Comments on: How does mantra meditation work?

By: Bodhipaksa

Bodhipaksa — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:11:47 +0000

Both the Jain and Buddhist scriptures are full of condemnations of the Brahminic practice of animal sacrifice. I’m afraid it seems to have been a prominent form of religious ritual at that time.

Both Jainism and Buddhism have been regarded as being instrumental in curbing these practices.

As this helpful article from The Hindu tells us, “In a way while Brahminism ‘succeeded’ in banishing Buddhism from India, it had also to transform itself from the ‘animal sacrifice, state to the one which could be in tune with the times.”

By: Vedantic

Vedantic — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:29:49 +0000

You say “Mantra meditation existed at the time of the Buddha but was not practiced by Buddhists and was closely tied to the ancient, Brahminical Vedic religion in which sacrifices and prayers to the gods were considered to be a major spiritual practice.” – Just wanted to point out that sacrifice/prayer, while espoused was NOT and far from the main theme in the Vedic religion. It is widely and very wrongly attributed thus. You will find that meditation on the self is espoused constantly in the Vedas/Upanishads – mantra meditation arises from here. Each sound has a meaning corresponding to a body part/chakra. So meditating thus can unlock a specific chakra. Ultimately helping you in your final end quest to understand your self.

By: Bodhipaksa

Bodhipaksa — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:56:58 +0000

I doubt very much that if you took a hundred impartial observers, even one of them would interpret the first sound of a newborn to be anything like “om,” or the last sound of a dying person to be “hum.” I find this kind of “teaching” rather distressing. Aren’t we, as Buddhists, attempting to practice truthful speech? And these monks’ communication doesn’t strike me as being in accord with reality. I stress I’m talking about the monks and not about you — you’ve made it clear you’re just reporting what you’ve heard…

By: Tulga

Tulga — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:34:15 +0000

As far as I know the “”om” is the sound when the first breath is taken by newly born. And the “hum”, the last word in the mantra of Avalokiteshvara, is the last voice when soul leaves the body, i.e. the death. The whole mantra is the whole life cycle. And, you should keep that in mind to not to forget that you’ve once born and, you will die someday. This is what I learned when I was a child from Mongolian lamas.
Also, there’s a mediation type only practicing om, hum, i.e. the breath mediation. You should concern your mind on a sound when you take breath and when you release the breath.

So, I think that the “om” is the beginning of everything.

By: Aloka

Aloka — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:07:10 +0000

Greetings, there is some very useful information on this website. Thanks, Aloka Bhikkhu.

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 08:50:09 +0000

I find this to be the best web site for info on Mantra meditation.It has answered all of questions about how to meditate.Thank you soo much.

By: subhash Desai

subhash Desai — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 11:28:49 +0000

As I think in every religion , the importance is given to ‘a ‘ or “o” ,in muslim there is allah then for christian it is amen
and in hindu it is om. Even child speaks the letter aa before other vowels .
But if u think that for meditation Om is necessary ,i do not understand the necessity. I would suggest anyone who is interested
in meditation to get rid of mental tension,i can advise that keep your eyes closed and try to make your mind blank with releasing
the control over all parts of body as one by one .I am sure that you will start getting sudden relief . THE WAY EVERYTHING SHOULD BE LIKE YOUARE
LEAVING YOUR BODY. just try once and be happy
subhash desai

By: Zenshin

Zenshin — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 20:52:38 +0000

As one fool to another stumbling forward in the dark, holdiing the light out in front of me, I don’t worry about how the light works…just greatful that it leads my heart/mind forward on my path. And so it is with my mantra. Zenshin

By: Bodhipaksa

Bodhipaksa — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 00:43:26 +0000

That’s a good point about body awareness, actually. We could go a bit further and suggest doing some body-scanning as preparation for mantra chanting.

I don’t quite agree that “working in imagination involves a move away from felt experience.” Visualization is a very right-brain activity and can be very visceral — you just have to notice how powerfully a dream, day-dream, or a visual fantasy can affect you in order to appreciate how strongly connected are our emotions and our imaginations. My imagination often moves me more than real life does!

But visualization can certainly involve a move away from the experience of the body, and maybe that’s what you meant. And so your reminder of the physical aspects of mantra chanting are very welcome.

By: Jayarava

Jayarava — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 20:36:26 +0000

I slightly and cordially disagree with Bodhipaksa on this. He may be right to suggest that an visual image would be helpful, it is certainly worth trying.

My approach would be to go more towards the body. The physical act of reciting involves quite a bit of activity in the chest, the throat and the mouth. The body physically resonates to mantras chanted aloud and this can be included in the awareness when chanting. In particular it can be fascinating and absorbing to pay attention to the tongue and lips when reciting a mantra – follow the movements as each syllable is formed and voiced. Paying attention to the physical sensations of the mantra, as well as the experience of hearing it will ground the experience, bring you into your body (as the saying goes). My thinking is that this is an integrating practice like the mindfulness of breathing. My gut reaction is that if there is confusion, then do samatha meditation, get into your body and your feelings. My understanding of what Bodhipaksa is suggesting is a move towards a more insight centred practice which certainly has its place, but working in imagination involves a move away from felt experience and into something more abstract – without a grounding in samatha it can be unsettling. Thus is just my opinion.

If you decide you do need visual image then you might also try visualising the letters of the mantra as you recite them – I find I have to slow down to do this, but it gets easier. This is also a useful skill if you take up sadhana visualisations later.

Headaches are notoriously difficult to diagnose, but perhaps you are tense? Paying attention to the physical experience of chanting may shed light on this – what is happening in your body when you chant?

Best Wishes
Jayarava