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I often miss hearing the chanting of my recently-deceased teacher, Myo Ji Sunim. The closest thing to it I've heard is in recordings of Seung Sahn Seon Sa Nim:
His voice carries a lot of gravitas, which is good in other venues like kabuki or poetry reading, but for chanting I think it is a little much, as pleasant as it is to hear.
On the other hand, my voice is about 3 octaves higher than it is in my head, so hearing it reciting the Heart Sutra must make people think of Hello Kitty rather than gravitas :mrgreen: (I used to be a college radio DJ, and would hate it whenever I heard recordings of myself -- is that a progressive music dj, or the host of Kids' Hour? :mrgreen: )
In terms of chanting, I haven't heard myself for the above mentioned reasons but it doesn't feel unnatural. I just feel like my voice doesn't strike a low enough note or resonate with much strength. But perhaps these are of less importance than the virtue of just doing it with the right mindfulness.
Yes master Taigu... but sometimes I wonder if I even SPEAK (let along sing) with my natural voice, sometimes it just feels wrong, a tone that is not mine.... I don´t know
Yes, sensei as we used to call him had an incredible voice, he also had a very strong take on the dharma, down to earth and broad. Compared to him my voice is the voice of a running chicken :lol: . His style inspired my chanting although i sometimes think these day he was a bit over the top and one can find other ways to sing. And I would not recommand anybody to copy this, you could dp a lot of harm to your voice amd throat. Being natral is best.
Gassho
Taigu
May i add that his way of singing the fukanzazengi is very original and breaking with the rhythmical recitation of Zen temples.
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