The Word as the Vehicle.

 
The power of the word is a double edged sword. It can bind one up in confusion and ignorance and it can be the Vehicle that transports one through the door to Enlightenment.
When we are born into this world, we are without any recogniziable cognitive mental functions and we are unable to distinguish the different objects in our environment that we sense. As our minds develop this cognitive function becomes ever stronger, primarily through the vehicle of words. We create names for objects and so we are able to distinguish them. Our entire system of self-identity is built upon this superstructure of names that categorize and divide everything into the separate forms and aspects of our existence, including our own self-existence. This accumulation of identifications and associations in words constitutes our body of knowledge and our sense of self.
This cognitive ability is crucial in our mental development. Good reading and math skills are essential in the development of a critical thinking mind, and in opening up the doors of knowledge to the world we live in.
This cognitive world that we create is not the absolute reality however. Our entire self-existence and its superstrucure of words and names is artificial and provisional. It is used as a means of understanding and in communicating with others. It is not only our body of knowledge but it is also the source of our confusion. In becoming attached to names and words there is adhesion to egos and false views. Although words are our way of perceiving reality, the lens of our self-identity and its persective can completely color and obscure our view of that reality.
The practice of meditation is designed to transcend this cognitive function that is ever reasoning, rationalizing and calculating the information of the senses into egocentric, false and distorted views. Having transcended it, one reaches the inner silence, the absolute reality that transcends the mundane reality. It is the calm that brings upon serenity and spiritual insight.
However, the cognitive function can also be channeled to invoke spiritual awakening. This is the chaneling of the cognitive and affective (emotional) mental energies into the power of Samadhi through the power of Prayer. During prayer, one honestly faces one's own desires and motivations from the past (confesses) and makes genuine resolutions regarding the future (vows). One seeks aid and comfort from the higher spiritual powers that lie untapped within. The source of these spiritual powers are embodied in the Three Treasures that are found in the Sutra.
Beyond making one's own personal prayers, there are two primary forms of formalized Buddhist prayer:

1. Reciting the Sutra: Through reciting the Sutra one literally speaks the words of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas, which embody our highest spiritual capacities. One invokes and recalls their wisdom, virtues, vows, powers and the entire spiritual realm of enlightenment. This is the realm of the Pure Land.
2. The Mantra or Dharani: 'That which is focused on', 'the all embracing'; The Dharani is a prayer-formula that is recited over and over. It is an all-embracing incantation that intercepts evil, embraces good and includes all teachings, meanings, and practices. It contains the great secret essence of the Middle Way and the True Spiritual Aspect of Reality. They are words that are cognitive on one level - however, upon focusing on them and embracing them, one transcends the cognitive and affective (emotional and intuitive) levels. The Dharani leads one into deepest levels of Samadhi and entry into the spiritual realm of enlightenment. The Dharani is like the magic Cintamani Gem that grants any wish to the one that possesses it. Its meaning and efficacy is in accordance with one's spiritual capacity to benefit from it. END=NAM MO SAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).WORLD VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST ORDER=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=GOLDEN LOTUS MONASTERY=AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.17/10/2013.THICH CHAN TANH.THE MIND OF ENLIGHTMENT.