Houn Hubert, O.B.C.
- Shasta Abbey -

When I was translating the texts for various ceremonies from the Soto-shu Gyoji Kihan (The Ceremonial Practices of the Soto Church) for possible inclusion in the Monastic Office book, there was one ceremony which Rev. Master Jiyu wanted to make available but decided not to include in that particular book since there was no set date or time for performing it. Known as The Ceremony of Setting Live Creatures Free, it is a service in which fish, birds, or other creatures that have been subject to entrapment are set free, the merits and virtues from which are transferred to the intention behind the wish to have the ceremony done. It is based on the Scripture of Brahma's Net (Bonmo-kyo) and the Scripture of Golden Light (Konkomyo-kyo).

Usually performed by the monk in charge of what is known as the Liberation Garden, the ceremony has been a part of Chinese Buddhist monastic practice from ancient times and was incorporated into the Japanese Soto Zen tradition at an early date. In China, the practice arose of pious laity purchasing animals (such as fish, turtles, and birds) which had been trapped in the wild and brought to market for sale as food. These creatures were brought to a Buddhist temple where they were given the Three Refuges and other Teaching by a monk, and then released. In the case of fish or turtles, this was often done in a special pond within the Liberation Garden inside the temple precincts. Domesticated animals that were specifically bred and raised as a food source, such as ducks and geese, however, were apparently not included, since these could not survive if set free in the wild and the monastery did not have the facilities to take care of them.

Because of interest in this ceremony, stimulated in part by a reference to it in The Scripture of Brahma's Net, it was felt that a form of the ceremony might be offered to lay Buddhists who wish to perform it in connection with some such act as `liberating' a dog or cat by getting one from the local pound and then caring for it. Similar acts could occur with, say, purchasing from a pet store a mouse - one intended to serve as food for a reptile -or a fish and then raising it as a pet, or taking a wounded creature to a wildlife shelter for such beings. Obviously, such forms of liberation do not include unlawful or irresponsible acts, such as setting loose zoo animals, breaking into an animal laboratory, or freeing in the wild any domesticated creature that cannot survive there.

Although in China and Japan the ceremony is customarily performed by the monk in charge of the Liberation Garden, the present form is suitable for any lay Buddhist, and may also be performed by a lay minister for someone requesting it. The full ceremony, as performed by a monk, is also available to laity upon request.

Use your home altar or set up a table altar at the site where the ceremony is to be conducted. Make the usual incense offering, and then recite the following three times:

Homage to the Lord of Great Graciousness and Teaching, the Great Master Shakyamuni Buddha, Who from His great benevolence and great compassion has pity for all sentient beings.

Looking up in respect to the Lord of Great Graciousness and Teaching, Great Master Shakyamuni Buddha, to the Highest Ancestor, Great Master Dogen, and to the Greatest Ancestor, Great Master Keizan, we pay homage to the Three Treasures in all the ten quarters. We pray that Their realization of the light of benevolence and compassion may guard and protect, care for and keep us. There are now creatures who are at the brink of death's door, having been ensnared in nets. For the sake of such wretched beings, I, the disciple [give your name], perform a Bodhisattva deed and, by giving rise to a heart of compassion and pity, conduct this act of setting this creature free that this act may be the cause of its having a longer life. By redeeming its bodily life, I seek to help it be free to roam where it will. Consequently, in accordance with the Universal and Far-reaching Scriptures of Mahayana, I confer upon it the Three Refuges. It should proclaim the twelve links in the chain of dependent origination but, because this type of sentient being originally was ignorant and unenlightened and, due to its creating of heavy karma, has now received its retribution, its six senses are dull and deluded and it is unable to comprehend the profound Teachings of these Universal and Far-reaching Scriptures. We respectfully ask that the wondrous spiritual powers, awesome virtues, and profound unseen aid of the Three Treasures through Their compassion and pity open up the heart and liberate the mind of this sentient being so that it will be able to respond swiftly to the profoundly marvellous Dharma and thereby alter its karmic retribution and receive a rebirth that will help it attain speedy liberation.

O you sentient being, from beginningless time you have failed to hear of the Three Treasures and have not understood how to take refuge. For that reason you turn upon samsara's wheel of transmigration as it spins out existences in the three realms of sense desire, form, and beyond form. You have now fallen into the body of an animal which your past lives have earned you. For your sake we have now informed the Three Treasures of your piteous state and pray that you endeavour to protect Them and keep yourself ever mindful of Them. Open up the hearts of your companions and free their minds.

