Devotion

I challenge you to put Mahasuka's mantra in the background for a little while and not find yourself singing it later. I was just in the kitchen washing dishes and making some food and I found myself 

I cleave towards the secular Buddhism, and I dislike religious metaphysics, and theology. I find reading Buddhism to inspiration to meditate, and meditation is the key to Buddhism. For me. I don't make any claims about how Buddhism should be. I believe in exploring what works for you. And what working for you is something you know in your heart, and don't have to define it, though it would help to work it through with trusted friends.

It was to my utmost surprise when I fell in love with the puja, devotional chanting on my first retreat, and in conjunction with reading Sangharakshita's book on the puja. 

I believe that a mantra can put you in an adjacent mindful head space, call to mind a head space when you were on retreat and chanting a mantra. I am forever grateful to the guys who helped me to record an Amoghasiddhi mantra that I loved. I am grateful to a friend who sent me a copy of someone chanting a longer mantra, a purifying mantra. I also am grateful to a friend who gave me a CD of choral mantras. I am grateful to another friend who shared with me an Amitabha mantra. These sounds feel precious to me, important, helpful. I take refuge in the sangha.

I've never met Mahasukha. I haven't gone on a Buddhafield retreat. I hear they are wonderful. He has albums on the above link to Bandcamp and he has links to other stuff like his YouTube page. But I greatly appreciate his sharing of beautiful mantras. I just watched this video on Avalokita mantra; He explains, meditates for 7 minutes, and then the mantra begins around 9:30. It's an interesting version.