The Clear Water Zen CenterChanting
We use the chant book published by the Rochester Zen Center. To get a copy, just visit www.rzc.org and click on Marketplace.
Roshi Kapleau (1912-2004) recommended learning the chants by chanting daily, rather than deliberate memorizing. He also taught that the chants in the Japanese language are absorbed at the unconscious level so it is not necessary to know the translation of the words. The sounds of these chants teach Buddhism better than any words can!
Chants are performed to the beat of a hollow, hand-carved gourd called a mokugyo in Japanese and a couple of bowl-shaped gongs (keisu). The Chinese called the gourd the wooden fish because they believed that a fish never slept; that was an admirable quality for Zen practitioners! Just click on the links below to begin learning and learning from the chants.
The Zen Center mokugyo is pictured below. It was given to us by the Miami Zen Center and they got it from Roshi Kapleau.
Dharani of the Great Compassionate One
Master Hakuin's Chant in Praise of Zazen