RECITING MANTRAS

Zen Masters are famous for assigning their students to meditate on a kind of insoluble mind puzzle known as koan. Though it seems on the surface to be quite different, the recitation of mantra, a verbal formula associated with some aspect of universal Buddha-mind, a practice common in esoteric Buddhism, serves a similar purpose. The literal meaning of a mantra is less important than the way it acts as a channel opening us to our inherent Buddha-nature. The same is true of a koan, whose meaning or answer is obscure at best. Both techniques serve to shut down the discursive mind with its negative emotions and thoughts so that the radiance can be revealed.

The most basic mantra Is the letter sound “A” (pronounced “Ah”) which Buddhist masters have taught is a manifestation of the “unborn nature of phenomena” – in other words, Enlightenment itself. The way to use this mantra in meditation practice is quite simple. After settling yourself comfortably in meditation posture, focus on your breathing for a short time by counting the cycles of inhalation and exhalation as you have learned. Then quietly intone the sound “Ah” to yourself excluding all other thoughts from your mind. If you shut your eyes while you are doing this, you can also try to visualize the essence of this sound in the form of a radiant bead of white light within your mind. As you become more familiar with this technique, you can stop reciting the “Ah” sound aloud and just let its sound reverberate within you mind while maintain the image of a brilliantly shining white bead of light. Though simple, this technique is very powerful. For this reason, I recommend that you consult a reliable teacher if you want to progress further using this method as it can cause undesirable effects on the unwary.

When we meditate for a long time at a stretch, we tend to get tired, and our minds wander easily. Later, Zen Masters devised various ways of dealing with such obstacles, such as alternating periods of sitting with periods of walking meditation. People engaged in the practice of esoteric Buddhism as just as likely to grow tired and careless when they meditate for a long time. Traditionally, they refresh and invigorate themselves using a different method, reciting mantras without any accompanying visualization. You might try using a mantra in this way. The mantra I suggest is the one included in the famous Heart Sutra, a text that speaks in koan-like terms about the world.

Here is what you do: When you notice that your meditative concentration has begun to wane, open your eyes and relax a little, perhaps unfolding your legs and resting your hands on your knees. Then begin to recite the mantra aloud. If you have a set of counting beads, you can use these to keep a tally of how many times you have repeated the mantra. I suggest a minimum of 108 times, which is one round the most string of counting beads.

Source: Stephen Hodge, Zen:
Master Class: A Course in Zen
Wisdom from Traditional Masters.
Copyright

In order to overcome our tendency to overcome others’ needs and rights,
We must continually remind ourselves of what is obvious:
That all of us are the same.
= DALAI LAMA =