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The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 3:31 pm
by jonaz108
Hi everybody! Namaste!

Which is for you the most powerful (short) mantra and why...

Sincerely,
John

Re: The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 3:40 pm
by Knotty Veneer
jonaz108 wrote:Hi everybody! Namaste!

Which is for you the most powerful (short) mantra and why...

Sincerely,
John
Any mantra is only as powerful as the devotion of the reciter. Mantras are not spells.

Re: The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 4:17 pm
by jonaz108
Knotty Veneer wrote:
jonaz108 wrote:Hi everybody! Namaste!

Which is for you the most powerful (short) mantra and why...

Sincerely,
John
Any mantra is only as powerful as the devotion of the reciter. Mantras are not spells.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you my dear Knotty,

Allow me to disagree: to chant a mantra in order to gain a demi-god's favour is not the same
than chanting a mantra to gain pure love for God... and of course its not a spell.

Yours,
J.

Re: The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 4:32 pm
by Knotty Veneer
jonaz108 wrote: ----------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you my dear Knotty,

Allow me to disagree: to chant a mantra in order to gain a demi-god's favour is not the same
than chanting a mantra to gain pure love for God... and of course its not a spell.

Yours,
J.
My dear Jonaz108, I think your interpretation of mantra use is not Buddhist. Hindu maybe? Generally the mantra in vajrayana creation stage practice is the deity in audible form, as the visualization is the deity in mental form, and mudra is the deity in physical form.

If you are seeking to use mantra as a way of gaining personal power thru the intercession of a worldly deity you perhaps have been reading the wrong books. Early usually theosophical interpretations of Tibetan Buddhism (David-Neel, Evans-Wentz, Anagarika Govinda for example) tended go in for this kind of interpretation of Buddhist deity practice. But it's nothing I have ever heard taught.

Re: The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 4:32 pm
by DGA
jonaz108 wrote: Thank you my dear Knotty,

Allow me to disagree: to chant a mantra in order to gain a demi-god's favour is not the same
than chanting a mantra to gain pure love for God... and of course its not a spell.

Yours,
J.
That's not how mantra practice works in Buddhism. You're not trying to satisfy a demigod. Buddha Shakyamuni doesn't really have much to say about God for that matter.

An effective mantra that is short and available to everyone is the famous Gate mantra: gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi swaha

phpBB [video]


and here's a start at the "why":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_Sutra

Re: The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 4:51 pm
by jonaz108
Knotty Veneer wrote:
jonaz108 wrote: ----------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you my dear Knotty,

Allow me to disagree: to chant a mantra in order to gain a demi-god's favour is not the same
than chanting a mantra to gain pure love for God... and of course its not a spell.

Yours,
J.
My dear Jonaz108, I think your interpretation of mantra use is not Buddhist. Hindu maybe? Generally the mantra in vajrayana creation stage practice is the deity in audible form, as the visualization is the deity in mental form, and mudra is the deity in physical form.

If you are seeking to use mantra as a way of gaining personal power thru the intercession of a worldly deity you perhaps have been reading the wrong books. Early usually theosophical interpretations of Tibetan Buddhism (David-Neel, Evans-Wentz, Anagarika Govinda for example) tended go in for this kind of interpretation of Buddhist deity practice. But it's nothing I have ever heard taught.
-----------------------------------------
Hi! Thanks a lot,

What I want from a mantra is: purification, realization and connection with transcendence.
And of course a little help in my mundane affairs...

Yours.
J.

Re: The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 5:16 pm
by Knotty Veneer
jonaz108 wrote: What I want from a mantra is: purification, realization and connection with transcendence.
And of course a little help in my mundane affairs...

Yours.
J.
Well, if you attend to the first, then the second will also be helped. Don't waste your time trying to propitiate worldly gods. It can come back to bite you, I'm told. The Dalai Lama in particular has spoken out against Buddhists trying to invoke unelightened gods for wealth and success. It's not the Buddhist way whatever may happen in some folk religious forms.

Re: The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 5:43 pm
by dakini_boi
jonaz108 wrote:Hi everybody! Namaste!

