For those who know about Tibetan Buddhism- mantra recitation

Shana2712

Hi,

Here it says about the Medicine Buddha mantra recited in Tibetan Buddhism-
Advice for Daily Practice by Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche
[URL: http://www.lamayeshe.com/index.php?sect=article&id=221]
"

"If you recite the Medicine Buddha mantra every day you will purify your negative karma and this will help you never to be reborn in the lower realms. If you don’t purify your negative karma, then when you die you will be reborn in the lower realms as a hell being, hungry ghost or animal and will have to suffer again and again without end. Therefore you need to purify your negative karma right now. If you cannot bear even the present suffering of the human realm—which is blissful joy compared to that of the lower realms—how will you be able to bear the intense suffering of the lower realms, which is unimaginably unbearable, lasts for an incredible length of time and a billion times worse than all the human sufferings put together.
Since reciting the Medicine Buddha mantra saves you from all these sufferings it is much more precious than skies of gold, diamonds, wish-fulfilling jewels and zillions and zillions of dollars. Material wealth counts for nothing because it can’t purify negative karma. Even if you possessed that much wealth, simply reciting or even hearing the Medicine Buddha mantra just once would be far more precious because it would leave an imprint of the entire path to enlightenment on your mind, help you gain realizations of the path, eradicate all your gross and subtle defilements and cause you to achieve enlightenment."


After reading this I got scared and I recited the Medicine Buddha mantra, as well as the Om Mani Padme Hum mantra. I now feel shaky and strange.

I'm not a Buddhist, can I still recite these mantras daily? Or are these mantras only for Buddhists who know what they're doing? Are there any negative side effects from reciting these mantras?

Thanks!!!

Jeffrey

Tibetan buddhism is BS. You should practice theravada. Just kidding.

FoibleFull

I practice Tibetan Buddhism, under the guidance of a monk from the Dalai Lama's monastery. TB is perhaps the most religious in attitude of the various schools, which I don't always appreciate.

Yes, mantras earn positive merit. All sorts of things earn positive merit, and the MOST important are kind action motivated by kind heart. Merit is really only good karma, the result of good action.

Some Tibetan Buddhist teachers teach about the six realms as if they are real places, others teach them as if they are states of mind (if you live consumed with anger, you are already in hell), others teach a mix of both. And whether these realms are metaphorical or actual, hell is hell. The thing to do is to stop being angry. It is such with all the realms. We do not need to know whether they are metaphorical or actual ... we only need to even ourselves out in Buddhism.

As for the mantras, no harm from saying them. But they come with specific visualizations and some of them, such as the Medicine Buddha mantra, are part of a whole puja (ritual practice). If you are not practicing TB, they are only of limited benefit. And if TB sets up fear in your heart, this is NOT a good thing for you. You really don't want to be reacting like a Christian to Buddhist teachings ... find another school. Perhaps Zen, perhaps Theravadan Buddhism. Something for everyone!

jinzang

The point is that you should regret and confess your past bad deeds, not that you should perform one particular practice to remove the bad karma. Sincere regret is the point, not the practice.

Shana2712

Foible- thank you for that clarification. I emailed someone at that site and he told me if I have negative intentions while reciting the Medicine Buddha mantra it can cause negative karma, it's all about my intentions. He also told me I should use a visual of the Medicine Buddha while reciting the mantra.
There's a Zen Buddhist center near me, maybe I should start there.