BUDDHA AMITABHA

[Maddie]

I thought I'd mention that Amitofuo mantra is very helpful for "staying single" if one desires to do so. This is something I've just noticed from experience and not anything I read about.

[EFreethought]

On 5/22/2020 at 1:06 PM, dmattwads said:

I thought I'd mention that Amitofuo mantra is very helpful for "staying single" if one desires to do so. This is something I've just noticed from experience and not anything I read about.

Are there any mantras that help with not "staying single"?

[Maddie]

On 9/8/2020 at 12:45 AM, EFreethought said:

Are there any mantras that help with not "staying single"?

Yes. I would say any of the wish fulfilling mantras like zhunti mantra or Nam myoho renge Kyo and stuff like that.

[Miroku]

On 8. 9. 2020 at 7:45 AM, EFreethought said:

Are there any mantras that help with not "staying single"?

 

This mantra. I think it is okay to recite it without any lung or teachings. I actually think I got my amazing boyfriend in part thanks to this mantra.

 

 

[EFreethought]

@dmattwads, @Miroku

Thanks for the response.

 

Do you actually chant mantras, or do you repeat them mentally while meditating?

 

[Creation]

On 9/12/2020 at 2:40 PM, Miroku said:

This mantra. I think it is okay to recite it without any lung or teachings. I actually think I got my amazing boyfriend in part thanks to this mantra

Thanks for reminding me about Arya Kurukulla. 

[Maddie]

12 hours ago, EFreethought said:

@dmattwads, @Miroku

Thanks for the response.

 

Do you actually chant mantras, or do you repeat them mentally while meditating?

 

 

I do both.

[Miroku]

13 hours ago, EFreethought said:

@dmattwads, @Miroku

Thanks for the response.

 

Do you actually chant mantras, or do you repeat them mentally while meditating?

 

 

Depends on the practice, mantra etc. Some mantras should not be chanted, especially wrathful ones, but for those you need transmission for sure.

Otherwise both is good. I like to sing mani mantra when I do dishes for example. My teachers say that chanting mantras can be 100 times more effective than just reciting. Why? Well, the melody is often important part of the practice. In some cases the mantra was received with that particular melody from the buddhas, so the melody is very tied to the mantra. Also when sung with pleasant melody the mantras can then be an offering to local gods, guardians, spirits and also to the buddhas as everybody likes a pleasing sound.

So chanting is good.  Silent recitation is also good and works better when one has to accumulate huge numbers of mantras.

[Maddie]

Noticed something weird today regarding Amitofu chanting. Last night I found this very long Amitofu chant on YouTube and played it in low volume all night while I slept. This morning I felt for lack of a better term this bubble going up through my solar plexus area into my chest.

 Just a little while ago I was doing Amitofu in my head and started feeling chest pain that was radiating into my head, I got clammy and light headed. I stopped Amitofu and began chanting medicine Buddha in my head and it went away quickly. This was very weird and of all the weird things I've experienced this was me.

 Any idea what that might have been?

[Maddie]

On 5/10/2020 at 2:44 PM, C T said:

Im just curious and have a question for mantra practitioners - Where does related visualization practices fit into your routine? 

 

Haven't seen it mentioned, unless it was somehow missed. 

 

Until recently I have not done any visualizations, but recently I have begun to try and visualize the Bodhisattva or Buddha who's mantra I am doing some of the time. I'm not sure but I feel that it might add something.  

[C T]

10 hours ago, dmattwads said:

 

Until recently I have not done any visualizations, but recently I have begun to try and visualize the Bodhisattva or Buddha who's mantra I am doing some of the time. I'm not sure but I feel that it might add something.  

 

Visualizations are useful to gauge one's progress working with mantras.

 

One of the practical reasons for working with mantras is the dismantling of old layers of conditioning. As the layers are peeled, gradually the appearance of the image of whichever deity (or buddha) one is working with becomes clearer, and the intricate details arising in the mind, initially needing effort, but over time, it eases, until a point where, the moment a particular mantra is chanted (for eg the Mani mantra), spontaneously a 3D Avalokitesvara will appear, resplendent, radiant, and adorned with all the attributes which the mind, in time, should be picturing very clearly. So, one of the main reasons this is done (by Mahayana practitioners) is to embed a habit of spontaneous arising of the yidam (one's personal energetic guide & protector). Its helpful when one's life is in imminent danger, or at the time of death - Mahayana schools traditionally believe that at the time of entering the intermediate bardo (between death and rebirth) the ability to spontaneously recall one's yidam will ensure a smooth and virtuous path towards one's ultimate aim as a practitioner. They believe also the transitional journey in the bardo can be a bewildering one if one lacks that recollective ability. Visualization practices are mainly focused towards this end. And a happy beginning, so to speak.

[Maddie]

On 9/23/2021 at 2:43 AM, C T said:

 

Visualizations are useful to gauge one's progress working with mantras.

