Is chanting a kind of prayer? And what is the value of chanting?
As prayer is generally taken to involve a relationship with a deity, it would not accurately describe the Buddhist practice of chanting. The Theravāda Buddhist understanding of action and its results (kamma-vipaka) allows no place for prayers of supplication or thanks. However, there is some similarity between chants praising the qualities of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, and the hymns of praise found in theistic traditions. Many people believe that a protecting power and auspiciousness arise in the heart through the chanting of such verses.
Most of the more popular chants found in the Thai Buddhist tradition consist of passages selected from the Tipitaka. They include verses listing the qualities of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, discourses expounding key teachings, passages of wise reflection, and verses for radiating thoughts of kindness, and for sharing merits with all sentient beings.
For many Thai lay Buddhists chanting is their main spiritual practice. It particularly suits those of a more active disposition who find sitting meditation practices difficult. Some people choose to chant verses in the original Pāli language, without understanding the meaning, as an act of devotion and for the calming meditative effect it produces. But these days it is popular to chant in the modern style, whereby each line of Pāli is followed by its Thai translation. Here the benefit shifts more to the recollection of the meaning of the texts chanted.
In monasteries, the chanting of important discourses is a practice that goes back to the time of the Buddha. Before the teachings were written down they were preserved by communities of monks regularly chanting them together. Chanting also performs a social function in monasteries, where the morning and evening chanting session helps to create a sense of community and harmony.
From Without and Within
- by Ajahn Jayasaro
Theravada Buddhist Chantings:
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