Chanting Mantras with Usual Mind
Rinpoche first discoursed on 6th February, 1994
Rinpoche repeated it at the Vajrayana Association (France) in October, 1994
Uploaded to the Website on 24th September, 2014 (after about twenty years)
Introduction
Recalling once when Rinpoche talked with us (a group of disciples) again, we shared our individual experience on what we had learnt in Buddhism. Rinpoche said, “I know that you always want to chat with me from your innermost desire of your hearts. Well, it’s indeed your Guru, I who would like to have a chat with you. All of you are my teacher instead. Why do I say so? It’s because from your back and forth discussions, I can occasionally hear heuristic conversations that make me enter into deep thoughts immediately and in turn bring me into the grasping as well as comprehension of something. Though they aren’t any principles leading to the Supreme Enlightenment to me, they’ve helped me in the understanding of the profundities of worldly matters and the realization of some philosophies of life. Having linked them thoroughly with Buddha Dharma, the Buddha Dharma can then be integrated into life. It’s something really good, isn’t it? Thanks for your willingness to get together with me.”
This incident serves to show the immeasurable benevolence as well as compassion of our Rinpoche who always gets along with us (his disciples) with his kind, friendly and peaceful mind. In addition, he frequently employs authentic examples of himself to guide and teach us that, ‘The Buddha Dharma is not apart from Enlightenment in the world’. This is exactly the ‘usual mind’ of our Rinpoche.
Content
‘Usual mind’ is a phraseology that is often heard. It is a Buddhist term which means that one should view everything in an ordinary way so that one could easily take things as they come. Viewing everything in an ordinary way, one can become more cheerful and thus agonies are getting increasingly mild while bliss is getting increasingly strong. In this way, there appear some sorts of peace and harmony in our life. If one employs usual mind to look upon ‘sufferings’ and ‘happiness’, one can welcome all challenges in one’s life journey more calmly. Having usual mind does not mean that one can sit back. As worldly affairs are impermanent, we should not surrender even if we come across different kinds of hardships or all sorts of temptations. Maintaining usual mind in a world full of materialistic desires, one can bear this mind to treat all things on Earth that one can naturally gain stability in both mind and soul. One can thus be free as well as liberated. This is also the path of cultivation and hence, there is the so-called, “usual mind is the way”. This is actually what Rinpoche always encourages us but sometimes he interprets it in a different form or way. If Rinpoche keeps talking about ‘usual mind’ frequently, we may feel so bored that this acceptable saying will become unacceptable routine talk. As an alternative, Rinpoche says, “There’re many kinds of flowers and different flowers blossom at different times. Moreover, the exact time for the blossoming is not known. On which day will it happen? Which hour? Which minute? Anyway, as long as we know that flower buds have the abilities to blossom, why bother to care about the exact time of blossoming? All in all, it’s already pretty good to learn that there’s an opportune moment for the flower to bloom.” This is also an example to illustrate the usual mind, it demonstrates that gain or loss is something commonplace while win or lose is nothing serious provided that one has tried one’s very best. If only one has ever made great efforts and will continue to strive in the same old way, it is perfectly alright.
When coming across disciples who learn Tantric Buddhism, Rinpoche will cite the above metaphor to teach them but they find it difficult to accept. Alas! It should be knowable that Tantric Buddhism has never been apart from every single part of human life. It (Tantric Buddhism) is always around us, surrounding by our sides!
Therefore, Rinpoche explains it in another way, “There’re many kinds of mantras in which different mantras have their different functions and different corresponding (the mutual response between the practitioner and the object of worship, resulting in correspondence in body, mouth and mind) times. Nobody can predict when one can get correspondence, it can be ten years, one year or one hour. It’s related to the hindrance from the karma you had in your past lives as well as your cultivation practices in innumerable past lives. Merits and virtues are accumulated slowly bit by bit. Mantra has its time of blossoming, one should chant mantra until the seed-syllable in one’s Heart Chakra blossoms, and that is, one should chant until the ‘mutual response’ appears. Hence, there’s corresponding power inside mantra, that is Dharma-power. There is no need to care about the exact corresponding time. All in all, it’s pretty good to have a corresponding opportunity.”
