How To Practice ZenChanting
Both Self and Ox Forgotten
The whip and rope necessary,
Else he might stray off down
some dusty road.
Being well-trained, he becomes
naturally gentle.
Then, unfettered, he obeys his master.
The Ox is now becoming gentle and obedient; it strays away less and less and the discipline required to return to the practice during meditation is also reduced.
Chanting is an important part of an authentic Zen practice. Learning chants takes a lot of time but is well worth the effort. When memorized, the chants become a part of us. A chant or a part thereof can be summoned at any time, any place; we won't need to carry a chant book with us if we have committed each one to memory.
Roshi Philip Kapleau said:
"Mind is unlimited.
Chanting, when performed egolessly,
has the power to penetrate
visible and invisible worlds."
Roshi Kapleau advised against forced memorization, advising us to chant daily and to let the memorization happen gradually. However, some people who have practiced for more than ten years still reach for a chant book when a chanting service begins.
Roshi Kapleau further advised us to chant in a voice near the lower end of our range. So we chant with a low pitch but not with a growl. When chanting with a group, we try to harmonize with the group. We chant in a monotone, without emphasizing syllables. This helps keep the mind on an even keel. A sing-songy, emotion-driven rendition of a chant dilutes its power.
I once had to lead a chant at a Vesak ceremony (held in May at about the time of the first full moon to observe the Buddha's birth). My plan was to open the chanting session by asking the audience - a non-Buddhist crowd - to chant with our chanters - a team assembled from our local Zen center - in a low voice, but not so low as to be a growling voice. However, we were preceded in the program by a Tibetan monk who chanted the Heart Sutra in one long growling growl; it was quite pleasant and well-received but of course I had to change my opening remarks.
To chant, we kneel on a mat, with back straight and knees forward, spread apart at a distance that is comfortable, and sit on our feet. This is the seiza position mentioned in Step Four, Catching the Ox. We place our right hand in our lap, palm up, and then place our left hand, palm up, on top of the right hand with the thumbs crossing, not touching at the tips.
Perhaps the best chant to commit to memory first is Master Hakuin's Chant In Praise Of Zazen. It follows a logical flow, beginning with: "From the very beginning..." Master Hakuin's chant is chanted without the beat of a mokugyo, the wooden fish drum used in the other chants. It is customarily chanted prior to a Teisho.
Master Hakuin's Chant In Praise of Zazen
From the very beginning, all beings are Buddha.
Like water and ice, without water no ice,
outside us, no Buddhas.
How near the truth yet how far we seek,
like one in water crying "I thirst."
Like a child of rich birth wand'ring poor on this earth,
we endlessly circle the six worlds.
The cause of our sorrow is ego delusion.
From dark path to dark path we've wandered in darkness --
how can we be free from birth and death?
The gateway to freedom is zazen samadhi--
beyond exaltation, beyond all our praises, the pure Mahayana.
Upholding the precepts, repentance and giving, the countless good deeds, and the Way of right-living all come from zazen.
Thus one true samadhi extinguishes evils; it purifies karma, dissolving obstructions.
Then where are the dark paths to lead us astray?
The pure lotus land is not far away.
Hearing this truth, heart humble and grateful,
to praise and embrace it, to practice its wisdom,
brings unending blessings, brings mountains of merit.
And when we turn inward and prove our True-nature --
That True-self is no-self, our own self is no-self --
we go beyond ego and past clever words.
Then the gate to the oneness of cause and effect is thrown open.
Not two and not three, straight ahead runs the Way.
Our form now being no-form,
in going and returning we never leave home.
Our thought now being no-thought,
our dancing and songs are the voice of the Dharma
How vast is the heaven of boundless samadhi!
How bright and transparent the moonlight of wisdom!
What is there outside us, what is there we lack?
Nirvana is openly shown to our eyes.
This earth where we stand is the pure lotus land,
And this very body the body of Buddha.
The next chant to learn is probably the most famous of all the chants and, like Master Hakuin's Chant, every serious Zen practitioner knows it by heart. Its meaning is not easily understood. It won't make a lot of sense at first. Its meaning sinks in with months or years of repetition; the unconscious mind figures it out.
