*** Chanting for Meditation Practice *** |
Chapter
4
Truthfully, all Buddhist chantings help to promote or assist in training and practicing development of the mind. Those who chant daily, especially before going to bed, will greatly develop their minds since they not only memorize and recite the Buddha’s Teachings but they also gain merit each time they chant. Moreover, the mind will get stronger and will be more peaceful and purified. In this chapter, some selected important chantings that are helpful and popular among practicers of meditation will be quoted as follows:
1. RATANATAYABHITHUTI (A) Buddhanusati (Recollection of the Buddha). We pay homage to the Buddha and recollect on his noble virtues. We praise him on his compassion, purity and perfectly well enlightenment by using the following words: Itipi so bhavava, He is indeed the Exalted One, araham, far from defilements, sammasambuddho, perfectly Enlightened by himself, vijjacarana sampanno, fully possessed of wisdom and (excellent) conduct, sugato, One who has proceeded by the good way, lokavidu, knower of worlds, anuttaro purisadham masarathi, unexcelled Trainer of tamable men, sattha devamanussanam, Teacher of deities and men, buddho, the Awakened One, the Brightened One, bhagava’ti. the Lord skilled in teaching Dhamma. (B) Dhammanusati (Recollection of the Dhamma). We pay homage to the Dhamma by chanting the following words: Svakkhato bhagavata dhammo, Well-expounded is the Exalted One’s Dhamma, sanditthiko, to be seen by oneself, akaliko, here and now, not delayed in time, ehipassiko, (inviting one to) come and see, opanayiko, leading inward, paccatam veditabbo to be seen by the wise men vinnuhi’ti. for themselves. (C) Sanghanusati (Recollection of the Sangha). We pay homage to the Sangha by chanting the following words: Supatipanno bhagavato The Sangha of the Exalted One’s disciples savakasangho. who have practiced well. Ujupatipanno bhagavato The Sangha of the Exalted One’s disciples savakasangho. who have practiced straightly, nayapatipanno bhagavato the Sangha of the Exalted One’s disciples savakasangho. who have practiced right, samicipatipanno bhagavato the Sangha of the Exalted One’s disciples savakasangho. who have practiced properly, Yadidam? Who are they? Cattari purisayugani, The four pairs of men, attha purisapuggala, the eight types of persons, esa bhagavato savakasangho. that is the Sangha of the Exalted One’s disciples, ahuneyyo, worthy of gifts, pahuneyyo, worthy of hospitality, dakkhineyyo, worthy of offerings, anjalikaraniyo, worthy of reverential salutation, anuttaram punnakkhettam the incomparable field of merit for lokassa’ti. the world. These passages can be chanted either in Pali only or in Pali together with the translations into other languages. The purpose of recollection of the Triple Gem is to make the chanter’s mind more confident, daring, bright, feeling less gloomy, and more faithful in the Triple Gem. Brief Sublime Praise of the Triple Gem Some meditators who have short time for chanting or those who want to express more of their faith to the Triple Gem are advised to use this brief chant as follows: AHO BUDDHO. The Lord Buddha, our refuge, enlightened by himself, miraculously worthy of paying supreme faith, successfully quit his Fire of Defilements and Fire of Sufferings. The Lord compassionately expounded his Dhamma to other living beings, so they too could quit, the Fires of Defilements and Sufferings. AHO DHAMMO. The Buddha’s Dhamma, our refuge, virtuous, miraculously worthy of paying supreme faith, by this virtue, can quiet the Fires of Defilements and Sufferings of living beings rightly practiced, helping them to be free from all grieves and calamities. It consists of morality (Sila), concentration (Samadhi), insight (Panna), the Noble Path, the Noble Fruit and Nirvana. AHO SANGHO. The Sangha, our refuge, those who have practiced rightly, miraculously worthy of paying supreme faith, because they purely fulfill the practice of Sila, Samadhi, and Panna, have attained the Noble Path, the Noble Fruit, achieving Nirvana. Being able to quit their Fires of Defilements and Sufferings, they then teach others to practice, so they too can quit their Fires of Defilements and Sufferings.
