Chanting mantra is to become closer to the Buddha.
By Khenpo Tashi
So, this ancient practice of chanting a mantra, what does this do for us?
Quite basically, when we chant a mantra, we are getting closer to the Buddha, whose mantra we are chanting. We can also say that, we want to achieve or obtain that Buddha’s extraordinary and special qualities by chanting his or her mantra.
Mantra, or Ngak in Tibetan, is a name of a Buddha. The Buddha and the Buddha’s name are one and the same. The mantras are extremely blessed due to this.
It is said, “one complete mantra chanted is equivalent to 100 incomplete mantra chanted”. This means that the most crucial aspect of mantra is not the speed or quantity that we chant. Every mantra we chant should be chanted slowly, clearly and completely, with full faith and sincerity.
Guru Rinpoche also said, “One year of chanting a mantra is equivalent to one month of keeping one’s mouth shut.” That means, another purpose of mantra is to purify our ordinary speech. (READ: Three Doors)
We say so many ordinary and even negative speech, such as gossip, slandering, jealousy and lies that we already accept them as natural and part of our everyday activities. Maybe, without negative speech, the day feels incomplete! (Haha!)
Purifying our negative speech is just another way of saying to obtain the holy speech of the Buddhas, another quality of the Buddhas.
Chanting Any Mantra Must Have Faith
Faith or trust is very important when we chant a mantra.
In the Sutras of the Buddhas such as Amitabha, Medicine Buddha, Vajrasattva and so on, these Buddhas made very big aspirations, that whoever says their mantra will receive benefit, will close the door to the lower realms and so on. (Read: The Twelve Aspirations of Medicine Buddha)
We normally have very little trust in any Buddha’s mantra. We should know this weakness of ours and counter it by increasing one’s faith or trust in the mantra, and remembering the benefits of chanting.
Patience In Chanting Mantra
We have to also be patient. We have lived so many past lives and accumulated great amounts of negative Karma. If we practice for only one day and expect to see a result from chanting the mantra the next day, that is not going to happen. (Read: Dangers of Samsara)
In Summary
This is the very condensed meaning of mantra chanting. Be closer with the Buddha. Have strong faith in the mantra and its benefits. Be patient and don’t expect quick results.