Building concentration with Mantra

[settler]

Concentration is one major aspect in the Chi training, but most people don't know this and set it aside considering a minor aspect.

 

A Mantra is a very simple and highly effective method to develop concentration. The Mantra is the repetitive reading of a poem or a prayer. I have chose the "Jesus Prayer to the world" to be used was my Mantra. A remarkable mind and a great person, hes words not only inspire was they develop more easily concentration. They also develop a connection with the divine world.

 

When we repeat the same text over and over, it becomes clear the mind is running away from tedious and repetitive tasks. Although you want to read the text it seems the mind was hes own will. Keep bringing the wondering mind to the text, and you will develop high levels of concentration.

 

This high levels of concentration serve to aid you in the Chi developing but, will reduce your stress levels, create a state of peace and calmness.

 

The prayer is in the Bible "John Chapter 17". Read the Mantra daily and repeat 3 times, is more or less 15 minutes per day. Not much trouble for what you getting in return.

 

I have a Facebook channel where i share some information check it out: http://www.facebook.com/groups/120949884603379/

 

Before facebook groups where public pages. But now you need to login before you can see the page.

[Edward M]

I agree that mantra is a very very good way to build concentration.

 

The Jesus prayer although a prayer can be used as a mantra. Most greek orthodox members chant it throughout the day, not just 3 times. They have had some remarkable results in purification and also kundalini development through the use of this prayer.

 

When you use a mantra it is useful to bare in mind that you connect with everyone who has ever and will ever use the mantra. So whatever tradition you associate yourself with choose a mantra from that tradition if you like.

 

Although all prophets/sages/rishes etc are connected by the light. Jesus was mentioned in old hindu texts as Isha Putra, so i know when/if i use Om Namah Shivaya i'm connecting to Christ as well.

 

It's important to do it daily and if possible at the same time and place each day.

 

Peace

Ed

[Fu_dog]

What you are describing is also called "passage meditation".

 

This is a very effective form and it's the method taught by Eknath Easwaran. He goes into detail in his book on meditation, which is very good.

 

This style of meditation is also described in the book "Meditation & Its Practices" by Swami Adiswarananda. He calls this "meditating on a holy scripture". Another excellent book, btw.

 

I have been practicing this type of meditation daily for several months now and also find it to be quite effective.

 

Good luck with your practice!

 

Fu

[Adj]

When you use a mantra it is useful to bare in mind that you connect with everyone who has ever and will ever use the mantra.

 

That is awesome, so if I use a mantra from the Book of Solomon I will connect with the richest man who ever lived and have lots of riches in my life? Awesome... Book of Solomon! On my way!

[settler]

Edward M

 

"...Most greek orthodox members chant it throughout the day, not just 3 times..."

 

Let me explain how did i get to that number. At first i was repetitions 20 times, which gives 1 hour to 1.30h. But that consumes a lot of time, so i start reducing the numbers of repetitions until 2 or 1 per day, lather i understood that 3 is a right number to get benefits without that extra consumption of time. I got to this number in order to incorporate the Mantra in a Chi training program. When you are building a training program you can't use all methods, you have to choose which ones work best.

 

But you are right it can be used in any other way, if you need to wait in the dentist for half an hour, if you bring the Mantra, you can better use your time. This can be your main practice, but was explained it's a complementary part of a training program.

 

Jesus speaks about this connection with other entities, in the Prayer to the world: - "who connects to me will be connect to God", he also says that he is the only man who can connect other people to God although this people didn't achieve the merit yet to do so by them self's.

 

I was in big trouble and i attempted to free my self from this for many years, but with no success, this stuff was coming back to me over and over again, no matter how hard i tried. Until one day i turn to Jesus Mantra, and start to receive this huge chain of events in my life, i could not understand them all, they exceeded my mind capability of comprehension, but in the end they fit them self's together in a master plan that release me.

 

Sure any entities can give you some results, but depends on who you what to connect and how big you want to see results.