2. BRAHMAVIHARA BHAVANA There are Divine States of mind called the Brahmavihara or Divine Abodes which are recommended for cultivation by the Lord Buddha: Loving-kindness (metta), Compassion (karuna), Sympathetic joy (mudita), and Equanimity (upekkha). These should be deliberately extended to all other beings by the following chanting: (A) Metta-bhavana (extending loving-kindness). In order to get rid of anger or ill-will, make a general extension of loving-kindness by chanting the following passage: Sabbe satta Whatever beings there are, avera hontu, may they be free of enmity, abyapajjha hontu, may they be free from hurtfulness, anigha hontu, may they be free from troubles (of body and mind) sukhi attanam may they be able to protect pariharantu. their own happiness. (B) Karuna-bhavana (extending compassion). In order to get rid of violence and to cultivate the virtue of compassion which is the desire to help those in any kind of suffering. The following passage is for the cultivation of karuna. Sabbe satta Whatever beings there are, Dukkha pamuccantu. may they be free from suffering. (C) Mudita-bhavana (extending sympathetic joy). In order to get rid of envy by being joyful about the happiness and prosperity of others and to cultivate sympathetic joy. The following passage is for the cultivation of mudita. Sabbe satta Whatever beings there are, ma laddhasampattito may they not be parted from vigacchantu. the good fortune obtained by them. (D) Upekkha-bhavana (extending equanimity). In order to get rid of extreme emotions, i.e. too much joy, too much grief, feeling depressed to see the disaster of other beings caused by their own previous deeds (kamma) that cannot be helped, and also to promote the neutral feeling that should be maintained. The following passage reflects kamma (Sanskrit : karma) and its result, chanted for the development of this quality. Sabbe satta Whatever beings there are, kammassaka, are the owners of their kamma, kammadayada, heir to their kamma, kammayoni, born to their kamma, kammabandhu, related to their kamma, kammapatsarana, abide supported by their kamma, yam kammam karissanti, whatever kamma they shall do, kalyanam va papakam va, good or evil, tassa dayada bhavissanti. of that they will be the heir.
3. ABHINHAPACCAVEKKHANA (A) Jaradhammomhi, I am of the nature to be old, jaram anatito. I have not gone beyond old age. (B) Byadhidhammomhi, I am of the nature to be diseased, byadhim anattito. I have not gone beyond disease. (C) Maranadhammomhi, I am of the nature to die, maranam anattito. I have not gone beyond death. (D) Sabbehi me piyehi manapehi, All that is mine, dear and beloved, nanabhavo vinabhavo. will become otherwise, will become separated (from me). (E) Kammassakomhi, I am the owner of my kamma, kammadayado, heir to my kamma, kammayoni, born of my kamma, kammabandhu, related to my kamma, kammapatsarano, abide supported by my kamma, yam kammam karissami, whatever kamma I shall do, kalyanam va papakam va, good or evil, tassa dayado bhavissami of that I shall be the heir. evam amhehi abhinham Thus by us they should be frequently paccavekkhitabbam. recollected. These five subjects should be recollected everyday. The purpose of the recollection of these five subjects is to be acquainted with the truth of life, to make haste in doing good, to avoid evil, to cut down intoxication with youth, healthiness, life, possessions, and to have sincere belief in the law of kamma.
4. KAYAGATASATI The purpose of this chanting is to rid ourselves of lust. Ayameva kayo, This body of mine, uddham padatala, from the soles of the feet up, adho kesamatthaka, from the top of the hair down, tacapariyanto, enveloped by the skin, puro nanappakarassa asucino, is full of manifold impurities, jeguccho patikulo. all of them are repulsive.
5. MARANASATI The objective of recollection of death is to admit the truth of life, not being afraid of it, and to make haste in doing good and avoiding evil. Adhuvam jivitam, Living is impermanent, dhuvam maranam, death is permanent, avassam maya maritabbam, surely we shall die, maranapariyosanam me jivitam. my life has death as the end. Jivitam me aniyatam, My living is not permanent, maranam me niyatam. my death is for certain. The purposes of the first five chantings are to calm the mind and set it free from the five mental hindrances (nivarana) so that one can achieve Samadhi (concentration), which is the characteristic of Calm Meditation.
