The Peace Seeds:
12 Interfaith Prayers for Peace
Peace Seeds represent the twelve prayers for peace prayed in Assisi, Italy on the Day of Prayer for World Peace during the United Nations International Year of Peace, 1986. The prayers are entrusted to humanity with this thought:
"Like the bee gathering honey from the different flowers,
the wise person accepts the essence of the different scriptures
and sees only the good in all religions."
The versions of the prayers presented below have been phrased as poems, for ease of use in ceremonial ministry.
Hindu Prayer for Peace
Oh God, lead us from the unreal to the Real.
Oh God, lead us from darkness to light.
Oh God, lead us from death to immortality.
Shanti, Shanti, Shanti unto all.
Oh Lord God almighty,
May there be peace in celestial regions.
May there be peace on earth.
May the waters be appeasing.
May herbs be wholesome,
And may trees and plants bring peace to all.
May all beneficent beings bring peace to us.
May thy Vedic Law propagate peace all through the world.
May all things be a source of peace to us.
And may thy peace itself, bestow peace on all –
And may that peace come to me also.
Oh God, lead us from darkness to light.
Oh God, lead us from death to immortality.
Shanti, Shanti, Shanti unto all.
Oh Lord God almighty,
May there be peace in celestial regions.
May there be peace on earth.
May the waters be appeasing.
May herbs be wholesome,
And may trees and plants bring peace to all.
May all beneficent beings bring peace to us.
May thy Vedic Law propagate peace all through the world.
May all things be a source of peace to us.
And may thy peace itself, bestow peace on all –
And may that peace come to me also.
Buddhist Prayer for Peace
May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings of body and mind
Quickly be freed from their illnesses.
May those frightened cease to be afraid,
And may those bound be free.
May the powerless find power, and may people think of befriending one another.
May those who find themselves in trackless, fearful wildernesses –
The children, the aged, the unprotected –
Be guarded by beneficent celestials, and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood.
Quickly be freed from their illnesses.
May those frightened cease to be afraid,
And may those bound be free.
May the powerless find power, and may people think of befriending one another.
May those who find themselves in trackless, fearful wildernesses –
The children, the aged, the unprotected –
Be guarded by beneficent celestials, and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood.
Jainist Prayer for Peace
Peace and Universal Love
is the essence of the Gospel
preached by all the Enlightened Ones.
The Lord has preached that equanimity is the Dharma.
Forgive do I creatures all, and let all creatures forgive me.
Unto all have I amity, and unto none enmity.
Know that violence is the root cause of all miseries in the world.
Violence, in fact, is the knot of bondage.
“Do not injure any living being.”
This is the eternal, perennial, and unalterable way of spiritual life.
Any weapon, howsoever powerful it may be,
can always be superseded by a superior one;
But no weapon can, however, be superior to non-violence and love.
is the essence of the Gospel
preached by all the Enlightened Ones.
The Lord has preached that equanimity is the Dharma.
Forgive do I creatures all, and let all creatures forgive me.
Unto all have I amity, and unto none enmity.
Know that violence is the root cause of all miseries in the world.
Violence, in fact, is the knot of bondage.
“Do not injure any living being.”
This is the eternal, perennial, and unalterable way of spiritual life.
Any weapon, howsoever powerful it may be,
can always be superseded by a superior one;
But no weapon can, however, be superior to non-violence and love.
Muslim Prayer for Peace
In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful.
Praise be to the Lord of the Universe
Who has created us and made us into tribes and nations,
That we may know each other, not that we may despise each other.
If the enemy inclines towards peace,
Do thou also incline towards peace,
And trust in God,
For the Lord is the one that heareth and knoweth all things.
And the servants of God, Most Gracious,
Are those who walk on the Earth in humility,
And when we address them,
We say "PEACE."
Praise be to the Lord of the Universe
Who has created us and made us into tribes and nations,
That we may know each other, not that we may despise each other.
If the enemy inclines towards peace,
Do thou also incline towards peace,
And trust in God,
For the Lord is the one that heareth and knoweth all things.
And the servants of God, Most Gracious,
Are those who walk on the Earth in humility,
And when we address them,
We say "PEACE."
Sikh Prayer for Peace
God adjudges us according to our deeds,
Not the coat that we wear:
That Truth is above everything,
But higher still is truthful living.
Know that we attaineth God
When we loveth,
And only that victory endures
In consequence of which no one is defeated.
