Chanting Your Way To Healing In A Chinese Temple Stay

It is early morning and you can hear the chanting of Chinese monks faintly coming from one of the temple halls. There is crispness in the morning air and the occasional wisp of the aroma of incense and charcoal. This is a verbal snap shot of a morning moment that will come to greet you on your temple stay in a Buddhist temple in China. In the not too distant past Buddhism was at the heart beat of Chinese life. Buddhism has endured many challenges throughout China’s history but it remains in the hearts and minds of the Chinese people and is undergoing a rapid resurgence. Many tourists come to China and will visit Chinese temples and take photos. However there are some temples in which you may stay and take back more than photos. Perhaps you may take back a deep and palpable change.

Chanting the sutras is a daily part of life in a Chinese temple and during a temple stay you cannot help being drawn in by its mystical sounds. The very act of chanting is a most uplifting and healing thing. It is healing as it brings us the merits of good Karma. If your own good karma has brought you to a temple stay I highly recommend that you take part in a chanting ceremony. This is a great opportunity for both spiritual and psychological healing.

Do not be put off by not speaking or reading Chinese. Some Chinese temples have the words of the chanting written in Pinyin with the Chinese and even sometimes a translation. Pinyin is Romanized Chinese and enables you to pronounce the words. Besides, it is not necessary to understand the words as chanting resonate at different levels of human consciousness. In many temples in China there are friendly lay followers who are generally eager to help you and admire any attempt you may make. It is in the vibrations in the tones of the chanting which become balm to the battered, troubled and tired soul.

The tones and music are unique to Chinese Buddhism and in your temple stay you will be witness to something which has been handed down for centuries. The tones rise and fall like waves on an ocean carrying the essence of the dharma and spiritual healing to the heart of the one who chants or who is amidst the chanting.
Mantras or “Zhou” are another form of chanting. These contain special spiritual significance and can be very powerful for healing and awakening for the one who chants them sincerely.

Your temple stay in a small Chinese Buddhist temple and your chanting experience may lead you to a deeper change as many pilgrims have found out.

By: Mao Xinmen

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Malcolm Hunt is director of the T’ai Shen Centre and is an International Mindfulness and Naikan Trainer and temple stay facilitator. Malcolm works in Zhejiang Province China facilitating meditation retreats and helping people change for a better life through their temple stay. He is also a writer and researcher on Chinese Buddhism researching small monastic communities in rural areas. He can be contacted at www.taishendo.com