Which is for you the most powerful (short) mantra and why...

Sincerely,
John
Can't go wrong with Prajnaparamita.
When Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva was practicing the profound Prajñāpāramitā, he illuminated the Five Skandhas and saw that they were all empty, and crossed over all suffering and affliction.

“Śāriputra, form is not different from emptiness, and emptiness is not different from form. Form itself is emptiness, and emptiness itself is form. Sensation, conception, synthesis, and discrimination are also such as this. Śāriputra, all dharmas are empty: they are neither created nor destroyed, neither defiled nor pure, and they neither increase nor diminish. This is because in emptiness there is no form, sensation, conception, synthesis, or discrimination. There are no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or thoughts. There are no forms, sounds, scents, tastes, sensations, or dharmas. There is no field of vision and there is no realm of thoughts. There is no ignorance nor elimination of ignorance, even up to and including no old age and death, nor elimination of old age and death. There is no suffering, its accumulation, its elimination, or a path. There is no understanding and no attaining.

“Because there is no attainment, bodhisattvas rely on Prajñāpāramitā, and their minds have no obstructions. Since there are no obstructions, they have no fears. Because they are detached from backwards dream-thinking, their final result is Nirvāṇa. Because all buddhas of the past, present, and future rely on Prajñāpāramitā, they attain Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi. Therefore, know that Prajñāpāramitā is a great spiritual mantra, a great brilliant mantra, an unsurpassed mantra, and an unequalled mantra. The Prajñāpāramitā Mantra is spoken because it can truly remove all afflictions. The mantra is spoken thusly:

gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā
from http://www.lapislazulitexts.com/shorter ... sutra.html (bold in above quote added by me)

Re: The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 6:24 pm
by Schrödinger’s Yidam
What I want from a mantra is: purification, realization and connection with transcendence.
And of course a little help in my mundane affairs...
Vajrasattva's mantra is good for purification. He's got a long one and a short one. The short one is, "Om Vajrasattva Hum". The long one is 100 syllables.

In terms of transcendence, it should be noted that Dzogchen comes from Garab Dorje, who it is said got if from Vajrasattva. So Vajrasattva is the Sambogakaya source for Dzogchen, and not to be dismissed as less-than deity.

If you purify your karma, you will change the way you live. (Personal habits are a facet of karma.) If you change the way you live, your life will get batter. Any benefit beyond that is just icing on the cake.

Re: The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 9:43 pm
by Ayu
jonaz108 wrote:...

Which is for you the most powerful (short) mantra and why...

Sincerely,
John
Hi John,

If you ask, which one it is for me - i cannot decide and choose only one. They are three.
The 100-syllable-Vajrasattva-Mantra had an immediate power for me, that became even stronger during the years.
The medicine-buddha-mantra seems to have a very strong helping-power if done for others. It heals mentally and physically and even helps in bad living-circumstances.
The Tara-Mantra, spoken with huge respect, can bring a contact to mother Tara, and she is able to provide rescue in bad mental situations. Extremely powerful.
This all is only my personal impression.

Best wishes, Ayu

Re: The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 10:04 pm
by Arnoud
Om Ah Hum will do the trick. In Om, gentle hold Ah, out Hum.

Re: The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 10:08 pm
by Seishin
I'm reminded of the story of the monk who dedicated his entire life to chanting a single mantra. Another monk, hearing of this dedication decided to visit the small island the dedicated monk was staying on. When he arrived he asked to hear the mantra he'd been chanting for years. The monk obliged. After hearing the mantra, the visiting monk felt sorry for the other monk because he'd been practicing the mantra incorrectly all these years! So he helped correct the monks' mistake and started to row back to shore, satisfied with his good deed. Just then, the dedicated monk from the islands appeared beside his boat, standing on the water, and asked "can you repeat it again, I want to make sure I've got it right". The visiting monk again obliged and watched as the other monk walked on the water back to his island.

So, even despite the fact he was chanting the mantra incorrectly, because he was doing it with such dedication, it didn't really matter.

