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Prostration (Buddhism)
Encyclopedia
A prostration is a gesture used in Buddhist practice to show reverence to the Triple Gem (comprising the Buddha, his teachings, and the spiritual community) and other objects of veneration.
Among Buddhists prostration is believed to be beneficial for practitioners for several reasons, including:
In contemporary Western Buddhism, some teachers use prostrations as a practice unto itself, while other teachers relegate prostrations to customary liturgical
ritual, ancillary to meditation
.
Prostrations may also be subsumed within sadhana repetitions of various vinyasa
forms of yogic discipline, such as Trul Khor
, eg. Importantly, vinyasa forms were directly influenced from Buddhist 'impermanence' (anitya) as was the language of Patanjali
's Yoga Sutras informed by Buddhist discourse.
, laypersons prostrating before the then-living Buddha is mentioned in several sutta
s. In Theravada Buddhism, as part of daily practice, one typically prostrates before and after chanting
and meditation
. On these occasions, one does typically prostrates 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."
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. More specifically:
In Thailand, traditionally, each of the three aforementioned prostrations are accompanied by the following Pali
verses:
In Theravadin countries such as Sri Lanka, when one goes before one's teacher, in order to "open one's mind up to receive instructions," one bows and recites the phrase, "Okāsa ahaṃ bhante vandāmi" ("I pay homage to you venerable sir").
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. Prostrations are used in tandem with visualization and can be used to express reverence to Guru Rinpoche and others.
For example, in the context of offering homage to Guru Rinpoche, prostrations are to be performed as follows:
This type of prostration is often done 3, 7, 21, or 108 times. A prostration mala
can be used to facilitate counting.
This form of prostration is used with enlightened beings other than Guru Rinpoche as well.
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
.
Among Buddhists prostration is believed to be beneficial for practitioners for several reasons, including:
- an experience of givingDana (Buddhism)Dāna is generosity or giving. In Hinduism and Buddhism, it is the practice of cultivating generosity. Ultimately, the practice culminates in one of the perfections : the perfection of giving - dāna-pāramitā...
or veneration - an act to purify defilementsKilesaKleshas , in Buddhism, are mental states that cloud the mind and manifest in unwholesome actions. Kleshas include states of mind such as anxiety, fear, anger, jealousy, desire, depression, etc...
, especially conceit - a preparatory act for meditationBuddhist meditationBuddhist meditation refers to the meditative practices associated with the religion and philosophy of Buddhism.Core meditation techniques have been preserved in ancient Buddhist texts and have proliferated and diversified through teacher-student transmissions. Buddhists pursue meditation as part of...
- an act that accumulates meritMerit (Buddhism)Merit is a concept in Buddhism. It is that which accumulates as a result of good deeds, acts or thoughts and that carries over to later in life or to a person's next life. Such merit contributes to a person's growth towards liberation. Merit can be gained in a number of ways...
(see karmaKarma in BuddhismKarma means "action" or "doing"; whatever one does, says, or thinks is a karma. In Buddhism, the term karma is used specifically for those actions which spring from the intention of an unenlightened being.These bring about a fruit or result Karma (Sanskrit, also karman, Pāli: Kamma) means...
)
In contemporary Western Buddhism, some teachers use prostrations as a practice unto itself, while other teachers relegate prostrations to customary liturgical
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
ritual, ancillary to meditation
Buddhist meditation
Buddhist meditation refers to the meditative practices associated with the religion and philosophy of Buddhism.Core meditation techniques have been preserved in ancient Buddhist texts and have proliferated and diversified through teacher-student transmissions. Buddhists pursue meditation as part of...
.
Prostrations may also be subsumed within sadhana repetitions of various vinyasa
Vinyasa
Vinyasa , is a Sanskrit term often employed in relation to certain styles of yoga. The term vinyasa may be broken down into its Sanskritic roots to assist in decoding its meaning...
forms of yogic discipline, such as Trul Khor
Trul khor
Tsa lung Trul khor known for brevity as Trul khor is a Himalayan tantric discipline which includes breathwork , meditative contemplation and precise dynamic movements to centre the practitioner and to...
, eg. Importantly, vinyasa forms were directly influenced from Buddhist 'impermanence' (anitya) as was the language of Patanjali
Patañjali
Patañjali is the compiler of the Yoga Sūtras, an important collection of aphorisms on Yoga practice. According to tradition, the same Patañjali was also the author of the Mahābhāṣya, a commentary on Kātyāyana's vārttikas on Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī as well as an unspecified work of medicine .In...
's Yoga Sutras informed by Buddhist discourse.
