Pūjā (Buddhism)

• 1. Introduction

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  A Buddhist pūjā, the act of offering or worship, can end on a startling thought. A worshipper offers flowers to an image of the Buddha and chants a traditional Pali verse. Its closing lines read: "Just as these flowers fade, Our body will undergo decay." The gift is lovely, and the lesson inside it is blunt. So what does a worshipper hope to gain by giving things that wither, burn down, or get used up? Who is the offering for? And how does one simple gesture take such different shapes in Theravada, Mahayana, Tibetan, Chinese and Japanese Buddhism?

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• 2. Merit and Form

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  The Sanskrit word puṇya and the Pali word puñña both name merit, the central reward a pūjā is believed to earn. In the traditional Buddhist view of karma and rebirth, merit leads to a better rebirth and to progress toward nirvana. The offering is made to a Buddha, to a deity, or to the Triple Gem, the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. Practitioners also expect it to grow respect, gratitude and inspiration. Some believe it can stir the blessings, called adhiṣṭhāna, and the power, called bala, of the Buddhas. A pūjā can even serve as preparation for meditation.

  Bowing, prostration and the hand gesture called the añjali mudrā give the ritual its physical shape. Worshippers recite formulas, prayers and texts such as parittas, sutras and dharanis. Material gifts include a lit candle or oil lamp, incense, flowers, food, fruit, water and drinks. These are commonly set in front of a Buddhist altar.

  Some Theravada traditions go further and sort every offering into one of two kinds, each with its own Pali name.

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• 3. Theravada Offerings

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  Amisa-puja, also called sakkara-puja, is the Pali name for material or hospitality offerings in some Theravada traditions. These count as external offerings of "words and deeds." They nurture generosity, called dāna, and virtue, called sīla. They also honor the Triple Gem and deepen the worshipper's commitment to the Buddha's path.

  Every object carries a meaning. A lit lamp or candle stands for wisdom shining into the dark of ignorance. Burning incense represents the fragrant scent of morality. Food, fruit, water and drinks stand for the nectar of the Dharma and the wish to attain it.

  Flowers hold two meanings at once. They express the hope of gaining a Buddha's body with its thirty-two marks, and they point to the teaching of impermanence. A Zen verse gives them another reading, wishing for the mind's "flowers" to "bloom in the springtime of enlightenment."

  Two traditional Pali chants accompany the lit candle and the incense, known as padīpa pūjā and sugandha pūjā. The first says: With lights brightly shining Abolishing this gloom I adore the Enlightened One, The Light of the three worlds. The second says: With perfumed incense And fragrant smoke I worship the Exalted One, Who is great and worthy of worship. A similar incense-lighting verse praises the Buddha's "fragrant body and fragrant face, fragrant with infinite virtues."

  Anicca, impermanence, is one of three characteristics of all things that the Buddha urged his disciples to recollect. Contemplating an offering lets a worshipper see it directly. The flower offering, called puppha pūjā, is the plainest example.

  The Pali Canon, though, names a different kind of offering as the supreme one.

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• 4. The Highest Offering

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  Patipatti-puja, the practice offering, asks for something no altar can hold. It can take four forms: giving, called dāna, moral conduct, called sīla, meditation, called samādhi, and wisdom, called paññā. This is mainly an inward offering, aimed at developing the mind, which the Pali sources name as citta, bhāvanā and samādhi.

  In the Pali Canon, the Buddha called practice offerings "the best way of honoring the Buddha." He also called them "supreme." The Mahāparinibbāna Sutta, part of the Dīgha Nikāya, records his words to his attendant Ananda:

  "But Ananda, whatever bhikkhu or bhikkhuni, layman or laywoman, abides by the Dhamma, lives uprightly in the Dhamma, walks in the way of the Dhamma, it is by such a one that the Tathagata is respected, venerated, esteemed, worshipped, and honored in the highest degree."

  The monk, the nun, the layman and the laywoman all appear in that passage, and none of them needs a single flower.

  In Mahayana Buddhism, the same practice is written in Chinese as 供養 and in Tibetan as mchod.

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• 5. Mahayana Devotion

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  A Mahayana pūjā can be performed alone or in a group. It usually takes place in a temple or monastery, though a home altar works as well. Its aim is to cultivate a sense of refuge and devotion toward the Buddha, the bodhisattvas and other revered figures, along with other spiritual qualities.

  The offerings include water, flowers, incense, fragrant food and light, from candles to butterlamps. They are taken as signs of respect and reverence toward the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Worshippers also chant sutras, dharanis, mantras and ritual texts called sadhanas. They may recite the names or mantras of figures such as Avalokiteshvara, Amitabha and Manjushri. All of this is believed to invite blessings, purify the mind and build merit.

  The bodhisattva ideal colors the whole act. Prayers often ask for compassion and for bodhicitta, the attitude of seeking Buddhahood for the sake of all beings. Many also include the bodhisattva vows.

  Indian Mahayana sources preserve the skeleton beneath all this variety, and it begins with a liturgy of just three parts.

