There are so many things I love about Sri Lanka and one of them is a particular aspect of their Buddhist tradition i.e. chanting.

I first heard this community chanting when volunteering at the Women’s Development Centre (WDC) eight years ago in 2013. At 8.30am each morning, before their work day begins, the office workers and leaders meet in their administrative centre entrance area to recite their prayers: the Christians among them say the Lord’s Prayer, the Buddhists then chant the Pansil, and the Muslims and Tamils relay an excerpt from their religious texts.

The late Pearl Stephen, Women’s Development Centre founder and director, and me, in the entrance of the Centre where the daily morning prayers are recited

It is remarkable that, despite the country’s recent history of religious tensions and violence, all come together effortlessly to pray in harmony. For me though it’s the Buddhist chanting that I particularly remember and that has remained with me, even though I had little idea what it actually meant. I just liked it – the rhythm, the melody and the repetition of the chant. Listen to this below and then I’ll attempt to explain it.

And below is the audio of the real thing! WDC workers chanting The Pansil:

The Pansil is what every devout Buddhist knows and practises daily. It is customary to pay homage to the Buddha by reciting the Three Refuges.

1. The Buddha (the ideal)
2. The Dharma (the teaching of the Buddha, the path)
3. The Sangha (the monastic and Buddhist community)

And they undertake to observe the Pansil i.e. The Five Precepts. These are:

1. To abstain from killing living beings
2. To abstain from taking what is not given, i.e. stealing
3. To abstain from sexual misconduct
4. To abstain from false speech i.e. lying
5. To abstain from intoxicants and harmful drugs

Buddhists recite it by themselves or a Buddhist monk on nun will do this in the ancient language of Pali and the devotees will repeat it after them. For example:

‘Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa’. This means ‘Honour to the Blessed One, the Exalted One, the fully Enlightened One’.

All the world’s major religions use chant as part of their spiritual practice and many see it as a route to spiritual development. Gregorian chant is a central tradition of the Roman Catholic Church, Vedic chant is the oral tradition of the Vedas and the Jewish Hebrew cantillation is their form of chanting their prayers.

If you’re inspired by the idea of chanting (or maybe you have already tried it), and are interested to give Vedic chanting a try then please read on.

My friend, Roxanna Ziolkowska, who is a yoga teacher and qualified teacher of Vedic chanting is planning to trek a couple of legs of Sri Lanka with me later this year. She teaches monthly chant sessions on Zoom on the first Saturday of the month.  You are invited to join on March 6th from 3:30 to 5:00pm. Cost: £15.  Roxanna is donating all proceeds of this session to support Sri Lankan girls who are survivors of gender-based violence and living in a refuge.  

Roxanna says, ‘Chanting creates vibration which has the ability to change our energy profoundly. The Veda-s are the most ancient texts of India and are more than 5000 years old.  These mantras were received by sages in a meditative state and were passed down by aural tradition for thousands of years. 

‘Chanting naturally extends the exhale and enhances the purifying aspect of the breath, calming the nervous system and reducing stress and anxiety.  It also demands great concentration which is a discipline for the mind and body.  The rules of chanting are very strict to ensure the mantras were not altered during transmission. In this way, as closely as possible, we chant them as they were chanted in ancient times.  Different mantras produce different effects – to stimulate, to pacify, to heal, to celebrate, to challenge.  The Veda-s contain thousands of mantras that can support us in every moment of our lives.’

Please join us on 6th March 3.30-5.00pm and book your place by contacting Roxanna at ro*********@***il.com and quote CHANT FOR SRI LANKA.

See you there!

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