A Praise On The Twelve Exemplary Deeds Of The Lord Buddha
By Acarya Nagarjuna
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\ Homage to you, King of the Shakyas, whose body is radiant
\ like a mountain of gold; who, through compassion and skill in means,
\ took birth in the Shakyan clan and
\ vanquished the hosts of evil that others could not conquer.
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\ Homage to you who awakened first the resolve to attain enlightenment,
\ then fully perfected the accumulation of merit and
\ transcendental wisdom to become the protector
\ of living beings through your vast spiritual works in this age.
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\ Homage to you who, as the ruler of the gods, knew that the time
\ had come to bring the Law to living beings; descending from
\ the realms of celestial, you foresaw the clan into which you would
\ take birth and, like a great elephant, entered the womb of Mayadevi.
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\ Homage to you, Scion of the Shakya clan,
\ at whose birth in the grove of Lumbini ten full months thereafter,
\ Brahma and Shakra came to pay homage and Sages
\ proclaimed with certainty that you belong to the race of Great Beings.
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\ Homage to you, Incomparable One, who,
\ as a youthful, powerful Lion among men,
\ showed the miracle of Anga-maga-dhara and
\ deflated the pride of conceited persons.
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\ Homage to you who, through skill in means,
\ sustained a kingdom and assumed a retinue and
\ queen to accord with the customs of worldlings and
\ helped them to become free from errors.
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\ Homage to you who perceived that worldly affairs are insubstantial,
\ renounced the householder’s life and
\ went forth to accomplish the stages of renunciation
\ at each one of the immaculate Stupas.
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\ Homage to you who dwelt in austerity
\ for six years beside the Nairanjana River,
\ diligently intent on attaining enlightenment and
\ perfect in vigor, attained there the highest stage of meditation.
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\ Homage to you who, in order to bring fruit
\ to the efforts you made throughout beginningless time,
\ sat beneath the Bodhi Tree in Magadha and
\ awakened to Perfect Enlightenment.
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\ Homage to you who then quickly looked upon beings
\ with compassion and, at Varanasi and other holy places,
\ turned the Wheel of the Doctrine to help them also
\ (traverse to liberation by relying on) the Three Vehicles.
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\ Homage to you, Sage victorious in spiritual battle,
\ who vanquished the demons in the land of Khormo Jik and
\ put an end to the erroneous wranglings of Devadatta,
\ the six heretical sages and others.
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\ Homage to you who, with virtues unequalled in the three worlds,
\ manifested the Great Miracle at Shravasti and
\ cause the Doctrine to be greatly enhanced by the reverence of gods,
\ humans and all other beings.
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\ Homage to you who, to move lazy disciples to hasten their efforts,
\ manifested the perishing of your deathless,
\ adamantine Body at the pure abode of Kushinagara,
\ and passed beyond into Peace.
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\ Homage to you who left behind eight aspects of your Body and
\ many relics to show that, in Reality, you
\ had not perished and to help future beings
\ acquire merit through their worships.
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\ Through the merit of this brief eulogy
\ in praise of the deeds of the Blessed One,
\ our Master in the Holy Teaching, may all living beings
\ also become equal to the Buddha in their own works.
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\ May I and all living beings become like you,
\ O King of Shakyas, endowed with a form like yours,
\ a span of life like yours, a retinue like yours, a Pure Land like yours,
\ and marks of perfection like yours alone.
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(Written by Acarya Nagarjuna, a great scholar from Nalanda Monastery, who had found the important Mahayana school of thought – Madhyamaka school. He is also a famous yogin, and being one of the 84 Mahasiddhas of Indian Buddhism.)
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Prayers to request for blessings
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\ By the coming of the Teacher into the world,
\ by the sunshine-like glowing of the Teachings, and
\ by the concord of the Sangha, upholders of the Teaching and
\ disciples, may it be our good fortune that the Teaching long endures.
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\ By the force of praise and supplication to you,
\ in such places as I and others dwell,
\ I pray that illness, demons, poverty, and
\ conflict are pacified, Dharma and well-being increased.
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