A foot in the water

[Zaii]

I was browsing through the thread on SGI buddhists (http://forums.abrahadabra.com/showthread.php?t=302&page=2), and the discussion over the mantra (or whatever the proper term may be) used by Nichiren Buddhists and the subsequent discussion over the relevance of an approach to its practitioner sparked my curiousity a bit. This is not necessarily relevant to eastern philosophy but it didn't really seem appropriate anywhere else, so if it's in the wrong spot, my bad.

I've decided to create a mantra, with essentially arbitrary components; really an acronym composed of the first letters of words that compose a sentimental running joke among a few friends and I, and intone it (well, more of a chant-like whisper) for an hour every day (half hour after waking, half hour before sleep). I'm going to keep this up for a month, and see what happens.

I'm doing the first chant a few minutes from now. I'll be kneeling, with my eyes closed, and hands clasped.

I'll be keeping record of the change that comes my way, if any.

Anyone else want to try a similar experiment?

[m1thr0s]

I'm pretty steeped in my own practise already so I can't really join you in this experiment, but I do want to wish you luck with it. As a trained martial artist I am sure you are already aware that even your failures are important...it all teaches you something. So even if things don't go the way you hoped, none of the time/energy has been wasted. Every step is an important step...

perseverance furthers,

m1thr0s

[Zaii]

I'm pretty steeped in my own practise already so I can't really join you in this experiment, but I do want to wish you luck with it. As a trained martial artist I am sure you are already aware that even your failures are important...it all teaches you something. So even if things don't go the way you hoped, none of the time/energy has been wasted. Every step is an important step...

perseverance furthers,

m1thr0s

Thanks for the support regardless.

So it turns out I don't really have an affinity for the tones I was trying to use, and actually felt pretty confused, bored, and frustrated after making an attempt, only a few minutes into the practice, not to mention nauseous.

I'm trying to either determine what I was doing wrong, or just choose a better chant.

Ideas anyone?

[m1thr0s]

I can't handle traditional meditation practices at all. I'm just not into deceleration on any level. My practice has always been more about acceleration and I had to carve it out one brick at a time over a period of many years. But I would have died from boredom doing things in the ways people so often seem to recommend.

I think I'm sort of with Bruce Lee on this issue: The stillness in stillness is not the real stillness, etc. Who knows what that's supposed to mean but to me it always meant that the stillness found through focused action is a lot stronger, so in that sense, a lot more real.

You'll have to find your own style. I'm only letting you know there's more than one way to skin a cat...sometimes the lesser known methods are actually the best.

m1thr0s

[Qaexl]

So it turns out I don't really have an affinity for the tones I was trying to use, and actually felt pretty confused, bored, and frustrated after making an attempt, only a few minutes into the practice, not to mention nauseous.

I'm trying to either determine what I was doing wrong, or just choose a better chant.

Ideas anyone?

I rarely use chants. When I do, I chose passages from ancient scrolls I have studied with at different angles. Generally though, I've already got a very good feel for the a couple of the hidden meanings, and I'm bringing up a specific state and then tagging it with the intonation. My intentions were to be able to reverse that order and be able to invoke the state by reciting the passage.

There's a couple ways to do this ... being confused, bored, and frustrated is a method for ... actually, I don't know what you are trying to achieve (or not achieve). If you're trying to enter into a trance-like state during the intonation, the boredom lulls you into a state of semi-sleepiness and allows you to enter into trance. The trick to it is that you have to allow your body to fall asleep, but you have to keep your inner gaze "sharp". Your inner vision may fog up, like when you are falling asleep... but don't let it cloud your mind. In this way, you are drugging the meat and throwing it to Cerebus, and your mind can enter into the subconscious realms.

The intonation (droning) focuses the vocal-mind so that you won't have to hear your normal thoughts (while imprinting a certain pattern). That might be why you are getting frustrated/confused, since the thoughts rising up through your mind is conflicting with what you are chanting.

If you want to continue the experiment, might I suggest that you get into the emotional attitude of your chosen chant. Bring up memories ... the feeling of your inside joke, and then start intoning it. Allow your body to assume a posture that matches the feeling -- you are playing charades with an illiterate psychopath (your subconscious) trying to convey the feeling with your body language.

-Qaexl

[Austin Osman Spare]

I've decided to create a mantra, with essentially arbitrary components; really an acronym composed of the first letters of words that compose a sentimental running joke among a few friends and I,

Anyone else want to try a similar experiment?I think that maybe the problem with this that there is already a meaning attached to this mantra and that it is purposefully arbitrary, and admittedly sentimental. What is the intention of this?
I myself use overtones a lot in my "mantras", IAO and so forth... have you experimented with overtones over a constant intoned note? I can actually sort of "whistle and hum" different notes at the same time.

[Son of Mr. Gordo]

Thanks for the support regardless.

