Chapter 305 The Correct Way to Chant the Sutra Most of Japan's pagodas are imitations of those built during the Tang Dynasty and have a strong Tang-style architectural style. The five-story pagoda commonly seen in major temples is the product of the Nara period's comprehensive learning from the Tang Dynasty, and is full of simplicity and elegance. The oldest Buddhist pagoda in Japan today is probably the five-story pagoda in Horyu-ji Temple. The base is built with feather stone and ground stone, and then the tower body is built step by step. On the fifth floor, the spire that reaches up to the sky is collectively called the Phase Wheel. From low to high, they are the Dew Plate, Fu Bowl, Qinghua, Water Pipe, Ryushe, and Baozhu. These are just the external forms; there are other differences inside. The square shape of the pagoda can be divided into many shapes such as hexagon, octagon, circle, etc. Based on the materials used to build the tower, it can be divided into wooden towers, brick towers, stone towers, iron towers, copper towers, glazed towers, and even gold towers, silver towers, and pearl towers. Pagodas can be divided into many types based on their shape and structure, such as pavilion-style pagodas, dense-eaves pagodas, flower pagodas, stupa-style pagodas, etc. As for the number of floors of a pagoda, it is generally an odd number, usually ranging from five to thirteen.
If you want to build a pagoda and make some improvements to suit your needs, it is a very tedious task. Pinggong Qianye often spent a lot of time thinking and drawing one pagoda structure diagram after another, looking for the pagoda he really wanted. At present, Pinggong Qianye has determined that he wants to build a nine-story glazed pagoda. Wooden towers are too fragile, prone to insect infestation, and difficult to maintain. The stone pagoda was too simple and old-fashioned. He was young and did not want to build an old-fashioned pagoda. However, pagodas made of gold, silver, copper, iron, etc. always seem a bit tacky and do not quite match the temperament of Weilian Ancient Temple. As for the Pearl Pagoda, it is a pagoda in a story book. There is no pagoda in the real world that uses pearls as building materials. And it’s too expensive… Unless one could raise a clam spirit that could spit out pearls day and night, there might be a slight possibility. The reason why Pinggong Qianye chose the colored glaze pagoda was because he personally liked the meaning of colored glaze. Colored glass is one of the "seven treasures" of Buddhism and is a magical object that can cure disease and ward off evil. The Sutra of the Original Vow and Merit of the Medicine Buddha Lapis Lazuli Light once said: "May my body be like glass, clear inside and out, pure and without any blemish, when I attain Bodhi in the next life." His Vajra Body practice is based on this standard. Another consideration is from an economic perspective. Today's society is different from that of ancient times, and glass is not a very expensive material. If he were alive in ancient times, his first choice would be a stone pagoda, which is cheaper than a wooden pagoda, and is sturdy and durable and can survive. "There is still a long way to go." It was almost dusk and Ruyi had called him twice. Pinggong Qianye finally put down his pen and paper. There was a trash can full of discarded sketches next to him. After packing up paper, pen and other things, he stood up and walked out of the side hall, washed his hands first, and then went to enjoy Ruyi's good craftsmanship.
