| | "I mean what if all the intriguing stuff about auric energy and the power of a mantra to change that dramatically over time is just made up? What if it's just wholly superstition? "
I'm not an expert, but I wouldn't rule out such a possibility.
"What if everyone who's religious in the world, including me, is just grasping at straws and all there is is crude matter?" Not for sure. You are aware. A rock is crude matter and it's not aware.
However, something about mantras: -I think it's one of the most effective ways to improve concentration, to the point that some monk says that it's even a most effective preparation to insight practice than jhanas... http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/thai/thate/buddho.html Even if everything elase is wrong, concentration will improve for sure, and that's in my opinion more than enought to keep doing it. That's not an illusion, it can't be, if your concentration improves you know for sure it worked.
-Also, they can be used as an object to develop insight meditation; here I'm quoting from MCBT, chapter on the Bill Hamilton model of the vipassana jhanas:
"To give another example, using a different object, if one is using a mantra, one may notice that at some point one shifts to being able to stay with mantra clearly and perceive it as an object, which is the first jhana, starting with Mind and Body. Once the mantra is clear, one may notice all sorts of things about the process of mentally creating the mantra, such as the stream of intentions being followed shortly behind by the string of the mantra itself, in turn followed slightly behind by the mental echo of the perception of the mantra, making what appear to be three separate streams of the mantra. This is direct insight into Cause and Effect, and as the Three Characteristics of each of these streams become clear, the first jhana matures.
Then the mantra will shift to presenting itself, and will become very clear, as if it is reciting itself. This is obviously the second jhana, and one may experience A&P-like phenomena around here. As the practitioner shifts into the third jhana, the mantra gets wide in the stereo field, complex, with interesting harmonies if one is so inclined, and yet it may seem to be out of phase with attention or it may seem distorted, annoying, like something that was once beautiful but has become noisy. One may experience Dark Night-related phenomena in this phase. As the shift to the fourth jhana comes, the mantra may become part of a very wide, more quiet background, as attention becomes inclusive. Other fourth jhana-like or high equanimity-like phenomena may occur around here."
Observing all of theese shifts of perception in a mantra can help you to be sure that you are making progress in the territory of insight, not having to fear to be fooling yourself in any way...
Bye! |