Unlike Master Hakuin's Chant In Praise Of Zazen, the Heart Sutra chant, like all of the other chants, is typically chanted to the beat of a mokugyo (Japanese for wooden fish). You can purchase a small one for home use at The Monastery Store. Most Zen centers also have a large bowl-shaped gong known by its Japanese name, keisu, as well as a small one for use in chants.
A mokugyo is on the left and a keisu is on the right:
The drumstick of the mokugyo is stored in a slot in the back of the instrument. Only the drumhead is visible in the photo.
The Bodhisattva of Compassion, sometimes translated as the Goddess of Mercy, is Guanyin, known in Japanese as Kanzeon or Kannon and sometimes called the Chinese Virgin Mary. Actually, Guanyin came first so Mary is more fairly called the Guanyin of the West. This beautiful lady is called Avalokitesvara in Sanskrit and was a man in India; the Chinese made him into a woman. Perhaps they felt that compassion was more womanly than manly.
The Heart Sutra is a nickname; the Sanskrit title of this chant is Prajna Paramita Hridaya, which translates as The Perfection Of Wisdom Chant. Prajna means wisdom. Paramita means perfect or perfection and Hridaya simply means a long mantra, i.e., a chant. So where does Heart come from? The original Prajna Paramita Sutra from which it is taken is very lengthy; these verses were carved from the lengthier version centuries ago. These verses purportedly provide the most important phrases, i.e., the heart of the sutra.
The "skandas" are the five aggregates that collectively form an apparent independent self.
The five aggregates are: Form, feeling, thought, choice, and consciousness.
A form or a body must exist before something can be touched to create a feeling and a feeling must exist before a thought can arise. No choice can be made until thoughts arise and there can be no consciousness without form, feeling, thought and choice.
There are schools of Buddhism that delve deeply into these clever observations. Zen isn't one of those schools. Zen practice strikes straight into the mind or the heart and tries to avoid discursive thought.
Zen, because it is highly disciplined and stresses meditation more than sutra study or chanting, is considered by some Buddhists to be a radical sect. It is true that many meditation techniques are designed to make it to the top of the mountain by spiraling round and round, gradually ascending with great strain like a train gradually gaining elevation. Zen, however, has been compared to a rocket that blasts off and goes straight up, bursting through the clouds into the sky.
One of the great shortcomings of American Zen, however, is its lack of emphasis on following precepts and engaging in sutra study. Buddhists who study the sutras to the exclusion of meditation are making a mistake; meditation must be practiced. However, Buddhists who meditate without sutra study are also missing the boat. It is futile to meditate in total ignorance of the sutras.
The sutras are important and they are overlooked by those who lack wisdom. Every authentic Zen practice includes sutra study. The Surangama Sutra, the Avatamsaka Sutra, also known as the Flower Garland Sutra or the Flower Adornment Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, together with a number of Theravada sutras such as the Dhammapada Sutra, all contain ageless wisdom.
The Heart Sutra chant is not the entire Heart Sutra. It is a chant about emptiness, i.e., the absence of an independent self and the interconnectedness of all sentient beings.
Enlightenment doesn't happen magically. The conditions have to be ripe. Those who study without meditation and those who meditate without study have not created the conditions that allow awakening to occur.
Prajna Paramita Hridaya
(Heart Of Perfect Wisdom)
The Bodhisattva of Compassion
from the depths of prajna wisdom
saw the emptiness of all five
skandas and sundered the bonds
that cause all suff'ring.
Know then:
Form here is only emptiness,
emptiness only form.
Form is no other than emptiness,
emptiness no other than form.
Feeling, thought and choice
consciousness itself
are the same as this.
Dharmas here are empty,
all are the primal void.
None are born or die.
Nor are they stained or pure,
nor do they wax or wane.
So in emptiness no form,
no feeling, thought or choice,
nor is there consciousness.
No eye, ear, nose,
tongue, body, mind;
no color, sound, smell,
taste, touch, or what the mind
takes hold of,
nor even act of sensing.
No ignorance or end of it,
nor all that comes of ignorance.
No withering, no death,
no end of them.
Nor is there pain or cause of pain
or cease in pain or
noble path to lead from pain,
not even wisdom to attain,
attainment too is emptiness.