So it turns out I don't really have an affinity for the tones I was trying to use, and actually felt pretty confused, bored, and frustrated after making an attempt, only a few minutes into the practice, not to mention nauseous.

I'm trying to either determine what I was doing wrong, or just choose a better chant.

Ideas anyone?


Why not try one that has been used and passed down from teacher to teacher over the centuries? There are many Buddhist and Hindu mantras that you may connect with that do not require an empowerment.

SoMG

[Son of Mr. Gordo]

I can't handle traditional meditation practices at all. I'm just not into deceleration on any level. My practice has always been more about acceleration and I had to carve it out one brick at a time over a period of many years.
m1thr0s

m1thr0s, can you define how you are using deceleration and acceleration in this context?

SoMG

[Zaii]

Why not try one that has been used and passed down from teacher to teacher over the centuries? There are many Buddhist and Hindu mantras that you may connect with that do not require an empowerment.

SoMG

This is kind of a new approach for me. You'll have to excuse my complete ignorance in regards to mantras, but I essentially don't really know what makes sense at this point.

Are the intentions to be as vague as "improving the quality of life", or specific down to the numbers, or are there to be no intentions conscious in the process at all?

I'm clueless when it comes to mantras.

On a related note, I was given a random gift from a friend, Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism by Richard Causton. I thought, what the hell, i'll give it a read. I'm about halfway through it, and though there is some good information in it, most if reads like literature from Alcoholics Anonymous.

EDIT - It occured to me just now to question whether my total skepticism was healthy, or that I may be reluctant to try these practices because I'm afraid they might actually work. *shrug*

[Unicyclist]

I've been doing a little reading on buddhism and i came across a mantra and desided to give it a try.
sThe mantra is Nam-Myoho-renge-kyo and it was established by Nichiren.

your supposed to chant this for enlightenment, of course, but can also use it to chant for happiness, personal growth, health, or just for what ever you want.

I've tried it and have to say it really does work!well it does something anyway. the way that i've used it is not by chanting it for hours but simply when ever i run across an obstical or when i become angry or annoyed i just say it in my head a couple times. It allows me to take a step back, focus, and do the right thing.

heres a link with a little info on the mantra. http://www.comp.glam.ac.uk/pages/staff/srharris/nmhrk/whatis.htm

I was trying to find one with the pronunciation for you but couldnt so ill just type it from the book i've got here: The buddha in your Mirror.


"Nam-the a has the sound of the a in father

Myo-think of it as placing an m infront of one half of yo-yo

Ho-like the garden implement hoe

Ren-like the bird wren

Ge-sounds like the word get without the t

Kyo-similar to myo

Each sylable gets one equal stress or beat:Nam myo ho ren ge kyo"

If you like it or try it let me know i'd be interested in your results.

[Moonburn]

I know the OP has left, but I wanted to add something. If you want to experiment with mantra, then one hour a day is waaaay too much. In fact, twenty minutes a day got pretty intense for me when done over the span of a year. I guess it also has to do with the way you intone mantras. In either case, though... start with like ten minutes. Honestly, if you're looking to just achieve a "slightly above average" level of development... ten or twenty minutes is really all you need. People seriously overdo things.

You get enough brain-cardio throughout the day. This is like strength training. Chant smart, not more.

[Saxarba]

I think I actually disagree with that. I haven't done mantra practice for a long time, but I used to... and I did an hour, if not more, consistently for long periods of time, I'd spend weeks to months on a single mantra. It all depends on we're you're at. I don't see it as vitally necessary anymore, nor do I think I would be able to find the enthusiasm at this point, but when I was hankering for meditative experience early in my spiritual career, these we're very healthy and informative explorations.

-SAX

[Moonburn]

That's very interesting. How did you intone the mantra? Was is just a quiet, subvocal thing? Or did you do a mantra per breath?

[Saxarba]

If by intone you mean modulating the pitch and shape of the sound so as to direct it to different chakras or whatever, no, I didn't learn how to do that stuff until much later. I repeated the mantra rapidly to merely empty the mind of its contents.

Sax

[Moonburn]

Okay. That's the most common form of mantra japa, right?


What I did was to take a full breath and then say the mantra on the outbreath. I'd time it so that one repetition lasted until I had expelled all the air (that I could) from my lungs. I arbitrarily chose to do it 108 times in one sitting. I guess you could say that I "vibrated" the mantra a la Golden Dawn.

So maybe I was too hasty. Let me rephrase my advice. If you're doing it like me, then I would suggest that you keep it unambitious. If you're doing the more common form (which is just as effective at clearing ones mind), then... not so much.

[Saxarba]

Right, that's the most common. Its usually considered just a way to curtail undirected thought by focusing on a single thought - the mantra. The method you're describing generates a lot of energy...pretty intense stuff...especially if you're doing 108 repetitions in a single session...not for the casual experimenter. I usually go with 4, 8, or 16 repetitions per mantra or seed syllable depending on what exactly I'm doing.

Sax