I will now bestow upon you the extremely profound and wondrous Dharma of the One Body which is the Three Treasures. The Three Treasures are called Buddha which signifies `realization', Dharma which signifies `the Teaching' and Sangha which signifies `the harmony of those united in their spiritual one-mindedness'. These Three are the One; this One is the Three. They do not form a hierarchy nor are They equally ranked nor are They lined up in a sequence nor are They separate and distinct from each other. We call That which goes beyond the grasp of the discriminatory mind the Treasure House of Profound Wisdom. Whatever in the world and in that which transcends the world is supreme and most valued is called a treasure. When Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha are considered to be Treasures, all things will never fail to take refuge in Them. This is why we call Them the Three Treasures. Although the underlying Principle may extend far and wide, nevertheless when It is your pure Original Nature, It returns and is never far from you. You should have the deepest faith and trust in this Principle and take refuge in It. Homage to those who take refuge in the Buddha.

I take refuge in the Buddha,
I take refuge in the Dharma,
I take refuge in the Sangha.

From now henceforth, call upon the Buddha and make Him your teacher; do not take refuge in the pathways of Mara. Thus we pray

May the Three Treasures take pity on you and guide you.

You who are a sentient being related to water [land, or air], because your hindrances from beginningless karma are very grave, be mindful that you have fallen into an animal existence. Accordingly, for your own sake, turn now and be face to face with the Three Treasures, lay bare all your mistakes and, with an imploring heart, repent your mistakes. We pray that the karma from your defilements will be eradicated in an instant so that you can then be reborn in a heaven where, being close to a Buddha, you may receive your prediction of Buddhahood. As someone of water [land, or air] now and in the past, repent your mistakes with utmost heart and mind. Since beginningless time you have not awakened to your Original Nature and have turned upon the wheel of birth and death within various states of existence. Within, you have lacked the eye of discerning wisdom, and outside, you have associated with evil persons; you have opened the gates to self-indulgence, constructing the karma of birth and death by, for example, killing, stealing, lusting after things or fellow creatures, speaking falsely, bragging and boasting, speaking with a forked tongue, using malicious and spiteful language, being mean and miserly, giving rise to anger, or following twisted views. Moment after moment living in accord with the forty sorts of evil, you have still not abandoned them for a second, even going so far as to, say, spill the blood of a Buddha, disrupt the harmony and unity of the Sangha, slay an Arahant, kill or maim father, mother, Precepts master, or Dharma master, slander the Universal and Far-reaching Scriptures, or steal the belongings of the Sangha. You have broken the Pure Precepts, perhaps by having sullied the pure acts of others, cheated and deceived by using false measures and scales, made things appear as genuine through forgery and counterfeiting, become confused and addled through indulging in intoxicants, or committed all kinds of errors. You may have injured and wounded sentient beings, overindulged in food and drink, created untold defilements, or allied yourself with immeasurable enmities and hatreds. You have done things which have turned this body of yours upon samsara's wheel in all states of existence. Now, having fallen into rebirth as an animal you are receiving the retribution from your former lives, going from suffering to suffering without a season of freedom. Now, having encountered these teachings of the Mahayana Dharma, we pray that you will now repent your defilements, however boundless and heavy they are, as though you saw what the Buddha, the World-honoured One, sees and as though you knew what He knows. We pray that you bring your defilements to an end. We pray that you bring your defilements to an end.

We pray that, as a free being, you will not henceforth encounter entrapment in nets and snares, that you will live out the fullness of your years and that, after the end of your life, you will be reborn in the Trayastrimsha realms, experience heavenly joyfulness, and have the Buddhas who appear in your realms graciously bestow upon you their relating of the Universal and Far-reaching Scriptures. At this ceremony we have heard this Dharma once again. As your heart awakens to the Unborn, you, equally and without the slightest difference, will personally receive the Buddha's prediction of Buddhahood just as the Blazing Lord of Awesome Virtue did. We earnestly wish this as we release you, the disciple [name of the animal]. From today on, your actions and resolve to realize enlightenment moment after moment will increase in brightness. Let the rescuing of sentient beings from suffering be as though always in your thoughts and, by means of this, may you be able to be reborn where the heart is at peace and the body provided for, where you see the Buddhas and the various Holy Assemblies and quickly realize the Unborn so that you may then divide up your life in myriad realms helping sentient beings far and wide cross to the Other Shore and likewise perfect the all-knowing wisdom of a Buddha.

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