Hi,
I've just came back from a trip to a Buddhist monastery, which I enjoyed very much.
For the morning and evening chanting prior to the meditation session, the advice of the monk to people unfamiliar with chanting in Pali was simple: "fake it until you make it". This worked quite well, and after a few days I sort of memorized the stress patterns for some of the simpler chants.
However, I would like to know whether chanting in Pali follows any sets of principles, in regards to stresses and pronouncing some of the syllabus longer/shorter, or is it all memorized by people in the course of practicing?
Thank you.
pali chanting: is it memorized, or are there rules/patterns?
pali chanting: is it memorized, or are there rules/patterns?
Last edited by jango on Thu Apr 09, 2015 12:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
ACK and you shall receive.
Re: pali chanting: is it memorized, or are there rules/patterns?
Hi Jango,
There is a discussion of how to scan Pali at the start of this document:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... nting.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Mike
There is a discussion of how to scan Pali at the start of this document:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... nting.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Mike
Re: pali chanting: is it memorized, or are there rules/patterns?
This explains a lot! Thank you, Mike.
ACK and you shall receive.
Re: pali chanting: is it memorized, or are there rules/patterns?
You will find that there are variations, often due to the first language of the particular group [Thai, Sinhalese, Burmese, etc...]. That document is, obviously, based on Thai conventions. I'm most familiar with Thai-derived chanting, and even then there are some variations. It's quite noticeable to me that the Western Ajahn Chah groups chant with a slightly different rhythmic sense from the Thai monks I am more familiar with [the AC groups sound more measured and less "bouncy"]. The key think with chanting is that it's a collaborative effort, so one needs to adapt to the local situation.
Mike
Mike
Re: pali chanting: is it memorized, or are there rules/patterns?
While I like the solemn chants, on occassion, I do find the more "bouncy" chants done at huge Thai ceremonies very nice too.
Re: pali chanting: is it memorized, or are there rules/patterns?
There are some notes at the back of the chanting book available at http://www.samatha.org/texts/samatha-bu ... tion-texts" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; which you may find helpful - feel free to get back to me ([email protected]) if you have any further queries.