Some vajrayana students might disagree with that, but I like the story non-the-less :smile:

Gassho,
Seishin

Re: The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 10:22 pm
by Ayu
Seishin wrote: Some vajrayana students might disagree with that, but I like the story non-the-less :smile:
No, I agree. In my (Vajrayana-)Sangha it is told a littlebit different, but anyhow it is the most helpful story regarding mantras an the anxiety about their application and impact. :anjali:

Re: The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 10:54 pm
by Nilasarasvati
I have a hard time not lapsing in and out of different mantras throughout any given day. Usually whichever I did the most recitations of that day in sitting practice. They tend to gain momentum the more repetitions I do.

I bet I should just have one that I recall when I'm in postmeditation, and as a Ngondro accumulator, I bet many teachers would say that should be the Vajra Guru mantra. But habitually, usually, I guess the statistics would show I repeat the Tara mantra most, followed by the 100 Syllable mantra.

Re: The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 2:38 am
by Jinzang
The most widely practiced and esteemed mantra in Tibet was the six syllable mantra of Avalokiteshvara, "om mani padme hum." It is the most powerful because Avalokitesvara is the essence of the compassion of all the buddhas. Through practicing it, your compassion will also grow. And compassion is the root of bodhicitta, which is absolutely essential for achieving buddhahood. If you want enlightenment, the six syllable mantra is the path to it.

Re: The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 3:22 am
by Nicholas Weeks
jonaz:
What I want from a mantra is: purification, realization and connection with transcendence.
And of course a little help in my mundane affairs...
With this attitude you will get close to zero benefits. Work on purification by becoming less self-centered. That, by itself, will help you in the other three areas.

There is no way to avoid or skip over the purification needed, by just chanting. Start with practicing the 10 virtues (no killing, no stealing etc.)

Should you ever discover some real devotion to a specific Buddha or Bodhisattva, then making that one a focus of your daily practice (which will include a mantra) will give you much benefit.

Re: The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 3:38 am
by lobster
jonaz108 wrote: Which is for you the most powerful (short) mantra and why...

Sincerely,
John
Just do it
Nike

why?
because you might just do it . . . :smile:

Re: The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 5:15 pm
by jonaz108
Will wrote:jonaz:
What I want from a mantra is: purification, realization and connection with transcendence.
And of course a little help in my mundane affairs...
With this attitude you will get close to zero benefits. Work on purification by becoming less self-centered. That, by itself, will help you in the other three areas.

There is no way to avoid or skip over the purification needed, by just chanting. Start with practicing the 10 virtues (no killing, no stealing etc.)

Should you ever discover some real devotion to a specific Buddha or Bodhisattva, then making that one a focus of your daily practice (which will include a mantra) will give you much benefit.
Thank you my dear Will, namaste!
In reality, I usualy offer the benefits of my daily chanting to people on the street
wich I see in dificulty, to the family, to the departed jivas in hell,
and when I chant in the city, I imagine myself "spraying" the merit to all the people in my path...
-------
Right now, I have chosen Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva as my guide.
I chant 21 times the Maha Karuna Dharani long mantra,
1 time the Shurangama long Mantra,
2 x 108 times the Shurangama Heart Mantra,
2 x 108 times Sitatapatri White Canopy mantra, all that with the japa mala,
and I am not including what I chant mentally in my bed, at work and during the day, ...
I read all the Sutras in a daily base, I don't eat meat for almost 10 years now..
What I mean is: nobody can make a profile based only in one simple question.
Nonetheless, your words are wise, and I thank you for them Will.
--------
To all the members that answered my question without deprecation,
my heartfelt gratitude!
John

Re: The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 5:22 pm
by DGA
Hi John,

You read all the sutras on a daily basis? Do I understand you correctly? Are you doing all this on your own, or are you affiliated with a temple or a teacher?

The practice regime you describe for yourself is quite rigorous. Good for you.

Re: The "most powerful" mantra.

Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 7:17 pm
by Nicholas Weeks
Yes, well done John. You did not mention practicing the ethical foundation of the Ten Virtues, so I assume you do so, or will do so. They are absolutely essential.

But if you really want to magnify your good karma or merit-making, take refuge in the Triple Jewel - preferably from a Mahayana master.