Centering
Ourselves Through Recitation and Chanting
When
we concoct stories* about what is happening, we take remembrances–pieces of
previous meanings and value that we had assigned to stuff under similar
circumstances–and form them into a story about what is happening now. This
requires us to make what is happening now consistent with what we already know.
Making the world consistent in this way means we create models, or modules, or
contexts, that can be used to frame the story in a consistent way. These
modules are the overarching intentions we have for viewing the world; they are
our strongly help beliefs and values, norms and mores in sociological jargon.
If
we want to move to the Middle Path, to live in peace and harmony with ourselves
and our world, we need modules that point us in that direction. Metta prayers,
chants and recitations are some of the most traditional and effective ways we have
to do this.
Here’s
a prayer, a short recitation, and a couple of chants that, when practiced
regularly, will become the dominant perspective from which you see the world,
burning off our old karmic leanings toward greed and anger and anxiety and
establishing a mind of peacefulness and caring.
Shantideva's Prayer
May all beings
everywhere
Plagued by sufferings of
body and mind
Obtain an ocean of
happiness and joy
By virtue of my merits.
May no living creature
suffer,
Commit evil, or ever
fall ill.
May no one be afraid or
belittled,
With a mind weighed down
by depression.
May the blind see forms
And the deaf hear
sounds,
May those whose bodies
are worn with toil
Be restored on finding
repose.
May the naked find
clothing,
The hungry find food;
May the thirsty find
water
And delicious drinks.
May the poor find
wealth,
Those weak with sorrow
find joy;
May the forlorn find
hope,
Constant happiness, and
prosperity.
May there be timely
rains
And bountiful harvests;
May all medicines be
effective
And wholesome prayers
bear fruit.
May all who are sick and
ill
Quickly be freed from
their ailments.
Whatever diseases there
are in the world,
May they never occur
again.
May the frightened cease
to be afraid
And those bound be
freed;
May the powerless find
power,
And may people think of
benefiting each other.
For as long as time and
space remains,
For as long as sentient
beings remain,
Until then may I too
remain
To dispel the miseries
of the world.
Reciting
this as a part of one’s morning practice, several times a week if not every
day, sets a clear and committed intention within us to reconceptualize the way
we see the world from one of greed, anger and delusion to one of patience,
compassion, and generosity. It sets a clear intention to reconsolidate our
stories in ways that we move from a life of self-centeredness to a life of
other-centeredness. It resets our intention to seek the well-being of others in
everything we do, which lowers our blood pressure, coordinates our cardiac and
respiratory systems, and makes us calm, clear-seeing loving people.
Short Recitation
A
shorter prayer, which can be recited frequently during the day, whenever you
feel any level of anguish from mild irritation to all-out anger, is the final
verse of the prayer. Recited to yourself a five or ten times can quickly
recenter you in altruism.
For as long as time and space
remains,
For as long as sentient
beings remain,
Until then may I too
remain
To dispel the miseries
of the world.
Chant
You
can use either of the following chants as an overarching intention resetting
tool, simply by chanting it over and over for 5 minutes a day once or twice a
day, or for 10 or 15 seconds whenever angst arises:
I vow–with each and every act of body, speech and
mind–to work solely for the benefit and well-being of others.
I
vow to work tirelessly for the benefit of all sentient beings.
Much
metta always!
* Concoctions, or stories, are the
fourth of the five aggregates, often labeled volitional formations.
