tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post6892896846855457443..comments2023-04-01T11:49:25.654+01:00Comments on Visible Mantra Blog: Offering MantraUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-28832856157004413492009-12-18T01:41:21.710+00:002009-12-18T01:41:21.710+00:00I find it disheartening that we don't even kno...I find it disheartening that we don't even know what many of these phrases mean that actually have translatable meanings (as opposed to the other sort).<br><br>It also causes me to wonder: Why use a mantra that has no known meaning?Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04561666880371974930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-88314881285952636332009-12-18T08:58:34.277+00:002009-12-18T08:58:34.277+00:00Hi Al,Yes. We accept the blanket statement that ma...Hi Al,<br><br>Yes. We accept the blanket statement that mantras cannot be translated, but often they can to some extent.<br><br>I suppose mantras always had some 'meaning' when they were first used, but that this was lost sight of over time. I suspect, though, that purpose was more important than meaning - echoing the big debate of 20th century linguistics between the semanticists and the pragmatists. The siddhas were interested in what the mantra did, and not concerned to make sense of the words if they did the magic.<br><br>Recalling that Buddhists rejected the 'vibrations' and 'divine words' theories of the Brahmins we have some catching up to do in explaining what we think we are doing with mantras.<br><br>A lot of it boils down to considering the deity mantra to be a form of the name of the deity and chanting the mantra an expression of devotion and śraddha - which according to early Mahāyāna sutras has a salvific value.<br><br>Mantras such as this one are like stage directions for tantric rituals - which is why they are more or less just phrases in Sanskrit. <br><br>I hope to have more to say on this as time goes on - there is some pressure building!<br><br>Regards<br>JayaravaJayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06815277098386812048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-23799551826029005242010-01-16T16:50:22.409+00:002010-01-16T16:50:22.409+00:00Thank you for the mantra !Thank you for the mantra !Michnoreply@blogger.com