What is a Mantra?

The word mantra is thought to come from a root word that meant that which protects the mind. Mantras are sounds, phrase, or words that are used as objects of concentration. They are often used with meditation. With mantra meditation, you can chant the sounds internally to yourself or out loud. If you decide to chant internally, the object of focus that is used in meditation is the inner sound of the thought that you used. When you chant the mantra aloud the sound is a focus for attention but you may also focus on the vibrations and movements of your body, which includes your breathing, your tongue, your lips, etc. Mantra meditation can be done as a group activity or done alone at home. It can be done when doing your regular activities during the day or as a formal meditation practice. You can chant your mantra internally while you are driving, cooking, taking a bath, or taking a walk. A mantra can be associated with a particular archetypal or historical figures or have no association at all. Mantras are mysterious and are thought to be sound symbols that in some way evoke and correspond with the spiritual forces. It is thought that a mantra as being a cross between magical incantations and poetry. Many times they do not even may any rational or real sense. They often cannot be translated in the same way you could a regular sentence. Many wonder if mantras have any sort of meaning and while they often contain syllables like Ah, Hum, and Om mantras literally have no meaning at all. There have been interpretations or understandings of what mantras might mean. The above three syllables have been correlated with body, speech, and mind respectively. There are some who believe that their mantras have an inherent spiritual meaning. There are also some who have found out quickly after chanting a mantra during meditation that they see and feel a change in their meditation experience. A mantra is an object of concentration and can help a person to still their mind. As you are reciting your mantra internally or aloud there seems to be not as much menial chatter. A person only has so much mental space for their thinking to occur so if you are filling that space with your mantra then you will not be doing as much thinking. Although mantra meditation existed at the time of the Buddha it was not something that the Buddhists practiced. It was something that was closely associated with the ancient Brahminical Vedic religion. This religion believed prayers and sacrifices to the gods were a major spiritual practice. Many centuries later, after Buddha and the arising of Mahayana were mantras incorporated in Buddhist practice.