So know that the Bodhisattva,
holding to nothing whatever
but dwelling in prajna wisdom,
is freed of delusive hindrance,
rid of the fear bred by it,
and reaches clearest nirvana.
All buddhas of past and present,
buddhas of future time
through faith in prajna wisdom
come to full enlightenment.
Know then the great dharani,
the radiant, peerless mantra,
the supreme, unfailing mantra,
the Prajna Paramita,
whose words allay all pain.
This is highest wisdom,
true beyond all doubt,
know and proclaim its truth:
Gate, gate (gone, gone)
paragate (gone beyond)
parasamgate (gone completely beyond)
bodhi, svaha! (enlightenment, rejoice!)
We chant the sanskrit words at the end, keeping in mind the translation.
To Tame the Ox, we must chant the Heart Sutra as a part of our practice.
Written by Chinese Ch'an (Zen) Master Seng Ts'an (d. 606 C.E.), the next chant is considered by many Buddhist scholars to be the highest achievement of the human mind. "Thought cannot reach this state of truth" but these words come as close as it gets. This awesome work leaves no secret unrevealed. No one told me to memorize this lengthy chant. The first time I read it, I knew I would.
By the way, the great American Zen master John Daido Loori was given the name Daido by his teacher because he (Loori) was so fond of this chant. He is said to have imprinted it on Christmas cards, New Year greetings, and so on. "Daido" is Japanese for "Great Way."
Affirming Faith in Mind
(Hsin Hsin Ming)
The Great Way is not difficult for those who do not pick and choose.
When pref'rences are cast aside, the Way stands clear and undisguised.
But even slight distinctions made set earth and heaven far apart.
If you would clearly see the truth, discard opinions pro and con.
To founder in dislike and like is nothing but the mind's disease
And not to see the Way's deep truth disturbs the mind's essential peace.
The Way is perfect like vast space, where there's no lack and no excess.
Our choice to choose and to reject prevents our see'ng this simple truth.
Both striving for the outer world as well as for the inner void condemn us to entangled lives.
Just calmly see that all is one and by themselves false views will go.
Attempts to stop activity will fill you with activity.
Remaining in duality you'll never know of unity.
And not to know this unity lets conflict lead you far astray.
When you assert that things are real, you miss their true reality. But to assert that things are void also misses reality.
The more you talk and think on this the further from the truth you'll be.
Cut off all useless thoughts and words and there's nowhere you cannot go.
Returning to the root itself, you'll find the meaning of all things.
If you pursue appearances you overlook the primal source.
Awak'ning is to go beyond both emptiness as well as form.
All changes in this empty world seem real because of ignorance.
Do not go searching for the truth, just let those fond opinions go.
Abide not in duality, refrain from all pursuit of it.
If there's a trace of right and wrong, True-mind is lost, confused, distraught.
From One-mind comes duality, but cling not even to this One.
When this One-mind rests undisturbed, then nothing in the world offends.
And when no thing can give offense, then all obstructions cease to be.
If all thought-objects disappear, the thinking subject drops away.
For things are things because of mind, as mind is mind because of things.
These two are merely relative and both at source are emptiness.
In emptiness these are not two, yet in each are contained all forms.
Once coarse and fine are seen no more, then how can there be taking sides?
The Great Way is without limit, beyond the easy and the hard.
But those who hold to narrow views are fearful and irresolute;
their frantic haste just slows them down.
If you're attached to anything, you surely will go far astray.
Just let go now of clinging mind, and all things are just as they are. In essence nothing goes or stays.
See into the true self of things, and you're in step with the Great Way, thus walking freely, undisturbed.
But live in bondage to your thoughts, and you will be confused, unclear.
This heavy burden weighs you down, so why keep judging good or bad?
If you would walk the highest way, do not reject the sense domain.
For as it is, whole and complete, this sense world is enlightenment.
The wise do not strive after goals, but fools put themselves in bonds.
The One Way knows no diff'rences, the foolish cling to this and that.
To seek Great Mind with thinking mind is certainly a grave mistake.
From small mind comes rest and unrest, but mind awakened transcends both.
Delusion spawns dualities - these dreams are merely flowers of air - why work so hard at grasping them?
