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Mantra Yoga
anataman
Who needs a title?Where am I? Veteran
in Meditation
Following on from @federica's thread: http://newbuddhist.com/discussion/22003/so-perhaps-your-thoughts, and those who do mantra yoga as part of their practice. I am interested in whether you perform it in the same way you perform sitting meditation. In terms of taking refuge and dedicating merit etc.
The reason I ask this is that I find myself suddenly (mostly mentally) chanting mantras but they just arise, and they go, and whilst I feel I am meditating when doing so, but as they come and go in this way, I sometimes wonder whether I am doing mantra properly - i.e. it's for my personal benefit only?
Thoughts appreciated!
0
Comments
I still sometimes do brief periods of mantra recitation, it can help to shift my mental state and/or re-establish mindfulness. I think it's fine.
Sometimes, I do sit down in front of my altar for a more formal mantra meditation practice, including all the steps: taking refuge and dedicating merit, etc.
When I'm out of time, I like to play Dechen Shak-Dagsay's "Jewel" mantra meditation CD and sing along.
And then, throughout the day, e.g. in the bus, I do several rounds of malas with the mantras of Avalokiteshvara, Green Tara, Guru Rinpoche, Vajrasattva, etc.
I'm afraid the links I include are only excerpts of Dechen's music, but I like her cds a lot.
The former, "Jewel" has a lot of energy, especially the Prologue, which is taking refuge.
I find it very uplifting to kickstart the day and set your mind in the right frame.
The second link is for Green Tara fans.
It includes a complete sadhana for Green Tara devotees.
Far more quiet.
http://www.dechen-shak.com/index.php/music-detail/items/3.html
http://dechen-shak.com/index.php/music_detail_e/items/8.html
I like the Tara mantras, I recieved an empowerment years ago.
I received a Green Tara empowerment two years ago, too.
What did it feel like to participate and be empowered by a TARA MANTRA?
I am not expecting a description of the event, rather your experience of 'empowerment'. I have my own experiences to reflect on... so it is really just a description of the benefit you derived from the experience?
metta
Well, @anataman, what do you feel like when you belt out mantras?
Chanting mantras, receiving an empowerment, having enlightening experiences during meditation are happenstances which do make a difference to the person undergoing them but sound banal to the ears of the listener.
I tend to be a very logical sort of Buddhist and usually dismiss the metaphysical undertones of, let's say, the different Tibetan and Pure Land schools.
And yet, the path always leads me back to Tibetan sanghas.
With lots of mantra singing, and prostrations, and rituals.
My lot in life.
But instead of fleeing the experience, I surrender to it and reason that there must be a reason for me to hang out in Tibetan circles.
Beyond my logic.
I have always felt an affinity towards Green Tara, in a way that I can't logically explain.
I suppose I am still the same person that I was before the empowerment.
But I remember it as one of the happiest days in my life.
Just so.
I hate the sound of my own voice - so don't' belt out' mantras, especially if I might be heard by someone, it's mostly internalised- which probably says a lot about me; although when alone, I do let it out, and it is generally associated with an outburst of intense emotion, which is why I was asking what 'empowerment' meant to others who have experienced it!
metta
^^^That's the idea, @anataman: sing it out loud!
No way a mantra is "internalised."
I do my rounds of mala silently, but I sing out with Dechen and Deva Premal's cds.
It's a world of a difference.
I found it gave a feeling greater connection with the "energy" of Green Tara, which has persisted down the years despite minimal mantra practice. It's all rather subjective and sounds a bit new-age, but some chanting does seem to produce a tangible shift in my mental state.
chanting is good for a restless mind. It gives the mind something to do. It is not so good for a concentrated mind. When you are looking for truth.
That depends.
"Empowerment" in this context is often a ceremonial permission to perform the practice - not just the mantra, itself, but the liturgy that accompanies it. In Tibetan traditions this is called "Lung" (lOOng) or "Reading Transmission" because the liturgy is read to the student as a part of the ceremony.
This could also be in the form of "Abhisheka" a more involved ritual that usually includes vows to perform the sadha/liturgy faithfully and correctly.
What does it "feel" like? Kinda like taking another breath.
Very long ago, I used to say affirmations out loud.
Not so much the New-agey-Louise-Hay style, rather more like the source: Émile Coué and his famous "Day by Day, in every way, I'm getting better and better."
Down the years, I have found that chanting mantras works better for me than autosuggestion, because wording affirmations carries a more negative charge for the unconscious than simply filling one's mind / heart with mantras.
Even when the affirmation is said in moment's the conscious mind is at its lowest ebb, the words get in the way of the actual autosuggestion.
Just a link to Coué's method in case anyone is wondering:
http://www.mind-your-reality.com/support-files/self_mastery_autosuggestion_coue.pdf