In short: a Buddhist prayer for peace is a wish of loving-kindness for all beings: "May they be happy and safe! May all beings be happy!" (Snp 1.8). It rests on the Buddha's teaching that "never is hatred laid to rest by hate, it's laid to rest by love" (Dhammapada 5), and that there is "no bliss beyond peace" (Dhammapada 202).
Peace begins with not answering hate with hate
"For never is hatred laid to rest by hate, it's laid to rest by love: this is an ancient teaching."
Dhammapada 5
Read the full guide
A wish for every being
"May they be happy and safe! May all beings be happy! Whatever living creatures there are with not a one left out— frail or firm, long or large, medium, small, tiny or round, seen or unseen, living far or near, those who have been born and those about to be born— may all beings be happy!"
Snp 1.8 · Full text: Karaṇīya Mettā Sutta.
"Let none deceive another, nor look down on anyone anywhere. Though provoked or aggrieved, let them not wish pain on each other."
Snp 1.8
No bliss beyond peace
"There is no fire like greed, no crime like hate, no suffering like the aggregates, no bliss beyond peace."
Dhammapada 202 · More: real Buddha quotes on peace.
A short prayer for peace
May all beings be happy and safe.
May those in conflict find a way to lay down hatred.
May those who are afraid be free from fear.
May peace begin in my own heart today.
ANEW's wording, in the spirit of the verses above.
Try it
Practice peace for three minutes: open Practice and choose Kindness. Or try the full loving-kindness meditation.
Questions people ask
What is the Buddhist prayer for peace?
Buddhists usually wish for peace with loving-kindness: 'May all beings be happy!' (Snp 1.8), remembering that 'never is hatred laid to rest by hate, it's laid to rest by love' (Dhammapada 5).