posted August 11, 2014 04:31 AM            

The organisation I walk with and learn through (although I do not call myself "Buddhist") is the SGI.

They have a concept of the Ten Worlds (also found in other texts).

Chanting can help you realise the 10th world (or state) of Buddhahood. To realise this state in the self is to prime the mind for action for world peace. Action is a very big part of the practice, however, it begins with self and our closest relationships, and then extends to our outer relationships and activities within the wider social sphere.

I see it as self-actualisation, quite Rogerian. The parallels between Buddhism and psychology in terms of realising the true nature of the self, are always what draws me back to the path.

Here is SGI's description of the Ten Worlds:

Ten Worlds
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Although our lives are constantly changing and we experience a range of emotions from moment to moment, Buddhism teaches that our experience of the world can always be understood as one of ten basic states of life. These are called the Ten Worlds, and what follows is a brief impression of the positive and negative aspects of each of these worlds:

1. Hell
+ Really understanding what the state of hell feels like can lead to the desire and wisdom to help others.

- Ultimately is a life state of suffering, illustrated by depression, despair and self-destructive tendencies.

2. Hunger
+ The desire to live and achieve goals; yearning to improve things for yourself and others.

- Greed and the continuous unsatisfied desire for power, sex, money and so on.

3. Animality
+ The normal instinct to survive (sleep, eat, make love) and to protect and nurture life.

- Acting only from instinct, threatening the weak and fearing the strong; pleasure-seeking, living only in the present.

4. Anger
+ Passion to fight injustice and create a better world; a creative force for change.

- A state of egotism and self-righteousness, in which we cannot bear to lose. This will inevitably result in conflict.

5. Humanity, or Tranquility
+ At peace and in control of desires; ability to act with reason and humanity.

- A state of inactivity; unwillingness to tackle problems; thus leading to decline and negligence.

6. Rapture, or Heaven
+ Intense pleasure and happiness; heightened awareness and feeling glad to be alive.

- As it results from the achievement of desires, such happiness is short-lived. The wish for it to continue can lead to excess (drugs, materialism) and a weak, dependent attitude towards life.

7. Learning
+ Striving for self-improvement by learning new concepts through studying the teachings of others. This is the basis for realization.

- The tendency to become self-centred, to cut off from the daily realities of life or develop a dismissive attitude towards others with less knowledge.

8. Realization
+ Gaining wisdom and insight through the effects of learning and by observing the world.

- Lacking a broad view of life due to self-absorption; arrogance (i.e. 'I know best').

9. Bodhisattva
The word consists of bodhi (enlightenment) and sattva (beings) and means someone who seeks enlightenment for themselves and others.

+ Compassion or acting selflessly for other people, without expecting a reward.

- Becoming 'a martyr to the cause', neglecting our own life or health and ultimately feeling pity or contempt for those we are trying to help.

10. Buddhahood
+ Wisdom, compassion, courage, life force which illuminates the positive aspects of each of the other nine worlds.

This life state is only positive.

posted August 11, 2014 07:16 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by rajji:
Buddha predated christ, therefore, It is a very a hard path.You need to starve urself to death in order to gain enlightenment.Usually initiation starts at a very young age and the subject is to join a monastry.
And also there are many counterfeits as in every religion...so kindly watch your way. Personally I wouldnt recommend chanting any mantras, especially, gregorian and sanskrit, the latter is which buddhism and hinduism uses.Yoga, meditation, voodoo, juju and what not!are all out of question for me.A strict NO.
Just my two cents.Follow your heart if it still beats for it .

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Well, this is something that supposedly sets the SGI apart.

Nichiren Daishonin, the man who diseminated the teachings (and was persecuted repeatedly for it) believed that starvation and asceticism was not necessary to realise buddhahood in this lifetime.

He believed that chanting chapters 2 and 16 of the Lotus Sutra was sufficient.

The requirement is not to go to a mountain and be separate - quite the opposite - in order to see the manifestations of buddhahood and how it can help achieve self-actualisation and world peace, we must practice whilst navigating our daily lives.

This is actually what I find most appealing about this buddhism, as I am very connected to being an agent of real change in the here and now. I am not a person who can stand back and watch suffering.

