VAS: Buddhist "Rains Retreat" period begins

Wisdom Quarterly; Ven. Abbot Dhammarama, Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara LENT/VAS 2014

How shall I spend the rainy season, hopping around or meditating? (onebigphoto.com)

On Sunday, July 13, 2014 from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm, the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara (LABV) temple will celebrate the commencement of the Rains Retreat period, often called "Buddhist Lent."

It is a period of intensive practice for monastics and a time when lay practitioners visit temples, monasteries, and pagodas to hear the Dharma (Teachings), engage in devotional activities, meditate, and establish their ties with monastics.

LABV will have weekly Dharma talks open to all on Sundays followed by Sri Lankan island cuisine. Many visiting monastics will deliver sermons, hold question and answer sessions, and be available to clarify points of controversy and uncertainty regarding the Buddha's teachings.
 

Sunday is the Super Moon of the ancient month of Asala. The lunar observance for those dressed in white includes an all-day virtue (sila) program where visitors are invited to observe the Eight Precepts for the day according to ancient Indian tradition from at least the time of the Buddha.

Rains Retreat

According to the ancient Theravada Buddhist tradition, the Asalha Full Moon Day marks the beginning of the Vas (Vassana) Season. Supporters of the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara will formally invite the resident monastics to observe Rains Retreat at 5:00 pm. Those observing the Eight Precepts earlier in the day are also invited to attend this auspicious and meritorious event.

There will be an opportunity to listen to the Dharma and practice meditation to enhance every practitioner's direct knowledge of the  Dharma and develop inner peace during the three months of this season. Weekly programs during this period will be:

• Dharma sermons,
• Sutra discussions,
• Meditation practice,
• Bodhi devotional ceremonies,
• Atavisi Buddha puja and more

Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara

920 N. Summit Ave., Pasadena. CA 91103

(626) 797-6144

But why?
Wisdom Quarterly wiki edit

Buddhist monks traversing Pongua Waterfalls in Vietnam (sun-surfer.com)

 
The three-lunar-month annual retreat observed by Theravada practitioners during the Indian rainy season is called Vassa between July and October. In English, it is often glossed as Rains Retreat or Buddhist Lent, the latter by analogy to the Catholic/Christian Lent (which Buddhism predates by at least five centuries). For the duration of monastics reside at one monastery rather than traveling around. In some monasteries, they dedicate this time to teaching the Dharma or to intensive meditation. Some lay Buddhists choose to observe the period by adopting more ascetic practices, such as giving up alcohol, meat, and smoking if they are already engaged in these harmful activities. It may casually be called "Buddhist Lent," others object to this terminology. It is, after all, more of an obligation for monastics than lay Buddhists. How long someone has been a monk or nun is actually calculated not by calendar years but by how many Rains Retreats one has successfully observed. Most Mahayana Buddhists do not observe it, though many Seon/Thien monastics in Korea and Vietnam observe an equivalent retreat of three months of intensive practice in one location, and in Tibetan Buddhism this period of intensive retreat is called Yarne.

How to enter Buddhism

Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Bhikkhu Khantipalo (Sydney, Australia), Lay Buddhist Practice: The Shrine Room, Uposatha Day, Rains Residence (BPS.lk/Access to Insight.org)

If one were to read only one book on Buddhism, it might be What the Buddha Taught

The Big Buddha, Lantau Island, Hong Kong, China (Clicksnap/flickr.com)

 

I just want Truth! Me, too! Me, too!

What can a lay Western Buddhist can do even though home is far from Buddhist lands, temples, and societies?
 

There are various daily and periodic events on the Buddhist calendar. But which items can be practiced by lay Buddhists without access to monastics, monasteries, temples, relic shrines (stupas), and so on?
 

Out of the rich traditions available in Buddhist countries, let's look at only three: the daily service chanted in honor of the Three Treasures (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha) with some recollections and meditation; the lunar observance (uposatha) days with the Eight Precepts; and the Rains-Residence period of three months intensive practice. What is important is having some daily Dharma-practice.

 

Even where isolated Buddhists are fortunate enough to be near some Buddhist center, they will still benefit from these Buddhist practices, all of which are based on similar methods used in the East.
 

Meditation is hard to begin in isolation because there are many hindrances and sharks around, subtle and overt dangers to derail one's sincere efforts (National Geographic).

