Model Essay: "Worship is more important in Mahayana traditions than it is in Theravada Buddhism." Evaluate this statement.

 

Model Answer: “Worship is more important in Mahayana traditions than it is in Theravada Buddhism.” Evaluate this statement [15 marks - AQA]

In this essay I will conclude that worship (puja) is more important for Mahayana Buddhists than it is for Theravada Buddhists. This is because there is a greater emphasis on gaining punya (merit) within the Mahayana tradition, via the worship of bodhisattvas and the Buddha himself. Therefore, they have a greater emphasis on worship and acts of devotion than the Theravada sect.

One may disagree with my conclusion due to the emphasis on the person of the Buddha within the Theravada tradition, particularly the fact that he was the first being to gain enlightenment and preach the dharma for the sake of all others. Theravada Buddhists do worship and venerate the Buddha, for example they may have a shrine to him in their homes which they use as a focus for their meditation. The Buddha is seen as an inspiring role model and paying respect to him is seen as a way of gaining good punya which yields good karmic consequences. Therefore, worship could be said to be of significant importance within the Theravada tradition.

Despite this, most would agree that worship is more important within the Mahayana tradition, due to the sheer volume of beings that can be worshipped. An example of a bodhisattva who is worshipped within the Mahayana tradition is Avalokiteshvara, the ‘Bodhisattva of Compassion’. Buddhists believe that in chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra the heavenly form of the Buddha actually recommended that people worship Avalokiteshvara in order to benefit from his unlimited punya, as he is right at the end of his bodhisattva career. People will worship Avalokiteshvara through giving offerings to his image, and by venerating his name and his great characteristics verbally. This is integral to Mahayana worship, particularly for the people of Tibet who link Avalokiteshvara with the Dalai Lama, their spiritual leader. Therefore the Buddha himself recommended that Mahayana Buddhists prioritise worship.

However, there is also a history of worship within Theravada communities. For example, the Wat Phra Dhammakaya movement, a modern Theravada movement in Northern Thailand, holds a monthly ceremony of ‘Honouring the Buddha by Food’, where a great feast is offered up to Siddhartha Gautama in Pari-Nirvana through Buddhist meditation. This is an important practice within the movement, suggesting that worship plays an equal role in Theravada sanghas.

It is also important to remember that the Buddha did not recommend excessive worship and veneration of himself when he was alive. He cautioned his followers that overly emotional worship causes attachment, which ultimately leads to dukkha (suffering) and contributes to people being trapped in the cycle of Samsara. Nyaponika Thera has commented that this makes it less likely that Theravada Buddhists would see worship as a first priority, they should instead focus on perfecting Magga. This is not true for Mahayana Buddhists, who believe that they have a personal relationship with the Buddha himself via the Trikaya Doctrine. Because the Buddha can still appear in Samsara via his heavenly form, it is believed that he can hear worship and prayers directed at him, and he returns punya to his followers. Therefore, puja is much more important within the Mahayana tradition.

Overal, puja is more important for Mahayana than Theravada Buddhists, as there are more beings that can worshipped, and a culture of making merit is essential to the Mahayana way of life. This is less true for Theravada Buddhists, who avoid personal attachment to the Buddha and instead see him as an inspiring role model.

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.