The Seven Branch Prayer
Sanskrit: saptanga
Tibetan: yan lag bdun pa
The seven branch prayer is an important and early part of Mahayana Buddhism, appearing at least as early as Shantideva's Way of the Bodhisattva (adding taking refuge to make eight branches) and The Aspirations of Samantbhadra.
Each branch of the prayer counteracts one of the kleshas (with some variations depending on the source):
Paying homage counteracts pride
Offering counteracts greed
Confession counteracts hate
Rejoicing counteracts jealousy
Requesting to turn the wheel of Dharma counteracts ignorance
Requesting not to pass into parinirvana counteracts wrong views
Dedication of merit counteracts doubt.
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Here is a version translated by Ken McLeod in The Great Path of Awakening:
With complete faith I bow
To all the victorious ones and their sons
Who abide in the ten directions and three times.
I offer flowers, incense, light,
Perfume, food, music, and many other things,
Both in substance and with my imagination.
I ask the noble assemblage to accept them.
I confess all evil actions that i have done,
Influenced by the defilements,
From time without beginning until now:
The five that ripen immediately,
The ten nonvirtuous acts, and many others.
I rejoice in the merit of whatever virtue
Shravakas, pratyekabuddhas,
Bodhisattvas, and ordinary people
Gather throughout the three times.
I pray for the wheel of the dharma to be turned,
The teachings of the mahayana and hinayana,
In ways suitable for the different aptitudes
And motivations present in sentient beings.
I ask the buddhas not to pass into nirvana,
But, with great compassion and
Until samsara is completely empty,
To look after all sentient beings
Who drown in this ocean of sorrow.
May whatever merit I have accumulated
Become a seed for the enlightenment of all beings.
Without delay, may I become
A splendid leader for sentient beings.
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From The Aspirations of Samantabhadra:
With clarity of body, speech, and mind,
I bow without exception to all the Lions among Men
Of the past, present, and future,
In every world in all the ten directions.
By the power of this Aspiration to Noble Deeds,
I manifest bodies as numerous as all the atoms in all the lands.
Aware in mind of the presence of numberless victorious Buddhas,
And I prostrate to all of them.
I conceive the entire realm of truth
To be completely filled with Enlightened Ones.
There are as many Buddhas as atoms present in each atom,
Each Buddha surrounded by many Bodhisattvas.
I honor all these blissful lords,
Extolling the ocean of their inexhaustible perfections
With an ocean of all melodies and sounds,
And endless praise.
I offer to those heroic Buddhas,
The best flowers, best garlands, best music,
Best ointments, excellent canopies, finest lamps,
And the best incense.
I offer to those heroic Buddhas
The finest robes and best fragrances
And a variety of foods piled as high as Mount Meru,
All perfectly arranged.
By the power of my faith in noble deeds,
I prostrate and present
Vast and unequaled offerings
To each of the victorious Buddhas.
I confess every type of wrong
That I have done
In thought, word, or deed,
Under the influences of desire, anger, or ignorance.
I rejoice in the meritorious deeds
Of all the Buddhas of the ten directions,
The Bodhisattvas, Pratyeka Buddhas, Arhats,
Practitioners, and all sentient beings.
I request all the enlightened protectors,
Who have attained the detachment of Buddhahood,
And illuminate the worlds of the ten directions,
To turn the peerless Wheel of Dharma.
With hands folded, I beseech
Those who intend to manifest the final nirvana
To remain for as many eons as there are atoms in all the Buddha lands,
To gladden and benefit all living beings.
May whatever little virtue I may have gained
From prostrating, offering, confessing,
Rejoicing, requesting, and beseeching,
Be dedicated to attaining perfect enlightenment.
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For more versions of the prayer, see the seven branch resources at Lotsawa House.