 

These days there are many books on Buddhism, some reliable, some speculative, so that a Buddhist living in a country where the religion is newly introduced is likely to have some difficulty in discerning what is really the teaching of the Buddha.

However, this difficulty can be overcome by the study of the original sources, the Pali canon. Of course, if the student can gain the help of some well learned and practiced Buddhist, one will understand Dharma more quickly and thoroughly.

 

One will also be able to practice more easily. For it is a great difficulty, even if one has a good acquaintance with the sutras (the discourses of the Buddha), to know how to practice their teaching.

Finding the heart of wisdom (Horus2004)

This is more a problem for Buddhists who have to acquire all of their knowledge of the Dharma from books. One hears people like this say, "I am a Buddhist, but what should I practice?" [Buddhism is a practice, not a "belief" system.]

Is it enough to answer this question with more or less abstract categories, saying for instance, "Well, I can practice the Noble Eightfold Path!"?

Journey to the Buddha (Cliksnap)

After all, what does it mean to practice it, and how? It is not easy to practice the Dharma in an alien environment where Buddhist monastics, residences (temple-monasteries called viharas), and monuments containing relics (also called stupas, cetiyas, pagodas, or dagobas) are absent.

In Buddhist lands where these and other signs of the Dharma are to be seen, the lay person has many aids to practice and has access to help when difficulties arise.

But elsewhere the layperson must rely on books. Leaving aside those that are misleading (frequently written by Western people who have never thoroughly trained themselves in any Buddhist tradition), which even if the most authentic sources are studied, still tend to be selective of the materials available so that it is possible to get one-sided views.

We made it to the top (Clicksnap)

Now it can be a good corrective to stay in a Buddhist country for some time and get to know how things are done, but not everyone has the opportunity to do this. Here then let's touch upon a few common Buddhist practices being as general as possible so that descriptions are not peculiar to the Buddhist country I know best, Thailand, but may be common to many Buddhist traditions:

• Daily Practice:
  • The Shrine Room
  • The Offerings
  • Gestures of Respect
  • The Preliminary Formula for Revering the Buddha
  • The Three [Guides]
  • The Five Precepts
  • Recollections:
    • Recollection of the Three Treasures
    • Affirmation of [Guidance] in the Three Treasures
    • The Five Subjects for Daily Recollection
    • The Development of Loving-Kindness
  • Meditation
  • Rejoicing (Anumodana)
  • Chanting
  • The Laity's Practice of Dharma
• Lunar Observance (Uposatha)
  • The Eight Precepts
• The Rains Residence
• The Purpose of These Practices
• The Discourse to Visakha on the Uposatha with the Eight Practices
• Appendix of Pali Passages

Beautiful Buddhist Cave Temples (photos)

Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; HuffingtonPost.com (Religion)

Khao Luang Cave Temple, Phetburi, Thailand (Punjest Rojanapo)

  

Dawdawtaung (MyanmarVisa)

After seeing these stunning Buddhist temples located inside caves, we want to drop everything we are currently doing and visit them. The isolation of these sites serves to intensify the spiritual connection experienced by tourists and devotees. While some places of great veneration use architectural height to draw attention to the heavens (akasha deva loka or celestial worlds of great beauty and ease), these cave temples highlight the value of spiritual treasures that lie within. More

 

Datdawtaung Cave Temple, Mandalay region, Kyauk Sel, Burma (Leopard)

Ajanta Cave Temple Complex miraculously cut into solid stone, India (iloveindia.com)

Yungang Grottoes, Shanxi, China (Timothy Allen/Getty Images)

Jan. 25, 2014, Burmese Theravada Buddhist monks and tourists visit Kawgoon Cave, Pa-An township, Kayin state, Burma amid protective devas (Khin Maung Win/AP).

(SMS) A visit to Kaw Goon Cave, Burma, with this Mon language inscription: "This Buddha image was built while I, the queen of Mote-ta-ma, was staying in the town of Duwop. All Buddha images in the town of Duwop and its rural regions were built by me and my fellows." More

Dambulla Cave Temple, Dambulla, Sri Lanka (Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne/jetwingeco.com)

Batu Caves in formerly Hindu/Buddhist peninsular Malaysia, Gombak (Laurie Noble/Getty)

New Year: Buddhist Island of Celebration

A.G.S. Kariyawasam, "Buddhist Ceremonies and Rituals of Sri Lanka" (ATI), Ashley Wells, Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Pat Macpherson, Seth Auberon, Dev, Xochitl, Wisdom Quarterly

A new day dawns atop the world (Raimond Klavins/artmif/flickr.com)

Sri Lanka is the teardrop-island off India

Sri Lanka is regarded as a home of Theravada, a less diluted form of Buddhism based on the ancient Pali canon. This school of Buddhism emphasizes the Four Noble Truths as the framework of the Buddha's Dharma or Teaching and the Noble Eightfold Path as the direct route to nirvana, the final goal of the Teaching. 

