--- In [email protected], "Bill Smart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On Tuesday, April 25, 2006 Susan wrote: > > > > > Who knows, it [chanting] might even make more sense in a language you > don't > > know! :) > > > > Actually that's a very insightful statement. Chanting is not meant to 'make > sense'. 'Nonsense' syllables are the best - like 'OM' or 'MU'*. A foreign > language is second best. Chanting is not done in order for you to > contemplate of the words you're chanting, or figuring out what the phrase > you're chanting means. Chanting is done, like most everything else in zen > practice, to develop a single focus which more easily allows the notion of > 'self' to drop away. Chanting in a language you know, especially groups of > words that communicate a coherent thought can interfere with this. >
There are other functions of liturgy in zen training that work better when it's in your native language. It makes most sense in a broader context, like in a sangha where these things are done regularly. It's "part of a complete breakfast" you might say. The heart sutra being a good example. It is done with the whole mind and body, with complete and total immersion in the act, without thinking about what the words mean, but with a direct experience of the words themselves. I've found that liturgy in a community like this becomes and extention of the breath, and better still, not "your" breath but that of the sangha. Also expressions of gratitude, such as before a meal, bring you away from the notion of your "self" by realizing that the act of eating is not something you are just doing yourself, but is tied in closely with the works others have done. "72 labors brought us this food." You may or may not agree of course, and it is often tough for people to "buy" this idea of liturgy as being important in zen, especially in the U.S. where we shy away from anything that looks too "religous." But I have found it to be just an extension of zazen that provides a continuity to practice. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today! Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
