Thank you, Aleksey. According to my understanding of Russian (and Google Translator), this is lovely ...
Достичь Пути Просветления, хотя Путь недостижим = Reach the Path of Enlightenment, although the Path is unattainable
As to Dharani, this is due to my belief that they were traditionally used as magic spells based on the power of sounds the origin and meaning of which are long long forgotten, much like the words "abracadabra." D.T. Suzuki wrote this about them ...
That being said, if doing so holds some meaning or "power" for you in your heart, then they have meaning and power to that extent. If they have meaning for you, then they have that meaning. We humans all find our meaning and power where we will, and so the Dharani may have meaning and power for you to chant.
However, we do not chant them in our ceremonies here at Treeleaf.
I cut and paste below more of an old rant by me on Dharani, in case anyone is interested.
Gassho, Jundo
SatToday
Sorry to run long.
=======================================
Dharani are chants, sometimes intelligible but often unintelligible as the original Indian meanings have been lost (for example, they are chanted phonetically in Japanese vaguely based on purely phonetic Chinese, itself based on some original long lost Indian words ... something that makes even less sense if one believes that the power is only in the original Indian sounds as is the original belief!! ), often felt to have protective, good fortune bringing or other special powers thought to derive from the power of the sound (more than the lost meaning). Mantra are similar, but typically shorter. Dharani are recited as part of standard Soto rituals, and in most other schools of Buddhism.
I do not recite Dharani here at Treeleaf, for I tend to consider them too much "hocus pocus and abracadarba". I will not chant magic spells, but I do feel at home to chant certain Mantra, such as at the end of the Heart Sutra ...
Gate! Gate! (Already Gone, Gone)
Paragate! (Already Gone Beyond)
Parasamgate! (Already Fully Beyond)
Bodhi! Svaha! * (Awakening, Rejoice)
Let me try to explain the difference:
Much depends how one defines a Mantra or Dharani in one's heart. In much of Buddhism and related religions of India (although something very similar can be found in about all religions really ... e.g., like "God Is Great/Allahu al-Akbar" in Islam, an orthodox Jew's reciting the sacred letters of Torah, or "Praise Jesus" in some corners of Christianity), it is a sound, word or words that create transformation in some way. Mantras and Dharani ... like classical music ... can have a profound meaning often beyond words that is spoken to the heart. That is fine. All sounds arise from and return to Silence! The bare sounds truly can resonate with the heart and outward into space. If you have no problem, and it makes your heart feel good, to walk down the street on a summer day, singing the Beatle's unintelligible "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", then why not the Dharani's equally unintelligible "gya gya gya ki gya ki" if it rings in your heart?
My real objection is to those Dharani and Mantras used quite clearly as abracadabra magic spells and incantations to get some material benefit such as a new job or new car or love or even medical recovery. I believe that, for most people, that is the way they have been primarily thought of and used through the centuries. Often the ways in which we chant "to get stuff" can be much more hidden and subtle, and we should be cautious. The "Disaster Prevention Dharani" was traditionally used as a magic spell to prevent fires and other like disasters in the monastery and life by its alleged mystical power to appease the spirits (I would advise that it is probably better instead to just buy a smoke alarm and do a fire drill).
We usually chant the Heart Sutra and other Chants at Treeleaf in English as the common language we share in this international Sangha. We also chant in Japanese (to be exact, "Sino-Japanese", the Japanese pronunciation of classical Chinese) from time to time out of respect for tradition and honoring our "roots" (Sometimes, but more rarely, we chant something in Sanskrit). I feel that it is important to understand the philosophy and perspectives presented in the words of the Heart Sutra, the Identity of Relative and Absolute and all of the other chants we chant. (I even translated the little Mantra that closes the Heart Sutra into understandable English in our Chant Book).
However, there is also a point where we "Just Chant" (like "Just Sit") ... throwing one-self into the chanting. In such case, it does not matter if we chant in English, Japanese, Esperanto, Martian or Silently. Got the point?
On the other hand, I do not encourage around here the Chanting of "Dharani", even several traditional to the Soto school and Zen in general. It is just too much "abracadabra" removed from all sense of meaning.
Достичь Пути Просветления, хотя Путь недостижим = Reach the Path of Enlightenment, although the Path is unattainable
As to Dharani, this is due to my belief that they were traditionally used as magic spells based on the power of sounds the origin and meaning of which are long long forgotten, much like the words "abracadabra." D.T. Suzuki wrote this about them ...