Tonight is a mushroom feast. Fortunately, the mushrooms are not wild, so I can’t see the little man after eating them. On the morning of December 12rd, Monday, Chiye Hiramiya went to school and came home from school as usual, and attended a meeting at the Supernatural Society. There are only five members attending the supernatural society meeting today, including Chiya Hiramiya, Suzune Horii, and Yumeko Kazama. The other two members, one is a girl and the other is also a girl. As the number of supernatural incidents gradually decreased, every meeting was spent chatting, and as the final exams were approaching, Horii Suzune allowed the members to arrange their time freely. "so boring……" Yumeko Kazama laid on the table, fiddling with her hair with her fingers and complaining glumly. After the battle at Meiji Jingu, Lord Shiranui seemed to have some realizations and chose to practice in seclusion. He has not appeared in the past month. The Tokugawa brothers and sisters, who usually brought some supernatural stories, seemed to be frightened. They temporarily dropped out of school, returned to their family, and have not been seen since. "Drink Coke and eat some sunflower seeds." Horii Suzune took out the prepared snacks from the drawer. "I want some potato chips! Sea salt flavor!" Yumeko Kazama reacted quickly. She hugged a bag of potato chips to her chest and shared it with the two girls next to her. "I have nothing to do, so I'll teach you how to recite the sutra correctly. Anyone want to learn?" Hiramiya Chiye opened a can of Coke and handed it to Horii Suzune, then glanced at Kazama Yumeko and the others. "want!" Yumeko Kazama's mouth was full. She raised her hands and made a whimpering sound. "The correct way to chant sutras?" Horii Suzune whispered, taking out a small notebook and a pen. "This is an interesting topic." Seeing that they were all interested, Pinggong Chiye began to tell them about the correct posture for chanting the sutra. Reciting scriptures and worshiping Buddha sounds simple. It only requires reciting the text in the scriptures word for word, but in fact there are many details involved. Especially for beginners, many of them only have a temporary interest in Buddhist scriptures. When they open a Buddhist scripture, many people will be discouraged by the complicated text on it. I couldn’t understand it, I couldn’t read it clearly, I couldn’t even recognize the words, let alone understand the general meaning of the scriptures. Be intimidated and then hesitate to move forward. Those who are interested in learning will look for suitable audio on the Internet and learn by following the audio. Not to mention whether the pronunciation of the scriptures recited in the online audio is correct, it is difficult for the listeners to understand just because of the screen. "When a beginner recites Buddhist scriptures, he should first focus on reciting one sutra, and not recite more than one sutra, or recite a mixture of them. Once one sutra is understood, all other sutras will be understood, and one will be able to gain enlightenment." "When reciting the sutra, the words must be pronounced correctly, and the eyes and mouth must work in coordination. The eyes should see the words first, and then the mouth should recite them. This will reduce mistakes." "The speed of chanting should be steady and smooth. You should not chant very fast just because you are familiar with the passage. You should not stutter when you encounter obscure passages. You should not chant fast or slow, and you should not stop in the middle of the chant." When saying this, Hiramiya Chiye recited the Heart Sutra to Horii Suzune and others.
The speed is steady and the breathing is smooth, just like a trickling stream, always maintaining a certain speed, instead of being sometimes turbulent and sometimes still. Good singing is a pleasure to listen to, and the same is true for scriptures. The scriptures recited by a beginner and those recited by a high monk will have extremely different auditory experiences even if they are the same scriptures. Only when the sound of chanting can enter your ears and heart can you gain something and become enlightened. "Mr. Pinggong, when we are reciting the sutras, our minds often wander, our attention is not focused, and we even have delusions. What should we do?" A female member asked with an uneasy look on her face, saying that they had all recited scriptures privately before, but the effect was not good. After all, when they read or recite texts, they often have many distractions and find it difficult to concentrate. "This is normal. There is no need to worry or correct it. Just recite the sutra naturally, over and over again. When you gradually become enlightened, the delusions will disappear." Taoism talks about being natural, and Buddhism also talks about not being attached, and just letting things be as they should be. The more persistent you are, the easier it is to get stuck in a rut, and the more likely it is that things will get into trouble. Pinggong Qianye also told them some information about the correct way to chant the sutra. If you recite the scriptures daily, it is naturally best to recite once in the morning, noon and evening. This is the same principle as reviewing the old to learn the new and reflecting three times a day. Be careful not to recite the scriptures more than ten times in one breath. Sometimes you may just recite them once, or even not finish them. What should I do if I feel dry mouth while reciting scriptures? In addition to drinking more hot water, Pinggong Qianye also gave a new suggestion, which is to learn to hold nectar in your mouth. To put it simply, when you are meditating and chanting, you can press your tongue against the roof of your mouth, which will cause saliva to form in your mouth. Of course, you should still drink hot water. Pinggong Qianye drank a sip of mineral water at the right time. Well, I have talked too much. Yumeko Kazama, who seemed to understand what was said, leaned her head closer to Horii Suzune, wanting to see the notes she had written in her little notebook. It was discovered that Horii Suzune not only wrote down the key points, but also drew little monks in the blank spaces. Some of the little monks were wearing glasses, some were standing in front of the blackboard, some were holding pointers, and some were covering their heads and sighing... Yumeko Kazama couldn't help but burst out laughing. (End of this chapter)