A Personal Experience of Peacefully Chanting the Shurangama Mantra

Last night while reciting the Shurangama Mantra, I recalled the Dharma teaching from my master which mentioned that one could recite while tapping a wooden fish. So, I used a pen to tap on the table while reciting. It started normally, but after a few minutes, I felt that my articulation, rhythm, and tone were completely different from usual, as if it wasn't me reciting. These changes were not controlled by my consciousness; it seemed to happen automatically. At that moment, I felt my consciousness was very weak; I could barely keep my eyes open, only managing to see the characters faintly. Yet, the recitation was very smooth and fast, with a rhythm like chanting. After finishing, my consciousness was still extremely weak; I had to lean on the table to lie down on the bed. It took quite some time resting before my consciousness returned to normal.

Comment: This is the inconceivable blessing power of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Normally, recitation and sound are both acts of consciousness, but at this time, one's own consciousness was inactive and incapable. Therefore, this recitation was not a consciousness-dominated act. This recitation was, firstly, upheld and blessed by the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, or Dharma protectors, and secondly, regulated by one's own Yigen (manas, the fundamental mind), meaning it was a recitation dominated by Yigen, or rather, Yigen's own recitation. The first point is easy to understand, but how to understand the second? Why did Yigen control consciousness, even replacing the recitation by consciousness? This involves the power of samadhi. The blessing power is certainly present, but let's set that aside for now. Because Yigen recognized the importance of the Shurangama Mantra, it participated in the recitation alongside consciousness. Once it became very familiar, it began to recite autonomously, replacing consciousness, leaving consciousness powerless. This is a state of being in a light samadhi of mantra recitation. Deeper samadhi states may subsequently appear, and future cultivation will progress swiftly and smoothly. With the emergence of samadhi, Yigen takes the stage directly, making the recitation and memorization of the Shurangama Mantra very easy. There's no need for conscious recollection; consciousness only needs to participate slightly.

If it weren't for concrete instances demonstrating this, ordinary people generally wouldn't believe it. Some might say: How could Yigen possibly recite or memorize? That's utterly absurd. So, what exactly is the principle behind memorization and samadhi? Memorization and samadhi are acts of Yigen, dominated by Yigen, with no other reason. Because consciousness was clearly powerless, unable to control it, not knowing why, even to the point of being unable to see the words clearly or at all—how could it recite?

This state was exactly the same as when I was in the Shurangama Sutra recitation period and reciting the Shurangama Sutra. At that time, because I recited extremely fast, without thinking, as I kept reciting, my eyes could no longer see the words in the book, yet my mouth was reciting at an extremely rapid pace, faster than others could follow. It should more accurately be called reciting from memory. At that moment, the mind was empty and still, like unmoving water, as if entering samadhi. I only wished the wooden fish wouldn't stop, the sutra wouldn't end, and the recitation could continue forever without ceasing. From then on, I was able to recite the Shurangama Sutra from memory without ever having to deliberately memorize it.

From this, we can see how great the blessing power of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas is when upholding, reciting, and memorizing the Shurangama Sutra, the Shurangama Mantra, and other Mahayana sutras, how remarkable the spiritual responses are, and how rapid the progress in cultivation is. The merit of reciting and memorizing the Shurangama Mantra is inconceivable; its benefits and virtues are explained in detail in the seventh volume of the Shurangama Sutra. I hope that practitioners who have not yet gotten their cultivation on the right path will make a vow to cultivate the Shurangama Mantra, utilize the Shurangama Mantra well, and promote progress on the path to enlightenment.