Buddha, Dambulla, Sri Lanka (NH53/flickr)

However, side by side with this austere and intellectually sophisticated Buddhism of the texts, there is in Sri Lanka a warm current of devotional Buddhism practiced by the general Buddhist population, who may have only a hazy idea of Buddhist doctrine.

In practical life, the gap between the "great tradition" of canonical Buddhism and the average person's world of everyday experience is bridged by a complex round of ceremonies, rituals, and devotional practices that are hardly visible within the canonical texts themselves.

• Faith (saddha) in Buddhism
• Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines
• Going for "refuge" to Buddha, Dharma, Sangha?

The specific forms of ritual and ceremony in the popular mind doubtlessly evolved over the centuries. Likely this devotional approach to the Dharma had its roots in lay Buddhist practice during the time of the Buddha in neighboring India.

Pilgrimage (yatra): Hiking into the clouds of Sri Lanka Gunner's Point (NH53/flickr)

  

For Buddhism, devotion does not mean submitting oneself to the will of a God or a Buddha or taking "refuge" in an external savior. Rather, it is an ardent feeling of love and affection (pema) directed towards the teacher who shows the way to freedom and liberation from all suffering.

Such an attitude inspires the devotee to follow a meditation master's teaching faithfully and earnestly through all the hurdles that lie along the way to nirvana.

 

Aukana Buddha, Sri Lanka (visitserendib.com)

The Buddha often stressed the importance of saddha, confidence or faith in a buddha as the best of teachers, the Dharma or Teaching as the direct vehicle to liberation from the cycle of rebirth-and-suffering, and the Nobles (Ariya-Sangha), those taught the path all the way to success, to direct verification in this very life, to enlightenment.

Unshakeable confidence (aveccappasada) in the Triple Jewels -- Buddha, Dharma, and Noble Sangha -- is one mark of enlightenment. 

The Buddha once stated that those who have sufficient confidence in him (saddha-matta), sufficient affection for him (pema-matta) are bound for rebirth in heavenly worlds as a result of that (mental/heart based) karma. But the heavens are not the goal of Buddhists, who instead aim for final peace, the end of all rebirth and death. (Heavenly rebirths mean eventual falling away when the karma that led one there is exhausted). 

Buddha in Theravada Sri Lanka (WQ)

Many verses of the Theragatha and Therigatha, verses of the ancient elder-monks (theras) and -nuns (theris), convey feelings of deep devotion and a high level of emotional elation.

Although the canonical texts do not indicate that this devotional sensibility had yet come to expression in fully formed rituals, it seems plausible that simple ritualistic observances with feelings of devotion had already begun to take shape even during the Buddha's lifetime. 

Certainly they would have done so shortly after the Buddha's final reclining into nirvana, as is amply demonstrated by the cremation rites themselves, according to the testimony of the discourse on the Great Final-Nirvana (Maha-Pari-nibbana Sutta).

Relics in housed in white stupa, Ruwanwelimahaseya, Ramagama, Sri Lanka (wiki)

  

The Buddha in a sense encouraged a devotional attitude when recommending pilgrimage locations, namely, the four places that can inspire a confident devotee: where he was born, attained enlightenment, delivered the first sermon, and attained final nirvana (DN.ii,140).

 

The Buddha did discourage the wrong kind of emotional attachment to him or anything, as evidenced in the case of Ven. Vakkali Thera, who was reprimanded for his obsession with the beauty of the Buddha's physical appearance: This is a case of misplaced devotion (S.iii,119).

Ritualistic observances also pose a danger that they might be misapprehended as ends in themselves -- instead of being used as they should be when employed as means for channeling devotional emotions into the right path to the ultimate goal. 

It is when they are wrongly practiced that they become impediments rather than aids to the spiritual life. 

It is to warn against this that the Buddha has categorized them, under the term "devotion to mere rules and rituals" (silabbata-paramasa), one of the Ten Fetters (samyojana) binding one to samsara, the Wheel of Rebirth and Suffering, and one of the four types of clinging (upadana). 

