Buddhist farmers in Fujian Province increased crop yield and grain size with Buddhist Mantras, according to a report in the Global Times. [1] Faithful local Liangshan villagers installed 500 lotus-shaped loud speakers to saturate the crops with empowering mantras. They covered an area 26.7 hectares in scope. Not only was yield increased, pests decreased and grain-size increased.

Nearby fields, without mantras, struggled with pests and suffered much reduced yield. Researchers from the China Agricultural University give credibility to the mantra experiment. They state that the unique sound waves in mantras stimulate the plant leaves, enabling superior conversion of sunlight. They noted that other types of music had lesser effect, or even a negative effect—as in the case of control yields from heavy metal music.

Although it’s well-established that some types of music do improve plant growth, normally assumed to be a sound-wave stimulation, mantras are particularly efficacious.

Mantras Have a Long History of Helping Plants Grow

The power of mantras would be no surprise to practicing Buddhists, particularly Tantric practitioners. Hindus would also automatically accept the power of mantras to help plants grow. Thousands of years of history and anecdotal experience has shown us what mantras can do in terms of helping people, animals and plants.

What about science? The US National Library of Medicine has a notable abstract titled, “Effect of Mantras on Human Beings and Plants” in which: “The author during his various experiments on plants found that these from the stage of seedling to the maturity are effected by certain types of sound waves, especially the Mantras. This study reveals that the plants have shown a positive response to this type of particular sound waves regarding the growth. their efficacy in curing the diseases etc.” [2]

How does it work? Sound is a frequency, a vibration, which has a strong effect on water. In Maseru Emoto’s famous best-selling book The Hidden Message of Water, he graphically demonstrated the positive (and negative) impacts of sound on water. Mantras had a positive impact. Humans—and plants—are made up of mostly water.

Sound also is theorized to effect plants. “While plants don’t have ears, this study shows that plants respond to vibration, as described in the book The Secret Lives of Plants by Christopher Bird and Meter Tompkins. [3]

Do Try This At Home

Many plant lovers, horticulturists and farmers use soothing music, ranging from classical music (more effective than rock) to mantras (the most effective). Critically acclaimed author and musician Lee Mirabai Harrington used mantras with her garden, a mantra known to have the power of neutralizing pollution and nullify the effects of heavy metals. She also stated she “has always recited mantras while gardening, because years ago I learned mantras would benefit the life force of plants. I talk to mine in Tibetan, through the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum.”

She added that the Dalai Lama himself has said that all beings benefit from this mantra, including plants. [4] She added that mantras “help them to assimilate the sun”—in a statement very reflective of the research findings from China Agricultural University

NOTES

[1] Reported in the BBC from an original story in Global Times

[2] NCBI Resources: Us Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3336746/

[3] Secrets of Yoga.com

[4] Official blog from Critically Acclaimed Author and Musician Lee Harrington