character set, you should be able to read fine. IE, Firefox and Safari all read this fine as far as I can tell.

Even if not, then you can still use the romanized characters. Also check out this excellent page for more information.

Disclaimer and Legal Info

I hereby release this into the public domain. Please use it as you see fit, but if you attribute it to this site, greatly appreciated. Also, please bear in mind this is an amateur work, and should not be taken too seriously.

Dedication

I dedicate this effort to all sentient beings everywhere. May all beings be well, and may they all attain perfect peace.

Namu Amida Butsu

Translation

A translation of this text can be found here.

The Juseige / Shiseige

我	建	超	世	願
Ga	gon	cho	se	gan
必	至	無	上	道
his —	shi	mu	jo	do
斯	願	不	満	足
shi	gan	fu	man	zoku
誓	不	成	正	覚
sei	fu	jo	sho	gaku
我	於	無	量	劫
ga	o	mu	ryo	ko
不	為	大	施	主
fu	i	dai	se	shu
普	済	諸	貧	苦
fu	sai	sho	bin	gu
誓	不	成	正	覚
sei	fu	jo	sho	gaku
我	至	成	仏	道
ga	shi	jo	butsu	do
名	声	超	十	方
myo	sho	cho	jip —	po
究	竟	靡	所	聞
ku	kyo	mi	sho	mon
誓	不	成	正	覚
sei	fu	jo	sho	gaku
離	欲	深	正	念
ri	yoku	jin	sho	nen
浄	慧	修	梵	行
jo	e	shu	bon	gyo
志	求	無	上	道
shi	gu	mu	jo	do
為	諸	天	人	師
i	sho	ten	nin	shi
神	力	演	大	光
jin	riki	en	dai	ko
普	照	無	際	土
fu	sho	mu	sai	do
消	除	三	垢	冥
sho	jo	san	ku	myo
広	済	衆	厄	難
ko	sai	shu	yaku	nan
開	彼	智	慧	眼
kai	hi	chi	e	gen
滅	此	昏	盲	闇
mes —	shi	kon	mo	an
閉	塞	諸	悪	道
hei	soku	sho	aku	do
通	達	善	趣	門
tsu	datsu	zen	ju	mon
功	祚	成	満	足
ku	so	jo	man	zoku
威	曜	朗	十	方
i	yo	ro	jip —	po
日	月	収	重	暉
nichi	gas —	shu	ju	ki
天	光	隠	不	現
ten	ko	on	pu	gen
為	衆	開	法	蔵
i	shu	kai	ho	zo
広	施	功	徳	宝
ko	se	ku	doku	ho
常	於	大	衆	中
jo	o	dai	shu	ju
説	法	師	子	吼
sep —	po	shi	shi	ku
供	養	一	切	仏
ku	yo	is —	sai	butsu
具	足	衆	徳	本
gu	soku	shu	toku	hon
願	慧	悉	成	満
gan	ne	shitsu	jo	man
得	為	三	界	雄
toku	i	san	kai	o
如	仏	無	礙	智
nyo	butsu	mu	ge	chi
通	達	靡	不	照
tsu	datsu	mi	fu	sho
願	我	功	慧	力
gan	ga	ku	e	riki
等	此	最	勝	尊
to	shi	sai	sho	son
斯	願	若	剋	果
shi	gan	nyak —	kok —	ka
大	千	応	感	動
dai	sen	o	kan	do
虚	空	諸	天	人
ko	ku	sho	ten	nin
当	雨	珍	妙	華
to	u	chin	myo	ke

Chanting

There are a number of styles used for chanting the Juseige / Shiseige. One excellent audio recording can be found here. In Jodo Shinshu, after chanting the Juseige, followers then chant the nembutsu 6 times slow and then dedicate the merit to all beings. In Jodo Shu tradition, sometimes a small 4-line chant called the honzeige (Hymn of the Original Vow) is chanted, followed by reciting the nembutsu 10 times. See what your local temple does, or just try something yourself.