Where Buddhism arrived from ancient India, Mahintale, Sri Lanka (NH53/flickr)

  

Correctly observed, as means rather than ends, ritualistic practices can serve to generate wholesome states of mind/heart, while certain other rituals collectively performed can serve as a means of strengthening the social cohesion among those who share the same spiritual ideals.

 

Ceremonies and rituals, as external acts which complement inward contemplative exercises, cannot be called alien to or incompatible with canonical Buddhism. To the contrary, they are an integral part of the living tradition of all schools of Buddhism, including the Theravada.

 

A ritual may be defined here as an outward act performed regularly and consistently in a context that confers upon it a religious significance not immediately evident in the act itself. A composite unity consisting of a number of subordinate ritualistic acts may be called a ceremony. More

Happy New Year from Wisdom Quarterly

Mahayana: "The Sutra in Forty-Two Sections"

Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Amber Larson, (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; Ling-Yen Mountain Temple, Canada, "The Sutra in Forty-Two Sections"; Master Miao Lien (PURE LAND BUDDHISM)

Kwan Yin Bodhisattva, Goddess of Mercy, at the seaside of Sanya (HawkDisplays/flickr)

 

OPENING VERSE

The unsurpassed, profound, and wonderful Dharma

Is difficult to encounter in hundreds of millions of aeons.

I now see and hear it, receive and uphold it,

And I vow to fathom the Tathagata's true meaning.

 

PREFACE

When the World Honored One had attained the Way, he [is said in Mahayana Buddhism to have] thought, "To leave desire behind and to gain calmness and tranquility is supreme." 

He abided in deep meditative concentration and subdued every demon and externalist.

• [Externalist: six non-Buddhist wandering-ascetic (shramana) traditions led by: Pūraṇa Kassapa, Makkhali Gosāla, Ajita Kesakambalī, Pakudha Kaccāyana, Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta (Jainism's Mahavira), and Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta].

In the Deer Park he turned the Dharma-wheel of the Four Noble Truths and took across Ajnata-kaundinya [led Añña Kondañña to enlightenment] and the other four [first] disciples, who all realized the fruition of the Way.

Then the bhikshus expressed their doubts and asked the Buddha how to resolve them. The World Honored One taught and exhorted them, until one by one they awakened and gained enlightenment. After that, they each put their palms together, respectfully gave their assent, and followed the Buddha's instructions.

SECTION 1

Leaving Home and Becoming an Arhat

Shakyamuni Buddha walking (sdhammika)

The Buddha said, "People who take leave of their families and go forth from the householder's life, who know their mind and penetrate to its origin, and who understand the unconditioned Dharma [i.e., asankhata, nirvana, what is not conditional, not dependently originated] are called shramanas [wandering ascetics as distinguished from Brahminical temple priests]. 

"They constantly observe the 250 [monastic] precepts, and they value purity in all that they do. By practicing the four true paths [likely a reference to the four analytical knowledges], they can become arhats."

"Arhats [equipped with abhinnas or siddhis] can fly and transform themselves. They have a life span of vast aeons, and wherever they dwell they can move heaven and earth."

 

"Prior to the arhat is the anagamin [non returner]. At the end of his life, an anagamin's vital spirit will rise above the nineteenth heaven, and one will become an arhat."

"Prior to the anagamin is the sakridagamin [once returner], who ascends once, returns once more, and thereafter becomes an arhat. 

"Prior to the sakridagamin is the srotapanna [stream enterer], who has [at most] seven [more] deaths and seven births remaining, and then becomes an arhat. Severing [attachment] and desire is like severing the four limbs; one never uses them again."

SECTION 2

Eliminating Desire and Ending Seeking

The Buddha [allegedly] said, "Those who have left the home-life and become [wandering ascetics] cut off desire, renounce [attachment], and recognize the source of their minds. They penetrate the Buddha's profound principles and awaken to the unconditioned Dharma. 

"Internally they have nothing to attain, and externally they seek nothing. They are not mentally bound to the Way, nor are they tied to karma. They are free of thought and action [are not storing up karma]; they neither cultivate nor attain certification; they do not pass through the various stages, and yet they are highly revered [reverence-able, worthy of reverence]. This is the meaning of the Way." 