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• 6. Three Parts to Seven

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  Confession of transgressions, called pāpadeśanā, opens the basic three-part liturgy. Admiration of other people's virtues, called anumodana, comes next. Dedication of merit, called parināmanā, closes it. A second version swaps the dedication for a request that the buddhas turn the wheel of the dharma, a step named dharmacakrapravartana. Classic Indian Mahayana pūjās are known as the triskandhaka, meaning three-part, and the saptānga-vidhi, meaning seven-part.

  The ritual grew. A text translated into Chinese in the 2nd century, the Dispelling the Regrets of Ajātaśatru Sūtra, lays out a five-part pūjā. It starts with refuge in the triple gem, then moves through confession and rejoicing in the virtues of others. It continues with a request that the buddhas teach, and it ends by giving rise to bodhicitta.

  Over time this became a seven-part liturgy. Its steps are obeisance or praise, called vandanā, and offerings or worship, called pūjana. Confession of bad deeds follows, then rejoicing. The fifth step requests the buddhas and bodhisattvas to teach the dharma. The sixth entreats the buddhas not to enter parinirvāṇa. The seventh dedicates the merit of the ritual to the enlightenment of all sentient beings.

  The Bhadacaryāpranidhāna, or "Vow of Samantabhadra's Deeds," is a notable home for this form. It belongs to the Gandavyūha section of the Avataṃsakasūtra. The seven-part structure became central to many Mahāyāna practices. Tibetan Buddhism adopted it for many rituals and prayers, often reciting it before meditation sessions. It is also a key feature of tantric pūjās.

  Many of these Indian elements reappear in East Asia, in a practice outlined by the Tiantai patriarch Zhiyi.

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• 7. The Lotus Samadhi

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  Zhiyi, a patriarch of the Tiantai school, described the Lotus Samādhi in his Great Calming and Contemplation. The scholar Swanson identifies ten elements in it, and together they trace a path from housekeeping to insight.

  The practitioner begins by arranging and purifying the room. It is cleaned, a copy of the Lotus sutra is placed on a dais, and incense is lit. The body is purified next, by bathing in scented water and putting on clean clothing.

  Then come offerings of body, speech and mind. These include ritual prostration, giving rise to bodhicitta, and a prayer to the three jewels. The practitioner petitions the Buddhas and bodhisattvas with several ritual formulas, then pays homage through verses and formulas.

  The sixth element is the fivefold repentance. It means repenting offences committed through the six senses, asking the buddhas to teach the Dharma, and rejoicing in the virtue of buddhas and bodhisattvas. It also includes the transference of merit and a sincere taking of the bodhisattva vows to save all beings.

  The practitioner then walks around a buddha statue while reciting phrases of homage. After that comes the recitation of the Lotus Sūtra, either whole or in part. The last two elements are sitting meditation on the nature of all things, and realizing the true nature of reality.

  In Japan, a practice called Gongyo, or Otsutome, carries this devotion into ordinary mornings and evenings.

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• 8. Daily Gongyo

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  Gongyo, written 勤行 and meaning "assiduous practice," goes by the name Otsutome, meaning "service," in many Japanese traditions. Practitioners perform it in the morning and evening in front of a butsudan, a Buddhist shrine. Nichiren Buddhism, Tendai, Shingon and Jōdo-shū all use it. The aim is to fuse the practitioner's life with the enlightened life of the Buddha, and to build faith, wisdom and mindfulness.

  The liturgy changes with the school. In Nichiren Buddhism, Gongyo often recites parts of the 2nd chapter, Hoben, and the 16th chapter, Juryo, of the Lotus Sutra, followed by the chant called daimoku. Tendai takes an eclectic path, mixing the Lotus Sutra with Pure Land and esoteric elements. In Shingon, the service joins the "Three Mysteries" of the Buddha's body, speech and mind to the practitioner's own functions through mantras and meditation. Jōdo-shū practitioners center on the Nenbutsu, "Namu Amida Butsu," and chosen passages from the Pure Land sutras.

  Posture matters, because practitioners are taught to act as if meeting the Buddha in person. They may sit in the Japanese seiza style, kneeling, or sit cross-legged, or use a chair with both feet flat. The spine stays straight and the hands meet in gassho, the prayer position.

  A struck bell draws attention and reminds the practitioner to stay focused. Candles represent the "lamp of Dharma" and the light of wisdom. Incense symbolically cleanses body and mind. Many traditions add offerings of rice, water or flowers before the altar. Prayer beads called juzu count the repetitions of chants, a reminder that the practice builds up bit by bit.

  The morning service sets a spiritual bearing for the day. The evening service gives a moment for reflection and for confessing misdeeds. The larger purpose is to cultivate religious consciousness, eradicate past negative karma and build a bond with the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Every service ends with the transference of merit, dedicating its benefits to the enlightenment and salvation of all sentient beings.

  Nichiren compared persistent practice to flowing water, saying that people who keep their faith resemble a stream that never stops. A second image describes a dull stone polished until it becomes a brilliant mirror. Daily Gongyo is meant to work on the heart the same way, until it reflects the wisdom of the Buddha.

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