A lot of plants have been grown around our Shrine as Rinpoche hopes that we can understand the profundities in the profound theory. Frankly speaking, if we can chant mantras with usual mind, the correspondence will come more readily. This is also one of the keys and experiences of chanting mantras. A female disciple has chanted the Hundred Syllable Mantra taught by Rinpoche with intense diligence until correspondence appeared. Dissimilar phenomenon manifested in which immeasurable white lotuses that were tiny as beans (ought to be the size of sesame seeds) descended from the sky; at that time, she thought they were exfoliation of latex paint from the ceiling owing to disrepair! Reciting with usual mind, she is accustomed to seeing (the white lotuses every time) without any strangeness. The same scenario appears whenever she chants the mantra. She has never told anyone about this except mentioning it to Rinpoche.
Rinpoche told her, “It’s really something ordinary.”
She also answered, “Yes, it’s very common!”
A Buddhist practitioner should not put ones’ energy on an instant phenomenon, nor should one be fascinated by it. Our energy will be dispersed by doing so and thus we are made to linger on only a part of the sceneries on the road of cultivation and in turn our human life will be squandered. We should put our energy on diligence (to practise cultivation vigorously) or follow the path of Bodhisattva. In this way, our talent will not be wasted for this life and our Realm of Cultivation can go a step further. Or else, it is too pitiful.
| Remarks: | For the practices of some Dharmas like Cundhi Mirror Altar Dharma, Maha Tara Mirror Achievement Dharma etc, there are all sorts of good omens when correspondence occurs; one should only describe the correspondence of Tantric Dharma in detail to one’s Root Guru. |
| Conclusion | |
| 1) | Have a careful thought about what ‘usual mind’ is? Though the term is simply made up of three words, how many of us can really understand what usual mind is in our daily life after all? How many of us know how to maintain one’s usual mind? Among them, how many can apply the usual mind? ‘Usual mind’, which can neither be held by hands nor seen with eyes, may be interpreted as a state of mind. To build up usual mind, firstly, one should acquire a certain mental state to handle the surroundings. One has to accomplish such a frame of mind that ‘one is not pleased by external gains or saddened by personal losses’. Secondly, usual mind is also a sort of Realm. Sixth Patriarch Huineng Zen Master said, “As there’s not a thing existing originally, how can dust be ever attracted?” The Realm involves the ability to keep oneself aloof from worldly things as well as the self-transcendence and this serves to explain what usual mind is. However, it is not telling one to act passively to escape. On the contrary, it tries to manifest a positive mental attitude in which extraordinary matters are viewed with usual mind and as a result, everything becomes ordinary. With such an attitude, there are reductions in shock, disappointments as well as one’s attempt to commit suicide when one is facing failure. Viewing matters with usual mind, one is under a very tranquil mind to think positively without the disturbance of any wearisome troubles. On the other hand, one should not care about the existence of it (usual mind) and not to mention looking into it. In that case, one’s ideological domain will naturally be widened and extended. One does not care about the gossips, the feeling of gratitude or resentment, the success or failure, the gain or loss etc. at the moment any more. Such a board mind is the strongest and firmest stepping-stone that enables one to march forward to another high peak. Even though one fails to reach the summit, one will not take it to heart because one is embracing the ‘usual mind’. Instead, one can be in a sober mood to analyze and plan for the target of another climb to the climax. One’s motive force of doing so stems from the invisible ‘usual mind’. |