SECTION 3

Severing [Attachment] and Renouncing Greed

The Buddha said, "Shaving their hair and beards, they become shramanas who accept the Dharmas of the Way. They renounce worldly wealth and riches. In receiving alms, they accept only what's enough. They take only one meal a day at noon, pass the night beneath trees, and are careful not to seek more than that. Craving and desire are what cause people to be stupid and dull."

The Buddha's life in panels, Jing'an Temple wall, Shanghai, China (Wisdom Quarterly)

 

SECTION 4

Clarifying Good and Evil

The Buddha said, "Living beings may perform Ten Good Deeds or Ten Evil Deeds. What are the ten? Three are done with the body; four are done with the mouth; and three are done with the mind.

"The three done with the body are killing, stealing, and lust [sexual misconduct]. The four done with the mouth are duplicity [slander], harsh speech, lies [perjury], and frivolous speech. The three done with the mind are jealousy [craving], hatred [aversion], and stupidity [tenaciously holding wrong views].

"Thus, these ten are not in accord with the Way of sages and are called the Ten Evil Deeds. To put a stop to these evils is to perform the Ten Good Deeds."

SECTION 5

Reducing the Severity of Offenses

The Buddha said, "If a person has many offenses and does not repent of [turn away from] them, but cuts off all thought [intention, aspiration] of repentance [of changing one's way], the offenses will engulf [one], just as water returning to the sea will gradually become deeper and wider. If a person has offense and, realizing they are wrong, reforms and does good, the offense will dissolve by themselves, just as a sick person who begins to perspire will gradually be cured."

SECTION 6

Tolerating Evil-doers and Avoiding Hatred

The Buddha said, "When an evil person hears about your goodness and intentionally comes to cause trouble, you should restrain yourself and not become angry or blame [that person]. Then the one who has come to do evil will do evil to him/herself."

SECTION 7

Evil Returns to the Doer

The Buddha said, "There was a person who, upon hearing that I observe the Way and practice great humane kindness, intentionally came to berate me. I was silent and did not reply. When [that person] finished abusing me, I asked: 'If you are courteous to people and they do not accept your courtesy, the courtesy returns to you, does it not?' 'It does," [that person] replied. I said, 'Now you are scolding me, but I do not receive it, so the misfortune returns to you and must remain with you. It is as inevitable as an echo that follows a sound, or as a shadow that follows a form. In the end you cannot avoid it. Therefore, be careful not to do evil.'"

The Other F-Word (faith)

Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Joseph Goldstein (IMS); Wikipedia edit saddha; Ben Griggs (Happy Science Temple, Japan)

(SoundsTrue) Insight Meditation, Tape 10, a talk on faith and wisdom with Joseph Goldstein

Buddha, Gandhara style

FAITH IN BUDDHISM (Pāli saddhā, "to place one's heart on") is an important constituent element of the teachings of the historical Buddha within all Buddhist traditions, although the kind and nature of "faith," confidence, conviction, or devotion varies in different schools.

According to the tradition using the exclusively Buddhist-language of Pali, some of the first words uttered by the Buddha after resolving to teach to the world the Dharma he had rediscovered were: "Wide open is the door of the Deathless to all who have ears to hear! Let them send forth faith [confidence in the enlightenment of the teacher, the teaching, and those successfully taught] to meet it!" (Mahavagga, I, 5,11; Vinaya Texts, T.W. Rhys Davids, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 1996, p.88).

 

Treasure, faculty, power of faith

Richard Gere and Lisa Simpson meditate

The Pāli discourses (suttas, sutras) list confidence/faith as one of Seven Treasures (dhanas) (e.g., Collection of Long Discourses III.163, Estlin Carpenter J. (ed.), The Dīgha Nikāya, Pali Text Society, London 1976, p. 163), one of Five Spiritual Faculties (indriyas), one of four "streams of merit," and one of the Five Spiritual Powers (balas).

Gyatrul (b. 1924), in a commentary on the 17th century work of Chagmé, rendered into English by B. Alan Wallace states [Karma Chagmé (author, compiler), Gyatrul Rinpoche (commentary) and B. Alan Wallace (translator), 1998. A Spacious Path to Freedom: Practical Instructions on the Union of Mahamudra and Atiyoga. Ithaca, New York, USA: Snow Lion Publications):

Tibetan lamas, India (Laura Murphy)

By the power of faith, we are able to eliminate the two types of obscurations [i.e., the "obscuration of conflicting emotions" (Sanskrit kleśa-varaṇa) and the "obscuration concerning the knowable" (Sanskrit jñeyāvaraṇa), Jikdrel Yeshe Dorje (Dudjom Rinpoche, author), translated and edited by Gyurme Dorje and Matthew Kapstein (1991). The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History. Boston, USA: Wisdom Publications, p.107]. Through the power of faith both ontological and phenomenological knowledge arises. It is also by the power of faith that both the common and uncommon siddhis [psychic/supernormal powers] arise. More

(Ben Griggs) Happy Science, Japan, international retreat, spring

2011:  Koan seminar exploring "faith," interviews participants.

