"So are there any other reasons why we chant?" It's something to do, that's all.
No, some of the chanting is really, really, really good.
And, you know - but I never really appreciated chanting until I really learned Pali
and really understood what some of those chants actually mean.
And they really blew me away, when you really understood what, you know, those chants meant.
There's some great teachings and great Dhamma in there.
Like, one of the chants we often do is the Ratana Sutta.
And, you know, one of the verses there just, again, is incredible:
Khīnam purānam; navam natthi sambhavam Viratta cittā āyatike bhavasmim; Te khīnabījā avirūlhicchandā Nibbanti dhīrā yathā’yam padīpo.
You see, I don't just tell jokes. [laughter] I actually know Pali and I can quote in Pali.
That really impresses people in Sri Lanka, because that's what the monks do.
I can do that as well, but, you know, tell jokes also. So, you know, I've got a much wider repertoire. [laughter]
But "Te khīnabījā avirūlhicchandā", this is about the chitta, the mind.
The seed of rebirth has been destroyed. It can't grow again.
This is the best line: Nibbanti dhīrā. It's certainly going to Nibbana, going to cessation.
"Just like this lamp." Yathā’yam padīpo.
There the Buddha was pointing out what Nibbana really means.
In the time of the Buddha everyone would know what Nibbana meant. Everybody.
Because it was a common word. He said this mind will Nibbana just like that oil lamp will Nibbana.
What does it mean, the oil lamp Nibbanas? Does the oil lamp go to the ground of all being?
Does the oil lamp go to this beautiful heaven, you know, Nibbana heaven?
What does an oil lamp or a candle do? Extinguish. It goes out. Finishes. Ceases.
That's what Nibbana is. Ceasing. Stopping. Phoof, it goes out. But where does it go?
Where does the flame go when it goes out? When the flames goes out does it go to
this happy land where all flames who have done good karma can live peacefully ever after?
No! It just ceases. And this is from the Aggi-Vacchagotta Sutta.
He said a flame is there because - especially an oil lamp - three causes, three supports:
the wick, the oil and the heat. When those three come together, the heat,
the wick and the oil, that's the flame. And if any one of those causes stops,
such as the wick is all burnt out or there's no oil left, or the wind blows the heat away,
then the flame extinguishes. Just like this body and mind has its causes and conditions,
when they disappear - such as craving, such as delusion - when they stop, you stop too.
You go out - phoof - like the flame. Now, I chant that so often - you know,
the Ratana Sutta, one of the common chants - and when I go to that, wow, that is incredibly powerful,
deep, wonderful Dhamma. So that's why I chant it, because I know what I'm chanting about.
And it's incredible. It's really good. So there we go. So if you understand the chanting -
and, yes, sometimes we do chant in the local language, in the English, but, you know, even
that Metta Sutta we chant, it's nowhere near as oomphy and powerful as when, you know,
you understand the original language. The translations are just - they never quite get it.
But when you actually do it in Pali, whoo, it's powerful stuff. That's why I like chanting.
And also because it's powerful stuff, you know, I really get into it.
It gets all this energy up and then you can zap someone.
Because you've got the energy to do that, the inspiration, the power of the mind.
So, yes, you can use it, you know, to do amazing things with people
and get them better again or stuff like that.
But you don't want to do that too often. Because, okay, I chant and, sort of, you know get
Bhikkhuni Kusuma to be 10 years younger, it's a waste of time, isn't it?
Oh Satima. Satima, sorry. I keep on saying Kusuma. [laughter] Satima. You see, even I make terrible mistakes.
To get her, sort of, 10 years younger, but who wants to do that?
So anyway, this whole thing about chanting, yes, it does have power.
The best power is actually to remember the Dhamma, to inspiration. That's the best of it.