Not the coat that we wear:
That Truth is above everything,
But higher still is truthful living.
Know that we attaineth God
When we loveth,
And only that victory endures
In consequence of which no one is defeated.
Bahai’ Prayer for Peace
Be generous in prosperity,
And thankful in adversity.
Be fair in thy judgement,
And guarded in thy speech.
Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness,
And a home to the stranger.
Be eyes to the blind,
And a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.
Be a breath of life
To the body of humankind,
A dew
To the soil of the human heart,
And a fruit
Upon the tree of humility.
And thankful in adversity.
Be fair in thy judgement,
And guarded in thy speech.
Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness,
And a home to the stranger.
Be eyes to the blind,
And a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.
Be a breath of life
To the body of humankind,
A dew
To the soil of the human heart,
And a fruit
Upon the tree of humility.
Shinto Prayer for Peace
Although the people living across the ocean
Surrounding us, I believe,
Are all our brothers and sisters,
Why are there constant troubles in this world?
Why do winds and waves rise in the ocean surrounding us?
I only earnestly wish that the wind
Will soon puff away all the clouds
Which are hanging over the tops of the mountains.
Surrounding us, I believe,
Are all our brothers and sisters,
Why are there constant troubles in this world?
Why do winds and waves rise in the ocean surrounding us?
I only earnestly wish that the wind
Will soon puff away all the clouds
Which are hanging over the tops of the mountains.
Native African Prayer for Peace
Almighty God,
The Great Thumb
We cannot evade
To tie any knot;
The Roaring Thunder
That splits mighty trees;
The all-seeing Lord
Up on high
Who sees
Even the footprints
Of an antelope
On a rock mass here on Earth.
You are the one
Who does not hesitate
To respond to our call.
You are the cornerstone of peace.
The Great Thumb
We cannot evade
To tie any knot;
The Roaring Thunder
That splits mighty trees;
The all-seeing Lord
Up on high
Who sees
Even the footprints
Of an antelope
On a rock mass here on Earth.
You are the one
Who does not hesitate
To respond to our call.
You are the cornerstone of peace.
Native American Prayer for Peace
O Great Spirit of our Ancestors,
I raise my pipe to you.
To your messengers the four winds,
And to Mother Earth
Who provides for your children.
Give us the wisdom to teach our children
To love, to respect, and to be kind to each other
So that they may grow with peace in mind.
Let us learn to share all the good things
That you provide for us on this Earth.
I raise my pipe to you.
To your messengers the four winds,
And to Mother Earth
Who provides for your children.
Give us the wisdom to teach our children
To love, to respect, and to be kind to each other
So that they may grow with peace in mind.
Let us learn to share all the good things
That you provide for us on this Earth.
Zoroastrian Prayer for Peace
We pray to God
To eradicate all the misery in the world;
That understanding triumph over ignorance,
That generosity triumph over indifference,
That trust triumph over contempt,
And that truth triumph over falsehood.
To eradicate all the misery in the world;
That understanding triumph over ignorance,
That generosity triumph over indifference,
That trust triumph over contempt,
And that truth triumph over falsehood.
Jewish Prayer for Peace
Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
That we may walk the paths of the Most High.
And we shall beat our swords into ploughshares,
And our spears into pruning hooks.
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation –
Neither shall they learn war any more.
And none shall be afraid,
For the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.
That we may walk the paths of the Most High.
And we shall beat our swords into ploughshares,
And our spears into pruning hooks.
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation –
Neither shall they learn war any more.
And none shall be afraid,
For the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.
Christian Prayer for Peace
Blessed are the PEACEMAKERS,
For they shall be known as Children of God.
But I say to you that hear, love your enemies,
Do good to those who hate you,
Bless those who curse you,
Pray for those who abuse you.
To those who strike you on the cheek,
Offer the other also,
And from those who take away your cloak,
Do not withhold your coat as well.
Give to everyone who begs from you,
And of those who take away your goods,
Do not ask them again.
And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
For they shall be known as Children of God.
But I say to you that hear, love your enemies,
Do good to those who hate you,
Bless those who curse you,
Pray for those who abuse you.
To those who strike you on the cheek,
Offer the other also,
And from those who take away your cloak,
Do not withhold your coat as well.
Give to everyone who begs from you,
And of those who take away your goods,
Do not ask them again.
And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