Devotion in Buddhism: Faith Mind Verses

Dhr. Seven, Roshi Jeff Albrizze, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Sengcan (Sosan Zenji), Third Zen Patriarch in China; Ven. Nyanaponika Thera, Devotion in Buddhism; Tulsi from Sweden

Devotion (saddha) is rampant in Theravada Thailand (Katherine Neumann/fotopedia.com)

Zen zero in part symbolizing emptiness or shunyata, impersonality (etsystatic.com)

 

Mahayana novices (wellhappypeaceful.com)

The Great Way is not difficult for those who do not pick and choose. When love and hate are both absent, everything becomes clear and undisguised. Make the smallest distinction, however, and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart. If one wishes to see the truth then hold no opinions for or against anything. To set up what we like against what we dislike is the disease of the mind. When the deep meaning of things is not understood, the mind's essential peace is disturbed to no avail.

 

(childfocusedsolutions.com)

The Way is perfect like vast space where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess. Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept or reject that we do not see the true nature of things. Live neither in the entanglements of outer things nor in the inner feeling of emptiness. Be serene in the oneness of things, and such erroneous views will disappear by themselves. When we try to stop activity to achieve passivity, our very effort fills us with activity. As long as we remain in one extreme or the other, we will never know Oneness.

O Zen empty spot, there is nothing you are...

Those who do not live in the single Way fail in both activity and passivity, assertion and denial. To deny the reality of things is to miss their reality; to assert the emptiness of things is [also] to miss their reality. The more we talk and think about it, the further astray we wander from the truth. Stop talking and thinking, and there is nothing we will not be able to know. To return to the root is to find the meaning, but to pursue appearances is to miss the source. At the moment of inner enlightenment, there is a going beyond appearance and emptiness. The changes that appear to occur in the empty world we call real only because of our ignorance. Do not search for the truth; only cease to cherish opinions.

Devotion in Chinatown, the Buddha's Tooth Relic Temple (Goderic Tia/flickr)

 

Devotion in [Theravada] Buddhism

Ven. Nyanaponika Thera (edited by Wisdom Quarterly)

Theravada candles, Burma (Nadia Isakova/flickr)

The Buddha repeatedly discouraged any excessive veneration paid to him personally.

He knew that an excess of purely emotional devotion can obstruct or disturb the development of a balanced character and may thus become a serious obstacle to progress on the path to liberation.

 

The history of religion has since proved him right, as illustrated by the extravagances of emotional mysticism East and West.

 

The sutras or conventional discourses relate the story of one monk, Ven. Vakkali, who full of devotion and love for the Buddha, was ever desiring to behold the Teacher physically. The Buddha told him: "What shall it profit you to see this impure body? One who sees the Dharma sees me."

 

The Buddha reclining into final nirvana, Vietnamese monument (Wisdom Quarterly)

 

Shortly before the Buddha passed into final nirvana, he said: "If a monastic or devout layperson lives in accordance with the Dharma, is well conducted in life, walks in line with the Dharma -- it is that person who rightly [and most highly] honors, reveres, venerates, and holds sacred the Enlightened One (Tathagata) with the worthiest kind of honor."

 

A true and deep understanding of the Dharma, together with conduct that conforms to that understanding -- these are vastly superior to any external act of homage or mere emotional devotion. That is the instruction conveyed by these two teachings of the Buddha.

 

Vajrayana puja (BuddhaWeekly.com)

It would be a mistake to conclude that the Buddha disparaged a reverential and devotional attitude of mind when it is the natural outflow of a correct understanding and a deep admiration of what is great and noble.

It would also be a grievous error to believe that the "seeing of the Dharma" (spoken of in the first saying) is identical with a mere intellectual appreciation and purely conceptual grasp of the doctrine.