Theravada Buddhism
In the Pali canonPāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
, laypersons prostrating before the then-living Buddha is mentioned in several sutta
Sutra
Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
s. In Theravada Buddhism, as part of daily practice, one typically prostrates before and after chanting
Buddhist chant
A Buddhist chant is a form of musical verse or incantation, in some ways analogous to Hindu, Christian or Jewish religious recitations. They exist in just about every part of the Buddhist world, from the Wats in Thailand to the Tibetan Buddhist temples in India and Tibet...
and meditation
Buddhist meditation
Buddhist meditation refers to the meditative practices associated with the religion and philosophy of Buddhism.Core meditation techniques have been preserved in ancient Buddhist texts and have proliferated and diversified through teacher-student transmissions. Buddhists pursue meditation as part of...
. On these occasions, one does typically prostrates three times: once to the Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
, once to the Dhamma, and once to the Sangha
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...
. More generally, one can also prostrate before "any sacred object of veneration."
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. More specifically:
In Thailand, traditionally, each of the three aforementioned prostrations are accompanied by the following Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
verses:
| 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. |
In Theravadin countries such as Sri Lanka, when one goes before one's teacher, in order to "open one's mind up to receive instructions," one bows and recites the phrase, "Okāsa ahaṃ bhante vandāmi" ("I pay homage to you venerable sir").
Mahayana Buddhism
In Zen Buddhism, both half- and full-prostrations are used. Zen master Robert Aitken Robert Baker Aitken Robert Baker Dairyu Chotan Aitken Roshi was a Zen teacher in the Harada-Yasutani lineage. He co-founded the Honolulu Diamond Sangha in 1959... writes: Roshi Philip Kapleau Philip Kapleau Philip Kapleau was a teacher of Zen Buddhism in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition, a blending of Japanese Sōtō and Rinzai schools.-Early life:... writes: Ninth-century Zen master Huang Po Huangbo Xiyun Huángbò Xīyùn was an influential Chinese master of Zen Buddhism. He was born in Fujian, China in the Tang Dynasty. Huángbò was a disciple of Baizhang Huaihai and the teacher of Linji Yixuan .-Biography:Very little about Huángbò‘s life is known for certain as, unlike other Transmission of the... is said to have done prostrations so intensely that he wore a permanent red mark on his forehead. |
Vajrayana Buddhism
Karma
Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....
defilements, especially pride. Prostrations are used in tandem with visualization and can be used to express reverence to Guru Rinpoche and others.
For example, in the context of offering homage to Guru Rinpoche, prostrations are to be performed as follows:
This type of prostration is often done 3, 7, 21, or 108 times. A prostration mala
Buddhist prayer beads
Buddhist prayer beads are a traditional tool used to count the number of times a mantra is recited whilst meditating. They are similar to other forms of prayer beads used in various world religions; thus some call this tool the Buddhist rosary.-Mala:...
can be used to facilitate counting.
This form of prostration is used with enlightened beings other than Guru Rinpoche as well.
Prostrations done in large numbers (like 100,000) can be part of the preliminary practices
Ngöndro
Ngöndro refers to the preliminary, preparatory or foundational 'practices' or 'disciplines' common to all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and also to Bön...
to the practice of tantra
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
. Other practices like this can be reciting the Refuge
Refuge (Buddhism)
Buddhists "take refuge" in, or to "go for refuge" to, the Three Jewels . This can be done formally in lay and monastic ordination ceremonies.The Three Jewels general signification is: * the Buddha;* the Dharma, the teachings;...
prayer, mandala
Mandala
Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...
offerings, Vajrasattva
Vajrasattva
Vajrasattva is a bodhisattva in the Mahayana, Mantrayana and Vajrayana buddhist traditions...
mantras and other practices called ngöndro
Ngöndro
Ngöndro refers to the preliminary, preparatory or foundational 'practices' or 'disciplines' common to all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and also to Bön...
.
See also
- Householder (Buddhism)Householder (Buddhism)In English translations of Buddhist literature, householder denotes a variety of terms. Most broadly, it refers to any layperson, and most narrowly, to a wealthy and prestigious familial patriarch...
- Puja (Buddhism)Puja (Buddhism)In Buddhism, puja are expressions of "honour, worship and devotional attention." Acts of puja include bowing, making offerings and chanting...
- GadawGadawGadaw is a Burmese verb referring to a Burmese tradition in which a person, always of lower social standing, pays respect or homage to a person of higher standing , by kneeling before them and paying obeisance with joined hands, and bowing...
, a Burmese form of paying obeisance
External links
- A Holy Quest in Tibet: Prostrate, and Miles to Go
- Buddhist Bowing as Comtemplation
- Buddhism: Prostrations (video) Buddhism: Prostrations Part II (video) by Ven Thubten ChodronThubten ChodronThubten Chodron is an American Tibetan Buddhist nun and a central figure in reinstating the Bhikshuni ordination of women. She is a student of H. H...
- Prostrating from Tibet to India
- Prostrations: A Buddhist Exercise Program
- Tibetan Prostration (animation)