Living

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Posts posted by Living

  1. Posted · Edited by Living

    Thanks friends for all good responses.  I appreciate that there are many factors that go into selection of a mantra. As some friends have rightly have pointed out, those other factors maybe more important in selecting a mantra than the number of words. However, here in this thread I just wanted to see if anyone has a perspective on short vs long. One word vs many word mantras. 

  2. Posted

    Friends I am wondering which is better one word mantra for meditation vs many words mantra for meditation. Short vs long mantra which one is more effective. Some people use one word (short) mantras like Amituofo or waheguru or shanti etc etc vs some people use longer mantras like Om Mani Padme Hum or Hare Krishna hare Rama ....etc etc...are short or one word mantras better. Which kind of mantra allows you to go deeper fast. Would love to hear from mantra practitioners.

  3. Posted

    2 hours ago, rex said:

    'Scuse me for sticking my nose in, not sure if you're having a laugh Living though there's 27 guidlines, or tips as you will, on mantra recitation here:

    https://greatmiddleway.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/how-to-recite-mantra/

     

    Thanks for this link. Its a useful read. No i am not just having a laugh. Sincerely seeking way forward. I do like to smile though with friends but not at the cost of anyone. 

    • Like 1

  4. Posted

    1 hour ago, C T said:

    The ideal way to learn to chant correctly is to seek guidance from a teacher or chant master who will likely also kindle the lineage blessings for the initiate, and perhaps advice on which chant is best suited to a particular individual. Different mantras reverberates the channels and winds in different frequencies according to specific guttural and tonal sounds. 

     

    Thanks for your helpful post. Totally agree with you on the ideal way. But for some of us who are in less than ideal circumstances can you kindly provide some tips/guidance for effective chanting? We maybe able to benefit from your tips and guidance in the interim till we find the enlightened master with the blessed lineage. Meta..

  5. Posted

    5 hours ago, C T said:

    I would like to add that there are a variety of ways to chant a mantra - some are more result-prone than others. 

     

    Chanting one rep of a mantra correctly is infinitely more beneficial than chanting a thousand reps devoid of knowledge of correct application. Chanting is a precise art which requires guidance for the serious practitioner - watching the breath is not so demanding. 

     

    Thanks CT.  What then is the way to learn to chant correctly ? Can you please give some guidance and/or point to a source ?

  6. Posted

    3 hours ago, Fa Xin said:

    I'd say whatever method resonates with you. 

     

    If if I tell you, "mantra creates stronger concentration", but you dislike doing the practice, you won't concentrate on it. 

     

    I used to switch it up. Mantra for a few months, breath or vipassana for a year, back to mantras. 

     

    Whatever I was passionate about got my focus. 

     

    Thanks for this and where are you now? What works for you and why?  and what does not work for you and why?

  7. Posted

    Focus on Breath vs Mantra which is a better meditation technique to develop concentration?. I would love to hear from people that have used both for a considerable time. Some people feel that mantra is something that you throw in from outside creating and promoting stories and illusions within the mind whereas when you focus on the breath you are not introducing anything unnecessary from the outside and that breath is natural. Some others think that mantra lets them go deeper in concentration meditation and mind whereas the focus on breath keeps them at the surface and aware of the body (which makes it difficult to go deeper). Yet others think that mantra is better because it will go with you the day you are without the body and the breath. As I said I would love to hear the perspective of experienced meditators who have used both techniques for a while and can compare them.

    • Like 4

  8. Posted

    Buddha says in the Anattalakkhana Sutta:

    if form were self, then form would not lead to affliction

    and

    since form is not-self, therefore form leads to affliction

    So self does NOT lead to dukkha whereas attachment to whatever is not-self leads to dukkha.

    http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.059.mend.html

    In other words, mistaking whatever is not-self to be self leads to dukkha. Maybe its the non-self which is form that is not reborn and self which is not form is reborn? Is this understanding correct?

    • Like 1