| 2) | Chanting mantras but no mutual correspondence occurs, one may be disappointed and will tend to put down (putting down by not chanting mantras any more, that is, abstain from chanting mantras). This type of ‘putting-down’ is a pseudo one. One seems to have put down and does no longer chant any mantras; however, one’s mind is still clinging to it. Thus, one has not really put down one’s ‘attached mind’! Chanting mantras without the occurrence of any mutual correspondence indicates that you are unable to climb up to this peak. You should then contemplate calmly, “Is it that I’ve made mistakes or errors in the pronunciation of mantras? Is it because I can’t control my breath correctly? Am I lack of concentration or I’m not physically strong enough to keep on chanting mantras for nearly two hours? Or I’ve violated the Tantric precepts that resists me from receiving Rinpoche’s blessings? … etc. all possible causes.” After adjusting all the causes progressively, one can continue to make efforts on chanting mantras again. With the spirit of getting up again and again to restart after every fall as well as the ability to keep on fighting indomitably in spite of all setbacks, one can thus escalade the peaks one by one successfully. When everything goes naturally, one’s success is attained right at the moment. |
| 3) | As soon as one is able to grasp the application of usual mind, one’s life will be more yielding, obedient and easy. One handles everything according to the concept of following the condition, following the circumstance. Following the condition is not equal to drifting along or clinging to the habitual ways and muddle on. One focuses on doing one's level best and leave the rest to heaven’s will. The word ‘follow’ does not mean to go after, let nature takes its course instead with no resentment or recklessness; it is neither in excess nor being importune. Furthermore, ‘follow’ does not refer to working in a slipshod manner. It is the grasping of opportunities in a way that is not pessimistic, not mechanical, and not panic or be beside oneself either. Under such an open mind, one can thus establish a positive and hardworking philosophy of life to enjoy continuous improvements. When one succeeds, one should not be too complacent to avoid being held up (at a certain stage). One can thereby achieve a perfect life in one’s daily routine. One can acquire all Buddha Dharma and reach a successful completion(Enlightenment)! I hereby sincerely hope that all of you can attain such (usual) ‘mind’ as soon as possible. |
Beginners of Tantric practitioners are always assigned ‘Yidam Visualization’ at the very beginning. The only purpose of doing so is to help concentrate one’s mind.
There are innumerable convenient Dharma paths to cultivate Esoteric Buddhism. In order to cope with the various personalities of different people, a different Yidam is chosen for each individual. Nowadays, lots of people flock to learn Esoteric Buddhism. Making a general observation on the current practitioners, it is found that some primitive practitioners, who have been given their own Yidam deity do not practise in the way taught by Rinpoche nor do they follow the lineage ritual procedures and Dharma Textbooks to cultivate their Yidam practices. They went deliberately to find a ritual procedure that requires at least two hours to practise. Actually, they are absolutely wrong and have committed a very big mistake. It is necessary to know that in this currently fast-changing and complicated society, laymen have to work very hard from morning till night for a living. The potential stress one has to bear is so heavy that it is really not easy for one to extract two hours a day to the ritual procedures and Dharma Textbooks. It is really difficult to do so. Moreover, the longer the ritual procedures are, the more difficult it is to centralize the consciousness during the cultivation. Hence, one’s concentration in cultivating a half-hour ritual procedure is always much better than cultivating a two-hour one! Furthermore, even though one can really finish the two-hour ritual procedure, one’s mind is already overdrawn to an extent that one is broken-up. How can one still have enough energy to continue with other works (cultivate Samadhi Meditation)! If one’s thoughts swirl during the cultivation of the two-hour ritual procedure, it is not surprising to find that one is actually ‘muttering mantras without thorough understanding’! For laymen, it is better to cultivate the Yidam-practice with a ritual procedure of normal length or even a simplified version. No matter whether it is a large-scale Dharma Textbook (a long one), a medium-sized one or a mini one (a short one), one has to treat it with usual mind. Practising with a long ritual procedure does not mean that one is trenchant or one can have correspondence more readily.
Hope all of you can learn to have usual mind, cultivate usual mind, develop usual mind, comprehend usual mind, experience usual mind and maintain usual mind ! ! !
