Take for example that you saw a friend of yours in a distance across a river. His name is John but you can't recall it at that moment. So you started calling to him: "Harry!", "Tom!", "James!", etc, etc. In fact, you tried every name you know except John. Do you think your friend will respond? You maybe sincere and determined to call him but without shouting the correct name, how can you get his attention? Similarly, without reciting a mantra correctly, how can you expect to get a respond promptly from the Bodhisattvas and gods? So you think that with sincerity alone and a mouthful of gibberish, you can invoke deities? Think about this.......
Based on the arguement that accurate pronunciation is not important, can we assume that chanting Om Mani Padme Hum BACKWARDS will have the same merit? Hum Me Pad Ni Ma Om, Hum Me Pad Ni Ma Om, etc, ... If this is true, mantras and dharanis will serve no purpose. Then why do we bother to preserve them?
Yes, I do agree that there are cases of people reciting their mantras incorrectly but still achieving some power with it. But can you imagine the greater effect they can acquire if these people were to use a more precise pronunciation?
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