Both gain and loss and right and wrong - once and for all get rid of them.
When you no longer are asleep, all dreams will vanish by themselves.
If mind does not discriminate, all things are just as they are, as One.
To go to this mysterious Source frees us from all entanglements.
When all is seen with "equal mind," to our Self-nature we return.
This single mind goes right beyond all reasons and comparison.
Seek movement and there's no-movement, seek rest and no-rest comes instead.
When rest and no-rest cease to be, then even oneness disappears.
This ultimate finality's beyond all laws, can't be described.
With single mind one with the Way, all ego-centered strivings cease.
Doubts and confusion disappear and so true faith pervades our life.
There is no thing that clings to us and nothing that is left behind.
All's self-revealing, void and clear, without exerting power of mind.
Thought cannot reach this state of truth, here feelings are of no avail.
In this true world of Emptiness, both self and other are no more.
To enter this true empty world, immediately affirm "not-two."
In this "not-two" all is the same, with nothing separate or outside.
The wise in all times and places awaken to this primal truth.
The Way's beyond all space, all time; one instant is ten thousand years.
Not only here, not only there, truth's right before your very eyes.
Distinctions such as large and small have relevance for you no more.
The largest is the smallest, too - here limitations have no place.
What is is not, what is not is - if this is not yet clear to you, you're still far from the inner truth.
One thing is all, all things are one - know this and all's whole and complete.
When faith and Mind are not separate, and not separate are Mind and faith, this is beyond all words, all thought.
For here there is no yesterday, no tomorrow, no today.
The next chant is easy to learn. Like the others, its power lies in its repetition. I learned it at my first sesshin just by listening to it a few times. It's called the Ten Verse Kannon Sutra. It is typically repeated many times due to its brevity.
Ten Verse Kannon Sutra
Kanzeon!
Praise to Buddha!
All are one with Buddha,
all awake to Buddha--
Buddha, Dharma, Sangha--
eternal, joyous, selfless, pure.
Through the day Kanzeon,
Through the night Kanzeon.
This moment arises from Mind.
This moment itself is Mind.
The next chant is made up of Sanskrit words transliterated into Chinese and transliterated a second time into Japanese. When chanted for long periods of time in a group, it is powerful.
Sho Sai Myo Kichijo Dharani
(Dharani to Allay Disasters)
No Mo Sam Man Da Moto Nan Oha Ra
Chi Koto Sha Sono Nan To Ji To En
Gya Gya Gya Ki Gya Ki
Un Nun Shifu Ra Shifu Ra
Hara Shifu Ra Hara Shifu Ra
Chisu Sa Chisu Sa Chisu Ri Chisu Ri
Soha Ja Soha Ja Sen Chi Gya Shiri Ei
Somo Ko
This next one is the most difficult memorization in this course. You should be aware that many people, American, Chinese, and other nationalities as well, have memorized the entire Surangama Sutra in Chinese, so this is a cinch compared to that.
Dai Hi Shin Dharani
(Dharani of the Great Compassionate One)
Namu Kara Tan No Tora Ya Ya
Namu Ori Ya Boryo Ki Chi Shifu Ra Ya
Fuji Sato Bo Ya
Moko Sato Bo Ya
Mo Ko Kya Runi Kya Ya En Sa
Hara Ha Ei Shu Tan No Ton Sha
Namu Shiki Ri Toi Mo Ori Ya
Boryo Ki Chi Shifu Ra
Rin To Bo Na Mu No Ra Kin Ji
Ki Ri Mo Ko Ho Do
Sha Mi Sa Bo O To Jo Shu Ben
O Shu In Sa Bo Sa To No Mo
Bo Gya Mo Ha Tei Cho
To Ji To En O Boryo Ki
Ru Gya Chi Kya Ra Chi I
Kiri Mo Ko Fuji Sa To Sa Bo Sa Bo
Mo Ra Mo Ra Mo Ki Mo Ki
Ri To In Ku Ryo Ku Ryo
Ke Mo To Ryo To Ryo
Ho Ja Ya Chi Mo Ko Ho Ja Ya Chi
To Ra To Ra Chiri Ni Shifu Ra Ya
