Chanting the Shiseige / Juseige

Just as the Heart Sutra is chanted by a very wide swath of the Buddhist community in the world, within the Pure Land Buddhist community¹ there is another liturgy that’s similar in length and popular in Japanese Buddhism called the juseigé (重誓偈), shiseigé (四誓偈) or rarely the sanseigé (三誓偈). These names mean something along the lines of the “hymn of the grave [as in important] vows [of Amitabha Buddha]”, “hymn of the four [or three] vows [of Amitabha Buddha]” and so on.

This liturgy is actually a small excerpt of an influential Buddhist sutra called the Immeasurable Life Sutra, also known as the Larger Sukhavativyuha Sutra, the largest of the three Pure Land Sutras. These sutras are so called because of their central importance to the tradition. However, two out of three of these sutras are simply too long for lay people recite in whole (unlike the Heart Sutra above), so people often just recite key verses instead.

In any case, the Immeasurable Life Sutra goes in great detail about the origins of Amitabha Buddha (also called Amida Buddha in Japanese), his 48 vows to aid all beings, aspects of the Pure Land that Amitabha created and why one would want to go there. It also, provides a nice overview of Buddhist teachings overall, so in my opinion, it’s a handy, self-contained Buddhist text.

The Forty Eight Vows are central to Amitabha Buddha’s “origin story” (a la the Marvel Cinematic Universe), and are beyond the scope of this blog post.

However, in the sutra, what follows right after the forty eight vows is a short series of verses by aspiring buddha-to-be, proclaiming his lofty and grand vows, summarizing his intent to liberate all beings and provide a refuge for them. These verses were later turned to a liturgy chanted by various Pure Land groups in Japan as a devotional to Amitabha.

While being a member of the Buddhist Churches of America,² the American branch of the Jodo Shinshu tradition, I can’t tell you how many times I chanted this liturgy during Sunday services. I can practically do it from memory. Here’s a nice Youtube example provided by Tsukiji Honganji,³ one of my favorite Shinshu temples in Japan, located in the heart of Tokyo:

For people who aren’t part of a Buddhist community, I have created a PDF file to help you chant the verses of the Juseige / Shiseige. Please use it, and refer to Youtube videos and other sources for how to chant. I was surprised to learn that someone actually made a Sanskrit version too, since the Immeasurable Life Sutra was originally translated from Sanskrit to Chinese.

I have also provided it below for reference:

Original Chinese	Romanization	Translation by Hisao Inagaki
我建超世願 必至無上道 斯願不満足 誓不成正覚	Ga gon cho se gan Hish-shi mu jo do Shi gan fu man zoku Sei fu jo sho gaku	I have made vows, unrivaled in all the world; I shall certainly reach the unsurpassed Way. If these vows should not be fulfilled, May I not attain perfect enlightenment.
我於無量劫 不為大施主 普済諸貧苦 誓不成正覚	Ga o mu ryo ko Fu I dai se shu Fu sai sho bin gu Sei fu jo sho gaku	If I should not become a great benefactor In lives to come for immeasurable kalpas [eons] To save the poor and afflicted everywhere, May I not attain perfect enlightenment.
我至成仏道 名声超十方 究竟靡所聞 誓不成正覚	Ga shi jo butsu do Myo sho cho jip-po Ku kyo mi sho mon Sei fu jo sho gaku	When I attain Buddha, My Name will be heard throughout the ten directions; Should there be any place where it is not heard, May I not attain perfect enlightenment.
離欲深正念 浄慧修梵行 志求無上道 為諸天人師	Ri yoku jin sho nen Jo e shu bon gyo Shi gu mu jo do I sho ten nin shin	Free of greed and with profound mindfulness And pure wisdom; I will perform the sacred practices; I will seek to attain the unsurpassed Way, And become the teacher of devas [gods] and humans
神力演大光 普照無際土 消除三垢冥 広済衆厄難	Jin riki en dai ko Fu sho mu sai do Sho jo san ku myo Ko sai shu yaku nan	With my divine power I will display great light, Illuminating the worlds without limit, And dispel the darkness of the three defilements [greed, anger, delusion]; Thus I will deliver all beings from misery.
開彼智慧眼 滅此昏盲闇 閉塞諸悪道 通達善趣門	Kai hi chi e gen Mes-shi kon mo an Hei soku sho aku do Tsu datsu zen shu mon	Having obtained the eye of wisdom, I will remove the darkness of ignorance; I will block all evil paths And open the gate to the good realms [of rebirth]
功祚成満足 威耀朗十方 日月戢重暉 天光隠不現	Ko so jo man zoku I yo ro jip-po Nichi gatsu shu ju ki Ten ko on pu gen	When merits and virtues are perfected, My majestic light will radiate in the ten directions, Outshining the sun and moon And surpassing the brilliance of the heavens.
為衆開法蔵 広施功徳宝 常於大衆中 説法師子吼	I shu kai ho zo Ko se ku doku ho Jo o dai shu ju Sep-po shi shi ku	I will open the Dharma storehouse for the multitudes And endow them all with the treasures of merit. Being always among the multitudes, I will proclaim the Dharma with the lion’s roar.
供養一切仏 具足衆徳本 願慧悉成満 得為三界雄	Ku yo is-sai butsu Go soku shu toku hon Gan e shitsu jo man Toku I san gai o	I will make offerings to all the Buddhas, Thereby acquiring roots of virtue. When my vows are fulfilled and wisdom perfected, I shall be the sovereign of the three worlds [i.e. of samsara].
如仏無碍智 通達靡不照 願我功慧力 等此最勝尊	Nyo butsu mu ge chi Tsu datsu mi fu sho Gan ga ku e riki To shi sai sho son	Like your unhindered wisdom, O Buddha, Mine shall reach everywhere, illuminating all; May my supreme wisdom Be like yours, Most Honored One.
斯願若剋果 大千応感動 虚空諸天人 当雨珍妙華	Shi gan nyak-kok-ka Dai sen o kan do Ko ku sho ten nin To u chin myo ke	If these vows are to be fulfilled, Let this universe of a thousand million worlds quake in response And let all the devas in heaven Rain down rare and marvelous flowers.

For me, I tend to rotate between chanting the juseige / shiseige and the Heart Sutra. One day, I’ll chant the Heart Sutra in my daily service, the next day the Juseige, back and forth. I like covering both bases.

Finally, the BCA Bookstore (a great site) sells a kind of “starter kit” for new Buddhists that is only $5. It includes an image of Amitabha Buddha and a laminated card for chanting the Juseige. I have purchased this in the past and definitely recommend.

The Buddhist tradition of chanting verses during home services, or in community services, is not limited to whole sutras. It’s quite common in many communities to chant important excerpts, whether these come from the Pali Canon, the Mahayana Canon or whatever. Recitation is a great practice to help internalize teachings, and generates good merit for oneself and others.

Good luck and happy chanting!

Namu Amida Butsu
Namu Kanzeon Bosatsu

¹ At least, in the Japanese Pure Land Buddhist community. I poked around Google and wasn’t able to find comparable liturgy in Chinese Buddhism. They do discuss it quite a bit in Buddhist websites, but it’s not clear to me if it’s chanted or not. It’s possible people just chant other comparable liturgy instead.

² While I am not an active member anymore, my kids grew up there and I have many fond memories of the Japanese-American community, and the many friends I still keep in touch with. 10/10 definitely would recommend to anyone. My disagreements with Jodo Shinshu theologically do not impact my positive experiences with the community.

³ Official homepage in Japanese and English.