It does resonate deeply with me, and I have noticed distinct improvements in my overall mood, and in how I relate to myself:

I am much calmer,
kinder,
less anxious,
sleeping without too much assistance,
more open to others,
less rigid in opinion,
more inclined to engage with groups,
less self-conscious.

posted August 12, 2014 06:47 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by rajji:
lotus sutra?
is it om mani padmay hum??

Sure, go ahead. Your conscience will never lie to you.

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The title chant is:

Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo

Gongyo, is when we chant chapters 2 and 16 of the Lotus Sutra.

posted August 13, 2014 02:30 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by juniperb:
Hi voix, indeed I am familiar with it and here is a link to a previous discussion on
nam myo ho renge kyo

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posted September 04, 2014 05:28 AM            

quote:

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My car became the church and I the worshiper of silence there

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posted November 01, 2014 05:20 PM            

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I wanted to take a look at the definition of mantra, as rajji personally suggested not to chant any mantras (especially gregorian and sanskrit).

man·tra
ˈmantrə/
noun
noun: mantra; plural noun: mantras
(originally in Hinduism and Buddhism) a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation.
a Vedic hymn.
a statement or slogan repeated frequently.
"the environmental mantra that energy has for too long been too cheap"
synonyms: slogan, motto, maxim, catchphrase, catchword, watchword, byword, buzzword, tag (line)
"their newest mantra is "stay connected""

So in actuality, anything that is repeated frequently with an intention behind it could be considered a mantra. Saying "find my keys, find my keys, find my keys" by definition is a mantra.

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I always find it so interesting when many Christians, especially fundamentalist Christians, are so irked and adamantly against mantra, automatically associating it with so many things that narrows the vary definition of the word. They in fact use Mantra. Mantra is not just specific to Hinduism or Buddhism or any "religion" for that matter. Although the word may find it's roots in Sanskrit, the definition can be applied across the board. The only difference is language.

I'll borrow from Wikipedia:

"Mantra" (Sanskrit मंत्र ) means a sacred utterance, numinous sound, or a syllable, word, phonemes, or group of words believed by some to have psychological and spiritual power.[2][3] Mantra may or may not be syntactic or have literal meaning; the spiritual value of mantra comes when it is audible, visible, or present in thought.[2][4]

Earliest mantras were composed in Vedic times by Hindus in India, and those are at least 3000 years old.[5] Mantras are now found in various schools of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.[3][6] Similar hymns, chants, compositions and concepts are found in Zoroastrianism,[7] Taoism, Christianity and elsewhere.[2]

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So to take this point even further, I'll draw from some of Rajji's posts (and probably open Pandora's box).

I'm going to draw from the "Spiritual Warfare" prayers cited in this forum by rajji. How is this different from a Sikh chanting their mantra, a Buddhist chanting theirs? The difference is the religion from which it stems and the language in which it is spoken. The definition of mantra cannot be morphed to suit a specific purpose.

So I'll take an excerpt from one of the spiritual warfare prayers:

"ANY UNGODLY THOUGHTS, OR THOUGHTS YOU DON'T WANT, PRAY THIS IMMEDIATELY:

IN JESUS NAME, I CIRCUMCISE THESE THOUGHTS

You may have to pray this several times before the bad thoughts leave. This really works too!"

So therefore, if you are repeating "In Jesus Name, I circumcise these thoughts", you are using mantra. The idea is to pray this several times, with the intention of getting bad thoughts to leave. The idea is to "pray in Jesus name", invoking the power and blood of Jesus to wash over you and heal your thoughts. Mantra.

To me, there is no difference between a Bhuddist who chants a mantra, a Kundalini Yogi who chants a mantra, a Hindu who chants a mantra, and a Christian who repeats a prayer. There is no difference. By many definitions Mantra is a form of prayer.

Now, rajji also mentions, "The following Spiritual Warfare Prayers are sample prayers. They are not to be ritual prayers or incantations. They are a guide to go by. Some or all of these prayers should be prayed DAILY, and sometimes often during the day." - Well then we need to address ritual and incantation because both ritual and incantation are present in Christianity as well, EXTREMELY present.

Ritual is highly used in Christianity, whether you are Catholic, Baptist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, and so on. Communion (Eucharist) by definition is ritual. You are taking the blood and body of Christ for spiritual nourishment, and this is performed at specific times during the year as part of the sacraments. Now Catholics may not like me saying that is ritual but by definition it is. It is a Christian ritual.

