[Buddha-l] diacritics for verse (or rather, usage)

[Alex Wilding]

Although it does not satisfy the classical criteria of a mantra, it is very
commonly used after, for instance, reciting a whole bunch of mantras. In
that context, there are three things recited one after each other, treated
almost as a single item: 1) the Sanskrit alphabet (in some sort of
pronunciation) 2) the 100-syllable mantra of Vajrasattva and 3) the verse in
question.
This is said to compensate for any imperfections in whatever has just
preceded it. In this usage there in not much focus on its meaning, though I
think the serious practitioner would be expected to know. It has, therefore
(and again I say *in this context*) at least some things in common with a
mantra. Perhaps it would be thought of as a dharani?
All the best
Alex W