Prostration (Buddhism)

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In Buddhism, a prostration (Pali: panipāta, Skt.: namas-kara, Ch.: li-pai, Jp.: raihai) is used to show reverence to the Triple Gem (the Buddha, his teachings and the spiritual community) and other objects of veneration.

In Buddhism, prostrating has multiple and overlapping benefits for practitioners including:

In contemporary Western Buddhism, some teachers use prostrations as a practice unto itself,[1] while other teachers relegate prostrations to customary "rituals" ancillary to meditation.[2]

Contents

[edit] Theravada Buddhism

In the Pali canon, laypersons prostrating before the then-living Buddha is mentioned in several suttas.[3] In Theravada Buddhism, as part of ones daily practice, one typically prostrates before and after chanting and meditation. When prostrating on these occasions, one does it three times: once to the Buddha, once to the Dhamma, and once to the Sangha. More generally, one can also prostrate before "any sacred object of veneration."[4]

Theravada Buddhists execute a type of prostration that is known as "five-point veneration" (Pali: patitthitapanca) or the "five-limbed prostration" (Pali: pañc'anga-vandana) where the two palms and elbows, two sets of toes and knees, and the forehead are placed on the floor.[5] More specifically:

"... In the kneeling position, one's hand in añjali [palms together, fingers flat out and pointed upward] are raised to the forehead and then lowered to the floor so that the whole forearm to the elbow is on the ground, the elbow touching the knee. The hands, palm down, are four to six inches apart with just enough room for the forehead to be brought to the ground between them. Feet are still as for the kneeling position and the knees are about a foot apart...."[6]

In Thailand, traditionally, each of the three aforementioned prostrations are accompanied by the following Pali verses:[7]

First Prostration

Araham samma-sambuddho bhagava
Buddham bhagavantam abhivademi.

 The Noble One, the fully Enlightened One, the Exalted One,
I bow low before the Exalted Buddha.
Second Prostration

Svakkhato bhagavata dhammo
Dhammam namassami.

 The Exalted One's well-expounded Dhamma
I bow low before the Dhamma.
Third Prostration

Supatipanno bhagavato savakasangho
sangham namami.

 The Exalted One's Sangha of well-practiced disciples
I bow low before the Sangha.

[edit] Mahayana Buddhism

In Zen Buddhism, both half- and full-prostrations are used. Zen master Robert Aitken writes:

"The Zen student is taught that in raihai [prostration] one throws everything away. Pivoting the forearms on the elbows and raising the hands [palms up] while prostrated is the act of raising the Buddha's feet above one's head."[8]

Roshi Philip Kapleau writes:

"The act of unself-conscious prostration before a Buddha is ... possible under the impetus of reverence and gratitude. Such 'horizontalizings of the mast of ego'[9] cleanse the heart-mind, rendering it flexible and expansive, and open the way to an understanding and appreciation of the exalted mind and manifold virtues of the Buddha and patriarchs. So there arises within us a desire to express our gratitude and show our respect before their personalized forms through appropriate rituals."[10]

Ninth-century Zen master Huang Po is said to have done prostrations so intensely that he wore a permanent red mark on his forehead.[11]
An American in Dokusan

Zen master Phillip Kapleau recounts his first stay in "a real Zen monastery":

"How well, too, I remember the first time I came before my teacher in dokusan. As you know, it is customary to prostrate oneself before the roshi as a sign of respect and humility. But how that went against my grain, and how I resisted it! '... [W]hat does all this have to do with Zen?'

"My teacher, well aware of these thoughts within me, said nothing, viewing my frustrated maneuvers at each dokusan with an amused smile. Then one day, when I was having a more awkward time than usual trying to prostrate, he suddenly shot at me, 'Kapleau-san, when you make prostrations in dokusan you are not bowing down before me but before your own Buddha-nature.'"[12]

[edit] Vajrayana Buddhism

In Vajrayana Buddhism, prostrations are often performed before meditation or teachings, but can form a separate practice by itself. Prostrations are seen as a means of purifying ones body, speech and mind of karmic defilements, especially pride.[13] Prostrations are used in tandem with visualization and can be used to express reverence to Guru Rinpoche[14] and others.

