Mantra Pronounciations

[DarkCosmoz]

Here is a portion from "Encounters With the World of Spirits" [Chapter 33] (please see other post for more info) that got me worried about my mantra chanting:

Often times there are people who incorrectly pronounce one of the syllables of the mantra. For example, there is an old lady in her fifties who frequently comes to worship at my Buddhist shrine. Instead of chanting "Om Mani Padme Hum," she chants "Om Mani Padme Niu." This old lady has an orchard in the Wufung area of the Liu Ku Mountain. Every day for the past ten years, as she went to and from her orchard, she chanted this mantra. To reach her orchard from the foot of the mountain, she had to pass a long and narrow river bed. Strangely, everytime she chanted "Om Mani Padme Niu," the stones in the river bed would start jumping up and down. When she chanted her mantra once, the stones would jump once. When she chanted her mantra twice, the stones would jump twice. The first time this happened, she was petrified.

Does this mean that mantras have to be pronounced correctly in order to be effective?

Best wishes,
Stephen


Namo Guan Shi Yin Pu Sa

[Quatro Bajina]

Stephen,

If you don't speak the language, like I do, it's advisable to apologize beforehand for any mispronounciations.

It's OK if you don't pronounce it correctly because the Buddha will understand what you are trying to say.

Sifu Wong gives an excellent example in his book "Western Paradise". I forgot what page it is on since I don't have the book with me for the time being. It's about a kid who pronounce "Dada" but the dad understands that the kid means "Daddy". The buddha is like that.

Hope that helps.

[Antonius]

There is an old story about this. Unfortunately, I can't find it at the moment, but it goes something like this:

A young monk goes to visit an older monk who lives on a secluded island in the middle of a lake. The older monk is known to have dedicated 30 years to chanting a single mantra. Rowing his boat to the island, the younger monk finds the older monk happily walking along the shore while chanting.

The younger monk is astonished to hear that the older monk is chanting the mantra incorrectly! He pulls his boat to shore and runs up to the older monk saying, "Old monk, you are chanting that mantra incorrectly! It should be 'Om Mani Padme Hum', not 'Om Mano Padma Hom."

After several tries, the old monk finally gets it right. He apologizes for his mistake and graciously thanks the younger monk many times for his help. The old monk then walks off while chanting the mantra -- correctly this time.

Thinking that this crazy old monk has nothing to teach, the younger monk gets back into his boat. Halfway across the lake, he hears a noise. Looking back, he sees the older monk running across the water waving his hand and saying, "Young monk, please wait! I've forgotten it already. Please tell me the correct pronunciation again!"

[DarkCosmoz]

Thank you very much Quatro Bajina and thank you for the story Antonius.

Continued from first post from Chapter 33...

After a while, it became routine, and she stopped being bothered by it. Then one day she told me of this strange happening. I did a psychic investigation and realized that she had been chanting the mantra wrong. A deformed mantra chanted over a long period of time will naturally give rise to a deformed psychic phenomenon. Especially in this case, the old lady was so diligently and wholeheartedly chanting the mantra that she generated a power that moved stones! I accompanied her on a trip to the Liu Ku Mountain, and I asked her to chant "Om Mani Padme Niu." Then I instructed her to verbally command the stones to pile up in a heap to the east. She followed my instructions, and the stones all ran towards the east to accumulate in one big pile. She changed her command, and the stones all ran to the west. Afterwards, I taught her to chant "Hum" instead of"Niu" in the mantra. This time none of the stones moved at all. This confirms that there is infinite power in chanting a particular mantra. When one makes a mistake with one syllable, the mantra's power is lessened to that of only moving stones. Therefore, it is extremely important that no mistake is made in chanting the mantras.

But by chanting mantras wrong, as seen in the case with the old monk in Antonius's story, doesn't it create a "deformed psychic phenomenon" instead?

[DarkCosmoz]

(Please wholeheartedly forgive me if I am being rude by asking these questions)

Best wishes,
Stephen


Namo Guan Shi Yin Pu Sa

[Antonius]

There is a well known Chan master named Sheng-Yen, but I don't think the author is the same person.

If you are asking my opinion, then I don't think this is something to worry about. Of course, I'm not a master, but it just doesn't make sense to me that the exact sound would be all-important.

Anyone who has studied linguistics knows that languages have changed immeasurably over the years. No one alive knows exactly how ancient Sanskrit sounded. Furthermore, the Chinese used transliterations of the Sanskrit for generations. Instead of saying the Sanskrit "Namo," they used the characters that sounded closest. Over the years, the Chinese dialects changed as well.

If you consider that there have been millions of Chinese Buddhists over the centuries, then you would either have to believe that millions of Buddhists have been chanting in vain, or that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are enlightened enough to recognize a sincere chant even if the sounds vary.

Personally, I opt to believe the latter, not the former.

[Andrew]

Use your mind and not your voice

I am not a Buddhist Master either.

However, I believe that the voice is merely a vehicle to communicate on an earthly level. The resonance that your mind makes is then the key to communication on a spiritual level. If you can recite completely wrongly with the right sincerity and intent, your achievement will much surpass one who recites completely correctly but with defiled thoughts.

Maybe also think about this - a person who cannot speak can also achieve enlightenment.

Andrew

[DarkCosmoz]

Thank you all very much for your replies.


Best wishes,
Stephen


Namo Guan Shi Yin Pu Sa