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When and why did chanting come into Buddhism..Buddha himself didnt chant nor did he teach it.
I have recently been watching alot of documentaries on Buddhism and his his..
Buddha meditated alot but did not chant..
Where and why did chanting come into buddhism? Does anyone know??
Buddha meditated alot but did not chant..
Where and why did chanting come into buddhism? Does anyone know??
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As for where did it come from - I do not know sorry.
I personally do not Chant.
I meditate every morning and study ZEN (as well as others) to get myself ready for the hectic day ahead.
I agree with you that Buddha himself found enlightenment mainly by meditating.
When we meditate, we start realizing truth.
Meditation doesnt make us realize something we dont already know, It only helps us clear the mind so we begin seeing things clearly and soon truth is what becomes clearer and clearer..
Truth is different for all being on the spirtual path and there isnt just ONE way to become enlightened or awake or see Truth. So maybe for some people chanting is a way that helps then see truth. (i know that this is the way in NICHERIN BUDDHISM)
They chant every day to help themselves and others. Look it up. ''Nicherin Buddhism)
Best wishes.
It can be found in the Pasadika Sutta:
"Therefore, Cunda, all you to whom I have made known the truths that I have realized by super-knowledge , should come together and recite those doctrines and quarrel not over them, but compare meaning with meaning, and phrase with phrase, in order that this holy life may last long and be perpetuated for the profit and happiness of the many out of compassion for the world and for the benefit, profit and happiness of devas and human!"
"And what are the things that you should recite together? They are these: — The Four Focus of Mindfulness, the Four Right Efforts, the Four Paths to Power, the Five Spiritual Faculties, the Five Mental Powers, the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, the Noble Eightfold Path. …"
And in the Sangiti Sutta: http://tipitaka.wikia.com/wiki/Sangiti_Sutta
At the hall, the Buddha preached late into the night then told Sariputra to continue . Sariputra advised the bhikkhus to recite together the Dhamma as taught by the Buddha, in concord and without dissension "so that the Teaching should be long-lasting and established for a long time to come, thus to be for the welfare and happiness of the multitude, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit, welfare and happiness of devas and humans. " Sariputra outlines the principles of the Teachings in ten numerical groups as a way of memorizing the teachings.
After the talk, the Buddha confirmed Sariputra's discourse:
" Good, good, Sariputra! Well indeed have you proclaimed the way of chanting together for the monks!"
1. Diamond Sangha Zen Chanting Book
http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Buddhism/C - Zen/Modern Teachers/Nyogen Senzaki/Shodoka with commentary by Senzaki Roshi/Diamond Sangha Sesshin Sutras.htm
Preface by Robert Aitken Roshi
It is a very small, simple collection in comparison to some. We keep some sutras in the Sino-Japanese and even in the Pali, others we recite in a translated form. Some we do both ways. We leave out certain dharanis, hymns of praise whose literal meaning has been lost, and we add several sutra dedications.
The dedications are called eko in Sino-Japanese, literally "turning." They are the turning of any merit acquired by reciting the sutras back to our ancestral teachers, and back to the process of all beings enlightening themselves. The sutras are our gifts to the world, chanted in gratitude for the way of wisdom and compassion that is affirmed more deeply with each service.
- from Encouraging Words by Aitken Roshi
2. Theravadan Chanting Recordings
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/outsources/audio.html#chanting
etc.
Well wishes,
Abu
Why have Christian monks sung for centuries?
Why do we sing Christmas carols?
how do we know for sure the Buddha did NOT chant?
Singing is actually a brilliant way of memorising words.
Children learn nursery rhymes with song.
people who stammer, don't stammer while they sing (as an interesting aside)....
I think chanting has its roots in much the same place as all of the above.....
Given that not all of the Buddha's followers were with him all the time, I would suspect it in fact does date back to his time. I'm pretty sure people were chanting things from the Vedas at that time so it's not like it would be something entirely new or unusual.
Add onto this please.
When the causes and conditions are fitting for the Buddha to manifest in the flesh, only people with great and deep karmic roots will also be around the location of his birth. Hence they can easily awaken by having direct contact wid da Buddha. This is all accroding to those people's cultivation in past lives.
