8. To Become a Prayer

8

To Become a Prayer

Some pilgrims like to use a rosary to count their repetitions of the "Jesus Prayer" and in the beginning I experimented with a rosary too, counting the beads just for fun.

I think it may be good for a person like me--who is easily distracted--to use a rosary to engage as many senses as possible in the prayer.

And if a person has only a limited time to pray, the rosary does make a handy timer.

But as I became more intimately involved with the prayer during my first long pilgrimage, counting beads seemed unnecessary.

Yet to me this did not seem to be merely robotic repetition, but a deeper altering of the condition of my consciousness—with nothing to attain, nothing to do--except to walk or sometimes ride an old bicycle.

Eventually, I suppose you might say that the pray-er--(you or me)--becomes the prayer.

In a way. the prayer becomes the core--the Self.

The Jesus Prayer then, as repeated by this pilgrim at least, was not really so much of an asking prayer (though the words ARE a plea for mercy) but a being prayer.

And since my first pilgrimage using the Jesus Prayer, I have experimented as I walk by reciting other mantra-type prayers from other of religious traditions—sometimes just for a change and sometimes for reasons I felt might be important for my "spiritual growth".

I have used Estafer-u-Allah (God have mercy) from the Moslem tradition; Aum, Mani padme hum (Aum, The jewel in the lotus) from the Hindu tradition, Aum—Ahhh—hum, vajra Guru Padma siddhi hum (Aum—Ahhh—hum. Diamond Guru Padmasambhava, hum) from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and others.

Tomasito, 2009


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