6. TILAKKHANABHAVANA This is directed towards the development of Insight Meditation, (Vipassana-bhavana or Vipassana-kammatthana) aiming at the cultivation of wisdom. This includes knowing the truth of all conditioned things that are under the power of the Three Characteristics of Compounded things, that is, impermanence, suffering and selflessness or non-self. Anicca sankhara. All conditioned things are impermanent. Tam kutetha lapbha. Because of this, how can they certainly exist in impermanence? No, no one is ever born, and there is no one who dies. Body (rupa), Feeling (vedana), Perception (sanna), Mental Activities (sankhara) and Consciousness (vinnana), these Five Aggregates just come to exist, and are destroyed. They are impermanent, they are sufferings, they do not belong to us, they are not us, they are not self, they are only the five aggregates. So let it be. No, no one is ever born, and there is no one who dies. CAKKHU (sense of sight), SOTA (sense of sound), GHANA (sense of smell), JUVHA (sense of taste), KAYA (sense of touch) and MANA (sense of thought), these Six Spheres of sense just come to exist, and then cease to be. They are impermanent, they are sufferings, they do not belong to us, they are not us, they are not self, they are only the six spheres of sense. So let it be. No, no one is ever born, and there is no one who dies. Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Air and Consciousness, these Six Elements just come to exist, and then disintegrate. They are impermanent, they are sufferings, they do not belong to us, they are not us, they are not self, they are only the six elements. So let it be. No, no one is ever born, and there is no one who dies. NAMA (name) and RUPA (form), just come to exist, then name ceases to be, and form disintegrates. They are impermanent, they are sufferings, they do not belong to us, they are not us, they are not self, they are only name and form. So let it be.
7. ATURAKAYABHAVANA Aturakayassa me sato, Even though my body is restless, cittam anaturam bhavissati. my mind will not be so affected. Bhidurayam kayo, This body is decomposing, viragadhammam, this consciousness is ceasing to be, vinnanam. they are impermanent, they do not belong to us. So let it be. This is one of the passages that helps ill people to penetrate the mind to achieve insight (vipassana) by contemplating when ill, on the truth of the body that it is an object of impermanence, suffering, and selflessness, so that this will prevent the mind from wavering by the effect of the troubled body.
8. PATTIDANAGATHA The following passage is used to make a liberation or to dedicate the merit to all beings. This should be used daily after the practice of meditation. It can also be used in dedication of any kind of merit making. Punnassidani katassa May the punna (merit) made by me now yananyani katani me, or at some other time tesanca bhagino hontu be shared to all beings sattanantappamanaka. Infinite and immeasurable; Ye piya gunavanta ca, those dear and virtuous to me mayham matapitadayo such as my parents, dittha me capyadittha va those seen and the invisible, anne majjhattaverino, or those that are neutral and hostile, satta ditthanti lokasmim, beings established in this world, tebhumma catuyonika, those who are born in three planes or in the four kinds of birth. pancekacatuvokara, They are of five, one or four aggregates, samsaranta bhavabhave. wandering in realms, small and great. Natam ye pattidanamme May those having known my anumodantu te sayam. merit-dedication rejoice it. Ye cimam nappajananti, And those who do not know of this, deva tesam nivedayum. may deities announce to them. Maya dinnanpunnanam Because of their rejoicing anumodanahetuna, the gift of merit given by me, sabbe satta sada hontu may all beings forever live avera sukhajivino, a happy life and free from hate khemappadanca pappontu and may they find the path secure, tesasa sijjhatam subha. and their good wishes all succeed. This dedication passage can be chanted either in Pali or in its translation (or both). There are other passages for the dedication of merit. One can briefly say, “May all merit I earn now or in the past be gained by all beings. Those who know, please rejoice in these merit givings and hence be free from sufferings and be more happy.” SANKHEPAPATTIDANAGATHA (The passage for giving merit to others in brief) Sabbe satta sada hontu May all beings be free from enmity avera sukhajivino, and live a happy life forever. katam punnaphalam mayham May they all receive the same merits sabbe bagi bhavantu te. that I have accumulated (received). Whoever expects progress in their cultivation of the mind should regularly chant the chantings mentioned in this chapter. While chanting, one should consider and concentrate on the meaning of the passages chanted so that one is sure to achieve more successful results from one’s practice.
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