Properly speaking, the dharani has no legitimate place in Zen. That it has nevertheless crept into its daily service is clue to the general characteristics of Chinese Buddhism of the Sung dynasty, when the Japanese Zen masters visited China and imported it as they found it then, together with the [esoteric Buddhist] elements of Chinese Zen. ... A dharani is considered as holding magical power in it or bearing deep meaning. When it is pronounced, whatever evil spirits there are ready to interfere with the spiritual effect of a ritual, are kept away from it. ... When translated they convey no intelligent signification. They mostly consist of invocations and exclamations. The invocation is an appeal to the higher powers, and the exclamation is to frighten away the evil spirits. That the practical result of these utterances is not to be judged objectively goes without saying.
However, we do not chant them in our ceremonies here at Treeleaf.
I cut and paste below more of an old rant by me on Dharani, in case anyone is interested.
Gassho, Jundo
SatToday
Sorry to run long.
=======================================
Dharani are chants, sometimes intelligible but often unintelligible as the original Indian meanings have been lost (for example, they are chanted phonetically in Japanese vaguely based on purely phonetic Chinese, itself based on some original long lost Indian words ... something that makes even less sense if one believes that the power is only in the original Indian sounds as is the original belief!! ), often felt to have protective, good fortune bringing or other special powers thought to derive from the power of the sound (more than the lost meaning). Mantra are similar, but typically shorter. Dharani are recited as part of standard Soto rituals, and in most other schools of Buddhism.
I do not recite Dharani here at Treeleaf, for I tend to consider them too much "hocus pocus and abracadarba". I will not chant magic spells, but I do feel at home to chant certain Mantra, such as at the end of the Heart Sutra ...
Gate! Gate! (Already Gone, Gone)
Paragate! (Already Gone Beyond)
Parasamgate! (Already Fully Beyond)
Bodhi! Svaha! * (Awakening, Rejoice)
Let me try to explain the difference:
Much depends how one defines a Mantra or Dharani in one's heart. In much of Buddhism and related religions of India (although something very similar can be found in about all religions really ... e.g., like "God Is Great/Allahu al-Akbar" in Islam, an orthodox Jew's reciting the sacred letters of Torah, or "Praise Jesus" in some corners of Christianity), it is a sound, word or words that create transformation in some way. Mantras and Dharani ... like classical music ... can have a profound meaning often beyond words that is spoken to the heart. That is fine. All sounds arise from and return to Silence! The bare sounds truly can resonate with the heart and outward into space. If you have no problem, and it makes your heart feel good, to walk down the street on a summer day, singing the Beatle's unintelligible "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", then why not the Dharani's equally unintelligible "gya gya gya ki gya ki" if it rings in your heart?
My real objection is to those Dharani and Mantras used quite clearly as abracadabra magic spells and incantations to get some material benefit such as a new job or new car or love or even medical recovery. I believe that, for most people, that is the way they have been primarily thought of and used through the centuries. Often the ways in which we chant "to get stuff" can be much more hidden and subtle, and we should be cautious. The "Disaster Prevention Dharani" was traditionally used as a magic spell to prevent fires and other like disasters in the monastery and life by its alleged mystical power to appease the spirits (I would advise that it is probably better instead to just buy a smoke alarm and do a fire drill).
We usually chant the Heart Sutra and other Chants at Treeleaf in English as the common language we share in this international Sangha. We also chant in Japanese (to be exact, "Sino-Japanese", the Japanese pronunciation of classical Chinese) from time to time out of respect for tradition and honoring our "roots" (Sometimes, but more rarely, we chant something in Sanskrit). I feel that it is important to understand the philosophy and perspectives presented in the words of the Heart Sutra, the Identity of Relative and Absolute and all of the other chants we chant. (I even translated the little Mantra that closes the Heart Sutra into understandable English in our Chant Book).
However, there is also a point where we "Just Chant" (like "Just Sit") ... throwing one-self into the chanting. In such case, it does not matter if we chant in English, Japanese, Esperanto, Martian or Silently. Got the point?
On the other hand, I do not encourage around here the Chanting of "Dharani", even several traditional to the Soto school and Zen in general. It is just too much "abracadabra" removed from all sense of meaning.
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