Chant Traditional
Homage to the Buddha
Namo tassa
The homage that opens nearly every chanting session: to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Self-Awakened One.
The texts
Words worth returning to
The Buddha's discourses, the chants of the forest monasteries, and verses to carry through the day — in the Pāli and in English, side by side wherever we can.
Chant Traditional · Khp 1
The Three Refuges
Tisaraṇa
Going for refuge to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha — the step that sets one on the Buddha's way.
Chant Traditional
The Five Precepts
Pañcasīla
The five training rules at the heart of a lay Buddhist life: not harming, not stealing, restraint, truthfulness, and a clear mind.
Chant Traditional · e.g. AN 11.11
Recollection of the Triple Gem
Buddhānussati · Dhammānussati · Saṅghānussati
The qualities of the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha, chanted every morning and evening in the monasteries — and a meditation in its own right.
Sutta Sn 1.8 · Khp 9
The Discourse on Loving-kindness
Karaṇīyamettā Sutta
The Buddha's verses on loving-kindness: the qualities of one who seeks peace, and a heart without limit toward every being — among the best-loved chants of the Thai monasteries.
Chant AN 5.57
Five Things to Reflect On Often
Abhiṇhapaccavekkhaṇa
Five facts to remember every day — ageing, illness, death, separation, and that we inherit our own actions.
Verse Dhp 1–2
Mind Goes Before All Things
Yamakavagga
The Dhammapada's first two verses: everything we do is led by the mind, and what follows depends on the state it's in.
Verse Dhp 5
Hatred Is Never Ended by Hatred
Na hi verena verāni
Four lines from the Dhammapada on how enmity ends — not by more of itself.
Verse Dhp 183–185
The Teaching of the Buddhas
Ovāda Pāṭimokkha
The whole of the teaching in three verses — not doing evil, doing good, purifying the mind — remembered each year on Māgha Pūjā.
Sutta SN 56.11
Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion
Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
The Buddha's first teaching: the middle way between indulgence and self-torment, and the four noble truths. Remembered each year on Āsāḷha Pūjā.
Sutta AN 3.65
Know for Yourselves
Kālāma Sutta
The Buddha's advice to the Kālāmas, visited by one teacher after another: how to tell for yourself which teachings to take up.
Reflection DN 16
The Last Words
Pacchimā vācā
What the Buddha said last, at Kusinārā, before his final passing: everything conditioned passes away — so strive on.
Chant DN 16
Their Stilling Is Happiness
Aniccā vata saṅkhārā
Four lines on impermanence, spoken at the Buddha's passing and chanted at Thai funerals ever since.
Sutta MN 118
Mindfulness of Breathing
Ānāpānassati Sutta
The Buddha's teaching on mindfulness of breathing in sixteen steps — body, feeling, mind, and insight — the backbone of meditation in the forest tradition.