Open Lay Practices and Teachings:
Here, you may find open practices for laity to benefit your spiritual routines. This will include Rituals, Gāthās, Paritta (Known in Mahāyāna as Dhāraṇī), Yantra usage, and Mantras. Audio recordings of oral transmissions will be provided if needed for certain Mantras, Gāthās, and Parittas.
Terminology Overview:
What is a Gāthā?
Gāthā is a Sanskrit term for 'song' or 'verse', especially referring to any poetic metre which is used in legends, folklores, or stanzas of a versified portion of the Pāli Canon. Here, Gāthās often refer to stanzas of protective prayers, or a longer form of Mantra.
What is a Mantra?
A Mantra (Pali: Manta) or Mantraṃ is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words believed by practitioners to have religious, magical or spiritual powers. Mantras may be in short or long form and are found in all three Buddhist Vehicles.
What are Paritta?
Paritta, generally translated as "protection" or "safeguard," refers to the Buddhist practice of reciting certain verses and scriptures in order to ward off misfortune or danger, as well as to the specific verses and discourses recited as Paritta texts. The practice of reciting or listening to the Paritta suttas began very early in the history of Buddhism.
What are Buddhist Rituals?
Buddhist rituals may include the usage and making of Holy Water, Sacred String, Sacred Geometrical Diagrams known as Yantra, Yantra Tattoos, Making Medicine, Blessings, Making Sacred objects/statues. These rituals often include sacred prayers such as Mantras, Parittas, or Gāthās. These rituals are often based off prior Vedic/Hindu rituals, or rituals provided by the Buddha himself.
What are Yantra?
Yantra is a geometrical diagram, mainly from the Esoteric traditions of the Indian religions. Yantras are used for the worship of deities in temples or at home; as an aid in meditation; and for the benefits believed given by their occult powers based on Hindu astrology and Esoteric texts. They are also used for adornment of temple floors, due mainly to their aesthetic and symmetric qualities. Specific yantras are traditionally associated with specific deities and/or certain types of energies used for accomplishment of certain tasks or vows that may be either materialistic or spiritual in nature. Yantras can be on a flat surface or three-dimensional. They can be drawn or painted on paper, engraved on metal, or any flat surface. They tend to be smaller in size than the similar Maṇḍala, traditionally with less color.