For example, in the context of offering homage to Guru Rinpoche, prostrations are to be performed as follows:

"...Bring your hands together in the 'lotus bud' mudra (the base of the palm and the fingertips together, and thumbs slightly tucked in) and place them on the crown of the head, then to the throat and heart. As you place your hands on your crown, you offer homage to Guru Rinpoche's enlightened body, purify defilements and obscurations incurred through the avenue of your body, and establish the potential to realize nirmanakaya. At your throat, you offer homage to his enlightened speech, and establish the potential to realized sambhogakaya. Bringing your hands to your heart, you offer homage to his enlightened mind, purify your mind's obscurations, and establish the potential to realize dharmakaya.
"The actual prostration is performed by dropping the body forward and stretching it full length on the floor, the arms outstretched in front.... Again, with hands in the lotus bud mudra, bend your arms back and touch your hands to the top of your head, a gesture that acknowledges the blessing flowing from Guru Rinpoche. Then stretch your arms out once more and push yourself up.... Bring your hands into the lotus bud mudra for the third time and touch your heart in a gesture of reverence. Then, with a smooth motion, bring your hands to your crown and perform the next prostration...."[15]

This type of prostration is often done 3, 7, 21, or 108 times. A prostration mala can be used to facilitate counting.[16]

This form of prostration is also used with enlightened beings other than Guru Rinpoche as well.

Pilgrims prostrating at the Jokhang, Lhasa
Pilgrims prostrating at the Jokhang, Lhasa

Prostrations done in large numbers (like 100,000) can be part of the preliminary practices to the practice of tantra. Other practices like this can be reciting the Refuge prayer, mandala offerings, Vajrasattva mantras and other practices called ngöndro.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ See, for instance, Tromge (1995), pp. 87-96.
  2. ^ See, for example, Aitken (1982), pp. 29-31, where he discusses such rituals as having a two-fold purpose: "First, ritual helps to deepen our religious spirit and to extend its vigor to our lives. Second, ritual is an opening for the experience of forgetting the self as the words or the actions become one with you, and there is nothing else." (p. 29).
  3. ^ Khantipalo (1982). In addition to making this general statement, Khantipalo quotes an example of lay people prostrating before the Buddha from the Kalama Sutta (AN 3.65).
  4. ^ Indaratana (2002), p. v.
  5. ^ Indaratana (2002), p. v. Khantipalo (1982).
  6. ^ Khantipalo (1982).
  7. ^ Khantipalo (1982).
  8. ^ Aitken (2002). See a similar statement in Aitken (1982), p. 30.
  9. ^ Here Kapleau is referencing a letter by 14th c. Rinzai Zen master Bassui Tokushō to a layman: "As for the practice of bowing down before the Buddhas, this is merely a way of horizontalizing the mast of ego in order to realize the Buddha-nature" (Kapleau, 1989a, pp. 182-183).
  10. ^ Kapleau (1989a), p. 21.
  11. ^ Kapleau (1989b), p. 192.
  12. ^ Kapleau (1989b), p. 191.
  13. ^ Tromge (1995), p. 87.
  14. ^ Tromge (1995), pp. 88-9.
  15. ^ Tromge (1995), pp. 94-5.
  16. ^ Tromge (1995), p. 95.

[edit] Bibliography

  • Aitken, Robert (1982). Taking the Path of Zen. NY:North Point Press. ISBN 0-86547-080-4.
  • Kapleau, Philip (1989b). Zen: Merging of East and West. NY:Anchor Book. ISBN 0-385-26104-7.
  • Tromge, Jane (1995). Ngondro Commentary: Instructions for the Concise Preliminary Practices of the New Treasure of Dudjom / compiled from the teachings of His Eminence Chagdud Tulku. Junction City, CA:Padma Publishing. ISBN 1-881847-06-3.

[edit] External links

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