Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 71-minute talk from a Mahāmudrā retreat, Lama Zopa Rinpoche focuses on the practice and spiritual significance of liturgical chanting in Tibetan Buddhism. He explains how well-performed chanting benefits both the practitioner’s mind and the lineage, then provides detailed practical instruction on the different versions of key liturgies — Heart Sūtra, Tārā practice, Lama Chöpa, and mandala offerings — and how their varying lengths and tempos serve different needs and time constraints. He covers the technical aspects of melody and pacing (slow versions aid meditation and reflection; faster versions fit compressed schedules), rhythm, breath placement, and how to notate chanting so others can follow the tune accurately. He also discusses the secret tune for Dorje Sempa’s mandala offering and explains why well-executed chanting pleases the dharma protectors. Pitched at practitioners already familiar with these liturgies.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 81 2004 04 26 MR.mp3
UUID: b349d82e-80b4-4668-8ea6-a82b60f0ab9b
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1
Collection: y Mahāmudrā International Retreat (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1)
Date: 2004-04-26
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 71.1 minutes
Words: ~1,741
Just Just to more stabilize. But my channel is not stabilized. It changes. It is difficult to stabilize. Sometimes it comes, sometimes it doesn’t come out.
It depends I think it depends on occasions. Anyway, This is some basis. This is based on his own song, the chanting and his supposed to be also from Pabongka’s lineage. But I don’t know how Pabongka Rinpoche himself chanted no idea, but it was supposed to be and his attendant Trijang Rinpoche which I think it came down or yeah. So I suppose based on those.
But it particularly is from Zong Rinpoche, which is the current shelters, you know, the yeah. To say, you know, yeah. So the yeah. And based on that, composed the melody, changed the combinations, you know, and which lama or which monasteries. But this is the sort of base base on that.
So as I mentioned in the past, the challenging is know, one thing is challenging is that came from enlightened beings, of great yogis, you know, and came out of the body that the benefit of There’s one chanting, the chok chanting. Chanting, there’s a long chanting one. The sometimes so this said to me, maybe, was when he came from Ganden monastery, Lhasa, we got this chanting between some of story. There’s a lot in practice one at consistent, not as you know, not exactly. So, anyway, if it’s done well, then there’s also not only blessing, also karmic connection, but also the, you know, with the lineage so that it because the lineage is blessing, karmic blessing.
But also it’s done well, done done nicely, able to do it, then it moves the mind. By the meaning it moves mind, then also the tune, if it’s nicely done, it also moves the mind. Able to help to transform the mind into Dharma. So and then also other things, it gives time to meditate. When you do slow, when you chant, it gives time to meditate.
That’s why the Heart Sūtra, I haven’t heard, but they in in Tibet, they chant all night. All night, sūtra, they said that, you know, the chant was very slow. Like, there was going many, you know, hours. So they said that a person can go from Sera. From Sera, you can go to Lhasa and can come back.
So within within the within the Heart Sūtra. That’s what I said. Right. Yeah. I don’t remember.
Did it like that at bhakti, you know. It’s only time we spend time. So I don’t remember that. Then, it’s certainly nicely done. It’s also it pleases the minds of the protectors when you if the chanting is well done, it also it’s like, you know, it is it is some music or some I already attracted some, you know, some music or musical art.
You know, it’s a nice it attracts the dears. The dears, they attract, know, I heard the attracts for nice songs or maybe there’s a song. Anyway, you know, if people get attacked too, you see. So here, the, you know, offered a nice tune, then it is a it pleases the protectors’ minds. You know, it gives inspiration, however pleasing to see.
So like that. And, yeah, it’s just for example, in the when we do the Tārā puja practice, so they go all night, you know, Then it says beautiful chant, the mandalas, you know, that we do the whole night Tārā practice. Many many times, many places mention that actually. So I think that makes up becomes offering pleasing somehow, you see. A part of offering.
This is not in your book. So you have to go to the second volume two. So you so you just you just write down there, you see, like the music. Mhmm. Like, you have to when you play music, have this what do call?
You have this you put this one. When you play music, you have this rhythm. Yeah. Yeah. So so so you can write down the prayer book.
See? You don’t go precise on that, but it just comes smooth. Does it need to turn again or not? K. So you fill up the the the between.
See? The two between. Yeah. So that just mark there. You see?
