Buddhist Chanting Group – Okyo
Please note our chanting group is currently having a break. Instead please join our weekly chanting service on Saturday and Sunday morning (in-person) and Tuesday evening (online by Zoom). Contact us for more details.
Practice chanting the sutras and verses of the Soto Zen and other Mahayana schools
When:
Meet on the first Sunday bimonthly 10.30pm – 12pm on Zoom
Please see our what’s on page for the next meeting date.
Where:
Zoom meeting – please email us for Zoom details.
Contact:
glasgowzengroup@gmail.com
About:
Join our friendly regular chanting group hosted by Glasgow Zen Group. Okyo – the practice of chanting the sutras – is a nourishing, dynamic and wholehearted activity, please come and join us. As well as chanting together we will have time to chat about the sutras and try out new chants and approaches, this is an easygoing group where you can join in or take a break if you feel tired.
Ken and Blair have chanted with Glasgow Zen Group, and in Soto Zen and Jodo Shin temples, and will help guide you and each other too. You don’t have to be Buddhist or have chanted before. Why chant? There doesn’t have to be a strong reason, and it varies for different people, here are some things people may like about it –
Chanting as meditation: you simply breathe, produce sound, listen to others, and settle into the rhythmic patterns. You can let the words wash over you without trying to grasp their meaning. When you let go of thoughts and return your awareness to the present moment – you’re meditating!
Exposure to profound teachings: though you may not understand the words, images, and teachings you are chanting, you are becoming familiar with them at a subconscious level. At some point you may find certain lines of the chants popping in your head, and you may suddenly understand what they are about and how they apply to your life.
Connect with Buddhist traditions, and with other Buddhists all over the world. It may seem strange at first that we chant mostly in Sino-Japanese (and sometimes in English). We are participating in an ancient tradition still chanted daily by Japanese monks, and other Buddhists worldwide – and if you end up traveling or moving away from a particular sangha (Buddhist community), it can be very comforting to encounter familiar chanting.
Awakening, intimate, energising practice: The heartfelt ritual of chanting nourishes and awakens a deeper part of ourselves, embracing connection with life, our fellow chanters and other beings, and circumvents our discriminating mind. Even if we don’t feel in the mood, it is still working on you – and this can be a tremendous source of strength and solace. Please feel free to come along to join us, there is no need to book!
