Chanting | Monk Chant | Oral Tradition

During the monastic training, chanting (monk singing) is an important part in order to pass on the teachings according to oral tradition and to practice them correctly. Several hours a day are spent in the community memorizing the scriptures by having the monks and nuns read the texts aloud (chanting).

Oral Tradition

Until the invention of writing, the transfer of knowledge was passed on in oral tradition, from mouth to ear. We humans have been able to remember a sung story very well for thousands of years and reproduce it without errors. Singing together connects because the knowledge is passed on and thus each individual becomes part of a larger story.

Monasteries - Books

Making a book was very expensive and time-consuming, so only the monasteries could afford the expense of writing books. And so it was understandable according to the habit (mouth-ear) that the books and writings had been read aloud.

Visual Tradition

The fact that one could read books quietly (inwardly) for oneself had to be discovered first. With the advent of printing, books also became easier and cheaper to produce. But it's only been around 80 years that we've been reading exclusively visually.

Chanting - Monk Chant

Chanting (reciting Buddha, Jesus and God) means practicing righteous thoughts. Right thinking inevitably leads to true pleasure. "God" means protecting oneself from the creation of sin (missing the mark) by awakening and observing body and mind.

Thinking - Monk Chanting

Thinking is remembering, which means remembering the behaviors of the commandments without forgetting them and practicing them diligently. Therefore, you should know well that thoughts come from the mind, not from the word.

The fish can be caught through the net. By speaking, the meaning can be grasped.

Without the reality of the essence of chanting, just reciting the empty name is useless. What benefit can arise? Remembering and evoking are very different in name and meaning. Just using the mouth is chanting, doing it with the mind is arousing. Hence the recitation comes from the mind. It is the gateway to awakening cultivation. On the other hand, singing from memory belongs to the mouth, which belongs to the sound form. Holding on to the sound form and looking for happiness is wrong. Zen Master Reding chants the Heart Sutra in Korean and Japanese with his monk brothers.