Next one. So you fill it up, you know, the the sound between. So that’s all what that’s it. Also the way you stop also to mark, make lines so that creates the shape, I say, turning. That also helps when you stop it.
If you know that, then it also helps the shaping the So see by listening tape then, you see, then you just practice that or you write fill it up betweens. So then that’s all. If you’re able to that, you know, what sound between the sound between you’ll be able to record that and that’s all right. Then, you know, then you practice just a few times. So you have some basis to follow.
There’s another long one. So you have to remember this tune there. One one on. I think without we have to buy stock, but I think there’s no stock there. Okay.
Maybe it’s not. So I can just fill up the the sound between see, you know, you go up and down the line, whether you draw a line or letter. It sound Okay. So the slow one, I did the other other day, the the slow one. So the so if I did that.
Okay. For so when there’s time, then the slow and squeak, which is gives time to maintain those who are very relaxing. As long one doesn’t fall asleep, then it’s okay. It’s relaxing. But you don’t fall asleep then.
Too relaxing. This is Namda monastery chanting. So it can be middle tune in the middle tune. So where where the stop is, turn your mark. That’s important.
Oh, okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Just So by knowing the different by knowing the long version, you know, then middle version or short version of your by knowing that, then then you know how you you you have more flexibility according to time.
Otherwise otherwise, you just read straight in English. So there’s more flexibility. See? But I know that the, you know, the different as a no version, middle, you know, shorter or faster way how to do it. I guess, I mean, even that’s faster.
I guess, the best thing to do in in English further. It doesn’t make much sense to read Japan. So I’m just here. Trying it can be also middle person. So I think what what’s usually made.
So whenever you begin the prayer, often, whenever you you when you do it doesn’t start with a o or like this. But the the severing sevenfold. Sevenfold. Sevenfold or suffering. Sevenfold the suffering ego.
The one you don’t chant with ‘ah’. You don’t you don’t begin with ‘ah’. But most of the chantings, start with the ‘ah’. You don’t start immediately. Even the protector of the the protector chanting advises.
So it it fits. Previously, I said, Namgyal monastery chanting. So but maybe maybe if they hear, they don’t accept what I said. They may not accept. And it’s not the understanding.
So this is what I what I heard. You know? So maybe you remember this was during the during the teaching or something like that. Just feel like the shorter shorter one. You have to rush then.
Oh, we could do that. It was in English. Rap. The rap style. Rap rap. Rap rap style.
What do call? What do call? Rap. So you can do rap style with the Lama Chöpa. So we just do this, then we stop there.
So you start this war. So not so long. Didn’t didn’t didn’t succeed correctly. So it always doesn’t come out the same. You know, it’s actually some people can So even final even final and then the shaking sound.
Tārā Jetsunma. Just tune it’s it’s so like so like two curves. She the Jetsunma. So you slowly come up when Jetsunma when you say Jetsunma, then come they come down and come up. Then, like, three three curves like this.
So one like that, one like this, another highlight that, another one like this. Seems like two curves like that, the one the higher then come down. But I guess if that is difficult to just I think just one round, I think that final one round. That’s nice. But since what is this, you come up one like this, then the higher one, the other one.
But I’m not in just one final one. So that other otherwise, when otherwise, the one one chant is the normal one we do from Kopan, the old the Kopan, the you know, from beginning of Kopan course, this mandala chanting. We that is actually we did we used that chanting from very beginning of Kopan course, then it became kind of become normal chanting. That is it. Actually, there is a Dorje Sempa secret tune for the mandala offering of Vajrayoginī.
So it’s a it it should chant. It has to chant that one. So the it’s called that who different I think, who received — who Tārā appeared to in direct connection with Tārā and received all the teachings and initiation from Tārā. So that’s the very close lineage. That So then, I promise his one.
I received the first time from Zong Rinpoche, I think, from Zong Rinpoche first, from Zong Rinpoche. That’s across lineages there. So this is the secret tune of Dorje Sempa mandala offering.
It’s great lama. So otherwise, can you use the normal chanting? Same thing that is done to the torma mandala offering. Say, after you finish placing torma, then you do invocation from that one. So that’s this is one turning to you.
This mandala offering is supposed to be based on the chanting of the monasteries. So that’s it. So the two curve is since the original tune, three curves, apart from one, one curve, one final fine curve than that would make a nice tune. So the tune can be offering to the merit field, but also benefit the mind for those two reasons. Basically and besides time, gives time to think of the meaning of the meditation.
So