“You can use chanting as a method for facing your challenges.”

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

1 October 2024

“You can use chanting as a method for facing your challenges.”

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Question: Can I replace meditation with chanting, and how can I overcome my daily challenges with chanting or meditation?

Tan Ajahn: Chanting is like reciting the mantra, only that chanting is longer. Instead of one word, you chant many words, like the discourse of the Buddha in Pāli, for instance. When you concentrate your mind on chanting, then you can stop your mind from thinking aimlessly. So you can find some peace/calm from chanting. But you might not go as deeply as you would with your mantra or with mindfulness of the breath. 

Once you know how to chant continuously, you can use chanting to overcome your challenges. 

When your mind feels bad, when you have to face something that you don’t like to face, you can keep chanting inside to stop your mind from reacting negatively to the things that you have to face. And the same is true if someone makes you mad; you just keep on chanting. 

When you chant, you will forget the incident that made you mad, and then the anger will disappear. Or when you are sad, when you have lost someone, you can use chanting to stop your sadness. Just keep on chanting until you forget about the person that you have lost. 

Once it is no longer in your mind, you will no longer be sad. 

So, you can use chanting as a method for facing your challenges. However, this is not as good as using insight because if you can use insight, you can eliminate all the difficulties that you have in facing your challenges. You can face your challenges calmly and peacefully.

“Dhamma for the Asking, Nov 25, 2014”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

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