So lets define ritual and incantations.....

rit·u·al
ˈriCH(əw)əl/
noun
1.
a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order.
"the ancient rituals of Christian worship"
the prescribed order of performing a ceremony, especially one characteristic of a particular religion or church.
synonyms: ceremony, rite, ceremonial, observance; More
a series of actions or type of behavior regularly and invariably followed by someone.
"her visits to Joy became a ritual"
adjective
adjective: ritual
1.
of, relating to, or done as a religious or solemn rite.
"ritual burial"

in·can·ta·tion noun \ˌin-ˌkan-ˈtā-shən\
: a series of words used to make something magic happen
: a use of spells or verbal charms spoken or sung as a part of a ritual of magic; also
: a written or recited formula of words designed to produce a particular effect

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So if we look at what incantation means, "A written or recited formula of words designed to produce a particular effect", well many of these notated spiritual warfare prayers are in fact incantations, with the purpose to either protect the individual from demons, banish evil, protect from witch craft, and so on. Now the first two definitions of incantation is what a Christian may shy away from, "magic", "ritual", "spells" or "verbal charms". However, even a charm or spell is a means to bring forth a certain desired result simply by following a pre-recorded method. To me, there is no difference. The words are simply guilty by their association with witch-craft or whatever has previously been deemed as "un-godly" or "evil".

The Armor of God prayer (which I am very familiar with) is most certainly an incantation. You are "arming yourself" for "spiritual warfare". The one notated is very different from the one I am familiar with and was unfortunately told to pray many times.

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Now this is where my heart sinks. It saddens me to see, time and time again, many Christians repudiate the validity of the mantra or prayers of one religion, while adamantly claiming that their prayers do not serve the exact same purpose. This is extremely poisonous to humankind. It creates the illusion of separation when, in fact, we are all God's children (to use Christian lingo).

My desire is not to get into a spiritual debate here, although I am sure it is going to happen (I just wont feed it after this post, I pretty much said all I wanted to), but to simply notate that mantra/incantation/ritual is also a Christian thing. One cannot morph the definition of this.

Sanskrit is one of the oldest languages. Many Kundalini mantras are chanted in Gurmukhi. Now, to someone who incorporates, say, Hindu mantra or prayer, a Christian prayer is going to be foreign to them. It's in a totally different language, stemming from a completely different doctrine. The different here is language, and the religious framework said "mantra" or "prayer" comes from. The purpose is often the same, and there is no changing my mind on that.

What is the purpose in all of this? What is the purpose of an individual to "arm themselves with the sword of the spirit" or "shod our feet with the gospel of peace"? Why might a Kundalini Yogi chant "AD GURAY NAMEH, JUGAD GURAY NAMEH, SAT GURAY NAMEH, SIRI GURU DEVAY NAMEH" - They are both prayers of protection. As stated before, I have once in my life used the Armor of God (reluctantly), and when I was taught this, I was taught to say it over and over again. To use it before leaving the house, or doing XYZ. This is mantra. Now through Kundalini Yoga I use this mantra I notated above. I align with it more, and the framework from which it derives and that is OK. Both of these prayers/mantras are about aligning the user with their version of "divinity" so that anything which is not in alignment with their definition of "divinity" cannot harm them or come into their reality.

The point is, there is no difference here. For someone to tell you not to pray your prayers is harmful, for what they really mean is, "my prayers which are right and good, while your prayers are wrong". We should encourage one to pray, it is a communication with our own divinity and the divinity that flows through it all. It is conversation with "source" a conversation with the Universe. Telling someone not to pray or chant a mantra of a specific language or religion, creates the illusion of separation and we are not separated. We are one, no matter what anyone says. We all visit the toilet every day, we all have to sleep, we all have to eat, we all have a body, we all were born, we all will die. We all share space on this giant Earth, breathe the same air, have the same beating hearts.

Pray whatever prayer aligns you with that which creates peace and harmony. Chant whatever mantra calms your mind and soothes your soul. Say "chicken biscuits" over and over and over again if it helps you. Use mantra, use prayer, do your thing! I honor whatever religion one may have found, but I do not give validity to any practice that hinders or prevents another individual from connecting with source in their own way. I honor the individual who even tells you not to chant your mantra because they have a right to speak whatever it is they want to speak, I cannot deny them of that.