Chapter 33 - The Key To Chanting Mantras

Many of the Buddhist mantras have been made known to the public, and all have extremely effective spiritual power. For example, when the Great Buddha Crown White-Umbrella Dharani [Sitatapatrosnisa-dharani] was proclaimed by Buddha Shakyamuni, brilliant jewel-colored rays emitted from the Buddha's crown protuberance, and amid the light, a thousand-petalled lotus appeared. Sitting on the lotus was a Buddha who emitted ten beams of golden light pervading all Dharma realms. Ucchusma, the Ferocious Deity, holding a vajra in hand and propping up a mountain, also appeared in all spiritual realms. Another example is the Thousand Arms Thousand Eyes Avalokitesvara Great Compassionate Heart Dharani, known commonly as the Great Compassion Dharani. There are also the Ten Minor Mantras: the Talismanic Wheel Dharani; the Divine Mantra that Eradicates Calamities and Brings Forth Auspiciousness; the Virtuous Jewel Mountain Divine Mantra; the Divine Cundi Mantra; the Holy Infinite Life and Light Dharani; the Medicine Buddha Empowerment Mantra; the Kuan Yin Spiritual Mantra; the Seven Buddhas Mantra that Eradicates Transgression; the Rebirth Mantra; the Virtuous Goddess Mantra.

In Taoism, there are even more mantras. For example, there are: the Principal Mantra to Invoke Deities; the Refuge Mantra; the Great Light Six Syllables Mantra; the Harmony Mantra; the Earth God Invocation Mantra; the Divine Wish fulfilling Mantra; the Dharma Jewel Fu Mantra; the Hun T'ien Mantra; the Spirit Capturing Mantra; the Five Ghosts Hun T'ien Mantra; the Mystical Maiden Mantra; the Golden Light Mantra; the Great Yang and Great Yin Mantra; the Five Directions Thunder Light Mantra. All of the above mantras have been made known to the public. There are many unpublicized, secret mantras which are usually transmitted only to select individuals of integrity who can be trusted. Such secret mantras are not to be thrust into the hands of scoundrels who would misuse them for manipulating others.

Mantras, also known as True Words, originated from Enlightened beings who have manifested the collection of their experiences as language and sound components. By practicing and chanting these sounds correctly, one can help not just oneself but other people.

However, people who practice mantra chanting should pay attention to the following important keys:

1) One should not practice too many mantras together.

The key is to uphold one mantra persistently. Nowadays people have a tendency to chant too many different mantras. Some feel that they have to learn all mantras, and they chant every single one they come across. However, when they chant mantras, they just pay lip service to them and are unable to really hear the sounds at the same time and let the sounds impress into their hearts. Such chanting is just like a shepherd singing folk songs or a singer singing popular songs; it does not generate any spiritual powers. There are eighty-four thousand kinds of mantras, and it is not easy to learn every single one of them and still be able to merge ones heart with each anthem. Therefore, if one chants just one particular mantra and practices it over time, gradually this mantra will become one's heart mantra, and whenever one chants it wholeheartedly, it will generate a power that travels throughout the whole Universe. Mantra chanting is a doorway into the mastery of one's heart, and through it one can arrive at the realms of the Buddhas and Immortals.

The Buddhist mantra I have been chanting is the Seven Buddhas Mantra that Eradicates Transgressions: Li-po-li-po-di, Chiu-ho-chiu-ho-di, To-lo-ni-di, Ni-he-la-di, Pi-li-ni-di, Mo-hejia-di, Chen-ling-chien-di, So-po-he. It is a very simple and easy mantra with only seven phrases [not counting So- po-he], but it is very powerful. It can wash away one's negative energies and opens one into the reality of guidance and power emanating from the chanting of this mantra. I have been chanting this particular mantra for a long time, for many millions of times. As soon as I start chanting this mantra, my heart can experience the power of its wonderful spiritual energy. The Taoist mantra that I chant is the Lui Chia Divine Mantras which consist of the Liuchia Yang Mantra and Liuchia Yin Mantra. When these mantras are practiced over a long time, they become a key to unlock the inconceivable powers of the Universe.

2) Do not make any mistakes in chanting the mantras.