 

One of the practical reasons for working with mantras is the dismantling of old layers of conditioning. As the layers are peeled, gradually the appearance of the image of whichever deity (or buddha) one is working with becomes clearer, and the intricate details arising in the mind, initially needing effort, but over time, it eases, until a point where, the moment a particular mantra is chanted (for eg the Mani mantra), spontaneously a 3D Avalokitesvara will appear, resplendent, radiant, and adorned with all the attributes which the mind, in time, should be picturing very clearly. So, one of the main reasons this is done (by Mahayana practitioners) is to embed a habit of spontaneous arising of the yidam (one's personal energetic guide & protector). Its helpful when one's life is in imminent danger, or at the time of death - Mahayana schools traditionally believe that at the time of entering the intermediate bardo (between death and rebirth) the ability to spontaneously recall one's yidam will ensure a smooth and virtuous path towards one's ultimate aim as a practitioner. They believe also the transitional journey in the bardo can be a bewildering one if one lacks that recollective ability. Visualization practices are mainly focused towards this end. And a happy beginning, so to speak.

 

I think I am finding that mantra practice is working for me better personally than mindfulness meditation. In fact I think I am discovering that mindfulness meditation at least as I learned it would often make me feel much worse. 

[TheGrayJediKnight]

On 5/11/2020 at 9:09 PM, C T said:

 

I believe they do (manifest differently to people based on their cultural background.) 

Thats why the Tibetan iconography (of enlightened beings) literally contains tens of thousands of images. 

This is to cater for all levels/types of archetypal resonances that practitioners can tap into. 

Traditionalists will probably disagree, but thats okay. My teacher disagrees with all static/fixated premises. 

She said it doesn't make sense to deaden the mind by imposing restrictions when the main purpose of practice is to release the mind gently into its empty nature. Ultimately, freedom is to be free of extremes, and if this is the goal, then one must recognize that what teachers provide as tools for practice are simply that.... expedients for maturing the practice. If a practitioner insists that a mandala has to be this way or that, and that its wrong to include, for eg, Jesus Christ (and other non-Buddhist archetypes) within the mandala, then the whole purpose of the practice is missed. 

 

Not only will Sukhavati manifest differently to Westerners -

in essence, it should manifest uniquely to each practitioner's karmic path. 

For example, a Buddhist practitioner's mandala may be imbued with symbols of the swastika and other auspicious symbols, whereas a Christian who adopts vajrayana practice is free to work with auspicious Christian symbols when creating his/her mandala. Or not. If they are not ready to manifest such a mandala to enhance their journey towards enlightenment, thats fine too. 

 

Any particular reason why you do not agree with the idea that Guan Yin and Tara share the same representations? 

I was under the idea Guan Yin was supposed to be Chenrezig, not Tara.

[C T]

On 18/12/2021 at 4:33 AM, TheGrayJediKnight said:

I was under the idea Guan Yin was supposed to be Chenrezig, not Tara.

 

"The Tibetan Goddess TARA

Closely allied with Kuan Yin is Tara (Star), goddess of protection and compassion, worshipped by Tibetan, Mongolian, and Nepali Buddhists. According to "Mandala: The Architecture of Enlightenment" by Denise Patry Leidy & Robert A. F. Thurman (Shambhala 1997): "Tara is the archangelic and archetype-deity bodhisattva representing the miraculous activities of all buddhas. In myth she is born from Avalokitesvara's tears of compassion or from her own vow to be enlightened and stay a woman... There are innumerable manifestations of Tara, as many as beings require,* but her most famous are the peaceful White Tara, who brings protection, long life and peace; and the dynamic Green Tara, who overcomes obstacles and saves beings in dangerous situations."

 

 

 

 

They both share similar attributes and enlightening activities. 

[TheGrayJediKnight]

On 12/24/2021 at 5:29 AM, C T said:

 

"The Tibetan Goddess TARA

Closely allied with Kuan Yin is Tara (Star), goddess of protection and compassion, worshipped by Tibetan, Mongolian, and Nepali Buddhists. According to "Mandala: The Architecture of Enlightenment" by Denise Patry Leidy & Robert A. F. Thurman (Shambhala 1997): "Tara is the archangelic and archetype-deity bodhisattva representing the miraculous activities of all buddhas. In myth she is born from Avalokitesvara's tears of compassion or from her own vow to be enlightened and stay a woman... There are innumerable manifestations of Tara, as many as beings require,* but her most famous are the peaceful White Tara, who brings protection, long life and peace; and the dynamic Green Tara, who overcomes obstacles and saves beings in dangerous situations."

 

 

 

 

They both share similar attributes and enlightening activities. 

This article with the Dalai Lama says in Tibetan it's Chenrezig, in China it's Guan Yin...

https://www.buddhistdoor.net/news/dalai-lama-speaks-on-reincarnation-sadness-and-the-continued-need-for-nonviolence/

Edited January 1, 2022 by TheGrayJediKnight