Guidelines for saying Gaatha (ගාථා)

OOutlined below are a few simple guidelines you can use when going about your daily practice of chanting gaatha (ගාථා) and suthra (සූත්‍ර). (Go here for a list of the basic gaatha and suthra used in daily life.)

• The first thing that you need to do is to find a time and place where you can be at peace. The place is generally far easier to find than the time, however, you can be assured that where there is a will there is a way.
  
  In general most people will have a separate place set up within their homes such as a shrine room (බුදු ගේ) to be able to get away from the hustle and bustle of normal life and be able to say their gaatha in peace.
  
  Or, if you don’t as yet have a separate place set aside for such devotions, you can easily go about your saying your daily gaatha either in a pansala (පන්සල) (Buddhist temple), or you can very easily find a quiet corner in your home to say your gaatha.
  
  The goal here is for you to keep the practice and the discipline and say your gaatha everyday.
  
  Although the time aspect of the whole thing might have you concerned for awhile, you will find that if you set aside a specific time every day for you to say your gaatha, it becomes easier for you in the long run.
• If you have set up a separate budu-ge (බුදු ගේ) in your home, or if you are at the pansala, you will need to light the pahana (පහන) (oil lamp – normally a small clay lamp filled with coconut oil and homemade cotton wick); offer any flowers you have, and light any incense if you have it before setting about saying your gaatha.
  
  (And remember to keep the oil lamp and the incense in a place where you won’t accidentally burn down the house!)
• When you have accomplished this you can then settle back into a comfortable seated position to begin saying your gaatha. You might notice if you visit any Theravada Buddhist pansala that most young, able-bodied people normally choose the ground, and that the elderly or people who are otherwise unable to be seated comfortably on the ground, choose short stools to be seated upon.
  
  What you need to understand here is that when seated you should not be seated at a higher level than that of any statue of Buddha, or of a bhikku if one is giving a dhamma deshanawa (ධර්‍ම දේශනාව) (dhamma sermon).
• You can then begin to say gaatha starting with the Namaskaraya (නමස්කාරය). Although you will find that there are translated versions of gaatha abounding in the world today, it is best if you say your gaatha in the original Pali dialect even if you don’t understand a word of it.
  
  In this way you are repeating Buddha’s words as they were meant to be said, and not someone else’s translations. There is a certain power in the gaatha which lies in the sounds and the way they are strung together. In Sinhala this is known as Shabda Shastraya (ශබ්ද ශාස්ත්‍රය).
  
  Every word, repeated in exactly the same manner as Buddha said it, will lend your gaatha more power and strength than trying to say your gaatha in a meaningful manner.
  
  Remember that understanding what you are saying is an added bonus for you, and is not a requirement to say gaatha.
• When you have finished with your gaatha, (and your suthra if you so wish), you then say your determination for your life’s continuance.
  
  That is, you must make a determination about your ultimate goal, such as what direction this Ping (පිං) will take you to attain Nirvana; to eventually become Rahath (රහත්), or Pasay Budu (පසේ බුදු), or even a Buddha (සම්මා සම්බුදු).
• This determination is very important, and must be uttered by you in silence so that others may not hear you.

In worshipping thus, you have gained some Ping (පිං) for yourself and you have offered this ping (පිං) to your dead relatives as well as the many Deviyo (දෙවියෝ) for them to share in.

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