Sixteen verses of salutation, four each to the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha, closing by dedicating the merit of having made them.
- When chanted
- Chanted in the morning service after the three praises, sharing one invitation with the passage on urgency that follows it.
A note on this chant. The book prints this chant in Pali only, with no Thai translation. The English here is a working translation prepared for this edition — it is not the book's own, and has not yet been checked by a teacher.
Historical background
This is the first chant on these pages whose title the book actually prints, centred and in bold. It is also the first in metre rather than prose: where the praises before it accumulate clauses, these move in stanzas of four lines — three of description and one of response.
The verses are a composition rather than a canonical passage, and their vocabulary is more ornamented than the formulas that precede them: the Buddha as กะรุณามะหัณณะโว, a great ocean of compassion, the Dhamma as ปะทีโป วิยะ, like a lamp. The figures are the work of a poet drawing on the tradition rather than a text being quoted.
The three section labels inside this chant are editorial, added for this edition. The book separates the salutations by layout alone and prints no headings between them.
Meaning and purpose
Each of the three salutations is built the same way: three lines of description, then the same closing line with one word changed — วันทามิ พุทธัง, วันทามิ ธัมมัง, วันทามิ สังฆัง, I revere that Buddha, that Dhamma, that Sangha, อะหะมาทะเรนะ, with devotion. The repetition makes the three parallel without stating that they are, and a reciter arrives at the same act three times having come by three different roads.
The images are chosen to say what each one does. The Buddha is an ocean of compassion whose eye of knowledge is purified — capacity and sight. The Dhamma is a lamp: not the destination but what makes the way visible, and the verse then divides it into path, fruit and the Deathless — the practice, its results, and what lies beyond both. The Sangha is a field surpassing all fields, and those in it have seen peace and awakened after the Well-Gone One, followers rather than originators.
The last stanza changes register entirely. Having made the salutations, it asks that the merit of having made them clear away obstacles. This is a dedication, and it is why the chant sits where it does: the reverence just offered is not left as a feeling but turned into something with a use, so that the passage which follows can begin from a mind already settled.
The chant
As the book prints it: page 3 and page 4 →
หันทะ มะยัง ระตะนัตตะยัปปะณามะคาถาโย เจวะ สังเวคะปะริกิตตะนะปาฐัญจะ ภะณามะ เส.
Handa mayaṃ ratanattayappaṇāma-gāthāyo ceva saṃvega-parikittana-pāṭhañca bhaṇāma se.
Now let us recite the verses in salutation to the Triple Gem, and the passage on spiritual urgency.
พุทโธ: Salutation to the Buddha
พุทโธ สุสุทโธ กะรุณามะหัณณะโว,
Buddho susuddho karuṇā-mahaṇṇavo,
The Buddha, utterly pure, a great ocean of compassion,
โยจจันตะสุทธัพพะระญาณะโลจะโน,
Yoccanta-suddhabbara-ñāṇa-locano,
whose eye of knowledge is wholly purified,
โลกัสสะ ปาปูปะกิเลสะฆาตะโก,
Lokassa pāpūpakilesa-ghātako,
destroyer of the world's evil and defilement:
วันทามิ พุทธัง อะหะมาทะเรนะ ตัง.
Vandāmi buddhaṃ ahamādarena taṃ.
I revere that Buddha with devotion.
ธัมโม: Salutation to the Dhamma
ธัมโม ปะทีโป วิยะ ตัสสะ สัตถุโน,
Dhammo padīpo viya tassa satthuno,
The Dhamma, like a lamp of that Teacher,
โย มัคคะปากามะตะเภทะภินนะโก,
Yo maggapākāmata-bheda-bhinnako,
divided into path, fruit and the Deathless,
โลกุตตะโร โย จะ ตะทัตถะทีปะโน,
Lokuttaro yo ca tadattha-dīpano,
transcendent, and that which points to its meaning:
วันทามิ ธัมมัง อะหะมาทะเรนะ ตัง.
Vandāmi dhammaṃ ahamādarena taṃ.
I revere that Dhamma with devotion.
สังโฆ: Salutation to the Sangha
สังโฆ สุเขตตาภ๎ยะติเขตตะสัญญิโต,
Saṅgho sukhettābhyatikhetta-saññito,
The Sangha, called a field of merit surpassing all fields,
โย ทิฏฐะสันโต สุคะตานุโพธะโก,
Yo diṭṭhasanto sugatānubodhako,
who have seen peace, awakening after the Well-Gone One,
โลลัปปะหีโน อะริโย สุเมธะโส,
Lolappahīno ariyo sumedhaso,
free of craving, noble and wise:
วันทามิ สังฆัง อะหะมาทะเรนะ ตัง.
Vandāmi saṅghaṃ ahamādarena taṃ.
I revere that Sangha with devotion.
อิจเจวะมะ: The Dedication
อิจเจวะเมกันตะภิปูชะเนยยะกัง,
Iccevamekantabhipūjaneyyakaṃ,
Thus this triple object, wholly worthy of offering,
วัตถุตตะยัง วันทะยะตาภิสังขะตัง,
Vatthuttayaṃ vandayatābhisaṅkhataṃ,
which I have honoured with reverence —
ปุญญัง มะยา ยัง มะมะ สัพพุปัททะวา,
Puññaṃ mayā yaṃ mama sabbupaddavā,
by whatever merit I have made, may all my obstacles
มา โหนตุ เว ตัสสะ ปะภาวะสิทธิยา.
Mā hontu ve tassa pabhāva-siddhiyā.
be no more, through the power of its accomplishment.