Why do we mix mantra chanting with our silent sitting and why this particular mantra?
Silent sitting and Chanting are both forms of meditation. Silent sitting is an act of being. Chanting is an act of doing. Together they are deeply complementary, a balance of being and doing. Silent is an act of inner reflection to calm, quiet and focus our minds and chanting is an outer expression of our intentions.
Mantra literally means, “tool for the mind.” In mantra practice, one relaxes, and lets the rhythmic sounds of the mantra replace the constant drone of ruminations of our internal conversations. Mantras are repetitive rhythms, setting up waves or vibrations in one’s consciousness. Focusing on those waves takes you into a state of relaxation, riding them into deeper and deeper levels of relaxation, concentration, and integration.
All the world’s wisdom traditions have used sound and vibration for thousands of years as an expression and connection to the world around them. Singing is core to how we create, express, and interact. It is an act of, “Hey universe, I am here!”
Mantras are incredibly effective at stimulating the Autonomous Nervous System’s Vagus Nerve, calming and soothing us, deactivating the limbic system, and lowering our perceived threat detection radar.
The trick to mantra meditation is to just let yourself go, not thinking about it or feeling self-conscious.
So why this mantra? There are many wonderful, melodic, rhythmical mantras: Aum, Om namah shivaya, Om mani padme hum, Namu Amida Butsu, Ave Maria, Allah, Barukh atah Adonai. What they all have in common is that they call upon an external higher power; something outside oneself, an other-power.
The mantra Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō is a “non-personalized/non-deified” mantra. It is an internal affirmation of self-empowerment. Rather than seeking help outside oneself, it calls upon one’s own inner buddha nature. It is Nichiren’s genius that he taught chanting as the Middle Way, a perfect balance of self-power and other-power.
“Namu” is taking refuge, solace, and sanctuary. “Myō” is sublime and mysterious. “Hō” is Dharma or law. “Renge” is Lotus Flower. “Kyō” is the “words of the Buddhas,” or sound and vibration.
The meaning lies in the metaphor of the Lotus Flower, which symbolizes both the simultaneity of Cause and Effect, and of Life itself, since this beautiful flower grows in a muddy pond, which Symbolizes the fact that Life isn’t always pretty and can be difficult and messy. But in spite of being difficult and messy the Lotus grows, thrives, and flowers, just as we can.
Chanting Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō is “taking refuge in the Sublime Law of Cause and Effect through sound and vibration.” It empowers us to trust that each of us can grow and thrive no matter what is going on around us.
Chanting Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō immerses us in the conviction that all beings can become fully awakened, happy, and free of suffering. Within our heart/mind is loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, equanimity, generosity, virtue, patience, enthusiasm, focus, and transcendent wisdom – all the fruits of the Buddhist practice. Chanting Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō is the practice in which we “abide firmly with resolute conviction that we are buddhas in a state of clearness, tranquility and freedom”.