Often times there are people who incorrectly pronounce one of the syllables of the mantra. For example, there is an old lady in her fifties who frequently comes to worship at my Buddhist shrine. Instead of chanting "Om Mani Padme Hum," she chants "Om Mani Padme Niu." This old lady has an orchard in the Wufung area of the Liu Ku Mountain. Every day for the past ten years, as she went to and from her orchard, she chanted this mantra. To reach her orchard from the foot of the mountain, she had to pass a long and narrow river bed. Strangely, everytime she chanted "Om Mani Padme Niu," the stones in the river bed would start jumping up and down. When she chanted her mantra once, the stones would jump once. When she chanted her mantra twice, the stones would jump twice. The first time this happened, she was petrified.

After a while, it became routine, and she stopped being bothered by it. Then one day she told me of this strange happening. I did a psychic investigation and realized that she had been chanting the mantra wrong. A deformed mantra chanted over a long period of time will naturally give rise to a deformed psychic phenomenon. Especially in this case, the old lady was so diligently and wholeheartedly chanting the mantra that she generated a power that moved stones! I accompanied her on a trip to the Liu Ku Mountain, and I asked her to chant "Om Mani Padme Niu." Then I instructed her to verbally command the stones to pile up in a heap to the east. She followed my instructions, and the stones all ran towards the east to accumulate in one big pile. She changed her command, and the stones all ran to the west. Afterwards, I taught her to chant "Hum" instead of"Niu" in the mantra. This time none of the stones moved at all. This confirms that there is infinite power in chanting a particular mantra. When one makes a mistake with one syllable, the mantra's power is lessened to that of only moving stones. Therefore, it is extremely important that no mistake is made in chanting the mantras.

3) There is this quotation in the Diamond Sutra, "The mind should be kept independent of any thoughts that arise within it." This state of mind, or consciousness, is the key to unlocking the supreme doorway of mantra chanting. In other words, the vibration frequency of the mantra becomes the identity of one's consciousness. There is no difference between the two. The vibration of one's consciousness is the same as the vibration of the mantra. When one is chanting the mantra, sending out the vibration frequency of the mantra, one always enters into a condition of one-pointedness, or Vajra Samadhi, and attains the Vajra Indestructible Body. This is true at all times, wherever one goes. What a miraculous achievement!

In my opinion, mantra chanting is one of the means of cultivating stability in meditation. It is also a rapid shortcut to achieving realization. People who desire to activate their psychic energy can make great progress with the help of divine mantras. By chanting audibly the four syllables of Yao Chi Jin Mu, i.e. Golden Mother of the Jade Pond, and impressing the mantra on the mind, one can transform from an ordinary person to a psychically awakened person.

In one of the esoteric scriptures, the Miao Pei Bodhisattva Discourse Sutra, there is this passage,

"If a cultivator desires to arrive at the Siddhi quickly by the doorway of mantra chanting, he has to follow all rituals carefully without overlooking any details that might give the opposing forces a chance. Thus, a cultivator must chant incessantly without interruption, to the level of proficiency wherein visualization, sound, and seed syllables all merge together. Also, the practitioner should remain mindful during chanting and refrain from unnecessary conversation, as interrupted chanting will result in failure. On the other hand, if one does not follow the proper codes or remain pure, one will not realize the Sidhi and might even incur troubles."

The Shan Jie Ching (Sutra of Virtuous Precepts) says,

"To chant a divine mantra, one should refrain from meat, alcohol, the five food stimulants, improper sexual activity, and the partaking of food and drink in unclean households."

When one abides by these five codes, one will be empowered by the divine mantra and derive great benefits which include the uprooting of poisons and the eradication of illnesses and evil spirits.

Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States taught me to chant a divine mantra as a practice of the Primordial Ultimate Correct Dharma. When chanted with sincere devotion, this mantra will move the spiritual guides, who are on duty, to descend. That is why a practitioner of the Primordial Ultimate Correct Dharma must chant this mantra with reverence. It is not to be casually chanted unless it is necessary to do so, as it is an extremely powerful Taoist mantra to invoke deities from sky, earth, and other planes. In fact, any deity travelling through the sphere who happens to hear the chanting of this mantra, (which is a secret decree of the Primordial Jade Pond,) has to descend to render help. How many people have learned this mantra from Mr. Three-Peaks-Nine-States? I do not know, but those who know will know, and they must not casually teach this secret mantra to other.

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