Worship and rituals
Puja
Ceremonies that involve meditation, prayer and offerings. Also known as devotional ritual. is the name for ceremonies that involve offerings, or gifts. During these ceremonies, there will also be Thinking quietly as a spiritual or religious exercise. Connection of the mind and soul with the Divine using breathing and other techniques. In Buddhism, using one of a set of techniques or exercises for calming the mind, developing positive emotions and understanding the way things are. and prayer. This is known as devotional practice and its purpose is to enable Buddhists to express how grateful they are to the Buddha for what he taught. This allows them to show respect for his teachings.
Puja is important as it is carried out both at home and in the temple. Buddhists use a variety of different methods in their devotional practice. Examples are:
- A sacred (holy) prayer or word which often is chanted or sung rather than just spoken. - Buddhists may chant repetitively, as this is a form of mediation.
- Repeating religious phrases or quotations from sacred texts. - Buddhists may sing the scriptures.
- A string of beads used by some Sikhs and Buddhists as an aid to prayer. - Buddhists may use a string of beads to help them focus during worship.
- Meditation - Buddhists may use meditation to open themselves to a higher state of awareness. Meditation is central to Buddhism.
- Bowing - Teachings that spread from India into Tibet, parts of Asia and the Far East, characterised by the Bodhisatta ideal and the teaching of ‘emptiness’. Buddhists often bow as a sign of respect.
- Offerings - Buddhists may leave gifts as a mark of respect and reverence to the Buddha. These gifts may include flowers, which are beautiful but fade and serve as a reminder of the impermanence of things. They may also include candles, which are a mark of light and wisdom.
The aim of these individual practices is to enable Buddhists to become more deeply devoted to Buddhism and to open themselves to understand the Buddha Dhamma (Dharma). By doing these things at home or in a place of worship, a Buddhist makes them part of their daily life and practice.
Buddhists may carry the mala with them in their daily life. This enables them to mediate and focus wherever they are. Buddhists may set aside a room in their home for worship. In this place there may be a statue of the Buddha and they may also give offerings during worship.
