The purpose of chanting ?

[Seiryu]

Re: The purpose of chanting ?

Chanting....Heart sutra.....hmmm...this is one way to do it....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivYC5lNFv_g[/video]]

[Jundo]

Re: The purpose of chanting ?

Chanting....Heart sutra.....hmmm...this is one way to do it....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivYC5lNFv_g[/video]]

Oh, the Heart Sutra is endless, of myriad varieties ...

viewtopic.php?p=43560#p43560

[Onshin]

Re: The purpose of chanting ?

I think I have mentioned this before, (we oldies tend to repeat ourselves a bit), In the OBC we did chant it all in a plain chant method written by Rev master Jiyu Kennet Roshi who trained in church music before going to the far east to study Budhism. Funily enough I was watiching an old vid this afternoon from Throssel Hole, it reminded me how moving the plainsong can be, especially vespers.

Gassho

Joe

[chessie]

Re: The purpose of chanting ?

I've been thinking about this for the last few days. I was trained in classical music for many years, and did Nichiren practice about 20 years ago, which included chanting. As to the music:
What is music? According to Webster's II: New Riverside University Dictionary, music is "the art of arranging tones in an orderly sequence so as to produce a unified and continuous composition"
It just says 'arranging tones' but not whether it is the *same* or *different* tones that are arranged. Even the same tone, in the chant rhythm, becomes wonderful music. I found that once the sutra was thoroughly embedded in memory, it truly becomes a song in the heart. Even now, 20 years after I stopped chanting 'gongyo' every day I still remember 'the song' and 'sing' it to myself from time to time. It's just become a natural part of me. On the other hand, the primary chant of one sentence over and over for lengthy periods of time...well, that gave me a headache, so I realized I wasn't meant to stay in that tradition.

Reading through this thread has brought back good memories, since chanting IS very enjoyable once the text is fully memorized. I think it's time for me to memorize the Heart Sutra in both English and Japanese. Thanks to all, and thanks for the incentive.

Gassho, Ann

[Nenka]

Re: The purpose of chanting ?

[quote="Silva"
Breathing ? I couldn't tell when you took your breath Jundo ?
[/quote]

Heh. During the retreat, I found myself unable to breathe-a-long with either Jundo or Taigu. Is it something like trumpet/saxophone/bagpipe players do, where they sort of inhale and exhale at the same time? Or do I just need to learn the right times to sneak in a little air?

[Taigu]

Re: The purpose of chanting ?

Hi Jennifer,

Breathing should be natural in Soto Zen, we don't fiddle with it, it arises as is. So there is nothing to learn. As we practice our breathing becomes broader, there is more freedom and flexibility in it. So we sing and running out of air, we breath in. That simple. As to chanting itself, you might develop with experience a voice with harmonics. But it is not necessary. Put your all heart into it, and it will be beautiful.

gassho

Taigu

[Nenka]

Re: The purpose of chanting ?

Thanks, Taigu.

Gassho

Jennifer

[murasaki]

Re: The purpose of chanting ?

I'm very interested by and grateful for this thread, I have been wondering about the purpose of chanting.

I like to chant, and I prefer to chant in Japanese. I don't feel it's robotic; the rhythm makes it fresh like breathing, but it's more than breathing...it's moving like kinhin, in a smaller way.

I remember I used to sing to myself a lot when I was playing on my own as a child, and then I would stop, and notice the silence. How it kind of filled the room. Without having the words to describe it, I know I felt a kind of energy that I'd created. Chanting puts me back in touch with that childhood feeling and experience.

I don't know what I sound like, possibly silly to others, but in my head the sound is smooth. Not very booming, kind of small. I do feel self-conscious chanting while my daughter is home, even though she doesn't care what I'm doing (or, does she like it too?) But the syllables feel good to say. I guess that's why I am a devotee of linguistics and learning languages.

But all this has just been feelings, so it's nice to put it into a context and have better awareness of what I'm doing and why.

gassho
Julia