Buddhist Learning - God in Buddhism

☯ Buddhist Learning: Gods in Buddhism Part 2

Do Buddhists Pray?, Vows, Invocations, and Devotional Activities

Dictionaries define prayer as a request for help or expression of gratitude directed to God, saints, or other godlike beings. Prayer is the central devotional activity of many religions. Since Buddhism is nontheistic -- meaning gods aren't necessary -- do Buddhists pray?

And the answer is, no, but yes, and it depends.

Prayer in the dictionary sense is not a formal part of Buddhism, since it is understood there is no powerful "other" to which prayers are directed. But there are a great many prayer-like activities, such as vows and invocations. And Buddhists also request help and express gratitude all the time. So the first question is, where are these expressions directed?
Gods or No Gods?

There are several kinds of beings in Buddhist scriptures and art who are identified as gods. Many, such as the devas, can be thought of as characters in fables. The devas of scripture live in their own realms and generally don't do anything for humans, so there's no point praying to them even if they were "real."

Tantric deities of Vajrayana Buddhism can be understood as archetypes of our own deepest nature, or they may represent some principle, such as the factors of enlightenment. Sometimes prayers are directed to transcendent buddhas and bodhisattvas, who can be understood as archetypes also.

Sometimes laypeople especially do seem to regard iconic figures as separate beings with their own existence, however, even though this understanding is not consistent with other Buddhist teachings.

So sometimes people who self-identify as Buddhist do pray, although prayer isn't part of what the historical Buddha's taught.

Buddhist Chanting Liturgy

There are several different types of texts that are chanted as part of Buddhist liturgies, and especially in Mahayana Buddhism the chants often are directed to transcendent buddhas and bodhisattvas. For example, Pure Land Buddhists chant the Nianfo (Chinese) or Nembutsu (Japanese) which invoke the name of  Amitabha Buddha. Faith in Amitabha will bring one to rebirth in a Pure Land, a state or place in which enlightenment is easily realized.

Mantras and dharanis are chants valued for their sounds as much as for what they say. These usually brief texts are chanted repeatedly and could be thought of as a kind of meditation with the voice. Often the chants are directed or dedicated to a transcendent buddha or bodhisattva. For example, the Medicine Buddha mantra or longer dharani may be chanted on behalf of someone who is ill.

This begs an obvious question -- if we invoke the name of a buddha or bodhisattva to aid our spiritual quest or heal our friend's sickness, is this not a prayer? Some schools of Buddhism do refer to devotional chanting as a kind of prayer. But even then, it's understood that the purpose of the prayer is not to petition a being" out there" somewhere but to awaken the spiritual strength that is within each of us.

Beads, Flags, Wheels BIG

Buddhists often make use of prayer beads, called "malas," as well as prayer flags and prayer wheels. Here is a brief explanation of each.

Using beads to count repetitions of a mantra probably originated in Hinduism but quickly spread to Buddhism and eventually to many other religions.

Hanging prayer flags in mountain winds is a common practice in Tibetan Buddhism that may have originated in an earlier Tibetan religion called Bon. The flags, usually covered with auspicious symbols and mantras, are not intended to carry petitions to gods but to spread blessings and good fortune to all beings.

Prayer wheels, also associated primarily with Tibetan Buddhism, come in many shapes and forms. Wheels are usually covered in written mantras. Buddhists spin the wheels as they focus on the mantra and dedicate the merit of the act to all beings. In this way, the wheel turning is also a kind of meditation.

Topic

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https://www.learnreligions.com/do-buddhists-pray-449582

The Role of Gods and Deities in Buddhism

Are there Gods, or aren't there?

It is often asked if there are gods in Buddhism. The short answer is no, but also yes, depending on what you mean by "gods."

It also is often asked if it is all right for a Buddhist to believe in God, meaning the creator God as celebrated in Christianity, Judaism, Islam and other philosophies of monotheism. Again, this depends on what you mean by "God." As most monotheists define God, the answer is probably "no." But there are lots of ways to understand the principle of God.

Buddhism is sometimes called an "atheistic" religion, although some of us prefer "non-theistic"--meaning that believing in a God or gods really isn't the point.

But it's certainly the case that there are all kinds of god-like creatures and beings called devas populating the early scriptures of Buddhism. Vajrayana Buddhism still makes use of tantric deities in its esoteric practices. And there are Buddhists who believe devotion to Amitabha Buddha will bring them to rebirth in the Pure Land.

So, how to explain this apparent contradiction?

What Do We Mean by Gods?

