What are mantras used for?

[white_wolf]

I've read the Heart Sutra and it ends with a mantra, but I'm not sure what mantras are for. Are they supposed to be chanted during mediation? Honestly, I'm not even sure what the mantra at the end of the Heart Sutra means. It seems almost like some sort of transliteration rather than a translation.

[Aloka]

I'm not even sure what the mantra at the end of the Heart Sutra means

The Heart Sutra mantra means something like "Go to the other shore" (of enlightenment)



I'm not sure what mantras are for.

This explanation of the 'Om Mani Padme Hung' mantra might be helpful.

http://www.dharma-haven.org/tibetan/meaning-of-om-mani-padme-hung.htm



:hands:

[Abhaya]

The mantra concluding the Heart Sutra - "gate, gate, pāragate, pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā" - can be translated as "gone, gone, gone beyond, gone completely beyond to awakening". As pointed out by Aloka, going beyond means crossing to the other shore, a metaphor for enlightenment frequently referenced throughout the suttas of the Pali Nikayas as well as the sutras of the Mahayana schools. "The Simile of the Raft", contained in the Alagaddupama Sutta, is a useful teaching about crossing to the other shore, as Samsara is often pictured as an ocean while the Buddha's teachings are likened to a raft utilized for the purpose of transporting beings to safety.

In the Zen group with which I practice, we chant the Heart Sutra prior to meditation. Mantras may help settle the mind, as a tool of sorts. Sound exerts a powerful effect on the brain.

[plwk]

On mantras:
From one Chinese Mahayana perspective: here (http://www.drbu.org/dictionary/mantra)
From one Tibetan Vajrayana perspective: here (http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Mantra)

On the heart mantra of the Heart Sutra:
From one Chinese Mahayana perspective: here (http://cttbusa.org/heartsutra/hs25.htm)
From one Tibetan Vajrayana perspective: here (http://www.lamayeshe.com/index.php?sect=article&id=686&chid=1740)
From one general perspective: here (http://www.visiblemantra.org/heart.html)

[white_wolf]

Thanks a lot you guys. It really helped. One more thing, would anyone be willing to give me some advice on how to pronounce the words? I'm assuming its important to pronounce the words correctly and I'm worried my English is butchering them.

[Aloka]

. One more thing, would anyone be willing to give me some advice on how to pronounce the words?

Here is a recording of the Dalai Lama reciting the mantra.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvaFdYSD4C0