Sha Ro Sha Ro Mo Mo Ha Mo Ra
Ho Chi Ri Yu Ki Yu Ki Shi No Shi No
Ora San Fura Sha Ri
Ha Za Ha Za Fura Sha Ya
Ku Ryo Ku Ryo Mo Ra Ku Ryo Ku Ryo
Ki Ri Sha Ro Sha Ro Shi Ri Shi Ri
Su Ryo Su Ryo Fuji Ya Fuji Ya
Fudo Ya Fudo Ya Mi Chiri Ya Nora Kin Ji
Chiri Shuni No Hoya Mono Somo Ko
Shido Ya Somo Ko
Moko Shido Ya Somo Ko
Shidu Yu Ki Shifu Ra Ya Somo Ko
Nora Kin Ji Somo Ko Mo Ra No Ra
Somo Ko Shira Su Omo Gya Ya
Somo Ko Sobo Moko Shido Ya
Somo Ko Shaki Ra Osho Do Ya
Somo Ko Hodo Mogya Shido Ya
Somo Ko Nora Kin Ji Ha Gyara Ya
Somo Ko Mo Hori Shin Gyara Ya
Somo Ko Namu Kara Tan No Tora Ya Ya
Namu Ori Ya Boryo Ki Chi Shifu Ra Ya
Somo Ko Shite Do Modo Ra Hodo Ya
So Mo Ko.
It is the standard practice to conclude each chanting session with the Return of Merit:
Return of Merit
(Honzon Eko)
Faith in Buddha, Dharma, Sangha
brings true liberation.
We now return the merit of our chanting to:
Shakyamuni Buddha,
Manjusri Bodhisattva,
Avalokita Bodhisattva,
Bhadra Bodhisattva.
We place our faith in the Great Heart of Perfect Wisdom.
May all beings attain Buddhahood!
Ten Directions, Three Worlds,
All Buddhas, Bodhisattva-mahasattvas,
Maha Prajna Paramita.
In a formal setting, the italicized part is chanted by the chant leader only. Everyone joins in on the final three lines. When practicing alone, we chant the leader's lines as well.
These chants and more are in bound form and can be purchased for a nominal fee at the Rochester Zen Center. Please visit www.rzc.org and purchase a chant book.
On the subject of chanting, it is worth noting that many Chinese Ch'an/Zen masters promote both the practice of Zen chanting as well as the practice of Pure Land (Jin Tu) chanting.
Here's another one, also published by the Rochester Zen Center; it's used at Buddhist funerals. However, I silently chanted it at my parents' funerals, my older brother's funeral, and I chant it for friends and acquaintances.
Memorial Prayer
O Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,
abiding in all directions,
endowed with great compassion,
endowed with love,
affording protection to sentient beings,
consent through the power
of your great compassion to come forth.
O Compassionate Ones,
you who possess
the wisdom of understanding,
the power of protecting
in incomprehensible measure,
[____] is passing from
this world to the next.
The light of this world has faded for her/him.
S/he has entered solitude
with her/his karmic forces.
S/he has gone into a vast Silence.
S/he is borne away
by the Great Ocean of birth and death.
O Compassionate Ones,
protect [_____], who is defenseless.
Be to her/him like a father and a mother.
O Compassionate Ones,
Let not the force of your compassion be weak,
but aid her/him.
Forget not your ancient vows.
Intermediate Zen
Intermediate practitioners chant The Four Vows and a different chant each day. For example, we might choose to recite The Heart Sutra on Sundays, the Hsin Hsin Ming (Affirming Faith In Mind) on Mondays, the Dai Hi Shin Dharani (Dharani of the Great Compassionate One) on Tuesdays, The Ten-Verse Kannon Sutra on Wednesdays, the Sho Sai Myo Kichijo Daharani (Dharani to Allay Disasters) on Thursdays, The Ancestral Line (Abbreviated version) on Fridays, and Master Hakuin's Chant in Praise of Zazen on Saturdays. Of course, any chant can be performed on any day; the point is to chant one per day after The Four Vows if we are pressed for time.
Whether we chant more than one chant each day is up to us. However, regardless of the number of chants, the chanting session should conclude with the Return of Merit.
Advanced Zen
Advanced practitioners chant The Four Vows and all of the above chants every day.