Let's start with polytheistic-type gods. In the world's religions, these have been understood in many ways, Most commonly, they are supernatural beings with some kind of agency---they control the weather, for example,  or they might help you win victories. The classic Roman and Greek gods and goddesses are examples.

Practice in a religion based on polytheism mostly consists of practices to cause these gods to intercede on one's behalf. If you deleted them the various gods, there wouldn't be a religion at all.
In traditional Buddhist folk religion, on the other hand, the devas are usually depicted as characters living in a number of other realms, separate from the human realm. They have their own problems and have no roles to play in the human realm. There is no point praying to them even if you believe in them because they're not going to do anything for you.

Whatever sort of existence they may or may not have really doesn't matter to Buddhist practice. Many of the stories told about the devas have allegorical points, but you can be a devoted Buddhist for your whole life and never give them any thought.

The Tantric Deities

Now, let's move on to the tantric deities. In Buddhism, tantra is the use of rituals, symbolism and yoga practices to evoke experiences that enable the realization of enlightenment. The most common practice of Buddhist tantra is to experience oneself as a deity. In this case, then, the deities are more like archetypal symbols than supernatural creatures.

Here's an important point: Buddhist Vajrayana is based on Mahayana Buddhist teaching. And in Mahayana Buddhism, no phenomena have objective or independent existence. Not gods, not you, not your favorite tree, not your toaster (see "Sunyata, or Emptiness"). Things exist in a kind of relative way, taking identity from their function and position relative to other phenomena. But nothing is really separate or independent from everything else.

With this in mind, one can see that the tantric deities can be understood in many different ways. Certainly, there are people who understand them as something like the classic Greek gods--supernatural beings with a separate existence who might help you if you ask. But this is a somewhat unsophisticated understanding that modern Buddhist scholars and teachers have altered in favor of a symbolic, archetypal definition.

Lama Thubten Yeshe wrote,
"Tantric meditational deities should not be confused with what different mythologies and religions might mean when they speak of gods and goddesses. Here, the deity we choose to identify with represents the essential qualities of the fully awakened experience latent within us. To use the language of psychology, such a deity is an archetype of our own deepest nature, our most profound level of consciousness. In tantra we focus our attention on such an archetypal image and identify with it in order to arouse the deepest, most profound aspects of our being and bring them into our present reality." (Introduction to Tantra: A Vision of Totality [1987], p. 42)

Other Mahayana Godlike Beings

Although they may not practice formal tantra, there are tantric elements running through much of Mahayana Buddhism. Iconic beings such as Avalokiteshvara are evoked to bring compassion to the world, yes, but we are her eyes and hands and feet.

The same is true of Amitabha. Some may understand Amitabha as a deity who will take them to paradise (although not forever). Others may understand the Pure Land to be a state of mind and Amitabha as a projection of one's own devotional practice. But believing in one thing or another really isn't the point.

What About God?

Finally, we get to the Big G. What did the Buddha say about him? Well, nothing that I know of. It's possible the Buddha was never exposed to monotheism as we know it. The concept of God as the one and only supreme being, and not just one god among many, was just coming into acceptance among Jewish scholars about the time the Buddha was born. This God concept may not have ever reached him.

However, that doesn't necessarily mean that the God of monotheism, as commonly understood, can be dropped seamlessly into Buddhism. Frankly, in Buddhism, God has nothing to do.
The creation of phenomena is taken care of by a kind of natural law called Dependent Origination. The consequences of our actions are accounted for by karma, which in Buddhism is also a kind of natural law that doesn't require a supernatural cosmic judge.

And if there is a God, he is us, too. His existence would be as dependent and conditioned as ours.

Sometimes Buddhist teachers use the word "God," but their meaning is not something that most monotheists would recognize. They may be referring to the dharmakaya, for example, which the late Chogyam Trungpa described as "the basis of the original unbornness." The word "God" in this context has more in common with the Taoist idea of "the Tao" than with the familiar Judaic/Christian idea of God.

So, you see, the question as to whether there are or are not gods in Buddhism can't really be answered with a yes or no. Again, though, merely believing in Buddhist deities is pointless. How do you understand them? That's what matters.

https://www.learnreligions.com/gods-in-buddhism-449762

The Role of Chanting in Buddhism

When you go to a Buddhist temple, you may encounter people chanting. All schools of Buddhism have some chanted liturgy, although the content of the chants varies widely. The practice may make newcomers uncomfortable. We may come from a religious tradition in which a standard text is recited or sung during a worship service, but we don't often chant. Further, in the West many of us have come to think of liturgy as a pointless vestige of an earlier, more superstitious, time.

