Buddhism Practices: Method of Worship

Question 1

Purpose of Worship

Answer 1

• Worship (puja) is carried out at home and in the temple
• Worship has several purposes for Buddhists:
  
  • It allows Buddhists to express their gratitude and respect for the Buddha and his teachings
  • It helps them to get closer to the Buddha and what he symbolises
• It also helps to deepen their understanding of the Buddha’s teachings

Question 2

Chanting

Answer 2

• Monks used chanting to memorise and pass on Buddhist teachings and holy texts
• Buddhists recite sacred texts to pass on what the Buddha taught:
  
  • Examples are The Five Moral Precepts, The Three Refuges and the Bodhisattvas vows
  • Chanting has an extra purpose: it can calm the mind and help the Buddhist to concentrate so they can learn the teachings more easily

Question 3

Mantras

Answer 3

• A mantra is a sequence of sacred syllables that is usually chanted over and over
• Sometimes mantras are spoken, or they might be experienced silently in the mind
• Some Buddhists believe that mantras have magical powers:
  
  • They are often connected to the spiritual qualities of a Buddha or Bodhisattva
  • One common mantra used by Tibetan Buddhists is om mani padme hum.
• Because Buddhists chant mantras hundreds or even thousands of times, they can use a mala (a string of prayer beads) to count the number of recitations

Question 4

What is Samatha meditation?

Answer 4

• The practice of focussing and training the mind
• There are two main aims of meditation:
  
  • Through meditation, a Buddhist can calm their mind and make it still
  • Meditation helps Buddhists to develop a greater insight into the Buddha’s teachings and understand more about the nature of existence

Question 5

What is samatha meditation?

Answer 5

• Samatha means “calming”
• Samatha meditation is a type of meditation that involves calming the mind and developing deeper concentration
• It is used before practicing Vipassana meditation to be in the right state of mind

Question 6

What is mindfulness of breathing (samatha)?

Answer 6

• In Samatha meditation the person pays attention to their breathing:
  
  • They focus on the sensation of breathing and how the body responds to each breath
  • When they become distracted and their mind wanders, they simply return their attention to their breathing

Question 7

How are kasinas used in samatha meditation?

Answer 7

• A kasina is an object that someone can focus on in great detail to help them to concentrate
• A buddhist can focus on a physical object, an object in their head or a general state

Question 8

What is the purpose of Samatha Meditiation?

Answer 8

• The purpose of samatha meditation is to develop a calm and concentrated mind
• Therefore samatha meditation is important in Theravada Buddhism as a preparation for vipassana meditation

Question 9

What is Vipassana Meditation?

Answer 9

• It is a meditation technique which involves developing a deeper insight into the nature of reality

Question 10

Aim of Vipassana meditation

Answer 10

• To understand how all things are characterised by The three marks of existence
• To develop greater wisdom and insight
• Ultimately to achieve enlightenment

Question 11

What is Zazen Meditation?

Answer 11

• In Zazen meditation the person will sit, relax and spend a period in mindful breathing
• They will think about the present moment and become aware of their time now
• The aim is similar to Vipassana: to develop a deeper understanding of the nature of existence
• Zazen meditation is practiced in Zen Buddhism, so it is a form of Mahayana Buddhism

Question 12

What is walking meditation?

Answer 12

• The person would walking slowly and combine the rhythm of their steps with their breaths in and out
• Walking meditation can be used as part of either samatha or vipassana meditation

Question 13

What is Visualisation?

Answer 13

• Visualisation is when a meditator visualises or imagines an object in their mind
• They will look at the object in their mind in as much detail as possible:
  
  • The object is therefore a focus for concentration
  • It may also connect with some spiritual qualities

Question 14

What is Deity Visualisation?

Answer 14

• Tibetan Buddhists may use deity visualisation when they meditate
• They will visualise a deity such as a bodhisattva
• They will focus not just on what the deity looks like, but also its spiritual qualities
• They may imagine themselves as that deity to help awaken their own Buddha-nature

Question 15

Using Thankas and Mandalas in meditation

Answer 15

• Buddhists might use a thangka or a mandala to help them to visualise a deity
• A thangka is a detailed painting of a Buddha or a Boddhisattva
• A mandala is an intricate, colourful, circle-shaped pattern that often contains symbols representing the Buddha
• In Tibetan monasteries, monks create mandalas out of coloured sand:
• When they finish their detailed mandalas they always brush them away to symbolise Anicca (impermanence)