Worship and Devotion in Buddhism - Punya, Puja and Karma

 

Devotion

·        Devotion is a key practice within Buddhism, and originated with followers showing devotion to the Buddha by renouncing their worldly lives and giving up everything to follow the dharma. Devotion means showing love and reverence for the Buddha, his teachings, and senior religious leaders in Buddhism. Later Buddhists were also encouraged to show devotion to their teachers: Newly ordained monks were expected to show trust and respect for their teacher, and if they did not, their teacher could formally dismiss them

·        Devotional worship is practised in Buddhism in a variety of different ways, but its purpose is always to help followers gain good punya (merit), punya is a special power, which helps people in their current and next life. It is like a currency, which followers can use for themselves or give to others. Mahayana Buddhists believe that Bodhisattvas have unlimited punya to share with the world which is why they will often worship them.

·        Mahayana Devotional practices include: Prostration (bowing/lying face-down) to images of Gotama Buddha, and in Mahayana Buddhism also to other Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Such images originated some centuries after the historical Buddha. Devotion towards bodhisattvas focuses on their compassion, their skill and extraordinary powers. Prostration also happens within the religious hierarchy of the sangha: by a monk to a monk ordained earlier; by a nun to a nun ordained earlier; by a nun to a monk, regardless of date of ordination; by a lay person to a monk or nun. Worship is often seen as more important within Mahayana Buddhism as there are more beings to worship – past and future Buddhas and bodhisattvas such as Avalokiteshvara (the Bodhisattva of compassion). Buddhists may worship through chanting a mantra, or through reciting the 3 refuges that they formally expressed when they became a Buddhist.

·        Theravada Buddhists also practice devotion, and may have a small shrine to the Buddha in their own home, or visit the temple to venerate an image of him by giving offerings such as flowers and incense to images of the Buddha, which gives them good punya. In the Wat Phra Dhammakaya movement, there is a regular ceremony where the Buddhas in pari-nirvana are honored with food which is sent to them through the power of meditation.

·        Pilgrimage - according to sources recognized by most scholars as early, the Buddha, shortly before his death, recommended pilgrimage to four places: his birthplace (Lumbini, now Rummindei in Nepal); the site of his enlightenment (Bodh Gaya); the site of the preaching of his first sermon (near Benares); the place of his death (Kusinara). The Wat Phra Dhammakaya movement has attempted to organise Buddhist pilgrimages to holy sites, but this has reportedly only had varied success.

·        Puja or worship helps Buddhists to gain good karma, and puja is encouraged in both Theravada and Mahayana traditions. However, it could be said that there is more of an emphasis on worship in the Mahayana tradition. This is because Mahayana Buddhists worship bodhisattvas as well as past Buddhas, the future Buddha and the current Buddha Siddhartha Gautama. Mahayana temples are therefore often larger, more ornate, and full of statues of many semi-divine beings for followers to worship. Theravada temples on the other hand will just focus on the person of Gautama as he is the only being that they worship, as he is the central role model of Theravada Buddhism.

·        Images of the Buddha can vary hugely, the Buddha is often depicted in different styles depending on what area of the world one is in – for example Chinese Buddhists depict the Buddha in art and statues in a Chinese style, whereas Nepalese Buddhists might represent the Buddha in a more south-Asian style. They can be useful as a focus for one’s worship, and to help a Buddhist overcome certain issues by giving their life over to the aims of Buddhism.

·        It can be argued that the Buddha may have rejected some acts of devotion - 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 thus may become a serious obstacle to progress on the path to enlightenment. The focus should be on the dharma and escaping Samsara, not on just worshipping the Buddha for the sake of it. The Buddha said “those who see me see the dharma”, suggesting that it is more important to focus on the teachings of Buddhism than the Buddha himself.