Multi-Faith Prayers for Peace

From the Peace Abbey

The following twelve prayers for peace are the same ones that the leaders of the world’s religions said in Assisi, Italy, in 1986,
at the invitation of Pope John Paul II. They are the prayers that the young adults at the Life Experience School in Sherborn, MA,
have said each morning since 1986, when Lewis Randa, the Director of the School, brought them back from Assisi.
Subsequently, these prayers have been promoted through the Peace Abbey, a multi-faith retreat center, chapel and shrine
dedicated to peacemaking and attached to the School. The Peace Abbey provides a 13-bead cord (like a “rosary”) as a
reminder to say these twelve prayers and add one’s own (13th) prayer for peace. The medallion at the end of these prayer
beads is an image of either Gandhi or Francis of Assisi.

To learn more about the peacemaking programs of the Peace Abbey and monuments erected there, Contact www.peaceabbey.org

From the World Peace Village

Six of these prayers for peace are also featured in the “World Peace Village,” a unique experience of six shrines inspired by the
major spiritual traditions of the world: Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Native American and Buddhism. Each shrine offers
a path to these ancient ways of wisdom, and provides a prayer practice through a ritual integral to the tradition. The World
Peace Village provides the “pilgrim” with a variety of moments to experience the presence and the spirit of peace. Once we
hold these in our hearts, every breath becomes a prayer and every step brings us closer to peace.

The Peace Village is located at 330 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, CA, and provides a miniature set of the six shrines as
well as a traveling exhibit to include at conferences focused on peacemaking from a faith perspective.

To learn more about the programs of the Peace Village, contact www.worldpeacevillage.org

Other Key Organizations Promoting Interfaith Efforts for Peace

The Fellowship of Reconciliation www.forusa.org Since 1915, FOR has carried on programs and educational projects
concerned with domestic and international peace and justice, nonviolent alternatives to conflict, and the rights of conscience.
As an interfaith organization, it has Muslim, Jewish, and a number of Christian “Peace Fellowships” and is a part of the
International FOR, which has affiliates in over 40 countries.

Religions for Peace USA www.RFPUSA.org is a coalition comprised of leaders from over sixty U.S. religious communities. RFP-
USA operates on the conviction that multi-religious cooperation and common action can be powerful instruments in the quest
for constructive social development, justice, reconciliation, and peace.

Note: * indicates a prayer that is the same in the “Peace Seeds” collection of the Peace Abbey and the “Welcome to the Peace Village – There Can Be
Peace” booklet of the World Peace Village.
 The Hindu Prayer for Peace *
“O God, lead us from the unreal to the Real.
O God, lead us from darkness to light. O God, lead us from
death to immortality. Shanti, Shanti, Shanti (Peace, peace,
peace) unto all. O 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 all things be a source of
peace to us. And may your peace itself, bestow peace on
all, And may that peace come to me also.”
Muslim Prayer for Peace *
“In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful, Praise
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
toward peace, Do you also incline toward peace. And trust
God, for the Lord is the one that hears and knows 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.’”
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 the peace of mind. Let
us learn to share all good things That you provide for us
on this earth.”
Buddhist Prayer for Peace
(from the Peace Abbey)
“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.”
The Sikh Prayer for Peace
(from the Peace Abbey)
“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 attain God when we
love, and only that victory endures, in consequence of
which no one is defeated.”
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 plowshares,
And our spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword
towards nation – Neither shall they learn war anymore. And none shall be
afraid. For the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.”
Christian Peace for Peace *
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let
me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope; Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek To be consoled as to
console, To be understand as to understand, To be loved as to love. For
it is giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. It is in
dying to self that we are born to eternal life. Amen.”
Buddhist Prayer for Peace
(from the World Peace Village)
“May our brothers and sisters, human and non human beings, Born in
every form sharing in the web of life Be safe, be happy and be free. May
true peace of the heart Bring peace among all peoples of the world. May
all beings everywhere find joy and blessings. May I and all beings awaken
together. “
(Source: Jack Kornfield)
The Jain Prayer for Peace
(from the Peace Abbey)
“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. A weapon, howsoever powerful it may
be, Can always be superseded by a superior one; But no weapon can,
however, be superior to nonviolence and love.”
The Bahai Prayer for Peace
(from the Peace Abbey)
Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be fair in your
judgment, and guarded in your speech. Be a lamp to those who walk in
darkness, and a home to the stranger. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding
light to 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 on the tree
of humility.”
 The Shinto Prayer for Peace
(from the Peace Abbey)
“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.”
The Zoroasterian Prayer for Peace
(from the Peace Abbey)
“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.”
(From Pax Christi USA and reprinted with their permission. Multiple copies of this prayer are available from Pax Christi USA at
www.paxchristiusa.org or 814-453-4955.
The Native African Prayer for
Peace
(from the Peace Abbey)
“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.”
Muslim, Jewish, Christian Prayer for Peace
“O God, you are the source of life and peace. Praised be your name
forever. We know it is you who turn our minds to thoughts of peace. Hear
our prayer in this time of war.
“Your power changes hearts. Muslims, Christians, and Jews remember,
and profoundly affirm, that they are followers of the one God, children of
Abraham, brother and sisters. Enemies begin to speak to one another;
those who were estranged join hands in friendship. Nations seek the way
of peace together.
“Strengthen our resolve to give witness to these truths by the way we
live. Give to us: understanding that puts an end to strife; mercy that
quenches hatred, and forgiveness that overcomes vengeance. Empower
all people to live in your law of love.”