Why chant? Why do we chant? In Buddhism the answer to this question is discussed in terms of intention. Most people when they begin to practice (and this is true of other Dharma and Spiritual traditions as well) do so because there is some distress in their life. The distress might be mild, such as a sense of unease. Or it might be severe such as life-threatening illness, serious financial problems, poverty, etc. The feeling is that practice will alleviate these difficulties.
And practice does alleviate these difficulties. It really works on this level. But there is a paradox here: If the only reason one practices is to alleviate personal difficulties, then when those difficulties are removed, there is no further reason to practice. It resembles medicine; we take medicine while we are sick, but when we recover we don't continue taking the medicine. That is one reason why there is a high drop-out rate among spiritual practitioners. There's nothing wrong with this; I'm not saying it's bad that people enter and leave practice in this way. But something else needs to be present for practice to continue.
That something else is Bodhichitta, which means the "mind of illumination". In Mahayana Buddhism the mind of Bodhichitta means practicing for the benefit of others, and ultimately practicing to assist all sentient beings. Bodhichitta is a turning in the mind from self-concern to concern for others. When Bodhichitta is present, then we have a good reason to continue our practice, continue chanting, even if there are no personal observable benefits; because we are practicing to assist others so that others can also open their hearts and minds to the compassionate and responsive presence of the deathless and unborn.
It has been my own observation that most people have mixed intention. Mixed here means that there is a mixture of self-concern and concern for others. The two can coexist. But I have also found that when Bodhichitta is dominant, practice is very easy, very smooth, effortless. And when self-concern is dominant, practice has a kind of sticky feel to it; because I am evaluating the practice, judging its results. Bodhichitta makes practice a great gift to others; and we all know how good we feel when we give a gift to someone that makes them happy.
May the Wonderful Lotus of the Dharma blossom within the hearts and minds of all beings.
Dharmajim
Dharmajim -
I know I certainly have mixed intentions; I still have a long way to go before I get completely past the self-concern stage. However, I must agree with you that as I develop whatever small bits of Bodhichitta I have currently mustered, my practice does become more effortless. The other thing that I notice is that there is no lessening of the effects I was concentrating on when in full self-concern mode; the "benefits" keep coming, even when I am not focussing on them anymore. I was trying to explain this a little on E-Sangha, and got a bit offtrack; hopefully I do a better job here.
As I develop this further, I find less need to focus on my self-concerns; if I keep my focus on my Bodhichitta, those self concerns which were once so worrisome now oftentimes take care of themselves.
Someone commented that members of my school do not seem to talk about "benefits", and thought that this was intentional. I feel it is more a side-effect of one's focus shifting towards Bodhichitta.
Namaste, Engyo Mike Barrett
Posted by: Engyo Mike Barrett at August 23, 2004 03:14 PMDharmajim,
"when we recover we don't continue taking the medicine." Very well stated. Outside benefit, shortside happiness. That reminds me of someone...oh, yeah, me. That's exactly what happened to my practice. And I wasn't conscious of it happening. Just one of the pitfalls of benefit oriented practice on a solo flight.
Bodhichitta sounds like what happens when one developes through forebearance and support a passionate compassion. Can I cut in line and get that to go? I have an appointment in another existence with my non-self and if I miss it nothing will happen.
davey