(childfocusedsolutions.com)

Such a one-sided and abstract approach to the very concrete message of the Buddha all too often leads to intellectual smugness. In its barrenness it will certainly not be a substitute for the strong and enlivening impulse imparted by a deep-felt devotion to what is known to be great, noble, and exemplary.

Devotion, being a facet and natural accompaniment of confidence (saddha, conviction, trust), is a necessary factor in the "balance of faculties" (indriya-samata) required for final liberation.

Devotion (GeordieDiary2012/flickr)

Confidence, in all its aspects, including the devotional, is needed to resolve any stagnation and other shortcomings resulting from a one-sided development of intellectual faculties. Such development often tends to turn around in circles endlessly, without being able to effect a breakthrough.

 

Here, devotion, confidence, and faith -- all aspects of the Pali term saddha -- may be able to give quick and effective help. More

• Faith in Buddhism
• Pujas (devotions) in Buddhism
• Great Tibetan Buddhist Books
• Doubt and Uncertainty Prevent Enlightenment

Vajrayana: 100,000 Prostrations

Himalayan Buddhism or Vajrayana ("Diamond or Thunderbolt Vehicle") in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Northern India, and Mongolia has a particularly devotional and magic-oriented approach to developing the Mahayana path or "Great Way."

This is in evidence on treks to Mt. Kailash (see below) in Tibet as well as at the Buddha's "Great Enlightenment" (Maha Bodhi) shrine in Bodh Gaya, Bihar state, India.
 

Tibet (Wonderlane/flickr)

Tibetan devotees armed with a board and protective hand paddles stand and bow, prostrating 100,000 times. The arduous effort clears the mind, purifies (at least temporarily) the heart, and strengthens resolve to follow the adamantine way.

A great deal of reverence may go to special gurus, Himalayan shamans, Bon wizards/sorcerers, and famous writers like Jetsun Milarepa (The Hundred Thousands Songs of Realization) and the various Dalai Lamas and the incarnations of a variety of rinpoches.
 

 

What are prostrations and why bow?

Tulsi from Sweden (edited by Wisdom Quarterly)

Tulsi from Sweden explains Buddhist bowing

A prostration is a gesture that overtly proclaims: "A state of being vastly greater than my present self exists. I truly admire and seek that condition. Here is a symbol of it before me. Thus do I signify utmost honor and respect, both for the goal itself and all those who precede me to it."
 
Why bow? Buddhism is a practice not a faith. It is almost like a second career. Buddhists learn very specialized skills, including the use of many tools. The largest classification of these tools are lumped together under the term "meditation." For the most part these tools are rather subtle, delicate, and specific in their purpose, like an array of precise surgical instruments.
 
Introspective methods scope out certain problem areas of the mind/heart. Skillfully employed these can map out every tiny grain and sliver of delusion yet remaining. They must be dealt with, each according to its kind. Some may have to be rooted out by use of one tool or another. Others we might choose to dissolve in place. The more skillful operator even has a few rare and wonderful tools to transform them into something beneficial. Of all these tools available, each just right for a certain task.
 

Another use for shiny smooth wood monastery floors -- sleigh riding!

What if the problem is really big? What if instead of a minor negative karmic propensity, the problem needing to be addressed is an iron-hard knot of ego? It might be carved away with a magnifying glass and a scalpel. But that might take rather long, and all the while it might be growing... In such a case, why not go at it with tongs and hammer: hold it fast, take deliberate aim, and pound away with measured strength until it softens into a state of useful malleability? Is there a tool for that? Of course.
 
Tools have a secondary function also. Ego is clever and hides. Prostration helps flush it out. All I ever have to do is a few, and up it pops, virtually shouting: "Hey, hey, hey! What's all this? It's humiliating. Don't do this! People are watching. Stop it right now!" At that instant one may come to know right where ego is. How many hours might one have to sit for this kind of report? Having lured ego from its lair, we are a shade or two less vulnerable to its assaults and deceptions.
 
Ego would rather that we not know it exists. It much prefers to masquerade as "self" instead. When we make it show itself, the veil is lifted. We can stare it right in the face. We are by no means one and the same, which is very good to know. Prostration is bait that ego simply cannot resist. It is one of its weaknesses, which makes it an easy way to attack it, over and over and over again.

Tibetan Buddhist devotees traveling, doing prostrations every few steps all along the way, to the 2002 Kalachakra initiation -- from Werner Herzog's film "Wheel of Time" (Rad der Zeit).