After the causes and conditions are no longer there, the Buddha goes into Parinirvana and people in da subsequent generation will have lesser roots that can only rely on his words and rituals to ensure reverance and respect toward buddhism. Practices change according to people's roots.
My opinion is that having awe-inspiring chanting Dharma functions is good to give alot of people the conditions to maintain there reverance and respect to the Buddha's teachings. Having all these lil suburban clubs where egotistical people congregate in little circles will not help large number of people to encounter buddhism. Which you gonna respect more? Noble monastics in temples with huge Buddha statues, or that hippie looking new age guy who practices Buddhism?
So in my opinion, chanting sessions rulz!
I don't know when the practice of reciting mantras started. (Distinguished from the preceding because they have no definite meaning.) I don't know of any mantras in the Pali Tripitaka or the Agamas. Mantras seem to be a feature of the Mahayana.
First I calmed my mind for 10-15 minutes and repeat the mantra in this video (in meditation)
and I repeat again (54 times) in meditation myself without the video.
When I continue meditating afterwards in silence, I noticed a big difference...
Also, this is what I read about mantra that I find very logical...
"When you are nervous, disoriented, or emotionally fragile, inspired chanting or reciting of a mantra can change the state of your mind completely, by transforming its energy and atmosphere. How is this possible? Mantra is the essence of sound, the embodiment of the truth in the form of sound. Each syllable is impregnated with spiritual power, condenses a deep spiritual truth, and vibrates with the blessing of the speech of the buddhas. It is also said that the mind rides on the subtle energy of the breath, the prana, which moves through and purifies the subtle channels of the body. So when you chant a mantra, you are charging your breath and energy with the energy of the mantra, and so working directly on your mind and your subtle body."
Thanks.
http://viewonbuddhism.org/dharma-quotes-quotations-buddhist/vajrayana-tantra-practice.htm
So while Buddha didn't go around chanting, his followers certainly did, then and now.
The "Vedic era worship practice in ancient India. The earliest veda scriptures that predate Buddha are filled with chants, hymns, and mantras" are different contents. I believe the Buddha rejected these and the authority of the Vedas.
"
Dhammaruwan Story :
Dhammaruwan was born in a small village near Kandy , Sri Lanka in November, 1968. From the age of about two, before he could read or write , he spontaneously started to chant the ancient Buddhist scriptures in the original pali language , known only to a few scholar monks.
Each day, somewhere around two o’clock in the morning, after sitting in meditation with his adopted and devoted Buddhist foster father for about twenty to forty minutes, he would spontaneously start to chant pali suttas. On the Poya or lunar Observance day, he would sometimes chant for two hours.
Dhammaruwan’s foster father started making amateur recording of the chanting and invited prominent scholar monk to listen. The monk verified that it was indeed the ancient pali language and the boy were chanting it in an ancient style which no longer existed in world.
That a young boy shows signs of having been a Buddhist monk in his former live is not that unusual by itself. See related past-life memories captured in these scientific studies.
But this boy remembered a life from the 6th century, during a phase in medieval Sri Lanka where Buddhism florished and pali learning and scholarship reached a peak:
At the age of three in “Kelstan” Kandy he started to chant a certain verse of “Dammacca Sutta” (“Chakkukarani Nayanakarani….”). Ever since that day he has been chanting suttas from the tripitaka (Pali Canon) with little or no mistakes.
The chanting style of these suttas are his own and nowhere else to be found or trace back to. As the child grew in age and was able to speak more, he related where he learnt this particular style of chanting the suttas and how he was able to chant such deep and profound suttas, which even an adult find difficult to chant precisely. He has said that in 6th century A.C. he together with few monks accompanied the scholar Monk, Bhadanthachariya Buddhagosa to Sri Lanka. He has said that including him (Mudithagosa) the others were monks who had by-hearted the tripitaka or part of it. He says it is from this memory that he chants the suttas by recollecting that life. Until the age of 10 he was able to chant the suttas. The earliest recorded chanting was at the age of three." - http://theravadin.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/chanting-in-the-6th-century/