[Jetsun]

What is the purpose of concentration training?

 

Some meditation methods focus your awareness into a single point, while others stress that you need to expand your awareness not focus it, yet they are both supposedly after the same thing

[settler]

Jetsun

 

Good point

 

Concentration is being in the middle between yin and yang which is the love energy, love does not discriminate if its good or bad. When you are in the middle in the heart Chakra or love energy you develop high levels of flexibility, you don't favor Yin or Yang you are in the middle, highly flexible.

 

Lets inspect Jesus words for flexibility to see if hes in the middle:

 

"...that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me..."

 

Hes speech is always going from him to the father and from the father to disciples and from the disciples to him self. Is not favoring any thing this means independently of what is inside the text that he is in the middle because is not favoring any thing.

 

"Some meditation methods focus your awareness into a single point, while others stress that you need to expand your awareness not focus it, yet they are both supposedly after the same thing".

 

So to build concentration from a Mantra is better that you use words like the ones from Jesus because they are between Yin Yang, they jump a lot, they don't discriminate that much. They naturally train concentration, if you want to brute force, you can conquer your taste by not letting your mind wonder and keep bringing it back to a point so that you may be in the middle.

 

Expansion is the same thing, in that case you will also in the middle because you are not discriminating any thing.

 

The Buddhists call it the middle path, the heart Sutra. They don't mean the heart they mean the heart Chackra which leads to the middle between Yin and Yang. Its the only place where you can relay focus, and when you realty focus you can see the true reality, the divinity etc. When you develop the heart Chackra you can control better your energy because it expands the consciousness and where the mind goes Chi will follow.

 

In resume the concentration is important not only to spiritual developing but also for Chi developing, that's why its in there, there i also mean the program I'm building for higher Chi developing, and for people who wish to incorporate a mantra training in there own program.

[Seth Ananda]

 

"Some meditation methods focus your awareness into a single point, while others stress that you need to expand your awareness not focus it, yet they are both supposedly after the same thing".

Many schools would consider both of these to be concentration. Take Dzogchen training for instance... Shinay {shamatha/concentration} with a suport {one pointed} and Shinay without a support {open awareness}... Both concentration paths. Open awareness is trained by concentrating on being open...

 

The Buddhists call it the middle path, the heart Sutra. They don't mean the heart they mean the heart Chackra which leads to the middle between Yin and Yang.

 

This is not entirely accurate. The Heart word in the Heart Sutra, is not referring to the Heart chakra. It's meaning is closer to essential, or the heart of the matter so to speak... Lots of Sanskrit and Tibetan translations into English read heart in that way...

I guess you could say its meaning is related to the physical heart - as the essential organ, but it is not a direct metaphore...

 

Here is an example, a text that gets sometimes called -Three words that strike the heart- is more properly translated to - The Three words that strike the vital or essential point...

 

 

But back on topic, Mantra is wonderful and I have used it extensively, with great results... So many great Saints had it as their primary practice.

One Sufi Saint said "Any breath that does not repeat the Name of God is a wasted breath!"

 

Another said "pray without ceasing"

 

I lived by that for many years...

[settler]

That might be a matter of schools, the schools that i learned was Zen Buddhism, inside the Zen there are also several schools like Soto and Rinzai the 2 main ones. All of them have their own approaches to enlightenment. It's not of Zen tradition to use Mantras, as I'm aware, they use Koans. They are very strict in what kind of techniques they include in there training, they believe the problem lies inside the learner and not in the technique. Mantras came from Tibetan Buddhism, never learned any techniques from them, learn Mantras on my own.

 

To conclude, if they use the Heart Sutra from the Zen tradition "beats me".

[Clarity]

One Sufi Saint said "Any breath that does not repeat the Name of God is a wasted breath!"

 

Good one.

 

Here's another, "Let the Sun of Truth rise in your Mind like the Breath of Jesus."