Dhamma Talks and Pali Chanting Club in VA.

Why is chanting important to the Buddhists? The connection between chanting and meditation.

"In the first place, it is a way in which the teachings of the Buddha are brought to mind. The chants represent a significant number of Buddhist texts that can teach as well as inspire.

Secondly, chanting is important because it effects the purification of the mind in two ways. Chanting purifies insofar as the words are a guide for banishing evil from the mind and directing thoughts toward the true and the good.... Chanting was taught by the Buddha as a direct route to Enlightenment. In this regard, chanting can help develop the perfections of morality, resolution, truthfulness and generosity.

Thirdly, chanting serves to provide a kind of emotional relief from troubles of daily life and contemporary society. In the way in which it can calm and focus the mind it is somewhat akin to the more powerful sitting meditation. Furthermore group chanting not only provides emotional relief but also a sense of belonging and common purpose as the chanters together engage in the purification of their minds together.

Fourthly, chanting is important because it is a way of paying respect to the Triple Gem, the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha - the Enlightened One, the Path to Enlightenment, and the Community of Monks. For instance, it is out of respect and humility that we fold our hands and bow three times, first to the image of the Buddha, then to the Dhamma and, finally to the Sangha."