Spiritual Cultivation and Movement
Is reciting a sacred name necessarily weaker than chanting a mantra because it only calls a name?
English translation draft · Based on the Chinese article. This is not a word-for-word translation approved by Master Shengyuan.
Not necessarily. Sacred names are simple, but that does not make them less powerful. I once heard a teacher say that reciting a sacred name is like calling someone: they must hear it and turn around first, whereas a mantra directly produces power and is therefore stronger. That was the teacher’s view. My own experience of practice differs.
In our rituals, we have recited the sacred names of Medicine Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, and Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, among others, and felt very strong energy and received blessings. The key is whether the person reciting believes in that Buddha or Bodhisattva and can concentrate on this faith. In my experience, stronger confidence also brings greater blessing.
A simple sacred name is therefore also a method of drawing close to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Willingness to know them, recite attentively, and cultivate confidence brings us back to actual practice more effectively than first ranking names and mantras by supposed strength.