If you observe a Buddhist chanting service, you may see people bow or play gongs and drums. Priests may make offerings of incense, food, and flowers to a figure on an altar. The chanting may be in a foreign language, even when everyone attending speaks English. That can seem very strange if you are under the understanding that Buddhism is a nontheistic religious practice. A chanting service can appear to be just as theistic as a Catholic mass unless you understand the practice.

Chanting and Enlightenment

However, once you understand what's going on, you come to see that Buddhist liturgies are not intended to worship a god but to help us realize enlightenment. In Buddhism, enlightenment (bodhi) is defined as awakening from one's delusions—especially the delusions of the ego and a separate self.

This awakening is not intellectual, but rather a change in how we experience and perceive.

Chanting is a method of cultivating mindfulness, a tool for helping you wake up.

Types of Buddhist Chants

There are several different types of texts that are chanted as part of Buddhist liturgies. Here are a few:

⚫ The chant may be all or part of a sutra (also called a sutta). A sutra is a sermon of the Buddha or one of the Buddha's disciples. However, a large body of sutras of Mahayana Buddhism were composed after the Buddha's lifetime. (See also "Buddhist Scriptures: An Overview" for more explanation.)

⚫ The chant can be a mantra—a short sequence of words or syllables, often chanted repetitively, thought to have transformative power. An example of a mantra is om mani padme hum, which is associated with Tibetan Buddhism. Chanting a mantra mindfully can be a form of meditation.

⚫ A dharani is something like a mantra, although usually longer. Dharanis are said to contain the essence of a teaching, and repetitive chanting of a dharani may evoke some beneficial power, such as protection or healing. Chanting a dharani also subtly affects the mind of the chanter. Dharanis usually are chanted in Sanskrit (or some approximation of what Sanskrit sounds like). Sometimes the syllables have no definite meaning; it's the sound that matters.

⚫ A gatha is a short verse to be chanted, sung, or recited. In the West, gathas often have been translated into the language of the chanters. Unlike mantras and dharanis, what gathas say is more important than what they sound like.

Some chants are exclusive to particular schools of Buddhism. The Nianfo (Chinese) or Nembutsu (Japanese) is the practice of chanting the name of Amitabha Buddha, a practice found only in the several Pure Land forms of Buddhism. Nichiren Buddhism is associated with the Daimoku, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, which is an expression of faith in the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren Buddhists also chant Gongyo, consisting of passages from the Lotus Sutra, as part of their daily formal liturgy.

How to Chant

If you are new to Buddhism, the best advice is to listen carefully to what everyone around you is doing and do that. Pitch your voice to be in unison with most of the other chanters (no group is every completely in unison), copy the volume of the people around you and start chanting.

Chanting as part of a group service is something you are all doing together, so don't just listen to yourself chant. Listen to everyone at once. Be part of one big voice.

You will likely be given the written-out text of the chanting liturgy, with foreign words in English transliteration. (If not, then listen until you catch on.) Treat your chanting book respectfully. Be mindful of how other people are holding their chanting books, and try to copy them.
Translation or Original Language?

As Buddhism moves West, some of the traditional liturgies are being chanted in English or other European languages. But you may find a substantial amount of liturgy is still chanted in an Asian language, even by non-ethnic Asian westerners who don't speak the Asian language. Why is that?
For mantras and dharanis, the sound of the chant is as important, sometimes more important, than the meanings. In some traditions, the sounds are said to be manifestations of the true nature of reality. When chanted with great focus and mindfulness, mantras and dharanis can become a powerful group meditation.

Sutras are another matter, and sometimes the question of whether to chant a translation or not causes some contention. Chanting a sutra in our own language helps us internalize its teaching in a way mere reading cannot. But some groups prefer to use Asian languages, partly for the effect of the sound and partly to maintain a bond with dharma brothers and sisters around the world.

If chanting at first seems meaningless to you, keep an open mind toward doors that may open. Many senior students and teachers say that the thing they found most tedious and foolish when they first began to practice was the very thing that triggered their first awakening experience.

https://www.learnreligions.com/chanting-basic-buddhist-practice-449748

Becoming a Buddhist

Interested in becoming a Buddhist? There's no substitute for participating in a vibrant Buddhist community, but reading about the associated beliefs, texts, meditation, chanting, ritual, and other practices is a good place to start learning.


https://www.learnreligions.com/buddhism-origins-and-development-4684850