I was chanting my Om Ah Hum this morning, and thinking of the countless Buddhists who have chanted this over the past several millenia. Do not all Buddhists who think of themselves as Buddhists suffer the Duhkha of conditioned existence?
Where the randomness? Where the chance? Where the openness to “all that”?
I doubt Buddha ever had a church in mind. He was much too wise to believe it could exist in sincerity more than a lifetime or two after his death.
Buddhism is a useful creed. I believe this. But we need to look beyond it. There is no doubt of this, either, in my mind.
2 replies on “Conditioned Existence”
Interesting and strange thing: A few years ago I started to have strong internal urgings to chant those syllables – kind of an verbal kriya, if you will; I suppose an outgrowth of the intensive energy work I was doing at the time (and still do).
I finally learned after googling a bit, that they indeed form a popular buddhist mantra, which is rather strange since I'm not a buddhist. I conjecture that they correspond to some basic energy signatures that become "awakened" within human beings after a certain amount of spiritual and energy work.
The only info I've been able to find on this mantra is the buddhist idea that correlates each syllable to Buddha's words/thoughts, etc, which I find unsatisfactory as an explanation.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
I am doing the e-Kum Nye program, and they say that Om Ah Hum is a centerpiece of the practice. What I've been doing the last half dozen lessons or is chant each syllable at a time–take a breath in, then say it until your breath fades.
It does seem to loosen lung/chest tension.
Now, you inhale while thinking OM, hold an equal amount of time while thinking Ah, and exhale an equal amount of time thinking Hum.
I don't know what it all means. When you see Buddhists with their prayer beads in rows chanting, these are some of the mantras. Om Mani Padme Hum is another.
Om itself, of course, is sort of the sacred word of the Hindus. Written, it is a unique construction.
Here is the video companion for this week's meditation, in which he chants for a bit. It will sound much like what you have seen Buddhists doing in groups since you have seen Buddhists in groups: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwZsEBB_LWw