Kalu Rinpoche - How to appropriately chant mantra
Q: Can you explain how to recite mantras properly?
A: Okay, so my answer to you, “how to appropriately chant mantra” is to slow down little bit, that’s the most important, that’s the first step.
Because many of us, when we think about the mantra, we think about “I need to reach 100,000, 2 million, 3 million” and then other people, maybe your Dharma brothers and sisters doing much better, in terms of numbers, then you have this competition.
And then you say “oh, I have to do more”, then you start to lose the quality of your practice, and rather it becomes a number. Like an example, in life, when everything’s about the numbers, then you start to lose appreciation in the simplest thing. So it’s simple in an ordinary life, example in ordinary life. Just like that, and of course in a spiritual, religious way, it’s much more profound.
And it’s very important that the chanting has to combine with a body in a meditation posture, and then the mind, in the Dharmic path, speech in the reciting sutras or mantras. So when you combine these three, then it’s good.
If you just repeat because your father said so, your mother said so, or your parents said so, or your guru told you to do it, of course it is good, but it does not have that much of a strong impact to yourself, neither to other people, you know? So that’s something very important.
And whenever you chant, always try to chant very slowly, like an example “om mani padme hum, om mani padme hum, om mani padme hum”, meditate little bit. And then like if you’re chanting Green Tara “om tare tuttare ture soha, om tare tuttare ture soha, om tare tuttare ture soha”. If you are chanting Guru Rinpoche mantra “om ah hung benza guru péma siddhi hung, om ah hung benza guru péma siddhi hung, om ah hung benza guru péma siddhi hung”.
And then if you are chanting other mantras “teyata om gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi soha”, “teyata om muni muni maha muniye soha”, just chant little bit, and meditate, reflect upon yourself, and try to have that kind of an approach, more calm, but not too relaxed, like listening to music in the spa, not like that. But rather keep the pace without too much force in it.
