| Mantras have influenced thinking about meditation for | | | | The second view of using mantras for meditation |
| a long time. That's not surprising: mantras are a time | | | | work is the tricky one. The mantras are not |
| tested tool, helping people grow spiritually for | | | | necessarily energetically active, but users typically |
| thousands of years. | | | | ascribe a high level of holiness to them; these |
| But given the broad ignorance in the West about | | | | mantras often include the name of religious figures. A |
| mantras and the wide variety of ways mantras are | | | | Buddhist example of this could be the well known |
| approached by meditation teachers, novice | | | | "Om Mani Padme Hum" - this mantra consists of a |
| meditators (and some veterans, too!) will confront a | | | | 'nick name' for Avalokitashvara (Mani Padme = Jewel |
| confusing mix of information about how to use them | | | | Lotus) sandwiched between the symbols 'Om' and |
| in their own meditation practice. | | | | 'Hum'. In this instance, there is some sense that the |
| There are three main ways to think about mantras, | | | | six syllables have a particular power, but more |
| and how they work: | | | | importantly, the mantra invokes the presence and |
| 1) Energetic - in this view, the actual sound of the | | | | blessing of Avalokiteshvara. There is a holiness in it, |
| mantra resonates in some way with the spiritual | | | | more than a magical spell. |
| energy of the universe and our subtle bodies. The | | | | Similarly, Orthodox Christians have been using the |
| effect of such resonance is largely independent of | | | | Jesus Prayer for centuries: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of |
| the meditator's understanding of the mantra, or their | | | | God, have mercy on me, a sinner." There is no |
| mental involvement in reciting it. In this model, mantra | | | | inherent magic in the mere sounds of the prayer, but |
| are delivered to humanity through revelation. They | | | | there is an obvious reverence toward Jesus' name |
| can't just be made up. | | | | and the short phrase is clearly intent on asking for |
| 2) Religious - in this view,the mantra initiates some | | | | help rather than promoting a magical effect through |
| level of contact with spiritual beings or the Absolute. | | | | simple intonation. |
| In this view, Mantra may be revelatory (as with the | | | | While most meditation instructors will tell you how to |
| first) or they can be drawn from spiritual tradition. In | | | | think about mantra, I would suggest a simple path to |
| either case, the meditator needs to be mentally | | | | finding your own answer: try them out. If you are |
| engaged in the effort to reach for the | | | | inclined to follow the energetic model, learn the |
| supramundane. | | | | mantras for meditation which purportedly create an |
| 3) Mechanical/psychological - in this view, there is no | | | | effect you are looking for in your own life. Make it |
| preternatural context within which mantra reside. The | | | | something easily and objectively discernible: more |
| impact of any repeated word or sound is simply to | | | | money, more health, more love - whatever it is, |
| promote a particular psycholgical effect; usually, this | | | | make your goal clear and then work with that |
| effect is one of relaxation. The Relaxation Response | | | | mantra. And then see; did your life change the way |
| is a good example of this mechanistic view. | | | | you had hoped? |
| So the answer to the question, "are there special | | | | Do the same with the other two models. Can you |
| mantra for meditation?" very much depends on which | | | | discern an expanded openness to spiritual realities |
| model you subscribe to. If you are in the mechanistic | | | | when relying on religious mantras for meditation? Or, |
| camp (the third model listed), the answer is a clear | | | | do you simply feel more relaxed after repeating |
| "no". Any sound may be used as a point of focus, | | | | some random word for twenty minutes. |
| and will produce the calm state of mind which has so | | | | This exploration, if you want to use mantras for |
| many positive effects. | | | | meditation, is extremely important. Without a good |
| From the first perspective, the answer is similarly | | | | answer derived from your OWN experience, you will |
| clear, though directly opposing: there are very | | | | never have the certainty that you are taking full |
| specific, non-arbitrary, sounds which have an effect | | | | advantage of this technology. Eventually, you'll drop it. |
| on the world through their own power. If you want | | | | And that would be a shame, because using mantras |
| to use mantras for meditation, you need to learn | | | | as part of your meditation practice can be |
| these specific sounds; you may even need to be | | | | enormously beneficial. |
| initiated into the use of your particular mantra. | | | | |