![]() In this book of protection, there are 24 great and powerful discourses, which have been respectfully recited or chanted by monks, nuns, and laypersons, for hundreds of years. This compilation is called, "The Book of Protection" (Piruvana pothvahanse). The erudite monks of Sri Lanka, circa 1235 AD, compiled some of these discourses delivered by the Buddha and such Enlightened Ones as: The Venerable Sariputta and Moggallana, besides others. We can understand that they are very powerful discourses such as, the discourse of the Banner Protection (Dhajagga sutta), The Jewel discourse (Ratana Sutta), the discourses of the Factors of Enlightenment (Bojjhanga Suttas), the discourse on the Protection of the Peacock (Moraparitta Sutta), and the Atanatiya Sutta. The Buddha has delivered many different discourses in such a manner to promote protection from illnesses, fear, and danger. He further said, "If O monks, indeed, that monk would have permeated the four royal clans of snakes with a loving mind, that monk would not have died being bitten by a snake". The Buddha admonished the monks to extend loving thoughts to all the four royal clans of snakes. The Buddha has delivered this, according to the story behind the discourse, that once when a snake bit a certain monk, he died. According to the discourses, the first instance that we come to where the Buddha has delivered a discourse, as a 'discourse of protection', is the Khanda Sutta (discourse on aggregates) of Cullavagga in the code of discipline. They all recite the discourses delivered by the Buddha as stark statements of truth. When the monks, nuns, laymen or laywomen recite paritta. However, first one should understand clearly that this type of Buddhist chanting is not a kind of incantation or invocation but an asseveration of truth. "Friends, abandon all what is not yours" he exalted. "There is nothing to cling to in the world", the Buddha said. The Buddha's constant admonition is not to cling to any of them. If one would cling to things like this it certainly becomes one of the four modes of clinging. In other words, it becomes a sort of fuel for the continuation of the samsaric journey. The Buddha himself said that it becomes a hindrance that leads to weakening one's mind (wisdom) and renewal of existence in the sensual sphere, material sphere, and immaterial sphere. Thus, Pirith is now regarded as a safeguard against fear and malady.Įven though it has now been transformed into a large ceremony or a kind of ritual, one should not cling to these rites and rituals as the real teachings of the Buddha. It is a Buddhist tradition that different chanting ceremonies are held in different countries specifically in order to ward off illness, fear, and danger from evil spirits, and to invoke the blessings of the Triple Gem for protection. ![]() Now, it has become a prophylactic and ritualistic function of Buddhists to ward off all sorrows, (sabba dukkha) ailments, (sabba roga), and all fears ( sabba bhaya). ![]() Originally this recitation was initiated as a simple avowal of truth or the invoking of blessings through the power of the internal virtues of a person then, as the extolling of the infallible virtues of the Triple Gem. As an asseveration, it can be done individually or as a group. This is the recitation or chanting of the word of the Buddha. "It protects one from all directions", is the traditional definition. Pirith is the Sinhala word for paritta (in Pali), which means protection.
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