Chanting in Zen

[crossfire]

My Sen-Sei never presented anything resembling chanting to me, nor have I ever felt the inclination to chant.

I know that many Zen schools chant.

My question is: what does chanting do in the context of Zen?

Thank you.
**listening intently**

 

[Sees]

A painless, pleasant way to pinch yourself and jump into mindfulness

 

[Jainarayan]

Even though I am not Nichiren, this is totally mesmerizing and brings me mindfulness. Though I see nothing wrong with chanting it, because the Lotus Sutra is basic to Mahāyāna. I use the melody and rhythm to chant nembutsu.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad4hN3FbwFo

 

[crossfire]

Ahh, so it's a "clean your bowl" sort of practice to develop mindfulness? So I can just keep on doing my "mop the floor and wash the dishes" meditations instead of having to sit and chant? kewl.

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

It depends on what school and even teacher you ask. Some use chanting as a form of meditation. It's also used as a preliminary to meditation, to prepare the mind. Some use it as a religious rite. Some see it as a combination of all of the above.

 

[Jainarayan]

I forgot to mention that in Pure Land, nembutsu, repetition of Amitābha's name with attention on Amitābha and Sukhāvatī is meditation.

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

I forgot to mention that in Pure Land, nembutsu, repetition of Amitābha's name with attention on Amitābha and Sukhāvatī is meditation.

Chinese Chan and Japanese Obaku Zen views the nembutsu/nianfo like that, as a form of meditation.

 

[Jainarayan]

They are very compatible Pure Land Buddhism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

Yeah. In China, it's still the common practice to combine Zen and Pure Land.

 

[Jainarayan]

That's interesting. All I've ever known of Zen is that it is highly meditative, and the use of koans. My impression may not even be right. Nichiren is also pretty much based in chanting meditation, gongyō, but that's more involved than nianfo/nembutsu. I'm lazy and have come to dislike ritual, so nianfo is right up my alley.

I really should also learn to recite the Pure Land Rebirth Dhāraṇī:

namo amitābhāya tathāgatāya tadyathā
amṛtabhave amṛtasaṃbhave
amṛtavikrānte amṛtavikrāntagāmini
gagana kīrtīchare svāhā

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

That's interesting. All I've ever known of Zen is that it is highly meditative, and the use of koans. My impression may not even be right. Nichiren is also pretty much based in chanting meditation, gongyō, but that's more involved than nianfo/nembutsu. I'm lazy and have come to dislike ritual, so nianfo is right up my alley.

I really should also learn to recite the Pure Land Rebirth Dhāraṇī:

namo amitābhāya tathāgatāya tadyathā
amṛtabhave amṛtasaṃbhave
amṛtavikrānte amṛtavikrāntagāmini
gagana kīrtīchare svāhā

Meditation is the primary practice. But chanting was always a big part of Zen, until it reached Japan, where it was downplayed. But check out Korean Zen, it has more chanting than any other school of Zen.

 

[Jainarayan]

Thanks.

So what is the primary focus of meditation in Zen? I've always been curious. Is it for insight into oneself? For me, meditation is contemplation, introspection, anytime, anywhere my mind latches onto a thought to explore. And I've had some humdinger revelations. So, I rarely set aside a time or place for sitting meditation. I wouldn't know what to do in zazen.

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

Thanks.

So what is the primary focus of meditation in Zen? I've always been curious. Is it for insight into oneself? For me, meditation is contemplation, introspection, anytime, anywhere my mind latches onto a thought to explore. And I've had some humdinger revelations. So, I rarely set aside a time or place for sitting meditation. I wouldn't know what to do in zazen.

You could ask 100 Zen teachers what the point of zazen is, and get 150 different answers. For me, it's about experiencing sunyata/anatta, and realizing Buddha-nature. But I carry my koan without me throughout the day, as a way to keep my mind in a meditative state.

 

[Ablaze]

In the Japanese Sōtō Zen Sanghas I've been a member of, chanting has been a part of every single service and retreat. The Sensei or Rōshi‎ has always included it as a means of settling into zazen, bridging the separation between sittings, or emerging from zazen. It helps weave mindfulness into every facet of life, which Zen also accomplishes through samu (work practice), oryoki (mindful eating), and other continuations of meditation throughout the entire day.

At my most recent sesshin, we chanted "Kaikyoge" (Sutra Opening) and "Shigusei Ganmon" (The Four Great Vows / Bodhisattva Vows). Every week, we chant the Heart Sutra. At previous Zen Sanghas I attended before moving, we've chanted the concluding lines of the Diamond Sutra, "Enmei Jikku Kannon Gyo," the refuges, and other verses.

Despite an initial resistance to chanting many years ago, I now find it to be a profoundly useful tool for imbuing the entire being with mindfulness even outside of shikantaza.

 

[crossfire]

I wouldn't know what to do in zazen.

Learn to be still.

 

[Jainarayan]

OK, gotcha... the 100/150 makes sense. It's funny because most of my meditaions lately have been on sunyata, dependent origin, anatta, etc. Those are among the humdinger revelations (or rather, change in belief) I've experienced. So I guess I wasn't too far off.

 

[Jainarayan]

Learn to be still.

Aye! That I can do.

 

[Twilight Hue]

In the Japanese Sōtō Zen Sanghas I've been a member of, chanting has been a part of every single service and retreat. The Sensei or Rōshi‎ has always included it as a means of settling into zazen, bridging the separation between sittings, or emerging from zazen. It helps weave mindfulness into every facet of life, which Zen also accomplishes through samu (work practice), oryoki (mindful eating), and other continuations of meditation throughout the entire day.

At my most recent sesshin, we chanted "Kaikyoge" (Sutra Opening) and "Shigusei Ganmon" (The Four Great Vows / Bodhisattva Vows). Every week, we chant the Heart Sutra. At previous Zen Sanghas I attended before moving, we've chanted the concluding lines of the Diamond Sutra, "Enmei Jikku Kannon Gyo," the refuges, and other verses.

Despite an initial resistance to chanting many years ago, I now find it to be a profoundly useful tool for imbuing the entire being with mindfulness even outside of shikantaza.

Good answer. I suspect the last part holds a "key" as to the role of chanting. It feels rather silly at first. Like prostration.

 

[Vishvavajra]

Chinese chanting in particular is melodic/harmonic, with individual chanters dynamically shifting between various notes that all harmonize because they're part of the same arpeggio. Chanters also have to stagger their breaths so that they're not all breathing at the same time. It actually requires that the chanters pay very diligent attention to what they're doing and also to what everyone else is doing. You have no choice but to be present. At the same time, the sound that it creates suggests something much greater than what any individual would be capable of, and you feel swept up in this grand song that you feel joy at being a part of. In other words, it's very much a microcosm of mindful existence.